Dynamite & Whiskey

Chapter 7

You woke up on a Monday morning and it was raining. It was hard to drag yourself out of your bed. You got up, pulled on your robe, and headed for the kitchen. You put on coffee, made a quick breakfast, and ran down to get your paper. You wanted to see the article you did on the new principal at the high school a couple of blocks over.

As if any of that would keep you from thinking about him.

It was almost the end of May and you'd given him the time and space he'd needed. Andy had been through hell. Your heart ached because it had been so long since you'd seen him, but you understood. Andy had watched his family torn apart in the public eye during the trial. Then he'd lost it altogether.

Jacob had died in the car accident. Laurie succumbed to her injuries less than a week after the crash and you couldn't begin to imagine what Andy was going through. The press hounded him on top of it. They were there for the funeral and when mother and son were buried side by side.

It had been raining that day too. You'd worn a cape with a hood and large sunglasses, trying to stay under your umbrella. No one from the press spotted you, and it was a big risk because you knew them all. You were pretty sure Andy spotted you though. You didn't need him to acknowledge you. You just wanted him to know you were there.

While you hadn't seen him since that weekend you'd spent there right after the accident, you texted, you talked by phone. Always late at night. You alone knew how much he struggled with the loss of his son, Laurie. Could he have saved them if he'd done anything differently? Would he ever know the truth about Ben Rifkin or Hope Connors? Andy shared his sorrows and fears with you in those early morning hours and you hoped you were able to help him just by listening, being there.

You knew it wasn't the right time to continue what he'd had with you. The more time went on, you wondered if he ever would. And if he couldn't, you understood. You did.

Sometimes you wondered if you should just move on. But how could you? All you could think about was him.

There were a couple of nice-looking guys at the paper where you worked now and they often invited you out with them and their friends, or just out for lunch. You'd been close so many times to saying yes. You certainly could.

But why did your heart balk at the idea? Why did it feel like a betrayal?

The rainy start to your week threatened to give you the blues so you fished out a flirty spring dress you hadn't worn in a while, did a nice updo, and took care with your makeup. Dressing up lifted your mood, had you singing along with the radio on the drive to work. Yeah, you were splashing through puddles in the bright pink pumps you wore as you walked up the sidewalk, but you felt better. More like yourself.

Out of the corner of your eye, just as you reached the stairs at the front of the building, a black Audi caught your eye. Your head whipped around but it was already navigating up the street, managing the heavy Boston traffic.

And what were the odds it was him? A lot of people in Boston likely had an Audi just like that.

Shaking it off, you headed up to your office. There was a meeting at nine, Josh stopped by to see if you wanted to have lunch with him at ten, but you had to interview at eleven with the owner of an accounting firm where one of the owners had embezzled a shit ton of money so you told him you'd take a raincheck.

You made it back to the office during lunch hour and since the rain had stopped, you walked up the street to a small café that had a corned beef Reuben you loved which you got with a cappuccino. Your phone was humming in your purse as you tried to carry everything through the door of the café and head back. Some sixth sense had you turning back just in time to see a tall man with dark hair walk in.