CANDYC: I will. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Give that hunky man a squeeze and kiss for me, okay?
ALEXA: I will. XOXOX
CANDYC: OXOXO
I turned to Luke and shook my head. "I can't believe it. He's got to be put in jail for a good long time. He's dangerous."
Luke put his arm around me and squeezed. "At least she knows and can be on guard. The police will get him if he gets within a city block of her, right?"
"Yes, but I've read stories before about men who violate the terms of the restraining order and kill their target before police can even respond. Candace is all alone all day while Jan is at classes and then several nights a week when she's working. I hate to think of Blaine breaking in and there's nothing Candace can do. She's in a cast. She can barely get around."
"We'll be home soon," Luke said. "We could move her in with us on the island if needed. She's not going to class anyway for six months, so she wouldn't be missing out."
"You'd really let her live with us on Westhampton?”
"Of course," Luke said, and once again, I was thankful for what a gem of a human he was. He was pretty selfless, giving up part of his trip around the world with me so I could go and stay with her, and then coming to stay himself when I was afraid that she'd die.
I kissed him, my heart swelling with gratitude. "You're so wonderful."
He smiled. "It's my pleasure."
John came up onto the deck from the kitchen with fresh bottles of chilled beer, Greg in tow.
"Hey, you two lovebirds." He handed me a beer and then one for Luke. "Ready for the launch tomorrow night? It's going to be fantastic."
"I'm ready, but considering the last few attempts were postponed, I'm not going to hold my breath."
"Maybe this time will be lucky, with us watching."
John and Greg sat down beside us on the bench. Greg leaned back, looking up into the night sky, which was clear, moonless and full of stars.
"This is paradise," he said with a long sigh. "I could stay out here forever."
"What about that pretty lady you've been dogging back in Manhattan? She's a banker, right?" John said, pushing Greg's shoulder. "Tall, dark, busty. Right up your alley."
Greg smiled, and I could tell from the gleam in his eyes that he was really happy about this romance.
"She's an investment banker, yes, but I'm not so shallow to be focused on how beautiful, smart and wealthy she is, unlike some people I know..."
Everyone laughed at his mock-affront and then Greg and John clinked beer bottles together.
"Can we see Mars now?" John asked.
We were all starting up at the stars, and I felt bad when he mentioned Mars. Luke had given up his dream of going to Mars on one of the first colonization flights. For me. I wondered what John thought about that, and worried that he blamed me for taking Luke away from his dream of space travel. Did he think Luke was making a mistake?
"Not really right now," Luke said softly. "You can see Jupiter really well, though. It's that bright one there," he said and pointed up into the darkness. I tried to figure out which one he meant but I had to admit I wasn't as familiar as he was with the stars and planets.
"It's the one that doesn't blink, because it's so close, comparatively speaking."
I finally figured out which one he meant, and he was right. It wasn't blinking.
"If we're lucky, we can see the ISS going over," he said and checked his watch. "It should be going over our location pretty soon."
I shook my head and smiled. "How do you know all this?"
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"I love seeing the space station," he said. "I checked earlier."