Page 17 of Sparrow

She never forgot me.

“You’re back,” I say. Captain Obvious. Get a grip, Gray. Jesus.

“I am.” She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip.

My God, she looks good. Curvier and fuller. The same red hair, but it’s brighter and more vibrant, and those eyes. Those goddamn cobalt blue eyes, that slayed me every time I saw them, haven’t changed a bit.

“I thought of you when I saw the address on the work order. It said the last name was Allen. I never thought...I never thought it would be you.”

“Honestly, I never thought it would be me either.”

“Did you and your husband decide to migrate South?” I’m clearly fishing for information. Her last name is different, but there is no ring on her finger.

She hesitates before answering, “No. It’s just me.”

I deduce all I need to from her tone. “Ah. Well, sounds like you’ve earned a fresh start.”

“You have no idea.” She laughs and I feel it directly in my chest. It’s an incredible laugh. “How long were you gone from home?” she asks, clearly referencing my years in the service.

“I served from 2004 until 2011.” I don’t elaborate. I don’t like talking about it, nor the things that came after it.

“You just had enough after seven years?” She moves to lean against the railing. She’s asking with genuine interest, not nosiness like most.

“Ah, that’s a long story for a different day.” I move over, leaning on the same railing beside her.

“It seems we both have long interesting stories that led us back here.” She pushes the wayward strand of hair away again, but it immediately falls back down. She sighs in frustration. It’s fucking adorable.

“Maybe one day, we can share them over drinks? Catch up?” I know it’s a little forward, but...this is my Mills. I’d be a fool not to at least ask.

“Maybe,” she says with a smile.

“I’ll take it.” I push off the railing and spin my hat around backward. “So...alarm systems.”

She seems to visibly relax at the subject change. Am I making her feel uncomfortable?

“Yes. About those.”

“I can tell at a glance this house doesn’t have any existing wiring, so I’ll have to put some in manually. I can do a walk-through, make a plan tonight, and come back first thing in the morning to get started.”

“First thing? You mean earlier than this?” she nearly whines. “Can’t we have a nice, mid-afternoon appointment?

“Mornings still aren’t your thing, huh?” I smile. Memories of her strolling into class late nearly every other day creep into my mind, but she was so charming, nearly every teacher overlooked it.

“Not in the least. Thus my deep and intense love affair with coffee.”

“Coffee? Coffee is cheating on me with you? That slut.” I feign shock.

“Right? I heard she was a tramp. Maybe I’m just better than you are. I know what she needs.” She’s playing along and it’s amazing.

“No one understands a woman’s needs better than I. Trust me.” I regret the statement for an instant, until she speaks, and then it ebbs away.

“So cocky. I see nothing has changed.”

“Oh, Mills...Some things have changed, but that? Nah. Never.” I grin widely.

She clears her throat and shifts from foot to foot. “Well, I’ll leave you to your work. I’ll be inside unboxing some stuff. You can just holler if you need me.” That Southern accent it seemed like she had lost, showed its face with that sentence.

“I will. It shouldn’t take long then I’ll be out of your hair.”

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