Page 25 of All Your Firsts Without Me

I bite my lip. “Yeah, if you don’t mind. I hate to keep you.”

He shakes his head. “No, not a problem at all.”

I slide in beside Lucky. She spins in a circle a few times in the passenger seat, still nervous about what’s going on, but eventually she lies down.

Lucky whines on the way home. She’s so scared; I remember that feeling. “It’s okay, girl.” I place my hand on her back, she trembles beneath my palm. I glance in my rearview mirror. Westin is behind me in his Jeep. He seems nice. I don’t remember David talking about him, but that’s not unusual. David had so many friends and acquaintances.

He pulls up behind me in the driveway. I get out and call for Lucky. She reluctantly comes to me. Westin waits beside me with his hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels. Slowly, she climbs over to me. “Welcome Home, Lucky.” I rub my cheek over her head as I pull her close to me.

“Go on inside. I’ll carry everything in,” Westin tells me.

I take Lucky inside, cradling her to my chest as I show her each room. When I get to the bedroom, I set her on the floor. She sniffs around. She has a little hop to her, but otherwise she moves around fine. Satisfied that she’s smelled everything in the room, she comes back to me and sits at my feet.

The sound of the front door shutting perks her ears up, and she hops around me to see who it is. I spin on a heel, following behind her. Westin is standing by the door, nervously running his hands through his dark hair. His sea glass eyes lift as we enter the room.

It’s weird having strangers in the house. The dog and him. But it’s also nice, two things that don’t remind me of David. They’re new. Mine. I mean they’re here for me and they’re both new. New friends. Yeah, two new friends. That’s okay. It’s what he would have wanted.

“Can I get you something to drink? Are you hungry?” I glance at the clock on the microwave, my stomach growling. I cover it with my hand. Goodness.

Westin laughs,“It sounds like you are.” I blush and tip my head to hide behind my hair.“I am too,” he adds quickly.

“Do you like spaghetti? It’s one of my favorites but it’s kind of hard to make for one, so I rarely make it now.” I feel guilty for inviting a man into the house and then for supper but… I… well, I don’t know exactly.

“I love spaghetti.” He rolls his eyes to the ceiling, pinching his index finger and thumb together before kissing them and raising them in the air. “Mm, so good.”

Lifting my shoulders, happy that he seems to like my choice, I smile shyly. “Well, I’ll get started if you want to help unpack Lucky’s new things.”

He claps his hands together and Lucky hops over to him. He crouches down, digging in the bags. Lucky sticks her nose in right along with him. I smile and head into the kitchen, watching them as I prepare supper.

Westin walks out with Lucky’s new food and water dish. “Is it okay if I set these out here for her?” He points to a place on the floor by the wall.

“Yeah, that’s a good spot,” I agree. He stands beside me, filling the water dish from the sink. I study him out the corner of my eye. He’s so tall, I’m not used to having a man stand so near. It’s… odd. He moves with such grace and ease, like a dark shadow sliding across the wall as the sun shifts through the sky.

I pop some garlic bread in the oven and turn to find him staring at me. I tuck my hair behind my ear, sliding past him, he breathes in deep. Is he smelling me?

“So, how did you meet David?” I ask.

My question makes him take a step back. “Um…” he stutters and looks around as if he’s searching for something.

For some reason it pains me to witness his discomfort. Laughing, I pull the spaghetti from the stove, draining it in the sink. “I mean you read my book, so you know how I met him. Your first meeting couldn’t have been as bad as that.”

He laughs too, the tension easing from his face. “Actually, he saved me too. Well, him and a lot of others. I was in an accident he was called to.”

My heart warms knowing David helped this man. “And he stuck with you.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. He kind of became a father figure to me.”

The house fills with warmth as the oven heats up, the scent of garlic filling the room. I didn’t realize how much I missed those things. I need to cook for myself more often. I’ve been living on sandwiches.

“I don’t know if there’s been anyone who met David and walked away feeling less. He had a way of making everyone feel important.”

Lucky brings one of the bright neon balls I bought over to Westin, she drops it with a bounce at his feet. He chuckles. “I think someone wants to play fetch.” He looks out the window towards the beach. “Do you care if I take her outside and see how she likes it? See if she stays close?”

“I think that would be good. I would hate to find out she likes to run away when I’m by myself.”

“What do you say, girl? You want to hit the beach and play a little ball?”

Lucky wags her tail happily, making me smile.

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