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“How are you?” he asked.
The customer, an elderly woman, stood at the counter and scowled at me.
“I really can't talk right now, Shane,” I said. “But, if you wouldn't mind coming by to pick up your brother...”
“Tell that little punk I'll be right there,” he said.
His voice sounded tired and frustrated. With his parents gone, I had to think he was probably the one caring for his siblings – which couldn't be easy. Not that I knew what easy would be like myself. I was raising my own little monster, but luckily, she was only four years old and not into shoplifting yet. Never would be, if I had my way.
“Will do. See you in a bit,” I said before hanging up.
With a stern look at Nolan I told him, “Come with me,” I said, putting a growl into my voice. “Your brother is on his way down here to get you.”
Nolan dragged his feet, looking completely dejected, but followed me back around the counter where I rang up the elderly woman. She was a regular, knew me by name and she gave me the kind of look that said she was going to have a s
tern talk with my boss about me being on the phone.
Luckily, my boss was a nice guy – and would understand about me trying to prevent shoplifters since they were a problem in our neighborhood – otherwise I might be afraid of losing my job.
“Have a nice day!” I said to her.
The older woman shook her head, grabbing her bag of sunflower seeds and exited the store in a huff. I sighed and turned back to Nolan. He just stared at me, his eyes wide and a lost expression on his face. I was glad I hadn't called the cops on him. That would be trouble he didn't need. He was just a dumb kid.
A few more customers came and went, and I glanced at the clock. My shift would be coming to an end before long, so I hoped Shane got there in time. I had to get home before my mom had to leave for work. We split our shifts – she worked at night, I went to school in the morning and worked in the evening. It's what we had to do to make ends meet and make sure someone was at home with Olivia at all times.
The front door jingled as it opened, and in walked a familiar face. My breath caught in my throat as my heart stopped for a moment, then started to ache in my chest as Shane, the love of my high school life, stepped into the convenience store.
He still looked sexy as hell too – although, a little rougher around the edges than I remembered him to be. He used to be Walter, Kansas's star quarterback, back in the day. He'd always had a pearly white smile that was made for the front page of every newspaper. His smile was still perfection, along with those kissable, plump lips and the dimple in his left cheek. Chestnut brown hair fell just past his ears that was shaggy and in need of a trim, but it only added to the natural sex appeal that oozed out of his every pore. His brown eyes matched Nolan's, and they had a boy-next-door quality to them, even nestled into the chiseled features of his face.
My gaze traveled down his body, which looked to still be in tip-top shape all these years later. He wore a black t-shirt that hugged his chest tightly, showing off the muscles in his biceps as he moved his arms. He'd gotten tatted up since I last saw him, having a full sleeve on one arm and a half sleeve on the other, begging to be finished out. The colors contrasted nicely with his naturally tanned complexion.
My jaw was on the floor, and I knew it. Not only knew it but couldn't help it. I just couldn't stop staring. This was the Homecoming King to my Queen, the man on my arm for every dance our senior year. We parted ways on good terms, or as good of terms as one could expect when your dream boy gets a full ride scholarship to some fancy tech school in California and had to leave you behind. I didn't blame him, though. I'd planned on going to Kansas University myself, but things don't always work out like we'd planned them.
From the looks of it though, things didn't work out how Shane had planned them either.
“Hey, stranger,” I said once I managed to find my voice again. “I had no idea you were back in town.”
Yeah, the hurt in my voice came out a bit. I couldn't help it. We were a smaller community, and he had to have known I was still around – and yet he didn't come find me. I knew our teen romance was forever ago, but it still stung that he’d never even sought me out to say hello.
Shane's eyes moved over me, and he smiled brightly. He was clearly happy to see me.
“Hey, Piper. I had no idea you were around either,” he said.
I bit my lip and stared down at the counter, suddenly feeling foolish for assuming he knew. Walter was a small town, but large enough that not everyone knew everyone's business. I guess I couldn't really blame him after all.
“Yeah, KU didn't work out too well for me,” I sighed.
“Oh yeah? Sorry to hear that?” he said.
“It's alright. I'm attending classes locally now,” I said. “What about you?”
“Nah, couldn't handle school right now,” he said.
His gaze moved toward Nolan, and the smile on his face wavered a bit. His eyes were filled with regret and a hint of frustration. “Gotta take care of these knuckleheads,” he said. “And believe me, they're a handful.”
“Yeah, I'm sorry to hear about your parents,” I said. “I hadn't heard the news until – well, just a little bit ago.”
His smile fell even more, and he looked down at the ground. He shrugged and wouldn't meet my gaze, almost like he was afraid of what I might see in his eyes.
