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“My neighbor.” Katie smiled, gesturing over her shoulder. “Or
rather, she probably wants to talk to me.”
“Oh.” He nodded. “Okay.” He glanced toward Jo’s porch and
back again. “I had a great time tonight.”
“I did, too.”
He kissed her before she opened the door, and when Alex pulled
out of the driveway she started toward Jo’s house. Jo smiled and
waved, and Katie felt herself relax slightly. They hadn’t talked
since that night in the bar, and as she approached, Jo stood and
came to the railing.
“First off, I want to apologize for the way I talked to you,” she
said without preamble. “I was out of line. I was wrong and it
won’t happen again.”
Katie climbed the steps to her porch and sat down, waving Jo to a
spot next to her on the top step. “It’s okay,” she said. “I wasn’t
mad.”
“I still feel terrible about it,” Jo said, her remorse obvious. “I don’t
know what got into me.”
“I do,” Katie said. “It’s obvious. You care about them. And you
want to watch out for them.”
“I still shouldn’t have talked to you the way I did. That’s why I
haven’t been around. It embarrassed me and I knew you’d never
forgive me.”
Katie touched her arm. “I appreciate the apology, but it’s not
necessary. You actually made me realize some important things
about myself.”
“Yeah?”