Page 87 of Last Girls Alive

“Dinner will be ready in ten.”

“Great. I’ll go change.”

Katie went to her bedroom, followed closely by Cisco. She kicked her boots off and slipped out of her work clothes, opting for a more comfortable ensemble of loose pajamas and a hoodie.

Suddenly, there was a crash—as Cisco bounced around the bedroom he had obviously knocked something over. She startled and then berated herself that she needed to relax and to stop being so jumpy. She looked to see what he had done and found that on a small table near the window, one of the framed photographs had tipped over. It was the one of her parents during a summer barbecue; they were laughing together and clearly were in love. She stared at the photo for a moment, remembering what summers were like living in this house as a teenager. Fighting back the tears, she missed them terribly and would give just about anything to have one more day with them.

She sat down on the bed still holding the photo. Cisco jumped up next to her, pushing his nose against her arm. “You would have loved them,” she whispered. She thought about her parents all the time, but when she felt that she was taking on the world it seemed that she clung to their memory even more.

“Hey,” said Chad at the doorway watching her closely. “You hungry?”

Looking up, she smiled. “You bet, I’m starved. I skipped lunch today.”

“Well, c’mon then.”

Katie returned the photo to the table and followed Chad back to the kitchen.

“Wow, you cooked all this?” she said, sitting down at the counter.

Moving with a chef’s expert speed, he said, “Don’t forget, there are some of the best cooks around at the firehouse and I’ve been paying attention these days.”

There were perfectly cooked filets wrapped in bacon with a special mushroom sauce, baked potatoes and green beans.

Chad slid over a glass of wine.

“You read my mind. I usually save wine for the weekends, but this hits the spot after today.”

Katie made herself comfortable on the couch as Cisco chose a chair to curl up in. After a wonderful meal and two glasses of wine, she was finally able to unwind, leaving the job and all the loose ends of the investigations at work.

Chad draped a blanket over her and then snuggled up against her, trying to find a movie channel with something entertaining to watch that wasn’t about the police or fire department.

“I get the feeling that you’re trying to loosen me up to take advantage of me,” she said.

“That’salwaysthe plan.”

She laughed. “You know you don’t need to take care of me, right?”

“Of course. But isn’t that what people who love each other do?”

“Well…”

“Well, what?”

“I just don’t want you to see me as a needy type.”

“What?” he said, looking at her. “Needy? That wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I guess I don’t.”

“I don’t want you to have to take care of me every time I have a bad day. It’s give and take.”

“There’s no keeping score here.”

“I know. It’s just…”

“How long have we known one another?”