Fire Always Burns - By Krista Lakes Page 0,13
his temples still damp with sweat. He knelt by Shadow and began rubbing her ears.
“Yeah, well my super smart guard dog would have ripped you to shreds,” I retorted as Shadow's foot began to twitch with pleasure. Andrew sat down next to her on the floor, and she put her big yellow head into his lap. Shadow had always loved Andrew. I always thought she had good taste in men.
“So, what's this idea for Luke?”
I sighed. “Well, it isn't really all that great of an idea. Why are you over here anyway?”
“Didn't want to go home. No changing the subject- what's the idea?” he countered.
“Fine,” I stuck my tongue out at him and took a deep breath. “I found out something at work today; Mrs. Thatcher was in my line. Did you know that your mom and Luke's dad were high school sweethearts?”
“Seriously?" he said. He thought about it, even going so far as to put his finger on his chin. "That explains some things. Remember that time in elementary school when Luke and I told everyone in school we were brothers. Now I finally get why Mom yelled at me. And all the weird looks from the neighbors. I guess it wasn't too far from the truth. If things had turned out differently, we would have been brothers,” he said with a laugh.
“I remember. We were just starting second grade and I was pissed because you two wouldn't let me be your sister. Luke said it wasn't believable. Like you two were anything close to believable,” I shook my head, smiling at the memory.
“So, they dated. How does this change anything?”
“From what I heard, it was more than just dating. Apparently they were engaged.” I paused watching him carefully. “What if we got them back together?”
Andrew's hand stopped petting Shadow. She whined and bumped her nose against his hand, asking him politely to continue. He moved his hand absentmindedly across her head, and she settled back into his lap, contentment radiating out her furry body.
“You mean, what if we had my mom date Luke's dad?” His head tilted slightly and his eyebrows knitted together above his blue eyes.
“Yeah, we get them back together. If it worked, it could solve a lot of problems.” I bit my lip, feeling stupid. His brows somehow pushed closer, so I continued. “If Ray had Audrey around, then that would make a better family life. Tyler could come back. If Audrey had Ray, then maybe she wouldn't need you so much, and you could go to school.” I said with a shrug, waving my hand dismissively before continuing.
“That was my idea. But who am I kidding? It's a long shot and a lot of what if's. The more I think about it, the less and less it sounds like a good idea," I said, trying to dissociate myself from the idea. "Besides, I can't even come up with a way to get them back together that doesn't sound like a sugar hyped thirteen-year-old made it up. I'm sorry, it's a dumb idea.”
He seemed to look past me, deep in thought. “You want to get Ray and my mom together,” he stated. It wasn't a question that time.
“It's a stupid idea, and it won't-,” I started, but he cut me off.
“No, it's not stupid. A little out of the box, but it would make a lot of things better. Besides, even if it fails miserably, what's the worst that can happen?” He paused, looking down. "The worst that can happen is that we're in exactly the same spot as we were before." He looked up at me, his blue eyes absorbing me. “Good idea, Holly.”
Elation soared through me. I grinned, blushing at his praise. “I still have no idea how to make it work though.”
“We'll come up with something. You and I are a good team. Luke may have some ideas too. You don't have to come up with all the answers every single time, Holly.” He smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. “So, I think our first step is to figure out how to get Mom and Ray in the same room. Then we can go from there.”
“But what if we get them in the same room, but they don't talk? Or they do talk, but nothing happens? What if they-”
“What if they see each other and decide to run off to Vegas that very night and get married by Elvis? You are thinking way too hard about this. We