Page 13 of Penn

She smiles up at me, shyly. “My mom made the necklace, and I made the bracelet.”

“They’re pretty.” I keep her hand in mine, lacing our fingers.

“Not fair by the way—you met my mom,” she points out, “I don’t know any of your people.”

“You want to know my people?”

“Yeah, if you want to tell me about them.”

“My mom and dad split when I was little, I never really got to know my dad, but my mom took to single parenthood. She did amazing raising me on her own. We grew up together, almost like best friends.”

“She sounds like an incredible person.”

“That, she is. I finished fire school little over a year ago. The guys on my shift are pretty awesome, honestly. As a rookie, theydidn’t give me too hard of a time. Collin is a big Titans fan. Emrys is the best cook. Ward has balls of steel, I swear. And then there’s Dante…”

“What’s the story with him?”

“He’s kind of quiet, brooding I guess you could call it. He’s got some stories to tell but he keeps them all locked up. He’s got a good heart, though. A really huge heart.”

“Y’all sound like a family.”

“We are. Come to find out, they did track me out to the woods one time about ten months ago, in case something ever happened, they’d know where to find me. We look out for each other like that. But interestingly, no one had put up any signs and they don’t remember seeing the signs you had seen that night you were there.”

“I could have sworn I saw signs.”

“I haven’t been back since that night, so, maybe.”

“And you’d never been in a fire except for during training?”

“Actually, I have. I was going to tell you about it at the hospital, the day you were discharged. I was…pretty excited to tell you. Even though I wasn’t sure if you’d be awake or not to hear about it.”

“Oh my god, seriously? I feel horrible. I totally pushed you away that day.”

“Nah, you shouldn’t feel bad. I understand.”

“Were you scared?” she asks.

“A little, at first. But those guys, they’re good. I knewtheyknew what they were doing, and they had my back. They weren’t going to let anything bad happen to me or anyone else there.”

“Wasanyone else there?” Her pretty eyes go wide.

“You mean inside the house? Fortunately no. Everyone got out of there in time.”

“That’s so good.” She breathes with relief.

Looking at her for a beat, it’s like all the wires in my head blink out. I thought she was beautiful the second I laid eyes on her from a distance. Then up close, she tipped my world over. Now, I know her, I feel like I really see her. I see the beauty inside her shining out now too. I tell her that.

She points to her face. “Thisdoesn’t feel like beauty shining out. It feels like the ugliness.”

“There’s no ugliness in you. None.”

“There’s ugliness in all of us, Penn.” She drains her wineglass. She’s probably not wrong. “So what dreams do you have?” she changes the subject.

I slide her a grin, taking her empty glass and offering her my hand, as I stand up. “It’s easier to show than tell.”

She peers up at me, amused, taking my hand. “Now you’re starting to sound like a writer.”

Six

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