44 Book Four by Jools Sinclair Page A

fantastic,” she said. “You really have an artist’s eye.”
    It made me happy that they were such good friends. It felt right.
    “Kate, come with us,” he said, when he heard she was staying home. “Or how about meeting us at the movie later?”
    “No, I’m going to pass. But you guys have a great evening.”
    “Okay,” he said. “But if you change your mind, we’re going to the 10 o’clock showing of the new Liam Neeson movie.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “But honestly, I’ll be in bed by then with my Kindle.”
    She gave him a kiss on the cheek.
    “Bye, guys,” she said.
    “Bye,” I said.
    I grabbed my new Guess jacket off the coat rack and put it on and then remembered the cookies and headed back to the kitchen.
    “These are for you,” I said.
    “Excellent,” Ty said, taking the tin from my hands. He opened it up and inhaled deeply and then took a cookie and stuffed it in his mouth.
    “Amazing,” he said. “Thanks, Abby.”
    As we drove over to the Old Mill, we talked about work and the things that happened over the last few days. It was always good to see Ty and I noticed that the energy that surrounded him was bright and moving fast as we talked.
    He kept his window opened a crack, even though it was freezing outside, and his light, long hair blew around in the air. Ty was never cold. Sometimes he picked me up in shorts and a hoodie when it was snowing. 
    “How was work?’ I asked.
    “Good. I’m still hoping that they’ll teach me how to brew.”
    “Do you like 10 Barrel beer as much as the beer at Deschutes?”
    I remembered Ty’s story about how Deschutes Brewery was the reason he moved here from Montana.
    “I do,” he said. “Deschutes is good, but there are a lot of really great beers here in Bend. 10 Barrel knows their stuff. And I have to say I’m looking forward to learning how to brew. I could totally get into that.”
    I flipped on the radio and found the new rock station. Sometimes Mike put it on at work and so far I liked it. As we cruised down 14 th , a song from one of the local bands I had heard at work came on.
    We decided to go to Flatbread Pizza. We went there once in a while, when I could drag Ty away from the pubs.
    “You look great, by the way,” he said, putting his arm around my shoulders as we walked slowly past the movie theater, past REI, and toward the restaurants.
    We got a booth and ordered. After the waitress left, Ty finished telling me about his day at work and I told him about Mike being okay with the river job in the summer.
    “So, did Brad get hired as a guide?” I asked.
    “They’re still thinking about it,” he said, picking up a breadstick. “I don’t know. Now Rebecca is saying that they might not hire anybody new this summer and just let us absorb the extra hours.”
    “I hope they change their mind,” I said, now that I had told Mike I wanted to work both jobs. Last summer, Ty was working seven days a week on the river.
    I tried to think of things to tell him about my week. I wished that I could tell him about all the things that were happening, like how I saw the ghost or about how Mo was mad at me. Ty was great with people and if I told him, he could probably offer some good suggestions on how to talk to her.
    It couldn’t be good for a relationship to have such secrets, but I didn’t want him to think he was dating someone who rented headspace out to squirrels. Plus, I wasn’t really sure what Ty’s reaction would be if I was honest and told him I saw ghosts. Some things can’t be predicted.
    And that I talked with Jesse once in a while.
    Ty and I had never discussed religion or beliefs or any of that stuff. The only thing I was sure of was that he hated all those popular vampire movies. I knew if we were to continue and if things were going to get serious between us, I would have to tell him. Eventually.
    But not tonight.
    “What do you want to do for your birthday?” he asked.
     “Come on. You sound