Page 19 of Before the Summer He Found Her

“Huh?” I choke. “Channah? What about her?”

“She submitted her resume for the Tier 2/Tier 3 liaison role,” Scott matter-of-facts. “She’s in Philly, yes? Have you talked to her about the role yet?”

“Yeah, she lives here somewhere,” I mutter. “And, uh, no.”

“Call her up. See if she’ll join you on the tours tomorrow.”

“It’s a Saturday. That’s not her normal working schedule,” I say, voice raising an octave—for I know where this is headed, and I cannot see Channah Abrams. I cannot meet her face to face. That would spell doom for my heart and all my rational thoughts regarding keeping our relationship business professional.

If I see her… I’m going to want to do things I shouldn’t want to do.

I’d been to Philly many times now, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t wondered, even before the machine, what it would be like to meet up with her. But now? Like this? How am I going to act normal around her ever again?

“So, is that a problem?” Scott asks. “Ask her.”

Compose yourself, idiot.

I return to my typical monotone. “No, no. Of course not. I’ll reach out to Channah and see if she’ll be available.”

“Good. Let her to drive the conversations at the sites, okay? I want to know how she handles the pressure.”

“Oh, she’ll be a natural.”

“I’m sure you’re right, but I want to confirm it. I’ll talk to you.”

“Yup. Later, Boss.”

As soon as we click off the line, a deep groan escapes my lips. Channah’s dark expression reaches my mind’s eye. The rush that worked through my body when we touched. And the way she withdrew as she barely touched on the abuse. Our conversation in the present the other day—and how we bonded in such a deep way.

The way I briefly glimpsedallPast Channah’s emotions. The pity, the doubt.

My infatuation with Present Channah.

All these things fly through my brain, and I know being around her here will make this even worse.

My flight was a red eye out of PDX. It’s ten am, local time. Channah’s shift has officially started about half an hour ago. Scrolling through my contacts, I find her name, and I call.

“Oh, snap, you’re up early… or have you been working through the night?” she answers teasingly, her voice bright. My heart immediately grows three sizes hearing her. “Have we both reached a new level of workaholism? You know, the first step is admitting you have a problem.”

I laugh, my lips twisted into a large smile. “Good morning to you, too. I’ll have you know, I have hardly worked today, except for the dozens of times I obsessively refreshed my email on the plane.”

“On the plane?” Her chipper voice warms my heart. It’s nice hearing the happier version of her, while the dark version of Past Channah haunts my dreams. She adds, “Where are you headed, or have you already reached your final destination?”

“I happen to be in your neck of the woods to tour some new sites.”

“You’re in Philadelphia?” she asks, excitement edged in her voice. “Where?”

“Right this second? I’m at the airport. Waiting for a shuttle that’ll bring me to get a car. Then, I’m headed to King of Prussia to meet with the deployment techs.”

“Really? Ezra, I live in Audubon. Not too far. Maybe ten minutes from the KOP mall?”

Fuck.

I exit to the outside, the harsh winter air hitting me deep in my bones. Gasoline exhaust crawls up my nostrils, and a SEPTA bus zooms by on the interior lane. Mustering up the nerves to ask her about tomorrow, I take a deep breath.

“Funny,” I say, “as Scott was just asking if you’d like to accompany me tomorrow during the site tours.”

“Really?”

---