Chapter 1 #2
Or does she? Thanks to friends of friends on social media, I know Darcy chose to move out to California while I came back to Sleepy Hollow as soon as a job opened up on the force.
Has she kept up with what I’m doing? I don’t post much, just the occasional photo of my dog, but sometimes my friends tag me in local events.
So she’d know I live here, if she took the time to check.
If she was interested. Which I’m sure she’s not.
“You should talk to her,” Shea says. “Since you’re both living here now, I’m sure you’ll run into her sooner or later.”
Honestly, considering Darcy’s been back in town for at least a few months, I’m surprised I haven’t seen her yet.
In a town like Sleepy Hollow, it’s almost impossible to go anywhere without running into at least five people you know.
So, Shea’s right. I’m sure I will run into Darcy before too long.
Either the grocery store, the library, one of the local events… It’s only a matter of time.
Part of me—the cowardly side I keep hidden from everyone—wants to put it off.
Avoid having this conversation until I’ve shored up my defenses better.
Wait until I’m feeling more like the confident and mature police officer I pride myself on being and not the devastated boy who still remembers just how badly it hurt when things ended between us.
Then again. She’s here. Sitting at a table less than thirty feet away. How will it look if I don’t go over? Will Darcy think I hate her? That I’m still holding a grudge?
I’m not. Truly. As much as it sucked, I get it.
We were young. After exclusively dating each other for almost eight years, Darcy wanted to meet other people.
Date other people. Do I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we’d stayed together?
Sure. But sometimes two people just aren’t meant to be.
So really, I should go over to talk to her. Welcome her back to town. Exchange some pleasantries before going on with my evening.
Pushing up from my chair, I announce, “I’m just going to go say hi. I’ll be back in a minute.”
And before I can second guess myself, I head across the room with a purposeful stride, already silently composing my greeting.
Hey, Darcy. Not Darce, like I used to call her. I just heard you moved back. And seeing you here, I thought I’d say hello.
But when I get to her table, and she looks up at me with those big, green eyes, the words that come out of my mouth aren’t close to what I had planned.
“Hi, Darce.”
Shit. It’s Darcy. Not Darce.
“So, I saw you over here, and I thought I should come say hi,” I continue.
“Since we’re in the same town now and all.
At least, that’s what Ari said. My friend, Ari.
But you know who she is, she said you teach together at the high school.
I didn’t realize you’d moved back, but it’s good to see you. ”
What am I doing? Why am I babbling at her instead of playing it cool?
“Anyway,” I finish lamely. “I hope you’re settling in okay.”
For a few seconds, Darcy stares at me, gnawing on her lower lip the same way she used to whenever she got nervous. She plays with her necklace, tugging at the small bird-shaped pendant hanging from the chain.
“Mike,” she finally says. “It’s nice to see you, too.”
I can’t help my gaze from sliding to her left hand, searching for a ring or a pale band still lingering there, even though Ari already told me Darcy was divorced.
How long ago?
Who was it?
Is that why she left California? To get a fresh start? Or was there another reason?
Her friend coughs, and Darcy jerks in surprise. But she immediately covers it, turning to the redhead sitting next to her and saying quickly, “Sorry. Allison, this is Mike. Troy. We went to high school together.”
That seems a massive understatement for what we had together, but I nod as I extend my hand. “Hi, Allison. Nice to meet you.”
Allison beams at me. “Nice to meet you, too.” She leans forward, thrusting her breasts and giving a little flip of her hair. “I live in White Plains, so I don’t get to Sleepy Hollow too much. If I had, I’d definitely remember you.”
A tiny muscle ticks at Darcy’s jaw. Then she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Mike’s a police officer. Here in Sleepy Hollow.” Her gaze jumps to mine. “Right? You haven’t changed jobs, have you?”
Her expression is carefully neutral. But after eight years together, I can still tell when she’s annoyed.
Annoyed that I interrupted her time out with her friend? Or annoyed that said friend is openly hitting on me?
“Nope,” I reply, keeping my attention focused on Darcy. “Still here. Going on fifteen years now.”
Darcy winds the scarf in her hands. “So you’re happy here, then?”
I think her gaze flickers to my ring finger. Possibly.
“I am. I’ve got a house here, friends, and it’s a nice place. Sleepy Hollow, I mean.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Ari and Shea watching me with interest.
“It certainly seems nice,” Allison agrees. She eyes me with an almost predatory expression. “I should go out in Sleepy Hollow more often. Is this where you usually go?”
Still wrapped around the thick scarf, Darcy’s knuckles go white.
I’m hit with a surge of irrational pleasure.
She doesn’t like her friend hitting on me.
It shouldn’t matter. But somehow, it does.
“I’m glad,” Darcy says slowly. Her gaze holds mine. “Do you live right in town? Or…”
“Just on the outside of it. Off Irving Road. It was a fixer upper, but I’ve been in it for ten years now, so it’s come together pretty well. Still a few projects, but that’ll probably always be the case. There’s a good sized yard, so my dog—”
“Franklin?”
The second she says it, Darcy’s face turns bright red. Her gaze dips to the table as she mumbles, “I might have seen a picture online. I wasn’t asking around or anything.”
Warmth blooms in my chest.
It shouldn’t matter that she checked up on me. It might have been a fluke that she saw one of my rare posts. Still. I can’t deny that I like it.
“Yeah, Franklin,” I answer. “I got him from the shelter three years ago. He’s a mix of terrier, lab, collie… and probably more. I keep meaning to do one of the DNA tests for dogs, but I still haven’t gotten around to it.”
