“It’ll take time,” Piper says. She plucks a picture frame off a bookshelf. “And he’ll never truly be gone. You have these pictures. Your memories.”
The doorbell rings. Tag answers. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Heard about Doctor B,” the guy says. “Came to pay my respects.”
“You couldn’t have done it at the funeral?” Tag asks and reluctantly opens the door. Then he steps outside and lights up, keeping an eye on the man who walked inside.
Amber goes over. “Hawk?”
He hands her a plant. “Sorry to hear about your dad.”
“Thank you. Hawk McQuaid, this is Quinn Thompson.”
McQuaid? I glance at Tag. He’s not pleased the guy is standing in Amber’s living room. I shake Hawk’s hand. “Glad to meet you.”
“And you.” He nods to Amber. “Her dad saved my life.”
“Is that right? Wow.”
“Anyway, I just felt I had to come by.”
Tag stands by the open door. “Okay then. I guess you’ll be on your way.”
“Tag, stop,” Amber says. “I appreciate you coming, Hawk.”
“No problem. I have to take off anyway.” He thumbs outside. “Besides, you have more company.”
We walk out onto the front porch to see that people have gathered in Amber’s yard. Two women approach and hug her. She introduces us. “Quinn, this is Ava Criss and Reagan Lucas. Ava runs the coffee shop down the road, and Reagan owns the bookstore.”
They both hand over casserole dishes, and I take them inside. When I return, there are more than a half dozen people talking with Tag and Amber. I meet Tag’s younger brothers, Jaxon and Cooper, and their little sister, Addison. Then I’m introduced to his Uncle Jonah and his kids, Colt, Gray, and Storm, who all still appear to be in their teens.
“That’s a lot of fucking Calloways,” I say under my breath, thinking it’s why Hawk might have hightailed it out of here. As a McQuaid, he was way outnumbered.
After everyone is gone, Amber stands in the living room, staring at all the plants and flowers. “This is all so much. I’m not sure I want to stay here. At least for now.”
Piper sits her down and sidles next to her. “Maybe you should take some time, go someplace else. Somewhere you feel safe.”
Amber looks at me like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t. She excuses herself. “Right now, I just want to sleep for twelve hours.”
“Tell me how I can help,” Piper says.
“I can’t ask you to come back tomorrow. You’ve done so much already.”
Piper laughs. “I made pot roast, Amber. I’d hardly call that much. What do you need?”
Amber glances toward her dad’s room. “I’d like to pack his stuff.”
“Are you sure you’re ready to do that?”
She nods. “I want to get it over with. He’d want it all donated to charity.”
“Then I’ll come back tomorrow with boxes.”
“That’s very sweet of you.”
“I can help too,” I say.
“Could you and Tag collect his things from the memory center? Then maybe you could go fetch my car from LaGuardia.”
Tag says, “You know, since we’ll be in the city, maybe we could catch a Nighthawks game. They’re playing a double-header tomorrow. What do you say, Quinn?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “Maybe we should be here. Don’t you have to make arrangements for his funeral?”
“I can help with that,” Piper says. “You two go enjoy the game.” She turns to Amber. “Why don’t you get ready for bed. I’ll make you some tea. It’ll help you relax.”
I stand. “Tag, can you drop me at a hotel?”
“You’re not staying here?” he asks.
“He’s staying,” Amber says. “The guest room is down the hall to the left. There are fresh towels in the linen closet outside the bathroom.”
I shrug. “I guess I’m staying.”
She goes off to bed. Piper leaves after making the tea. Tag and I clean the dishes, then he gets a couple of beers from the fridge. He nods to the TV. “The Hawks are playing the Marlins right now. Want to catch the last few innings?”
“Sounds good to me.”
We watch baseball and drink beer for an hour like two old friends. When the game is over, he turns off the television and stares at me. “I don’t want to see her get hurt. She’s been through enough.”
“Amber? Somehow I get the feeling she’s usually the one doing the hurting.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t know her like I do. She puts on a good front, but she’s fragile.”
“And you think I’ll hurt her? Tag, she’s the one who told me we have an expiration date.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think she meant it. Or at least she doesn’t now. I see the way you look at each other. You may have started out as fuck buddies, but there’s more to it now, isn’t there?”
How many nights over the past week have I asked myself that? How many times have I looked at her and wanted something I’ve never wanted before? More. “I, uh…”
“She won’t admit it either.” He picks up our empties and heads for the kitchen. “The three of us are cut from the same cloth, man. But I knew at the airport. I knew the minute I saw her with you that this was different. I need to know if you’re okay with it. Because if you aren’t, I invite you to get up and leave right now. I’ll even call you a cab and book you a ticket.”
I glance back at Amber’s room. “I’m not leaving. And I won’t hurt her. But you get that I live in Texas, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I get it.” He grips my shoulder. “A problem for another day. I’m gonna get going. I’ll pick you up around ten.”
“I’ll be here.”
He stops before he reaches the door. “Tell me you’re a good man, Quinn.”
I think of my family—my jailbird uncle, corrupt tycoon grandfather, and pathetic mother. I’ve worked hard not to be like them. But a good man? I’m not so sure. “All I can tell you is I try to be.”
“I guess that’s all I can ask,” he says and leaves.
I get another beer and sit in the dark living room. Is what Tag said true? Could Amber possibly feel the same way about me as I do her? It’s a foreign fucking feeling wanting something so much and not being sure I can have it.
A noise comes from the hall. Amber strolls into the room, her silhouette illuminated by the soft light of the kitchen. She gets closer, and I see she’s wearing a T-shirt that barely covers her ass cheeks. She stands in front of me, pulls off the shirt, and strips off her panties. Then she straddles me.
Light awakens me. I’m hot. I try to roll over but can’t. I can’t because Amber is lying in my arms. I stare at her face, not wanting her to wake because she looks peaceful. As soon as she wakes up, she’ll remember her father died yesterday and she’ll be sad. And I realize I’d do just about anything not to see her sad.
She stirs and her eyes open. I wait for her to pull away. After all, as far as I know, this is the first time either of us has woken up in the arms of another person.