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I stop at the entrance. Knox is there, next to a redhead who must be a Kendall family member.
As she shifts to meet my gaze, I do a double take. The air leaves my lungs as my eyes meet emerald green ones in an all-too-familiar face. Holy shit! That’s not some random stranger, that’s Kylie Simmons. I stare at her. Her red hair was always cropped short as a kid. Now it’s bounteous and thick as it curls down the length of her back. Her frame is slim but with generous curves.
“Dante,” she murmurs, nodding toward me. I clear my throat, completely caught off guard.
She’s got to be almost thirty now so I know she had to have changed, but I never expected her to be such a woman. “Kylie,” I mutter with indifference, masking my surprise as I turn away from her to check out who else is here. I try to calm the frantic beating of my heart.
Knox’s other friends are here, too. Samantha the cheerleader, who now owns the elite event-planning company Transcend. She keeps it a secret that she owns the place but I considered having Transcend do some work for me once. I investigated it thoroughly and after learning that it was Sam’s business, took my business elsewhere. I wasn’t going to cross paths with anyone from Willowcreek if I could help it.
Red curls try to draw my eyes but I force them to stay on the others. After Sam, I spy Jaxson the shaggy-haired chef. I didn’t pay attention when Knox told me about his fame, just made sure to note the names of the restaurants he owns so I’d never go to them.
Don’t look,I tell myself as Kylie shifts. I’m not here for her. I’m here to buy the property, make a buck, and never return to Willowcreek again.Don’t look.
Then, of course, there is loud-mouthed Madison. The girl who stayed in this old town to work with her single mom at a bakery. How sweet…not. At least the others had tried to make a name for themselves. Other than Knox, of course.
Only the football star is missing. Ms. Dorman, the lawyer, is also here. She spares me a brief frown as she sets up Mrs. Kendall’s video will.
As Knox’s friends turn toward me, I give them a slight nod. An odd feeling creeps up my spine, as though I don’t belong here. Which is ridiculous because this isn’t a closed reading and we’re not in high school anymore. This isn’t the lot of them wasting time in that stupid treehouse until Dad sends me to bring Knox home. I can’t remember the amount of times I was forced to stand at the base of the tree, listening to them giggling about things that I didn’t care about. Knox would always delay, forcing me sometimes to even climb into the treehouse myself.
I never needed to belong with them. I don’t need to belong now, either. I’ve always made my own way in the world. Nobody was going to look after me but me, and having a group of distractions like this would have only made me waste my life.
I take a seat and studiously ignore the others. Even Knox doesn’t say hi. Which is just as well. I don’t want to deal with sentimentality here.
Kylie shifts and I can’t control myself anymore.
My brother’s best friend. She’s not looking at me, so I take my time studying her. It sobers me, remembering her connection with Mrs. Kendall. Maybe I should have waited until after the will was read before I sought out whoever was going to inherit the property. Everything about Kylie draws me in, making me forget why I’m here.
She looks up, catching me staring, and my imagination goes into overdrive. What will that thick red hair of hers feel like bunched in my fist? I’d love to get my hands on her curves, taste her, and see exactly what makes her tick. What does she look like flushed as red as her hair, as her eyes roll to the back of her head and her toes curl?
Kylie hasn’t looked away. Her hand goes to her chest as she takes a deep breath. Knox leans close to her and whispers in her ear. Kylie breaks eye contact and shakes her head in response to whatever he says. Then she smiles and I force myself to turn fully to the lawyer. Right. This is why I’m here. To buy the property from whoever inherited it.
I can’t focus, my mind still on Kylie.
Kylie wipes at her eyes. Her face is pale. The dark clothes she wears don’t give her any color, although I suppose her pallor is to be expected, seeing as we’re here because someone died.
Fuck! I should have sent one of my own lawyers to broker the deal. I’m wasting time sitting here when I could be back home, working on more important deals.
There was a moment, right before I left this goddamn town, where I imagined what my life would have been like if I stayed for Kylie, or a girl like Kylie. But that was the last thing I wanted. To fall for the girl and get stuck living this small-town life. Willowcreek was never going to be good enough for Kylie, just like it was never good enough for me.
But if I’d stayed for her, she would have stayed for me. Until we both realized it wasn’t good enough… but by then it would be too late. I’d never have made something of myself and she would have left me.
I couldn’t let history repeat itself.
She puts an arm around Knox and rubs his back as his shoulders hunch. That’s not the touch of old acquaintances, but rather good friends.
Thing is, she should have forgotten all about Knox by now. Didn’t everyone who went to the big city for something better forget where they came from? I certainly have tried my best to forget Willowcreek, though I never wanted to forget my little brother along with it. It’s one of the reasons I’ve tried so hard in the past to get Knox to move out of this dead-end town and put his talent to good use.
“You young hellions were some of the only few to really use and love my treehouse.”
I jump at the sound of Mrs. Kendall’s booming voice. Even as she aged, her voice was always strong and clear. I look around, half expecting to see her standing there, a teasing glint in her eyes. Instead, I find it’s a recording. I lean back in my chair, trying to tell myself I’m not disappointed.
People die. Mrs. Kendall was just a barrier to buying this place. It wasn’t like she ever took me in the way she fussed over Knox.
I’m still well aware of Knox and Kylie. She leans her head against Knox’s shoulder, but not like she’s seeking support from him. It looks like she’s giving him comfort.
Mrs. Kendall’s taped will concludes with her bestowing the treehouse and property on all six of them; Samantha, Madison, Jaxson, Kylie, Knox, and football boy, who’d arrived at some point. Asher. Right, that was his name.
Sam, with her cheerleader-blonde hair and bubblegum mouth, starts off by declaring that the property would be great to turn into an event space.
