Page 13 of Fated to the Alpha

He was almost to the door when Kimberly couldn’t stand it any longer and dashed after him. “Wait!”

Shane stopped and angled toward her but said nothing. When those eyes landed on her again, the way they had before, Kimberly almost lost her resolve. But not quite.

“Listen … I’m sorry I’ve been a bit of a bitch to you.”

“A bit?”

Kimberly winced. “Okay, a lot of a bitch. I just … I’m scared, Shane.”

His brows knitted and he finally turned, giving his full attention. “Scared?”

“Yes, I’m scared. I’ve had a lot going on lately, and with you showing back up, it’s really dug up a lot of thoughts and feelings that I’ve worked hard to bury, you know? You really hurt me, Shane. More than anyone ever has, and to have you just appear out of nowhere, it’s overwhelming. On top of that, knowing I might run into your dad at any moment just has me—”

“My dad’s dead, Kim.” Shane’s voice came out firm, almost biting, as if he didn’t want to have to say those words one more time to anyone. “It’s just me and my pack that’s here in Tolstone.”

Her jaw dropped. Isaac Snyder was dead? No longer alive? Not roaming around somewhere on this earth like a skulking villain ready to pounce on her and her family one more time?

Absolute relief was chased by shame for being so glad to hear this news. Then, sympathy for Shane rushed in like ice water to startle her back to the present.

“I’m … I’m sorry to hear that.”

Shane smirked. “No, you’re not. And that’s okay. I get it.” He took a few steps closer and Kimberly thought to retreat but stood firm in her strappy leather sandals. “I really hope it’s some comfort to you to know he’s not in Tolstone. You’re safe.”

He stopped, a little abruptly, as if he hadn’t realized he was venturing that close. “And if it’s even more of a consolation,” he continued, “I know I hurt you. I can’t put into words how sorry I am that I did that to you. I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, but I can promise you that I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you like that again.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” The whisper came out so soft, but loud enough to crack Kimberly’s heart wide open again.

Shane’s chest rose with a big breath. “This one, I will keep.”

A flicker of movement by his side told Kimberly that he had almost lifted his hand. For what? To touch her face? Her arm? Take her waist and pull her into a long overdue kiss? He was within reach now, dragging her under with that look and the smell of his body wash. Any of the above would have been perfectly welcome to her addled brain.

Instead, he gave her a reassuring smile and left the flower shop. Kimberly, dazed and overcome with a longing she didn’t want to feel ever again, watched him hop into his truck—the old red pickup truck, and pull into roundabout traffic.

Kimberly didn’t know how long she had been standing there, practically floating off the floor after all that just happened. Now she remembered why she had fallen for Shane in the first place. He made her forget everything. When they were together, it was just them, and the outside world was nothing more than the blurry background on an old photograph.

But that was one thing she couldn’t afford right now. Forgetting the real world. Getting lost in a romance with Shane was still out of the question. She had too many problems, too many flaws. Her temporary—and she sincerely hoped it was temporary—inability to shift, coupled with her lack of dominance, and highlighted by the fact that Shane and his pack would be gone from Tolstone within a couple of months at best, was the ideal cocktail for heartbreak. She wasn’t the perfect match for him, she had her trauma to work through, and they were not destined to be together for the long haul. Getting her emotions caught up in anything to do with Shane Snyder was just too much. She couldn’t let all of these things distract her from getting her head and wolf in the right place.

He might have had full intentions to keep his promise not to hurt her, but Kimberly had to do her part and not let herself get in a position to be hurt. Not again.

*

Shane did as much outside of the flower shop as he could. He cut all the intended pieces of the bucket rack and even did a rough preassembly with clamps. The whole thing might have been able to fit through the door, but it was far too risky to try and maneuver it through the back prep room and over the register counter into the lobby.

The last thing he wanted was to walk into the back prep room and clash with Kimberly again. That was mostly for Kimberly’s sake, but partly for his. It took almost the entire trip to the lumber yard to get the smell of lavender and roses out of his nose. But one sense that was still in perfect shape was his sense of hearing.

He had set up by the back door of the flower shop, with just a brick wall separating his setup and Kimberly in the prep room. In between the harsh whirling of the saw and snap of the tape measure, Shane heard country music playing from Kimberly’s phone. At first, he smiled to himself, glad to know that her taste in music hadn’t changed. While his friends had been interested in the newest artists, Shane and Kimberly spent hours listening to a slightly older era. And it showed in her playlist.

It also told him that Kimberly was certainly not over what happened in Warrington. Some songs were reminiscent of the high notes in their relationship. “Check Yes or No” by George Strait, “She’s In Love With The Boy” by Trisha Yearwood, “Suds In The Bucket” by Sara Evans, “Would You Go With Me?” by Josh Turner, and “Want To” by Sugarland. Others signified the years that followed. Sad, gloomy songs that Shane could barely listen to. “Probably Wouldn’t Be This Way” by LeAnn Rimes, “You’ll Think of Me” by Keith Urban, “Georgia Rain” by Trisha Yearwood, “Every Time I Hear Your Name” by Keith Anderson, “Watching Airplanes” by Gary Allan, and “It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing” by Shania Twain.

But one song had a slightly more uplifting message. “Something Like That” by Tim McGraw. Kimberly never wore lipstick or miniskirts, and it hadn’t been only five years, it was ten. But the fact that the singer and his first love were reunited at all on a random plane flight to New Orleans was the closest thing to Shane bumping into Kimberly at Larson Caves Park. It was a second chance. Another opportunity to get it right.

Only, it didn’t seem Kimberly wanted to have anything to do with him. The fact that his father wouldn’t try to come between them again might have been one less thing to worry about, but there was something else. Something he didn’t see, and certainly something she wouldn’t tell him.

For the last few hours, while working in the hot summer sun behind the flower shop, Shane hemmed and hawed between taking his shot at trying to break apart her shell or leaving well enough alone. He knew which choice would be smart. He knew which one was the most logical, which one would show Kimberly that he respected her struggles and make her feel seen and heard. But that option would leave him awake at night, second-guessing himself as he pined away for the girl who got away.

He was still undecided by the time he gave a polite knock on the back door to let her know he was coming into her space.

The powerful smells hit him like a tractor to the face again, and he struggled to get a good lungful of air for a minute. His eyes watered so badly that it took a moment for his vision to clear and get a good look at the back prep room. A large worktable sat in the center, littered with skinny cut stems, tiny leaves, and stray petals. Trimmings from ribbons, green foam, and colorful cellophane were scattered across the surface as well. Standing like a floral goddess of nature and beauty was Kimberly, her hands deftly swiveling and moving the greenery of her current project.