Read Online Romeo Fails by Amy Briant - Free Book Online

American teacher and now there’s Rick.”
    Rick Caldwell was the assistant principal at the high school.
    Luke went on. “And when my dad got home from Vietnam, he sure never thought there’d ever be a female police officer in Romeo Falls.”
    He and Dorsey exchanged wan smiles as they imagined what his father, a hell-raising marine of the old school, would have made of Mrs. Gargoyle.
    “So I don’t know when they’re going to be ready, Dorse. But I believe it will be in our lifetime. Even here, in this slowpoke little town that sometimes forgets you’re one of us. But for tonight…”
    His voice trailed off and he glanced over at the booth vacated by the drunken 4-Hers, then looked back at Dorsey and Sarah with a grin. “For tonight, you’re about to get your asses kicked in the parking lot of The Hamlet. So, will you please let me drive you home and we can all have a peaceful Sunday night? Please?”
    Dorsey, still feeling a little belligerent, mostly thanks to the three beers she’d had, said, “If you think we’re going to ride in the back of your squad car like criminals, Luke Bergstrom, you must be out of your damn mind!”
    “I’m off-duty, genius,” he said, looking at her with exasperation tinged with fondness, “in case you hadn’t noticed the plain clothes. I’ve got the minivan tonight. And I have to go pick up Penny and the kids at her mom’s in about fifteen minutes, so that’s just enough time for me to run you and Sarah home.”
    Dorsey hated the idea of retreating from the battlefield, so to speak, but Sarah chimed in for the first time since Luke had rejoined them.
    “Thanks, Luke,” she said smoothly. “We’d love a ride.”
    * * *
     
    The three of them had been silent during the short ride from The Hamlet to the Bigelow house. What was there to say anyhow, Dorsey thought. Alone in the dark backseat of the minivan—littered with toys, a child seat, dog hair and random Cheerios—she felt like she’d been wrenched from a really good dream back into her dreary reality. Sheet lightning flickered off in the distance, briefly illuminating the now black night sky. The thunder that followed was so long in coming, the two events seemed unconnected.
    Luke stopped and Sarah got out, then leaned back in the open passenger door to say goodnight to him. She glanced in the back, raking Dorsey with her gaze. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness. No word passed between them, but Dorsey felt a shock at the impact of that gaze. She suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe in the car. She scrambled out the side door, calling a thanks over her shoulder to Luke, saying she’d walk home from there. He drove off, his taillights winking at the corner as he turned and then pulled out of sight.
    She and Sarah stood alone on the sidewalk. A street lamp at the corner cast a modest glow. No one else was around, though lights in the neighborhood houses reminded them they were not the only ones there. Sarah’s Bug was parked at the curb. Both Maggie’s car and her mother’s were parked in the driveway, indicating they were both home from quilting. Lights were on, both upstairs and down.
    “I guess we could go in,” said Sarah. She sounded reluctant.
    Dorsey knew how that would go. The bright lights, the small talk, the cooking smells, Mrs. Bigelow’s stupid dog yapping nonstop… She didn’t want her night with Sarah to end that way. As if they were just acquaintances. As if this feeling of electricity didn’t tingle between them.
    “No,” she said solemnly, shaking her head.
    Sarah seemed glad to have a reason not to go in just yet. She grabbed Dorsey’s arm and said, “Come on—I’ll walk you to the corner.”
    They strolled arm in arm down the block, scudding clouds alternately revealing and obscuring the quarter moon above. The wind gently ruffled the green leaves of the trees, sprinkling them with a few fat raindrops. They stopped at the corner, out of sight of Maggie’s house. Dorsey slowly