Page 64 of Hearts Like Hers

Kate went still and silent at thedeclaration. Autumn moved a strand of hair from Kate’s forehead.

“Do you believe that?”

“Mostly I do.” Kate sat up. “Still haunts me,though.”

“Then say the words. Say that it wasn’t yourfault.” She placed a hand on the soft skin of Kate’s back.

“I don’t think I want to. What would be thepoint of saying it out loud?”

“Just try,” Autumn said gently.

There was a long pause. Autumn couldn’t seeKate’s face, but she knew how difficult a request this was. Finally, she turnedback to Autumn, her hazel eyes filled with sadness. “It wasn’t my fault.” Oncethe words had been released into the universe, the sides of Kate’s mouth turneddown and her face crumpled. Autumn was up and with her arms around Kateinstantly. She’d never been one to show vulnerability, but here she was, rawand on display.

“It wasn’t,” Autumn repeated. “You dideverything you could, and nothing else would have changed the outcome.”

“I couldn’t get to him,” Kate said, her voicesounding broken and small. “The beams broke. We fell to the first story and noone could go back in after that. The order was given.”

“And you were hurt.”

“I know, but I can’t help but wonder. What ifI’d been able to go back in there one more time? I can’t stop thinking aboutit. Day and night. The ‘what if?’ factor.”

Autumn shook her head. “No. Would you havelet one of the other guys, one of your friends, go back in there? Would you?”

Kate shook her head. “It would have beenreckless.”

“Exactly. And if you’d gone back in, youwouldn’t be sitting here right now. I would never have met you, and what ashame that would have been, because you’ve made the biggest difference in mylife.”

Kate nodded, and Autumn held her as shecried, stroking her back and listening to the quiet sobs that eventually fadedinto the night.

Autumn dried her tears and kissed her lipssoftly.

Kate rested her cheek back against the pillows,facing Autumn. “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything.”

Kate gestured between them. “This is far morethan I thought it would be.”

Autumn already knew that. She’d known she wasin the midst of something important from that first week. “I’ve been one toplay by the rules. Get good grades, go to work, make everyone happy. Then youcame along and made me want to do all sorts of things not on the required to-dolist. It’s been a fun jaunt, Kate. But also, so much more than that.”

Kate smiled. “Whoever would have guessed?”

“I couldn’t have dreamt you up if I’d tried.”

They fell asleep wrapped up in each other,and when Autumn woke for work early that next morning, Kate walked her to theshop. Their good-bye was wordless; it had to be. Autumn was too choked up tospeak. She wrapped her arms around Kate’s neck and held on, savoring the lastfew seconds of connection they would have. When she released her, she saw thetears as they fell from Kate’s cheeks. She cradled Autumn’s face in her handand just looked at her for a few moments. With a final earnest kiss, shedisappeared down the dark sidewalk, taking Autumn’s heart along with her.

When Autumn took a break midmorning, the bluepickup truck was gone.

* * *

“A double expresso with marshmallows,please.”

Autumn paused and stared at the man wearingsuede pants in the summer. She could let the suede go, but that drink order wasanother story.

“I think you meanespresso,and did you ask formarshmallows? Are you thinking of cocoa?”

“No, just toss a couple of marshmallows inthere.” The guy glanced at his folded newspaper as if what he said was the mostnatural thing in the world—when, in fact, it was blasphemous and wrong on somany levels. Autumn of last week would have smiled, rolled her eyes internally,and handed over the creepy, ill-thought-out drink in the name of customerservice. Autumn of this week, Autumn sans Kate, had no tolerance for coffeenonsense. Who the hell did this guy think he was, barging into her shop andasking for marshmallows in his coffee?

“I don’t think we can do that,” she saidevenly. She felt Steve’s gaze on her from down the counter.

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