“Put me down,” Ashley insisted, but she didn’t mean it.
“Your Aunt Louisa did a great job on this suit,” he said, not putting her down.
Ashley’s cream dress floated behind her. When she fainted in the museum, Dom had carried her to Valley of Ashes. Patricia said he stayed until she woke up.
Dom set Ashley down, one foot at a time, in the middle of Brady Street.
“Don’t let go,” Ashley insisted, quietly.
“Of my best friend? Never,” Dom promised with a sincere smile.
“I told my mom I wouldn’t make any friends here,” Ashley laughed at the irony.
Dom’s head tilted to one side.
“You know, I never thanked you for pulling me out of the fire,” he said.
“You pulled me out the fire, too,” Ashley replied.
“But you’re fireproof,” Dom said, puzzled.
“Not all of me is fireproof. My heart isn’t.”
Dom moved to take Ashley’s hand, but she pulled away.
“Which hand do you want to hold?” she asked. “The one that’s scarred or the one that isn’t?”
“Both of them,” Dom answered. “Both of them because they’re yours.”
Dom took both of Ashley’s hands in one of his and smiled, as they walked together down Brady Street toward the Winter Ball.
On the way, Ashley read Dom’s thoughts and silently agreed. The best things really are worth the wait.
Chapter 30
Three Months Later
Ashley sat on the rooftop at En Fuego, watching F.C. Tulsa get ready for their opening game. Brooklynn’s dad had gotten everyone tickets. By “everyone” Ashley meant herself and Brooklynn, of course, Dom, Isaac, Keegan and Ruby, and even Olivia and Harbor, who were visiting from Prue.
Blaze wouldn’t be there, but Ashley didn’t think about him very much anymore. He was the only guy she had ever kissed. She couldn’t forget him, but her stomach didn’t hurt every time she passed the Soccer Shack. She could absentmindedly run her fingers over her scar and not feel the tears well up in her eyes.
Pickle yapped happily around her feet. Dom had gone downstairs to grab more grape sodas, so Ashley kicked her feet up. Olivia and Harbor would be there any minute. She should probably put on Pickle’s leash, so they could walk to the stadium.
Dom had stopped on the stairs to pop the bottle caps off. Ashley wasn’t sure why, but her stomach began to do flips. Suddenly, the flames in the gas heat lamps ignited.
“Was that you?” Dom asked, with a smile. “You know, we save a lot of money on fuel because of you.”
Ashley nodded. Dom had been such a good friend to her these past six months. The weird thing was, she used to be able to read his thoughts. Now, she could just pick up on feelings, and images. Ashley shifted in her chair. She tried to shoot a message to Patricia.
“Why can’t I hear his thoughts anymore?” Ashley asked, through her mind.
“Because you have a crush on him, duh,” came Patricia’s answer, clear as day.
Ashley knew she did, but she wanted to be fair to him. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way.
“Pickle, come on buddy. Let’s go!” Dom called.
“I got him,” Ashley answered, picking up the puppy, whose tiny legs still swam in the air.
“Ashley! We’re here!”
Olivia’s voice carried over En Fuego’s brick wall. Ashley leaned over the railing and waved, signaling that they were coming down, but she gasped as she saw someone standing behind Olivia.
On the street, a girl in colonial clothing raised her arm and waved back. She took the man’s hand standing next to her. The man slung his blacksmith’s hammer over his shoulder, smiled at Ashley, and then, they both disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Ashley couldn’t believe it. All she could do was stare. Ashley tried to make sense of what she had just seen. Was that Eva and Titus?
Ashley hoped that with Prospero’s shadow phantom finally gone, Eva could rest and roam free. Ashley didn’t have much time to think about what she had just laid her eyes on because suddenly, Pickle jumped out of her arms.
“Pickle!” she shouted.
Pickle was still hooked into his leash and ran around Ashley and Dom’s feet. He barked happily as the leash twisted and tangled around Ashley and Dom’s legs, tying them together.
“Whoa, you okay?” Dom asked, smiling and wrapping his arms around Ashley’s waist.
“Yep. Okay, okay,” Ashley smiled.
Dom leaned over to kiss Ashley, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back.
It didn’t matter to her if Dom was her second kiss ever. He was her first best friend, and obviously Pickle’s favorite. Dom grinned at Pickle.
“Best wingman, ever,” Dom said, picking up Ashley and setting her down outside of the tangled leash.
“Let’s go,” Ashley said, grabbing Dom’s hand.
They walked down the stairs and out of En Fuego, just in time to join Olivia and Harbor, and most likely, Eva and Titus, walking down Brady Street.
Jennifer Campbell is the author of the Phantom Elements series. She is a school librarian and developed the series after being asked for the spooky books at least twice per day. She hopes these books will be spooky enough. Jennifer currently lives in Catoosa, Oklahoma, with her husband and son.
The Fire Ghost (Phantom Elements Book 2) Page 12