Page 40 of Let the Light in

It has been averylong time since I’ve been introduced to a girl’s mother. And now I remember why.

“Hi, Wyatt. I’m Joanne, it’s nice to meet you.”

Joanne steps aside, opening the door wider for me to come inside. She’s a few inches shorter than Lucy, with graying auburn hair. But where Lucy’s eyes are a striking green, Joanne’s are a deep brown.

“She should be down in just a few minutes,” Joanne tells me.

I nod awkwardly, looking around me. There’s a big kitchen to my left and a living room to my right. I peek inside and see a few family pictures, my eyes snagging on one of Lucy and her parents from, what I’m guessing, is her high school graduation. Lucy is in a navy cap and gown, grinning widely. Her hair is shorter, and curled. Her mom stands beside her, a hand on her daughter’s arm, smiling proudly at the camera. But it’s her dad that catches my attention.

He’s tall, with salt and pepper black hair. He stands beside Lucy, an arm around her shoulder. But he’s not looking at the camera, he’s smiling at Lucy. A smile that’s so wide and full of so much emotion, my chest tightens. I can tell, just from this picture, how much David Carter loved his daughter.

“She was his pride and joy,” Joanne says quietly, as if she could read my mind.

“I can tell.” I smile.

“Fathers and daughters always have a special bond, but I’ve never seen anything quite like what those two had. It used to make me a little jealous sometimes, watching the two of them. David always seemed to know exactly what to say when she was sad, he knew when she needed a hug and when she needed to be left alone. And they had the same crazy sense of humor, always making jokes I never really understood.”

I smirk and slide my hands into my pockets. “To be honest, I don’t always get her jokes either.”

Joanne laughs, then smiles up at me sadly.

“Do me a favor and laugh anyway?”

“I always do.”

“Good.” She nods. “I never want her to stop making jokes just because he’s not here to laugh with her anymore.”

I open my mouth to reply, but then hear footsteps behind. I turn, and my breath catches in my throat. Lucy stands on the last two steps behind me. She’s in a simple, flowered sundress with a jean jacket hooked over one arm. Her hair is down and curled slightly in perfect waves. She raises her eyebrows at me, her lips pulling up at the corner to smirk at me, and I have never had such an intense urge to kiss her than right now. To put my hand on either side of her face and kiss that smirk away and replace it with my name on her lips.

I clear my throat as Lucy takes a few steps to stand in front of me.

“You look nice,” she says.

“Thanks,” I grunt, “you too.”

Her smile turns mischievous as she says, “Just nice, huh?”

Before I can reply, her mom covers a laugh with a cough behind me. Lucy winks and walks around me, grabbing her purse from the bench by the front door.

“I’ll be back later, Mom,” she says.

“Have fun.” Joanne waves to us both.

I follow Lucy out to my truck, opening the door for her. I place my hand on the small of her back, helping her up. I feel her body shiver lightly at the touch, and I duck my head so she doesn’t see me smile.

“Hey, Lucy?”

I leave one hand on the car door and place the other on the side of my truck, leaning toward her.

“Yeah, Wyatt?”

Her hand rests on the seatbelt, her face inches from mine. Close enough that I can count the freckles on her cheeks and the brown flecks in her eyes.

“You look stunning.”

Her cheeks flush and I grin, shutting her door and walking around to the driver’s side of the truck. Maybe I was wrong, maybe this actually is a good idea—a great idea, even.

I hop in my truck and stick the key in the ignition, starting it up. Putting one hand on the back of her headrest and looking out the rear window to back out, I ask where we’re going.

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