Deep Night by Kathy Clark Page A

mother’s flower bed. But I never thought he’d be the first down the aisle. That is until I met Julie, and I saw that her heart was as big as his.” He raised his glass of champagne. “To borrow from an old Irish blessing,
May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.
”
    Everyone clinked their glasses together. Sam rose for the next toast, followed by Chris and a half dozen others. By the time the last toasts had been given and the cake had been cut, the caterers had set up tables and chairs outside, positioned around a portable dance floor. A disc jockey had stationed his booth under the arch, and as he started the song “
Making Memories of Us”
by Keith Urban, Rusty pulled Julie into his arms for the official first dance.
    Who knew Rusty, a big, brawny firefighter, could hold a woman in his arms with such tenderness? They didn’t do any fancy steps, but they were in perfect unison as they moved around the floor. The song segued into Eric Clapton’s “
Wonderful Tonight,”
and everyone grabbed a partner and joined the newlyweds on the dance floor.
    Slow dances weren’t his thing, so Chris hung back by the punch bowl that had somehow gotten spiked. Some guys never outgrew high school. He noticed Sara standing alone on the other side of the dance floor. Should he ask her to dance or would that set her off again? While he was trying to make a decision, one of Sam’s cop friends, Jim, stepped up to her. To Chris’s complete surprise, she accepted and moved out with Jim to join the other dancers.
    Chris refilled his cup and watched the dancers, unconsciously following the tall, handsome cop and the petite blond medic. Sara was smiling up at him, then burst into laughter at something he said. She didn’t seem to be having any problem with Jim’s hand on her waist. There was a comfortable familiarity between them.
Aha!
Maybe that was it. She had been secretly dating Jim, and, of course, would push Chris away.
    “What on earth are you scowling at?”
    Chris jumped, startled by his mother’s appearance beside him.
    “Was I?” he answered vaguely. “I must have been thinking about my finals.”
    “I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors. School was always so easy for you.”
    “High school biology and med school cell biology are two very different creatures…no pun intended. I’ve been studying my ass off.”
    Pat reached up and pulled the back of his hair into a very short ponytail. “That probably explains why you haven’t had time to get a haircut.”
    “Mom,” he said, sounding much like his sixteen-year-old self as he pulled his head away from her hand. “I was tired of being almost bald for the past four years.”
    “Just don’t dye it blue again.”
    “I think that would push the uniform policy,” he told her. “Besides, I got all that out of my system when I was a kid.” He nodded toward Sam as he whirled Kate past. “Besides, you’ve got two other sons who keep their hair regulation short. I like being different.”
    His mother looked up at him with obvious concern. “Are you doing okay?”
    He sighed. Everyone kept asking him that…as if he were a ticking time bomb. “I’m fine, Mom. Really. I’m just glad to be home.”
    “You’ll always be my baby, you know. If you ever want to talk…about anything…”
    “I know where you live.” He smiled and gave her a hug. “Have a cup of punch and chill.” He filled a cup of the heavily spiked liquid and handed it to her.
    She took a drink. “Hmm, this is really good.”
    They watched in companionable silence. The song changed to a fast dance and everyone started hopping around.
    “Don’t you want to get out there and join them?” Pat suggested. “It looks like fun.”
    “No thanks. But feel free to jump right in.”
    Pat did a few moves, not because she wanted to be dancing, but because she knew it would make him smile…which it did. He and his mother had always been close. Maybe it was because he was