Fireflies From Heaven

by Lauren, Rebecca

  I didn’t stop to think, I just reached for Reed’s hand, needing to comfort him. I’d surprised him and his gaze flew to mine. I could feel the tension coiled within him, and I assumed that it was because of what he’d shared with me.

  “You can trust me,” I assured him. “I’d never tell anyone.”

  “I never thought you would.” He gently pulled his hand from mine and lightly chucked me under the chin. “If anyone gives you a hard time about the note, let me know.”

  I nodded and started to open the door, but Reed stopped me. “I’ve got an umbrella,” he said, reaching down on the floorboard. “Wait a sec.”

  He came around to my side of the truck and held the umbrella over me while we ran towards my front porch. Dad was still at work, but I could hear Jack’s happy bark from inside the house.

  Reed waited while I’d unlocked the door, and as soon as I did Jack came barreling out, rolling over cheerfully at my feet while I rubbed his belly. This made Reed smile.

  “He’s like a hundred pound puppy,” he said, petting Jack.

  “Shh, I haven’t told him yet that’s he’s a grown dog.”

  Reed chuckled.

  My heart swelled. He was one of the nicest people I’d ever met. We talked for a few more minutes before he left, and as I watched his truck pull away, I was filled with an inexplicable melancholy. I shook it off, and I never told anyone about that afternoon with Reed, but over the next few years, every once in a while I’d think of him and remember that rainy day.

  Chapter 2

  Reed graduated from high school a few months later and joined the army. Not long after that I heard that he was deployed to Afghanistan, and every night I prayed for his safety. So did Cora. She eventually got over Reed, and our junior year she met her first boyfriend, Carter Prescott. I still thought of Reed and wished him well.

  My lack of interest in the boys at school had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that no one was as amazing as Reed in my eyes. I was just too focused on my grades and taking care of Dad to worry that I’d never been on a real date. My dad saw nothing wrong with my lack of interest in dating, but Cora was constantly trying to set me up with guys. Occasionally, I let her and I met some great friends, but I graduated high school without ever having a boyfriend.

  My dad cheered proudly when they called my name at graduation.

  “Eleanor Madison McAllister!”

  I walked across the stage, waving at my beaming dad who was videotaping Cora and I getting our diplomas. Beside him sat Cora’s mom, Olivia, who looked bored.

  Cora and I both received scholarships to the University of Houston, and we talked about getting an apartment together, but I wasn’t sure about leaving Dad alone.

  It was Dad that convinced me to get the apartment.

  “You could have gone anywhere you wanted to college, and I know you stayed in Houston because of me.”

  I started to protest, but dad cut me off.

  “Go live your life, Ellie. Just remember to come visit your old man,” he’d said, which was ironic since he was only thirty-six years old.

  Cora and I moved into our new apartment the July before we started college. It was North of Houston only a few miles from Dad’s house, and I’d protested at the waste of money keeping two households, but Dad insisted I move. I think he’d started to worry about my lack of social life, even though I assured him that I liked cooking his dinner every night and keeping up the house, and I preferred reading a book to partying on Saturday nights. I didn’t tell him that Cora and I were not invited to these parties because the cool kids, my own cousin Brooke included, thought we were geeks.

  Instead of weekend nights filled with beer and bonfires, Cora and I frequented the Theatre Under the Stars and saw some awesome plays, painted at a local shop, hung out at the mall, and I never missed one of Cora’s orchestra concerts. She was talented member of an orchestra group called the Southern Strings, who performed in the Houston and surrounding areas and occasional they’d travel to Dallas, Austin or San Antonio. Cora’s boyfriend, Carter, had also been a member of the Southern Strings, but he’d quit the group when he left for College Station to attend Texas A&M. He and Cora also broke up. She cried for three days, and we holed up in our new apartment with plenty of chocolate, coffee, tissues and I’d raided the Red Box of every sappy feel-good movie they had.

