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He made it to town after listening to a shuffled playlist that ranged from classic rock to nineties hip-hop, and ended with Bachata. Vibing, Troy grabbed a shopping cart from the corral before heading inside, thinking of everything from horses, to the house, his dad, and Megan.
He wondered what she was doing and checked his phone again, trying not to be worried that she hadn’t texted. It wasn’t unusual for her to be focused on work. Maybe she was in a meeting, but the feeling tugged on him and he couldn’t place his finger on it when a familiar voice called out his name from the top of the aisle.
“Troy? Is that you?”
Keira McKinney with her familiar laugh came over and opened her arms for a hug, which he easily returned.
She was short, coming in well below five feet, which is why she had always called herself fun-sized as a joke back in high school. She had brown eyes and curly long hair, just like before, and the same bubbliness that always meant she was giggling in class. Despite that, every teacher loved her because she just lit up the room. They had dated for a few months when they both took multicultural literature, which she excelled in, coming alive with every passage. Honestly he would’ve been interested in continuing to see her, but she was deeply religious and wanted to get married and be a ranch wife. Troy had been seventeen at the time and wanted more out of life. Still, whenever he thought of her, he smiled.
“Oh my God, I haven’t seen you in how long? Geez, it must be years now. Where are you? How have you been?”
“Good, yeah, I’m in Kentucky now.”
“Wow. I tried to follow online how many times you’ve moved.”
Troy smiled and scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, it’s a lot, but you know, that’s the army for you. How have you been?”
“Good. The kids are driving me crazy.”
“Yeah, three boys under five. I don’t know how you do it.”
She blew out a breath, and when she let her smile falter, he could see the lines and weariness etched in her face. “I don’t know either. They drive me nuts, so today I came to the grocery store by myself. I feel like I’m in heaven it’s so quiet and peaceful.”
She sighed, then continued. “So what brings you back to Goldvein?”
“Dad’s ranch burned, so I’m here to help him rebuild and recover.”
“Is he listening to you?”
“For the most part.”
“That’s impressive.”
“You remember.”
A warm glow hit her cheeks, bringing out the warm brown of her eyes like a deep honey color. To this day, whenever he heard “Brown Eyed Girl,” he always thought of her. Some songs just stuck with people, playing on repeat in the mind on the mixtape of life.
“I do. Are you in town for a while?”
“I have a few more weeks of leave before I need to go back.”
“Maybe we’ll bump into each other again,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah, that’d be nice. It was great to see you. I loved catching up.”
Keira didn’t hesitate with the hug which brought back so many good memories. She waved a few fingers in goodbye and walked back over to an overflowing cart filled with cookies, chips, cereal, and family-sized packs of meat, fruit, and veggies.
Troy watched her go and waited for a feeling. His therapist had coached him to see the feelings, not fear them or tamp them down but instead wait and observe. He expected to feel longing or sadness but was pleasantly surprised when all he felt was the appreciation for a warm memory of young love.
CHAPTER27
Megan opened the door after what was an extremely long day at work to a very welcome face she had been missing. “Hello there,” she said with a coy smile of anticipation.
“Hello, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” Troy said, leaning in for a kiss that melted her on the spot. “You look so cozy.”
“Thank you. It’s part of my postwork ritual.”
“I love it.”
