Gina laughed. “Excuse me, Iris, but you’re beautiful.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve grown into my looks a little bit, but back then? Ugh. Seth and I grew up next door to each other and we were friends. In fact, I helped him with English and biology. And I helped him prepare for SATs, which he could’ve cared less about since he was banking his entire future on football.”

“How’d you do on the SAT?”

Iris grinned. “I killed it.”

“Good for you! Big dumb jocks. Hey, what happened to his amazing football career? It seemed like it was here and gone awful fast.”

“Car accident,” Iris said, chewing. “He had a good year with the Ducks, then dropped out of college to take a contract with the Seahawks and played one season, or mostly watched one season with the pro team and then had a car accident. He was injured pretty badly. That was the end of his pro football career.” She took another bite, washed it down with chocolate shake. “We try to impress upon these young men that education really does come in handy. Football careers are fragile. Unpredictable.”

“Ah, I heard something about that, but no details.”

“As far as I know it was an accident. An unfortunate accident.”

“That’s where the limp and the scar came from?” Gina asked.

Iris nodded. She looked down at her plate and picked at a couple of fries. “It’s not that much of a limp,” she finally said. “He never told me exactly what happened.”

But Gwen Sileski had. Gwen told Rose and Iris everything about Seth. He’d fractured bones in his right leg and required rods, plates and screws just to hold him together. He’d had a lot of other injuries and was lucky to be alive. He’d had several surgeries to save the leg. The injury and the repair had left his right leg a little shorter and he wore a lift in his shoe. His mother said he wasn’t in pain, but it had taken a lot of therapy and training to get to that point. Iris couldn’t imagine how hard the police physical exam must have been.

“The accident. A leg injury,” Iris said. “But that scar...it almost does something for his looks, don’t you think?”

Gina smiled. “It would take a lot more than that to make Seth Sileski hard to look at.” She drew an invisible line across her cheek with her index finger.

“I know,” Iris said, patting her mouth with the napkin. “Do you remember him in high school? What a lady-killer.”

“I dropped out at fifteen because of a lady-killer,” Gina reminded Iris. “At that time in my life, they were everywhere. But I admit, I wasn’t paying too much attention to your slightly younger crowd. I remember Seth better from the past ten or twelve years, the times he came through town and sometimes stopped here for a burger or cup of coffee. Gwen must be so thrilled to have her son back in town.”

“I think so,” Iris said. “Listen, can I have the rest to go? I don’t think I’ll get through the whole plate.”

“Sure. I can’t put the shake in the carton for you.”

“I’ll work on that a little more. So, while I do that, tell me about married life and your new family.”

“Very complicated,” Gina said. “We have two college freshmen, my daughter and Mac’s daughter, still living at home and each working part-time, applying to universities to attend next fall. Mac’s schedule is going to be different—he’ll work nights for at least a year. Then there’s an eleven- and thirteen-year-old committed to lots of teams, clubs and lessons—that means driving. My college girls help a lot but their time is at a premium because of studies and jobs. But life as Mrs. Mac?” She shot Iris a very large smile. “I didn’t know I could be this happy.”

Iris sucked the last of her shake through the straw, making it gurgle. “You took your sweet time finding the right guy.”

“I know. Or he took his sweet time moving to town. Who cares? He was worth waiting for. Are you seeing anyone, Iris?”

“Nah. Not at the moment. There have been a few I thought had potential, but in the end I preferred my own company.” She stood and fished into her pocket while Gina transferred the rest of her BLT and fries into a carton.

“And the company of high school students,” Gina teased.

“They keep me on my toes. But I have my eyes open for an older, more settled model—say thirty-five, single, sexy and really into me....”

The diner door opened and Seth Sileski walked in, as if made to order. Beautiful Seth. High cheekbones, chiseled chin, moody eyes, white teeth, thin scar slanted across his cheek. Iris’s mouth fell open and Gina just laughed.

“Well, hello, ladies,” he said, taking off his deputy’s hat. “Iris, what are the chances you’ll let me buy you a cup of coffee?”

“Unfortunately, I’m on the run. I have plans that won’t wait. In fact, I could already be late.” She grabbed her to-go carton. “Thanks, Gina. See you around.”

“Why do you always seem to be rushing off the second I show up?” Seth asked.

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. Next time, Seth. I’d better go.” She gave him an accommodating smile and headed out the door. She took off at a gentle jog down the street and up the hill toward home.

Why? she asked herself. Why the hell does he have to be here? Is this just some vindictive angel’s idea of a slow and miserable death for me? What did I ever do to deserve this? He could be here for a long time! How am I going to avoid him? Especially if he’s the person I have to work with if I have teenagers in trouble?

Really, hadn’t she been through enough in high school?

Two

Iris had loved Seth since she was about four years old. He kissed her when they were six and she beat him up and that’s when she knew she’d probably love him forever. When kids teased her because she was named after a flower, he stood up for her. He punched Robbie Delaney for saying she looked like a scarecrow. Of course, she had punched Robbie other times, but it was still nice when Seth avenged her. When her curly hair was flat on one side and springy on the other, Seth laughed but then he said sorry. Then he laughed again and said sorry again. They used to play house, until his older brothers caught him and teased him—then he said it was rocket men and aliens or nothing.

When they were older, but not that much older, they each helped out with their parents’ businesses—Seth at the gas station and Iris in the flower shop. Because it was just Iris and Rose running the little flower shop, Seth would sometimes help with the heavy chores, if he could get away from the Sileski gas station where Norm’s boys all had chores. Seth knew, from paying attention to adult conversation at the dinner table, that Rose didn’t pull much income out of that little shop so he refused pay from her. He’d haul trash, and there was a ton of trash every day. He’d sweep, mop, clean shelves, deliver flowers on his bike and sometimes he even helped Iris make arrangements, but he made sure he was out of sight. He always claimed he was helping Iris get through her chores so they could play Doom or Super Mario Bros.