She blows out a few more breaths. “Yeah, my mom died when I was really young, and I never met my father.”
I can’teven imagine that.
“What about you?” she asks. “Did you have family close growing up?”
I give her a small smile and say, “Yeah, my parents are still together and live in Maryland.”
“You’re very lucky.”
I nod. “Sometimes I think so.” I don’t want to go all into the backstory there.
“So, is Burton a last name or a first name?” she asks, turning to give me a brief grin again.
Shaking my head, I say, “You’re still caught up on that, huh?”
“I’m a reporter. It’s in my nature to need the answers.”
I laugh and say, “Well, it’s a last name. But I’ve been called Burton since I was in peewee football.”
“You sound like you’re trying to be a famous singer, like Beyonce or Usher.”
“Too bad I have no sense of pitch.”
“That is a shame,” Laney says with a laugh.
“How are you settling into the new place?”
Laney’s smile grows wider. “I think the only thing I have to worry about here is Jessa mothering me too much.”
I laugh out loud, knowing that’s a real possibility.
“She’s good like that, but she means well.”
“I’m grateful to her. And being here.” Laney holds out her arms and gestures to the snowcappedmountains around us. It’s the beginning of May, but we had a late winter.
“Wait, did you already get everything from your old apartment?”
She shakes her head. “Not yet. The plan is to go there once I’m back from the road trip. I’ve got to get my car out of the parking lot as well.”
“Is something wrong with it?” I ask.
“Yeah. It has been since I made it back from Seattle. I think I finally have enough to fix it though. Then Jessa won’t have to be my personal taxi service.”
I smile at that. “It helps her feel useful. She’s saved our house frequently from various problems.”
We get back to the stop sign, and Laney takes off again. I do a quicker jog, knowing I still need some time for my muscles to activate.
We meet up again a few yards from the other stop sign, and I’m surprised how comfortable everything is between us.
Maybe it’s just that I haven’t talked to someone who isn’t looking for something from me that’s got me confused.
“I’ll come look at your car,” I say, slowing down to walk beside her.
She turns to look at me. “You don’t have to. I promise I’ve started saving up to get it fixed. It’s just a matter of getting it to the shop.”
I wave a hand in front of me. “It’s not a problem. I used to fix all the cars in our house. It was fun to see how they worked, and it was a rush every time they started.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d be grateful. Just give me some idea of what’s wrong and maybe I can YouTube the issue and fix it myself. It needs to last me at least a few more years.”