  School started and Cora was busy with classes and the Southern Strings, and that helped take her mind off of Carter. Cora majored in music with a minor in education. I decided I wanted to be a nurse, and I planned to get my Bachelor of Skilled Nursing degree. During most of high school I’d volunteered at the hospital and nursing homes, and I loved making people feel better. It was during one of my volunteer shifts at the hospital that I saw an ad for a job that caught my attention. I read it twice.

  LIKE TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE?

  ARE YOU GOOD WITH PEOPLE?

  IZZY THE CLOWN IS LOOKING FOR A SIDEKICK

  WE’LL VISIT CHILDREN’S WINGS OF LOCAL HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES

  WE WILL ALSO DO OCCASIONAL BIRTHDAY PARTIES

  CALL OR TEXT IZZY AT 832-657-7719

  I immediately sent a text to Izzy asking for an interview. The reply came quickly, and I was going to meet Izzy at a local coffee shop that afternoon. I arrived fifteen minutes early and ordered a regular coffee, which I mixed with plenty cream and sugar. I’d just sat down at a table by the window when a stunning young woman approached me.

  “Ellie McAllister?”

  I smiled. “That’s me.”

  “I’m Isabelle Bentley.” With a warm smile, she offered her hand. “I created Izzy the Clown.”

  “It’s great to meet you,” I told her.

  Isabelle possessed the kind of beauty that most people only saw on the covers of magazines. She was slightly taller than my own petite five-foot-four frame, slender, with long, glossy dark hair and gorgeous, sun kissed skin that probably had that glow all year round. Her eyes were a deep blue that somehow seemed familiar.

  I could tell that she was proud of her creation, and she should be. I’d asked around at the hospital about Izzy and everyone loved her. Her name was also familiar. Bentley. Startled, I suddenly realized she was Reed’s sister.

  She sat down across from me and placed my resume, which I’d emailed her earlier, on the table.

  “I see that you just graduated from Forest High. My brother Reed graduated from there three years ago. You would have been a freshman at the time.” She looked at me expectantly, which wasn’t surprising because Reed was someone that people remembered.

  Smiling, I asked, “How’s Reed doing?”

  Isabelle glanced down a moment, and I wasn’t aware that I was holding my breath until she answered.

  “He was just promoted to Sergeant and joined the Special Forces Team. It’s an honor, but he’s my baby brother and I want him home. So does his girlfriend, Amber.”

  The relief that flooded me was almost overwhelming. Reed was okay, and he’d received another promotion. The news that he was still dating Amber didn’t really come as a surprise, and I wasn’t upset about that even though I’d had a few fantasies about Reed over the years.

  I discovered that Reed’s sister was also amazing, and we hit if off instantly. Over coffee we talked and laughed and she hired me to be her assistant. I was going to be Ellie, Izzy’s sidekick. At first I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be entertaining enough because after watching Isabelle work, I knew that she’d be a touch act to follow. She was extraordinary with people, warm and open and friendly. She loved people and they loved her in return.

  “You’ve got the same magic, Ellie,” Isabelle told me just before my first job. “You care and you listen. That’s all most people really want. Everyone will love you.”

  She was right. Ellie was a hit, and I absolutely loved my job.

  Over the next year Isabelle and I became close friends. Things were neatly settling into place like the pieces of a puzzle when that fatef
ul day came and turned my world upside down.

  Isabelle asked me to work for her, and I agreed. Since she rarely missed a day, I joked with her, “Hot date?”

  I felt her tense and knew something was wrong.

  “Funeral. My dad. Actually, there’s no service I’m just going to the graveside before the burial.”

  I didn’t know what to say so I hugged her, and once I was finished at the hospital I drove over to the cemetery, where I found Isabelle alone staring at a simple grave marker that read:

  Darryl Bentley

  1968-2012

  There was no personalized message, no beloved father/husband, nothing to indicate that he’d be missed, and given all I knew about Darryl Bentley he’d be lucky to make into heaven.

  Isabelle didn’t say anything when she saw me, and she didn’t have to because the grateful look in her eyes let me know how much my presence meant to her.

  “You didn’t have to come.” Her dark, spiky lashes were wet from tears.

  “I know.”

