was silky, all over. “Hello, Mr. Casella.”
“Mayor.”
They left city hall at a discreet distance away from each other and got into his car. And headed toward Finn’s cottage.
* * *
Seth stood in Julianne’s garage, while she remained in the open doorway of her house. She was right, he was a dog with a bone. “Hi.”
She rolled her eyes. “Hi. What do you want?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
Her brow furrowed beneath hair that was damp. She’d probably worked out. “Is something wrong?”
“No, why would you ask that?”
“Because you have a plethora of siblings and cousins who’ll do you favors.” Her tone bordered on exasperation.
“Nobody’s available to drive me where I have to go.”
She fidgeted with the door handle, as if she was nervous. Then she stepped out on the top stair. “You want me to take you somewhere?”
“Yeah, to the Lincoln Circle area on the outskirts of town.”
“I read in the paper this morning that some of the roads are closed out there.”
“They are. It’s a difficult place to get to geographically. I don’t want Ali or Mama to get stuck with taking detours and getting caught in closed roads. Or worse, getting lost.”
The corners of her mouth crinkled. “But you want me to?”
“Yep. You’re a daredevil driver.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I could go alone but the doc benched me for another week.”
“I have time, I guess.” She lifted up her arm and sniffed. One thing about Julianne that he loved was that she was so earthy and natural. “I smell from going to the gym. I’ll come get you after I shower.”
“No, I’m ready now. Let me in, and I’ll wait downstairs.”
“All right.” Once inside the kitchen, she turned her back to him and called out over her shoulder, “You know where everything is.”
He did. He’d spent half his life here…
When they were little, he remembered her mother Celia saying, Of course you can sleep upstairs with Julianne in her tent.
Celia telling her husband when they were in high school…Hush, Herb. They’re fine down in the basement. If they’re going to do something, they’re together so much they can do it anywhere.
And later, in college, again her mother smiling at him…You don’t have to knock, Seth. Our casa your casa…
Everybody thought they were perfect together. And they had been. “Still are,” he said aloud.
He wandered around the living room. The pictures of him and Julianne that had graced the tables and shelves were gone now, replaced by prints on the wall and photos of her mother and father on a cruise ship, right before Herb Ford died of cancer. Ones of her and her mother in Florida, where Celia Ford moved to live with her sister.
Also missing were any pictures of Julianne with Jordan, her mysterious beau. He wondered if those were in the bedroom, which led to wondering what guys had been up there. “Fuck!” he said out loud.
“Who are you swearing at?” she asked when she came down. Dressed in simple white capris and a yellow blouse, her hair brushed back in a ponytail, she looked…wonderful. Pieces of his heart chipped away a little bit more every time he saw her and was reminded of what he’d lost.
“I was swearing at myself.”
“Do I dare ask why?”
“No.” He grinned. “You look cute.”
“Let’s go,” she responded, ignoring the compliment.
He followed her out, and got in her bright red mustang. She liked cars and had bought snazzy ones since they broke up. Soon, they were on their way to see a boy/man whose parents and society had forgotten.
* * *
“We’re close to the house, Julianne. Sorry it’s taking so long.”
The driving distance didn’t matter. The slow traffic was tolerable. But being with Seth in such close quarters played havoc with her nerve endings. His scent, too familiar, filled her head and his shoulders nearly touched hers in the confines of the front seat. Still, she said, calmly, “No worries. Can you share with me where we’re going? You just said you had to do something for work.”
“Yeah, I can tell you. There’s a young man who needs help in getting foster care for two of his former neighbors. The kids spent all their time at his house for almost two years, then they were put in a foster home when their parents overdosed. John turned twenty-one and wants those kids back.”
“They weren’t adopted?”
“Both have a bad case of asthma and need supervision and medicine for attacks.”
“People don’t know how serious asthma can be.” She shook her