Page 11 of Loch
“Yeah, some of the boys are goin’ to Tennessee. I’ll be back Monday. When we get back, we’re gettin’ you a new car.” With that, I turned and headed down the stairs. I left her there with her mouth hanging open about to protest. One that I wasn’t about to let come out. I cut across the yard and headed inside my house.
I showered, taking more time than usual. I couldn’t get it together. I gave her the keys to my truck. I demanded that she drive it while I was gone. And then I told her, in a tone that let her know there was no other option, that she was getting a new car. It wasn’t that I minded her driving my truck, the brothers used it all the time. It wasn’t that I thought she would wreck it. I wasn’t really sure what it was. At that moment the last thing I wanted to do was leave town, and I knew it had everything to do with Reagan.
I shut the water off and ripped the towel off of the bar, taking all my frustration out while drying my skin. I shaved, trying to get her out of my head the whole time. I got dressed in a hurry. Snagging the spare key to my truck off of the hook by the door, I headed out again. The distance from my house to hers was not enough space for me at that moment.
CHAPTER SIX
Reagan
Nate had given me the night off. It being Thursday, Nan was out at bingo. I decided to spend the evening on the couch. I flipped through the channels, never stopping long enough on one thing to get involved. My mind kept going back to Nate. I was curious why he was leaving and where he was going. Would there be girls there? Would he be having sex with them? I told myself it didn’t matter. One, we were not involved in any sort of way. Two, I didn’t want to be.
Well, okay, that might have been a small lie. I may have spent way too much time thinking about what it would be like to have something more with Nate. But I couldn’t actually go there. It was the last thing either of us needed. I hoped the distance apart would give me time to clear my head.
The next day I heard him take off on his bike a little after three in the afternoon. I pinned myself to the couch so that I wouldn’t go running to the window to watch him drive away. Disappointment filled me that he didn’t even say bye. It was silly. He was only going to be gone a few days. And it wasn’t like we were even friends.
Boredom had me heading to the bar an hour earlier than my shift. I was working with Chris that night. I had yet to meet him and I was hoping that he would be friendlier than Nate. I smiled at the possibility of having someone to talk to.
I stepped outside and started walking to my car. I paused at the driver’s side door, remembering that Nate demanded I take his truck while he was gone. I cocked my head and looked across the yard to Nate’s driveway. The damn thing looked way too big for me to feel comfortable in. No, I told myself. I wasn’t going to let some man tell me what to do. Sure, it may have been out of concern, but my car had gotten me to and from a lot of places. I was sure it wasn’t going to fail me now. Except for the air conditioning, but that didn’t have anything to do with how it ran. With my shoulders thrown back in a silent defiance, I climbed into my car.
I walked in the door of the bar a little after five. Of course, the place was dead, as in not a soul for a customer. I looked behind the bar to see a tall and lean guy not much older than me. He had shorter hair, parted on the side and styled up a little on the fuller side. It was a nice honey brown color. He looked over at me and smiled. His face was definitely not bad to look at. Small but strong nose. Beautiful full bottom lip. Thick brows over eyes that matched his hair. His face looked baby smooth.
“Reagan?” he asked like he already knew the answer.
“Hi, yes. You must be Chris.” I shuffled around the bar and set my phone on a shelf under the bar top.
“That’d be me,” he replied with a wink.
“Glad to see you’re feeling better.” He raised an eyebrow in question. “Nate mentioned that you were sick or something.” An odd smile crossed his face and he leaned against the bar, arms folded, taking me in.
“Yes, much better. Thanks.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. “He lets you call him Nate?”
“Well, not so much lets me as I just kinda started doing it.” I huffed out a short laugh.
“I tried that once, got a death glare. Never did it again.” He shrugged. I smiled as I remembered the warm look that came over Nate’s face the first time I had called him that. I shook off the memory. I noticed Chris was wearing skinny jeans and a button up short sleeve shirt. The shirt was hanging open and underneath was a vintage looking tee, form-fitting of course.
“You’re not one of them, are you?” I asked, trying to figure out the connection between him and Nate.
“Nope. I’m just a regular ole townie.” He smiled at me, a warm friendly smile. I knew right then we were going to hit it off. “It won’t be too busy tonight. With half of the guys out of town, most of the rest will probably make it a quiet night. Since it’s the kickoff to the weekend, might have a few townies in here.”
“Cool,” I replied.
“So, tell me all about yourself. Don’t get many new faces around here. I want to know everything.” He hopped up on the bar top. I let out a little laugh.
What could I tell him? Let’s see, I was somewhat in hiding hoping the big bad scary man wouldn’t find me. I sighed to myself and tried to shake the dark cloud away. Chris seemed like a nice ray of sunlight and I was tired of cowering in the shadowy corner.
“Well, I’m Ethel’s granddaughter for starters. Pretty sure the whole town knows that already. I may not have as much spunk as her, but I’m defiantly not a party pooper.” He laughed and gave me a knowing look. Nan had a reputation around town. Not that it was such a bad thing. Never a dull moment when she was around. “I don’t really stay in one place too long. Never found that one thing that felt like home, ya know?”
“I get it. I haven’t moved away because here feels too much like home. There are those who run away from this place and never look back as soon as their leash is cut. And then there are those who just never leave,” He said with a shrug.
My mom was one of the former. The only reason she ever came back was when she needed something from Nan. She never stayed long enough to reminisce.
“It’s not so bad. There’s got to be something said for the way people of small towns always look after one another. It’s something that’s lost in the big city. You start to feel more like a blank shadow than an actual person. Walking down the streets and never getting a friendly smile.” I pulled out a cup and filled it with water. “Trust me, I’ve lived all over, small towns, big cities, I know.”
“I imagine sometimes what it would be like to get out,” he said, playing mindlessly with a stir straw. I wasn’t sure why the bar even had them, but for some reason, there was a whole cup filled when them sitting on the bar top. “But I don’t think any place will make me feel like I do here. Grounded. At ease. Comfortable.”
“Home,” I said, putting it simply.
“Home,” he repeated as if it was the perfect answer.
