“Positive.”
She took the hoodie, slipped it over her head, and threaded her arms through the sleeves. She practically swam in it. But the thick material was gloriously warm from his body heat and smelled divine. “Thank you.”
The region might be in the middle of a warm spell, but temperatures were sure to drop into the fifties tonight. And out here on the open water it would feel even cooler. Why hadn’t she checked the gas level? Such a rookie mistake. “This is all my fault. I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t check either. We’ll be fine.”
“Even if we’re out here all night?” Neither of them had said it out loud yet. As if they might speak it into being. But the sun had taken her hope right over the horizon.
“We can pretend we’re camping.” There was a smile in his tone.
“On a cold November night in the middle of the lake?”
“It’s not that cold.”
Another breeze cut across the lake, contradicting his words. Her empty stomach rumbled, reminding her it was past suppertime. The pizza they’d had for lunch would have to carry them both for a while. It was going to be a long night. But maybe conversation would make the time pass more quickly. “Hope you didn’t have any plans tonight.”
“I was supposed to play basketball with Daryl.”
That’s right. Gray was friends with him too. “How did that relationship happen?”
“When we lived in the trailer park, he was just down the street. He asked me to shoot hoops with him one time, and we just kind of got into the habit. Nice guy.”
Daryl wasn’t the only one who was nice. Not every teenage boy would take the time. She wondered how Daryl had felt when Gray disappeared so abruptly. She’d been shocked. They’d been so close, and then he was gone. And she knew nothing about how his life had unfolded after that.
“What happened after you left Grandville? What was basic training like? Where did you go from there?”
A brief pause revealed perhaps he was surprised she’d initiated a forbidden topic. “Basic training was as tough as they say. But I didn’t really mind. I had a lot of anger to work through. And not a small amount of guilt.”
“About leaving?”
“Yes. Also, I was heartbroken. I know I brought it on myself, but that didn’t stop me from missing you like crazy.”
His words were a balm to her soul. But she didn’t let herself linger there. “Where were you stationed?”
“Afghanistan. For a while we conducted operations against the remnants of Al-Qaeda. Then when the withdrawal of troops began, I served by training Afghan forces.”
“Was it terrible?”
“Not really. It gave me a purpose. I started building some self-worth, figuring out who I was outside of Grandville.”
Because he’d been rejected by the community. “But you never lost sight of what you ultimately wanted out of life.”
“I was always clear about that.”
“And you did it. Went to college, got a degree, made something of yourself.”
Gray shrugged. “I’m doing all right.”
“You’re doing more than all right. You’re very good at what you do.You should be proud of that—coming from nothing and building a life for yourself.”
“I am.”
He did seem more at peace with himself. More confident in who he was. She looked way down the lake where Gray’s house sat on a little inlet. “Will Shadow be okay at home alone?”
“He’ll be fine. My wood floors may not be though.”
“I assume you can fix it, working for a construction company and all.”
