Page 51 of Your Last First Kiss
My place is with Penny. But I tame the forcefulness of that thought before it knocks me over.
“Why was he expecting you here?” Kai asks with a frown.
“I’m not sure, bud. But I bet it has everything to do with Ashton.”
Kai turns away and crashes into stacked milk crates that have him hurtling toward the metal stairs. I move without thought and grab the back of his jacket just in time to keep him from hitting the floor.
“You okay?” I ask, lifting enough so he can find his feet.
His shoulders are tense, and his cheeks flush pink.
“Yeah. Thanks. I keep tripping over my own dang feet,” he mumbles.
I snort and take a step back. “That’s what happens when you go through quick growth spurts, kid. You turn into a baby giraffe for a few years.”
Remy chuckles. “Already protectin’.” He shakes his head, but he almost smiles as he says it.
“I didn’t want him to get hurt,” I mutter. Embarrassment and a sensation I can’t place makes my spine tingle.
“’Cause you care. Nothin’ to be ashamed about. It’s about time someone was carin’ on that family.”
Kai jams his hands into his jacket pockets and stares at the floor. His lips are moving, but no words come out.
“Get him suited up to make the rounds,” Remy says. “Levi told me that John was already on the roof again this morning.”
“Jesus,” Miller mutters, then looks at me and laughs. “Don’t worry. You’re about to meet a bunch of people. You’ll learn their names eventually. John is an eighty-year-old man with two grown sons. They own the only restaurant in town, but John continues to climb onto the roof to shovel the snow off instead of waiting for one of his boys to show up and do it.”
My mouth falls open in shock.
“He fell off twice last year,” Kai says. “But he didn’t even break anything. It’s crazy.”
He sounds crazy.
“Oh,” Remy says with a chuckle. “Cassie and James were at it again this morning, too. You might have to break them up if they’re still snow blowing when you drive by.”
“Ugh, not again.” Miller grabs me by the elbow and guides me toward the stairs. “Cassie and James have…let’s just say they have history.”
“And dueling coffee shops,” Kai points out.
“Technically, Books N’Beans is books and coffee,” Miller corrects. “And Dough-Joes is a bakery slash coffee shop. They’re separated by a salon and a huge misunderstanding none of us know about.”
“How do you know it’s a misunderstanding if you don’t know about it?” I ask.
“Isn’t a misunderstanding the only thing that could keep two people in love apart? What else would it be?”
As I descend the stairs, I scratch my head and look at Miller over my shoulder. “This town sounds like it has a ton of baggage.”
“Baggage lets you know you’re alive,” Remy calls after us. “See you soon, Dillon.”
“Bye?” Pretty sure I'll see him again.
While some might call it fate pushing me toward Penny, I know the truth. In my life, fate looks a lot like Ashton Westbrook.
* * *
Miller’s truckrolls to a stop in the middle of the street. We’re the only idiots driving around in this shit anyway.
The snow comes and goes in waves, but the flakes seem to triple in size as the sky gets darker.
