Page 52 of Little Girls Sleeping

She smiled in spite of herself, and even though her arms throbbed in pain. “Nothing gets past me.”

“I thought you might want to get out of the house and go on a picnic.”

She stared at him, and some of the old feelings of connection came flooding back. She felt her face turn to a heated flush. Turning away, she said, “Depends on what’s in the bag.” She moved to a cupboard and took down a bottle of aspirin. Popping off the top, she swallowed two tablets.

Chad put both bags on the counter and began to empty them for Katie to see. “We have two sandwiches, one with turkey, bacon, and avocado. You used to love that.”

“Still do.”

“One meat-lover’s sandwich: turkey, ham, and salami with provolone and white Cheddar cheese. Two cups of mixed greens and various nuts and seeds. Two servings of mixed seasonal fruits. And some of those wonderful home-made chips from Frazer’s on Main Street.”

“Wow, sounds like a food-channel advertisement.” She laughed.

“Oh, and iced tea, my secret blend, plus two bottles of water.”

“Anything else?” Katie raised her eyebrows and tried to see into the bags.

Chad quickly began to put the food away. “Nope, not going to tell you what’s for dessert.”

“So?” she said.

“So? So what do you think?”

“Are you inviting me?”

“I think I already did,” he said, watching her closely.

Katie looked down and sipped her coffee. She wasn’t sure if she wanted thisthing to begin again between the two of them.

“Maybe I should have called first,” he said with a little less enthusiasm.

“No, not at all. It’s nice that…”

“That what?”

“I admit it would be nice to have some time off, even if it’s only for an hour or two.”

“Good,” he said, and slapped his hand on the counter.

Cisco jumped up and barked.

“See.” Chad gestured. “Even Cisco agrees.”

“Fine, give me fifteen minutes to get changed.” She hurried to her bedroom.

Katie rode in the passenger seat of Chad’s Jeep, gazing out the window at the countryside. The model was much roomier that her own car and had more horsepower. Relieved that her aches and pains had subsided, she tried to ignore the anxious energy simmering in the background. It was usual when she entered into unknown areas for her response to be geared to fight or flight, but she made a pact with herself that it would change with time.

She saw a truck parked on the side of the road with the hood up.

“Hey, isn’t that Mr. Rey?” asked Chad.

“I’m not sure,” Katie replied, craning her neck to get a better vantage.

As Chad slowed his speed, a man wearing work overalls came around from the front of the truck.

“It is him,” he said. He pulled the Jeep to the side of the road and parked. “He’s had some tough times after his wife passed.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that,” Katie said. “I ran into him at the grocery store. Remember that fort he helped us build?”