Page 38 of Since the Day We Kissed

Ethan glanced down. “Pass me the drill? And grab a couple screws, would you?”

Kara rummaged in the toolbox, grabbing the drill and a handful of screws. She looked up, their gazes caught for a moment. “These okay?”

Ethan took the drill, eyeing the screws. “Yeah, that’ll do. Can you hand them to me one by one?”

As Ethan worked on mounting the camera, Kara stood close, ready with each screw. Every time she passed one to him, there was a moment—a shared look, a subtle smile, a barely-there touch of fingers, like the start of something they weren’t quite ready to admit.

Ethan made quick work of mounting the camera on the side of the building, though part of him wished the task would last longer.

After he was done, he descended the ladder. “All set,” he said, turning to face her.

They stood there for a moment, neither moving away,

“I should, uh—” Ethan gestured at the ladder. “Probably put this back.”

“Oh! Right, yeah.” Kara tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve got the toolbox.”

Once inside, they put away the ladder and toolbox, then Kara pulled out her phone and showed Ethan the camera app. “This is perfect. I can finally keep tabs on the yard without running out every five minutes.”

“Happy to help.” Ethan smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glanced toward the kennels. “Anything else on your list?”

Kara sighed. “Nothing for now. The animals are good until tonight. I’ll probably be answering emails and catching up on planning until then.”

Ethan took a step back. “Guess I should let you get to it then.” He paused. “This was—nice. You need help tomorrow?”

“Oh, I mean.” Kara’s eyes flitted about the room. “If you’re free, that is. You probably have plans.”

“I could swing by. Same time?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Great! It’s a date—not adatedate, you know ...” It was his turn to blush. “Tomorrow then.”

13

Kara

Steppingoutintothelobby, Kara watched through the large plate-glass window. A wave of melancholy washed over her as Ethan’s truck disappeared down the main road. Releasing a deep breath, she turned from the window and walked back toward the reception desk, rounding the corner as the door swung open from the opposite end. She nearly collided with Emma, her breath catching as she spotted the takeout bags swinging from her friend’s arms.

“Thought you might be hungry, so I grabbed something from Phil’s after grabbing the supplies,” Emma said.

Kara’s mouth began to water as the aroma from the bags hit her nostrils. “Is that the new Beyond Cheesesteak?”

Emma reached into one of the bags, pulling out a slightly steaming styrofoam box and handing it to Kara with a flourish.

“With extra banana peppers?”

Emma put her hand on her hip. “Now, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t get extra banana peppers on your sub?”

“Ah, you’re the best.”

“Hey, why don’t we eat outside? It’s gorgeous today,” Emma said, walking toward the side door. “Come on. We’ll sit at the table.”

Kara followed Emma to the side yard, where a small picnic table waited. Spreading out everything on the table, they went to sit down. But as Kara was about to take her seat, she hesitated, glancing back towards the building. “Don’t we need to unload your car with all the supplies—”

“It can wait,” Emma said, patting the bench next to her. “The rescue ain’t gonna fall apart if you take a ten-minute break. Sit. Eat. Relax.”

Realizing how tense she’d been, Kara made a conscious effort to relax her shoulders, before releasing a quiet sigh as she settled across from Emma. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’m always on edge about this place.” She flipped open the box, revealing the steaming Beyond Cheesesteak sub nestled in its paper wrapper. The aroma of sautéed peppers and onions wafted up, making her stomach growl.

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