  “I’m not crying because he’s gone, Ellie. He made our lives hell and I know it’s wrong, but I hated him.”

  “You don’t have to feel guilty Isabelle,” I told her, and I meant it.

  “You don’t think I’m a horrible person?” she asked, looking at me hopefully.

  “I think you’re strong and courageous.” I think she believed me because I saw her shoulders relax and a tremulous smile pull at the corners of her mouth.

  We stood beneath the shade of an old oak tree in the warm May sun and watched the cab pull up to the curb just a few feet away. My heart began to race, and a quivering of excitement danced along my nerves. I knew he was here even before the cab door opened and Reed emerged, slinging a green backpack over his shoulder. My stomach dipped at the sight of him.

  He was taller, more muscular than he’d been four years ago and his hair was shorter. Something else was different about him that I couldn’t put into words. He’d never seemed like a boy, but now Reed possessed dangerous air, a leashed sensuality that marked him for the man that he unquestionably had become.

  Dressed in army fatigues and boots with dog tags around his neck and Aviator glasses covering his eyes, he looked like the strong, capable soldier he was.

  “Reed?” Isabelle whispered.

  It was obvious she hadn’t expected him, but she was clearly overjoyed and ran straight for him, throwing her arms around his neck. Reed caught his sister and held her tight. Tears pricked my eyes at the joyful reunion.

  I stayed back, giving them space but soon they were making their way towards me.

  “Reed, this is my best friend, Ellie McAllister,” Isabelle introduced us. “Ellie, this is my brother, Reed.”

  Isabelle knew that I was aware of who Reed was, but she had no idea how often I thought of her brother. I wasn’t even sure Reed would remember me. He slid his glasses down his nose when Isabelle introduced us, and I felt his deep blue eyes slide over me, making my skin tingle.

  I held out my hand and Reed took it, his touch sending shivers down my spine.

  “It’s good to see you again, Ellie.”

  Hearing him say my name had strange affect on me, making me feel incredibly alive and intensively aware of the man standing close enough to me that I could touch him if I’d only reach out.

  His unwavering gaze held mine. Isabelle was watching me as well. My eyes widened when I realized they were waiting for me to say something. After four years of fantasizing about him, I should have been able to come up with something better than, “Hi, Reed.”

  He didn’t seem to mind my sparse response. The corners of his mouth tugged upward, and his eyes lit with interest. “Your all grown up,” he said softly. “I guess you’re in college now.”

  “I’m a nursing major,” I told him. “Isabelle says you got a promotion, congratulations. It’s good to see you again, too.” I was nervous talking with him and I knew that it showed.

  “Thanks. How are your dad and Cora?”

  “They’re doing great.”

  Isabelle looked slightly puzzled at our familiarity but didn’t comment.

  “I’m scheduled to work in an hour, but I can cancel,” Isabelle told her brother.

  I was about to offer to work for her when Reed spoke. “Don’t change your plans. I’m jetlagged, and I’ll be here for three days.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” Reed assured her, but he was looking at me when he said it.

  Isabelle flashed a sly smile. “You probably want to spend some alone time with Amber.”

  “Yeah.”

  “If we hurry, I can drop you off at Amber’s place,” Isabelle said, glancing at her watch.

  “Or I can catch a ride with Ellie, if it’s okay with her,” Reed suggested with smile that made my insides turn to mush. “She owes me a ride.”

  Isabelle and Reed were both watching me closely. Somehow I managed to reply easily, “Sure, no problem.”

  I noticed that Reed only glanced at his father’s grave once, and then he tensed and looked away quickly.

  Having Reed in my Jeep was distracting to say the least. My nerves were coiled tight and I made myself think of Amber so that I wouldn’t make a fool of myself over her boyfriend. Apparently, I wasn’t doing a good a job at hiding my unease or maybe Reed was just perceptive, but he seemed to know that something was wrong.

  “You okay, Ellie?”

  I could feel his eyes on me. “I should be asking you that question.”

  “I told you about my dad.” The words were matter-of-fact, but something in his tone made me aware of the significance of the statement. “Do you remember that afternoon?”

