I raised my eyebrows.
“I’ve mentioned it, but he didn’t take me seriously.”
“Of course he didn’t. You weren’t serious,” I said with a shrug.
“What do you mean?”
“You just said you’ve never asked her. And you’re still living at your dad’s house. Don’t you think you need to change that before he takes you seriously?”
He frowned again. “So you think I need to get an apartment.”
“I think you need to start by talking to Jill.”
Rick nodded. I noticed him glance at his watch. I must have bored him.
“So what’s your story?”
“My story? Doesn’t everyone here already know my story?”
“Why are you here, Amy?” He tilted his head.
I was a little envious of Rick at that moment. He had a clear problem and ways to fix it. Mine I couldn’t figure it out, and it was starting to make me crazy. “I don’t know. I guess I thought the farther I went, the less likely I’d be able to turn back.”
“Deep.” He let out a huge smile, which I understood as holding back laughter.
I found the humor in it and burst out laughing myself.
“Shh,” he warned, pointing at the kids. But I could have sworn I saw his eyes brighten when I started laughing at myself.
For some reason, his appreciative look brought me back to reality. This was Rick: the guy who was my worst nightmare when I got here—and now the one I couldn’t stop thinking about. Sure, he’d opened up to me, but it was all selfless. Not the woe-is-me, I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-my-free-life drama I had brought with me.
But the expression I was seeing on Rick’s face suggested the opposite. He frowned and stared into the fire.
“Amy, I’ve been really curious about you since you showed up here.”
“Ha, I hate to disappoint you, but there’s nothing interesting going on here.” I raised my hands, forming an invisible aura around me. But what he just said threw me off-guard, and I was suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“How would you know what I find interesting?” He shifted to face me. “As a matter of fact, I’m very interested to know why you traveled from a city that probably has way more to offer.”
“’Cause I can’t stay at the dorms for the summer, and I didn’t want to move back home,” I paused, hoping that would be enough reason, but he didn’t move. He listened for more. “My dad got remarried last fall. I was already living on campus by then. So moving in with them now, it would feel, I don’t know…weird wouldn’t really describe it.”
“So you don’t like her?”
“Oh, no, Marci is great. She’s perfect for him. She’ll really take care of him the way…” My eyes fell. “…my mom did.” For some reason, I felt more emotional about my mother at that moment, but I fought back. He must have picked up on it, because the next thing I knew, Rick reached out and put his hand on my arm gently.
“I’m sorry.” Rick didn’t look away, which was strange. People usually found a way to be distracted by something.
I shrugged. “No, no, it was a long time ago. I’m really happy for him. I just think it’s time to find what makes me happy.”
“So you didn’t come here because you needed a job and a place to stay.”
“No. At first that’s what it was, but the farther I drove from the city, the happier I felt.”
“Was U of Denver your first choice?”
“I thought it was my only choice.” I felt as though I was losing my voice and cleared my throat.
He nodded, understanding. Then after a few more minutes of talking, laughing, and teasing, we watched the fire slowly fade out. For a second before the fire went out, I was sure that I could have made it to sunrise talking to Rick.