Darcy looks back up at me. Her lips curve a bit. “That would be interesting. I was thinking he looked a bit like an Australian Shepherd, but I could see collie.”
For a second, we just stare at each other, something unspoken moving between us.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to invite her to meet Franklin. To show off the house I’ve worked so hard on. Maybe catch up in a more private setting.
Would she say yes? Would I want her to?
“Darcy.” It’s sharp. Tinged with annoyance. But as soon as Darcy turns to Allison, her friend gives her a smile. “I really wanted to talk to you. About something that happened at work. If you wouldn’t mind…”
To me, Allison adds apologetically, “Sorry to interrupt. But I really need Darcy’s advice. Unless… Maybe I should leave so you two can talk more.”
“Oh no,” Darcy replies. “It’s okay. I’m sure”—she glances at my table, where Ari, Cash, Shea, and Oliver are sitting—“Mike needs to get back to his friends.”
“I probably should,” I agree, even as a pang of disappointment stabs into my chest. “And I should let you two get on with your night.”
“Yeah.” With a soft sigh, Darcy adds, “It was nice talking to you, Mike. I’m sure I’ll see you around town.” A beat, and then, “I don’t go out much aside from work. But…”
“I’m sure I will.” Before I can do something stupid like hug her, I take a quick step back from the table. “It was good to meet you Allison.”
Lie. It really wasn’t. She had that predatory gleam in her eye I’ve seen from some of the other single-and-looking women in town. And apart from that, I really don’t appreciate how she cut into the conversation as soon as she realized I wasn’t responding to her advances.
Allison gives me a cursory nod. “Same.”
As I take another step back from the table, Darcy says, “Enjoy the rest of your night. And drive safe heading home. The weather report says we might get sleet and snow tonight.”
Darcy always used to say that. Drive safe.
It’s a small thing, but no matter where I was driving, whether it was just across town or back to the U of Albany campus, she never failed to say it.
And I always made sure to call her the second I stepped through the door, so she wouldn’t worry any longer than she absolutely had to.
“You too,” I reply. “Drive safe.”
Then I turn and walk back to my table, fighting the urge to turn around the entire time.
Once I take my seat, I let myself be pulled back into my friends’ easy conversation, listening as they chat about upcoming events and Cash and Ari’s daughters first dance recital and Shea’s newest article in the New York Times.
Instead of jumping in, I’m content to be the quiet bystander, nodding and mmhmming at appropriate times.
If I’m honest with myself, I don’t have the mental energy to do more. Seeing Darcy has me unsettled in a way I wasn’t expecting.
Heading over there, I thought I might be bitter after talking to her. Or alternatively, I might discover she’s changed, and the attraction I once felt for her was gone.
But neither are true. I don’t feel bitter. I just feel… sad. Because there was still something there, at least on my side of things. A draw I haven’t felt towards anyone else, even my ex-wife.
I’m not sure how much time goes by before Cash says, “Well, I think we should be getting home. Looks like the snow is picking up out there. I’d like to get the babysitter home before it gets too bad.”
Glancing out the window, I’m surprised to see a steady downfall of large flakes, already an inch thick on the ground.
Oliver pulls out his wallet and slaps some cash on the table. “Yeah, good idea.”
I sneak a quick look at Darcy’s table. It’s empty.
Disappointment slams into me again, though there’s no rational reason.
“She probably wanted to get home early, too,” Ari says. “She’s all the way out on Sleepy Hollow Road. That road gets pretty messy when it’s snowing.”
I freeze as I’m just about to get up from my chair. “She lives out there?”
“Yeah, at her parents’ old house. After her mom passed, she left it to Darcy.”
I knew Darcy’s mom had passed a few years ago, but by then, Mrs. Hamilton was living down in Florida and I assumed the house had been sold. But if Darcy’s living there now…
“That road is pretty shitty in the snow,” I agree. “I hope she has all-wheel-drive, at least.”
I shouldn’t be worried. Darcy grew up driving in the snow, just like me. She’s more than capable of getting safely home.
But as we all head towards the door, shoving on coats and hats as we go, I wonder if she still remembers all the little tricks after living in California for so long.
Does Darcy remember to steer into the skid, taking her foot off the brake instead of instinctively slamming it down?
Does she remember what black ice looks like?
What if she takes that curve too fast, the one that’s been responsible for more accidents than I’d like to think about?
I’m so caught up in my thoughts, I don’t even notice the guy walking past us until he bumps into me. I take a quick sidestep and say, “Watch where you’re going.”
But I’m equally annoyed with myself. As a cop, I should be more alert.
The guy grunts, “You watch it.” And then he pushes on by, shoving his way out into the rising storm.
My jaw clenches. My hands fist.
“Want to go after him?” Oliver asks. “Make him do a breathalyzer?”
I take a steadying breath. It’s not the rude bar patron I’m angry with. Not really. It’s the emotions I don’t want to be feeling.
“Nah.” As we head through the door and into the cold, I add, “I don’t think he was drunk. Just rude.”
Oliver lifts his chin at me. “Okay.” He wraps his arm around Shea, pulling her to his side. “Our car’s over there. Drive safe. And hopefully the storm doesn’t get so bad that we get called in in the middle of the night.”
I nod at him. “You too.”
As we all split up to find our cars in the rapidly whitening parking lot, my thoughts shift to Darcy again.
Did she make it home safe?
What about her driveway, a long and winding slope that ranges from slick to impossible when the snow is heavy? Did she make it up, or is she stuck somewhere near the bottom?
I shouldn’t worry.
It’s not my place.
But. I’m a cop. Isn’t it my duty to protect?
Would it really be so bad if I just drove by her house to make sure she got home okay?