Page 29 of Dark Alleys

I ate two more.

“So good. Those things are winners. I love them. Don’t lose that recipe.”

She laughed. “What have you been doing for the past few days?”

“Working less because of my arm and sleeping a lot.”

Shouldn’t have said that. Time to lie.

“Where were you sleeping, dear?”

“Umm…at a friend’s house.”

“Why didn’t you come home to sleep? I could’ve helped with the bandages.”

“I can’t always make it home.”

She smiled. “I know that, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“No, you don’t and most of the time, I don’t like it either. I don’t like you being alone at night and I like sleeping in my own bed upstairs.”

“Can you tell me what you were doing when you got hurt?”

“No, I can’t, but I can tell you one thing I was working on. This is a good story.”

She refilled our mugs and sat down to listen. I told her the whole sad tale about meeting Cindy in the laundromat and about the eviction and about taking her to Neil’s shelter.

Aunt Gail smiled when I was done. “I’m so happy that story has a happy ending, Lukas. You helped that poor girl so much. What was her baby’s name?”

“Flint. She wanted to name him something hard, so he’d be strong and tough when he grew up.”

That brought on the tears. “That poor child. What a rocky start to his little life.”

“Neil is hands-on now. Cindy and Flint have a much better chance of making it.”

“I’m so glad you saved her, dear. You do such good work.”

I rolled my eyes at that one, drank one more cup of coffee and then ran upstairs and got clean clothes.

I’d stayed a lot longer than I intended to, but I had to make up for lost time with my aunt. She was family.

Then I had to go.

I hugged Aunt Gail goodbye and as I started my truck, I got a text. The phone sat on the passenger seat so I could see who was calling or texting me.

Regan.

“I’m home right now. Come for lunch.”

“Okay.”

Shay Residence. University Hills.

I’d been to Regan’s place once before and barely remembered being there. Luckily, the address was still in the GPS and the directions took me to her townhouse in the University Hills area of Austin.

I rang the bell, and she opened it looking hot in tight black jeans and a snug T-shirt. She pulled the door open wide and smiled at me.

I stepped into the foyer of the townhouse, feeling the weight of the moment press against my ribs. I wasn’t sure why I’d agreed to come without even thinking it over. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the way she’d looked at me at the bar the night before—like she wasn’t afraid of me—like she saw something past the walls I kept so carefully intact.

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