Free Fast Forward by Marion Croslydon Page B

how she’d managed to give Lucas a ‘routine’—some stability—throughout the shittiest times.
    When I took the cookies out of the oven and laid the tray on the stove to cool down, I’d made up my mind. I grabbed my phone and began dialing. This was going to be a short conversation. While on the phone, I drank in the sight of Lucas and Josh playing ball outside. Josh threw quick glances at me. He smiled because Lucas was giving everything to the game. He could have been training for the NFL.
    I hung up and stepped out onto the deck.
    “Dude, I need a break. You’re too good.” Josh faked falling over. “Why don’t you practice your kicking while I talk to Cassie?”
    Lucas was eager to please. He grabbed the ball from the grass and started kicking it against the garden fence. He did it with so much heart that I guess he was working out some of the anger Josh had seen in him.
    Josh joined me on the deck. His hair was a mess. When he checked back on Lucas and clapped his hands again in encouragement, his dimples had never been so deep in his cheeks.
    “Well done, Champ. You broke through his defenses. Lucas needed some ‘guy’ time.”
    Josh shrugged at my praise but pride made his dark eyes brighter. “Where is Mrs. Loretti?”
    “She had to get back to her place. She left me in charge of the cookies. You’ll be happy to know they haven’t burnt or anything.”
    Josh didn’t pick on my lame joke. “I called Curtis this morning. We’re scheduled to see him tomorrow afternoon after the funeral. That way we might be able to fly you back to Santa Fe and the tour late afternoon. It won’t be a direct flight so you’ll be wiped out by the end of it.” He stepped closer to pull me against him. “I’ll fly to D.C. tomorrow night. I have to get back to work.”
    “Of course you do,” I answered against his chest. “What do you want to discuss with Curtis? You told me the application had been filed.”
    “I have some questions about the next steps. Just want to make sure we’re doing things right. I’m keen on moving the process as fast as we can.”
    “Because of Alfredo’s death?”
    Josh left my question unanswered, then said, “Yes, because of Alfredo’s death.”
    I knew my man well enough to know he wasn’t telling me the truth. Or the whole of it.

CHAPTER 12
    Josh
     
     
    Lucas shouldn’t be here.
    Sharon Sorenson had been in favor of it. Trisha, his caseworker, had given him the choice. He’d said he wanted to go, but what does a five-year-old really know about funerals? I’d been left watching him in his Sunday best, his eyes glued on the coffin, his hand tight within Cassie’s.
    My own hands had hung loosely at my sides. I was powerless. Playing ball wasn’t going to cut it this time.
    “He’s been strong.” Cassie watched Lucas getting into Mrs. Sorenson’s car. When it disappeared around the corner outside the cemetery gate, I expected her to break into a sprint and chase after him.
    My fists clenched in frustration. “Trisha should never have given him the choice. I should have stayed at home with him.”
    “I disagree.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “He’s already experienced so much grief. Maybe being here today will help him deal with Alfredo’s death, his parents’ deaths. I don’t know much but we should trust and respect Lucas’s choices.”
    “Do you think seeing your own mother’s coffin would have made things any easier?”
    “I don’t know.” She gave a shake of her head. “I had nothing left to grieve when she died.”
    The breeze played with the wisps of her hair. September had come. Alfredo Guidi had gone and I’d barely had time to get to know him.
    “Mr. and Mrs. MacBride?” A baritone voice cut through my thoughts.
    It belonged to a man in his mid-forties whose shoulders were as bulky as a fridge. He could easily have been a bouncer at one of Cassie’s concerts. Next to him stood Andrea Loretti.
    “I’m Andrea’s husband, Vince.” he introduced