Page 2 (1/2)

Maybe she’d stay in tonight She and Sarge could watch YouTube videos of hostage negotiators, eat Kraft Mac & Cheese (don’t judge, it was delicious) Maybe binge-watch The Walking Dead She had a stack of books from the library, too Or she could call around the Bitter Betrayeds, the naiven itself, and see who else was cli the walls

Suddenly, the weekend spread vast and empty in front of her No shifts till Monday No plans other than a hockey gaue She could do laundry and clean Ue That’d be fun, if solitary

Her feet were getting nu Still, she stood there on the tiny town green, looking into the cheerful pub

Maybe she’d drive to Penn Yan and see a movie, but it was a half an hour away, and there wasaccident, everyone was feeling a little wary about winter driving

Speaking of that, there was Jack Holland

He stood outside O’Rourke’s, staring at the building as if he’d never seen it before Maybe she should check on hiether, and he was her boss’s brother-in-law and an EMT, so it wasn’t as though she didn’t know hi to decide whether or not to go inside the bar

Em crossed the street "Hey, Jack," she said

He didn’t answer

"Hi, Jack," she said again He jerked, then looked at her

"Hey, E?"

"Great"

He was so not great that her heart ached, looking at him stalled there, dead in the water

Poor choice of words

But he was clearly not great

"You going in?" he asked, aware perhaps that too long a pause had elapsed

"No I’e He’s a German shepherd Very cute Hopefully he hasn’t pooped on the floor"

Oh, yeah, the babbling thing See, in addition to all the above, Jack Holland was ridiculously gorgeous As in, Hi, I’ve just dropped down from Mount Olympus How you doin’? Tall and blond with eyes that were so clear and perfect and pure that they made a person think of all sorts of ridiculous synonyms for blue--azure and cerulean and aqua His smile stopped traffic and made trees burst into flower and all that crap

So yes, he rendered woainst very, very good-lookingEuy

"Jack? You okay?"

"Yeah!" he said too quickly "Sorry Just a little tired You take care, Emma"

No one called her that More than likely, Jack Holland had just forgotten her name He opened the door to the pub There was a roar of "Jack!" and "Hey! The hero!" and general cheering The iron bell behind the bar clanged; the O’Rourke twins rang it in tiood folks of Manningsport--and America--had been quite dazzled hat Jack Holland had done So had she How many people could have done what he did, after all? It was dazzling

Which didn’t explain the look on Jack’s face

Well He had a big family and a lot of friends Everyone loved the Hollands He’d be well taken care of

With a deep breath of the frigid air, Ealow She’d left a couple of lights on for the puppy, and her little house fairly gloelcoone to high school here, living with her grando and left the house to Eela, who lived in California But to Ealow e and norain when she’d o She’d kept a lot of Nana’s furniture, bought some of her own, painted here and there, and the result was a pleasing mix of old and new, no real style per se, but comfortable and cheery, and it never failed to make her smile

She scooped her ot down on all fours "Mo of paws and yips of joy were happy e ran to her, Squeaky Chicken, his favorite toy, in his jaws as an offering

Eathered the puppy into her arms and kissed his furry head "Hello, puppy," she said She resisted the strong urge to indulge in baby talk to the dog to preserve his dignity and her own, but she couldn’t help laughing as he licked her face, wriggling like a little otter

She stood up, did a feirls, since he loved that, then encouraged hio outside before he peed on the floor fro a leaf across the sh her mail A flyer for a discount on heart-shaped cookies and cupcakes at Lorelei’s Sunrise Bakery--Valentine’s Day preorders now accepted No need to save that, unless she wanted to buy herself soh her uniform pants seemed a little hostile these days) A bill from the cable coht Flawless Angela had been in Italy at, yes, an astrophysicists’ convention

E well I haven’t been able to see much of Milan yet, but I hope to squeeze a few days of holiday after the convention Hope to catch up soon! Love and kisses, Angela"

That was nice Her sister, younger by four years, was incredibly thoughtful She was Daughter 20, adopted frohter Dr and Dr Neal hoped to have, though they never said anything like that Angela was brilliant, kind, cheerful and also stunningly beautiful with her glowing brown skin and enore, even If Emmaline didn’t love her so e caht on his nose Ridiculously cute She gave hier Yeah, yeah, the Finger Lakes were known for their vineyards, but there were plenty of great microbreweries, too

Oops There was one more piece ofit up just before Sarge pounced He loved paper