  “I remember.” I looked over at him. “Still, I’m sorry.”

  “You’re as sweet as you were back then.”

  Glancing over at Reed, I wondered if he was flirting with me. I tended to say whatever was on my mind and take things too literally, which made me lousy at flirting.

  “Do I make you nervous, Ellie?” he asked with a smile in his voice.

  “Yes.”

  We’d stopped at a red light and I looked over to see the surprise on Reed’s face. “It’s not a bad nervous,” I assured him. “I’m very aware of you and that makes me uncomfortable.”

  Reed’s expression turned to one of pure shock. “I make you uncomfortable?”

  I frowned, wishing I could take back my stupid words and start the conversation over. “No. Well, yes, but it’s not a bad thing. You just unsettle me, and I thought you were flirting with me when you asked that, so I probably said the wrong thing.”

  “I was flirting with you,” he admitted.

  I gripped the steering wheel tightly. “You were?”

  “Yes.”

  A country song started playing on the radio and I listened to the words trying to slow the crazy beating of my heart. “You can change the station,” I offered politely.

  “I listen to country music too. That’s about all that’s on my iPod.”

  “Really? I figured you for more of a hardcore rocker.”

  “Hey, you don’t have to wear a cowboy hat to love the music.”

  I smiled, thinking Reed would look great in anything. “I’m not so good at flirting,” I admitted to him, though I’m sure it came as no surprise. “I guess I should have batted my eyes or flipped my hair and said, Reed. You don’t make me nervous at all. Why do you think that?” I raised my voice an octave and giggled.

  He laughed. “Yeah, that’s what most girls would have said. Something like that.”

  “Now that I’ve failed at flirting with you. What do you suggest I do to redeem myself?”

  “I think you’re improving already with that question. So do you have a boyfriend, Ellie?”

  “No.”

  “That’s surprising. If you want to practice flirting, I could give you some pointers.”

  “I’m not sure that would be a good idea. Amber and I are friends.”

&nbs
p; “I see,” he said with obvious disappointment. “Sweet, beautiful and loyal.”

  I pulled onto Amber’s street, but there were cars already parked on both sides of her house so I parked across the street.

  “Here we are.” I didn’t want him to go.

  Reed didn’t say anything. He also wasn’t in a hurry to get out of the Jeep, which I thought was sort of strange.

  A moment later Amber came out her front door but she wasn’t alone. Hand in hand with a guy with sleeve tattoos on both arms, they made their way to a motorcycle in the driveway. The guy yanked Amber against him and kissed her deeply while she melted against him.

  The air froze in my lungs. Seconds slipped by while I stared at them, dumbfounded, unable to believe what I was seeing. My heart broke for Reed, but when I turned to look at him, Reed was watching me instead of Amber and the guy.

  “That’s Amber’s new boyfriend, Cade. He did her last tattoo.” Reed spoke calmly, seemingly unaffected by the duo making out a few feet away from us.

  “I hope it wasn’t your name,” I blurted without thinking.

  Reed laughed. “It wasn’t.”

  “I thought you were Amber’s boyfriend.”

  “We broke up a few months ago. It didn’t work with me being gone all the time. Amber wasn’t sure how to tell Isabelle, and I agreed to let her tell my sister when she was ready.”

  “Oh. Do you want to get out of here?”

  He nodded.

  I started the car and drove, unsure where exactly we were going. “Are you hungry?”

  “Always, Ellie.”

  “What’s your favorite kind of food?”

  “I love almost anything, but I’m in the mood for barbeque if that’s okay.”

  I smiled, noting something else Reed and I had in common. “I know just the place.”

  “Do you mind if we stop by Isabelle’s place first? I could use a quick shower and change of clothes.”

  I waited in Isabelle’s living room, flipping channels while Reed showered. I tried, and failed, not to imagine him naked, but thankfully it didn’t take him long and less than fifteen minutes after we’d arrived at Isabelle’s apartment, Reed had showered and was dressed in faded jeans, boots and a plaid button down shirt. He looked sexy and he smelled amazing, like soap and aftershave.