To Casey, she looked delectable. In beige sandals, blue jeans, pink shirt and white cotton sweater.
She saw him.
“Casey!” she cried, releasing her suitcase and throwing herself at him. “You’ll never know how much I’ve missed that ugly mug of yours. Hey! You look thinner. Did you forget to eat?” She stood back to take a longer look. Her face fell. “What’s that bandage on your head?”
“I ran into a tire iron. It’s just a scratch.”
Emma looked horrified. “Someone hit you with a tire iron?”
“Look, I’m fine. I’ll explain later. You’re as beautiful as ever.” Casey gave her an enthusiastic hug and then grabbed her suitcase. They pushed through the crowd together to the SkyTrain platform.
He couldn’t stop looking at her.
A train was waiting for them.
They sat in opposite seats, knee to knee, eye to eye.
“You must be tired,” Casey said.
“Not now. It’s so good to be back,” Emma said, smiling. “And to be with the man I love.”
“Meaning me?” Casey said.
“Meaning you,” Emma said. “Good thing I’m home. Bad things happen to you when I’m not around.”
With the pale blue eyes of her Norman-Irish ancestors, her fine dark brown hair and the freckles arching over her nose like a sprinkling of sand, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her warm personality engulfed Casey. Here she was, the bringer of light and air and color to his life.
The sun was shining. Outside, as the train raced through the Richmond countryside, trees were in full leaf, thick and verdant, promising a long, green summer.
“Casey, I’m sorry about John Burns. I know I hurt you and for that I’m sorry.” She reached across and took his hands in hers. “This is where I want to be.”
“I know.”
She was back. That was all that mattered.
The train sped smoothly north, high over the Fraser River, toward Vancouver and home.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a debt of gratitude to my editor, Bob Tyrrell, for his valuable suggestions.
A former fingerprint specialist with the Vancouver Police Department, JAMES HENEGHAN has won numerous awards for his books for young readers, including the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize three times. His first book for the Rapid Reads series was Fit to Kill (2011). James lives in North Vancouver, BC.
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