Page 64 of The Baxters
“I’m sorry.” She leaned back on her hands again. “I just mean… you never do anything wrong. I guess fighting fires falls in line with that. Still being the good guy. Landon Blake, the boy every girl had a crush on back in high school.”
The boy who only had eyes for you, Ashley. That’s what he wanted to say. But he kept the words to himself. “I’ve already talked to the Bloomington Fire Department. Once I graduate and pass the physical, they’re ready to hire me.”
“Tell me about the physical.” She seemed genuinely interested. “I’ve missed so much.”
“Yes.” He let that hang there for a long moment. Then he told her about his training regimen and how difficult the test would be.
With every additional detail, her eyes grew wider. “I’m impressed.” Her expression grew somber again, more serious. “And grateful. The timing. You taking the class.” She shook her head. “I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t still been here. I can’t.”
“When your mom asked me to come tonight, at first I was all for it.” He smiled. “I even picked up a present for Cole. Since I never got him anything when he was born.”
“A present? Where is it?” Ashley was starting to look like the girl he remembered, the one who hung on his every word, the one whose eyes shone when he was around.
“I left it in the foyer.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if I should give it to you right away or if I needed to… wait till I left.”
She nodded. “I get that.” A long sigh came from her. “You never know how I’ll respond. Right?”
Another quiet laugh filtered over his lips. “I guess.”
“So… you’re going to be a firefighter. And Cole’s was the first life you saved.” Ashley leaned forward again and took his hand. “I’m happy for you, Landon. Your life is going to be just perfect. The way you deserve.”
Was she really so dim? Didn’t she get it? This wasn’t why he had come out here to find her. “I want to hear about you.”
“Okay. I need to tell you something.” She glanced up. “But let’s get back to the house.” She shivered. “The night feels weird all of a sudden. Too quiet.”
She was right. But he had so much more to say. He hadn’t asked his question, the one that had been burning a hole in his heart since she woke up in the hospital. “Before we go… just tell me one thing, Ashley. Please.”
“Later.” She stood and helped pull him to his feet. She still had hold of his hand. “Come on. This is tornado weather. Can’t you feel it?”
They climbed down and once their feet were on the soft dirt below, Landon held his ground, his back to the rock. “Ashley.” He didn’t move, didn’t let go of her hand.
She had no choice but to stop and turn to him. And suddenly, the way it had so many times before, the air between them became charged with an electricity that had nothing to do with the weather.
In a few quiet steps, she came to him until they were face-to-face. He could feel himself breathing harder, unsure where this was going or what she was going to say or do. She traced her thumb over his brow and looked straight to his heart, to a place that was hers alone. A place that always would be. “Hold me, Landon. Please.”
Moving slower than he’d done earlier on the dancefloor, more intentional, he put his arms around her waist and drew her close. “This is all… all I wanted, Ashley. A chance to be us again. Like before.”
For the first time in so long, she didn’t argue with him. Instead she put her head against his chest, her arms around his neck. For what felt like minutes, they stayed that way. Landon wanted desperately to kiss her, but more than that he wanted his answer.
Why? Why had she stopped loving him?
Finally she eased her head back enough to look at him, deep into his eyes again. “Remember ninth-grade PE? You said you’d never let me fall.” Her voice was a whisper, a balm to his aching soul.
“I meant it.” He ran his fingers down the side of her face.
“And tonight, when we were out there. I kept thinking I was crazy to be dancing like that in those shoes. But then…” She hesitated. “I remembered what you told me back then, and I knew. You’d never let me fall. Not then… or now.”
“Right, Ash.” He brushed his cheek against hers. “I’d never let you fall. Not ever.”
She searched his eyes, his face. “You know what I want?” The wind was picking up again, and thunder rolled nearby.
“What?”
“I want a do-over. July fifth. Weeks after high school graduation.” She blinked back fresh tears. “I want tonever even think about going to the store, and I want Jefferson’s mom to come pick him up.”
Tears stung at his eyes, too. “I want that for you. If I could give it to you, I would.”
“I know.” She traced his cheekbone with her thumb. “I love your face, have I ever told you that? You have the most handsome face, Landon.”
