Page 180 of Eight Years Gone

Amanda shook her head. “I’ve never seen them before.”

Grace forced a smile for Amanda, not so sure she liked watching Colton exchanging intricate handshakes with the men outside. “Uh, can you take these order sheets back to Aunt Maggie? And if you can set her up with another dozen boxes of the white candles, too, that would be great.”

Amanda took the sheet. “Definitely.”

Grace pretended to work as her gaze wandered to the window, watching as Colton spoke to the two men who screamed trouble.

It wasn’t necessarily that one of the guy’s hoodies said GIVER OF ZERO FUCKS in bold white font or that the other had skeletons and other creepy tattoos on every square inch of his exposed skin. It was their overall vibe.

She recognized bad news when she saw it. Her older brother had made her wary and wise to the rougher side of life. Before his death, Logan had become the type of bad influence Jessica wanted to keep Colton away from.

The man with the tattoos and shaved head did most of the talking while Colton nodded and occasionally smiled.

Grace steamed out a breath because nothing about this seemed good.

Colton was doing so well here in Preston Valley. His grades were excellent, and he was going to school every day. He was making new friends and seemed excited about his future after Dennis Fitch had told them last Friday afternoon that he would make sure Colton’s current case disappeared and he would also expedite the expungement of his record. The last thing he needed was old acquaintances popping back up in his life.

Everything about the current situation felt sickeningly familiar. Logan had had the friends he’d grown up with—the ones who had made his life better. And then there was the group who had actively helped him spiral.

Every time Logan had started to turn things around, the scum would return to pull him back down. She wasn’t about to let that happen to Colton.

She moved to find out what was going on as Colton knuckle-bumped both men, then turned and came back inside. “Is everything okay?”

Colton nodded. “Yeah.”

She held his gaze before he looked down. “Who are they?”

“Just a couple of guys I know from Millsdale.” He met her gaze again. “Everything’s good, Grace.”

She nodded, wanting to believe him, eager to ask more questions. But she didn’t want to push. Colton was starting to relax. His guard was mostly down around her and Jagger. “Okay. I’m going to get back to work.”

“I’ll call those customers.”

“Thanks.” She looked toward the window again, making certain that the men were gone, then went to help Aunt Maggie, glancing at the wall clock, relieved that Jagger would be home in just a couple more hours.

She’d promised Jagger she wouldn’t keep little or big things from him. And something about those two men reappearing in Colton’s life felt big.

* * *

Jagger switched the paper bag that held the dinner for three to his opposite arm as he adjusted his keys in his hand. Before he could get the key in the lock, Grace opened the door.

She smiled, wearing black yoga pants and one of his old gray sweatshirts. She’d pulled her hair back in a high ponytail. “Hey, stranger.”

He grinned, staring at the person he loved most in the world. “Hey, beautiful.”

She moved to let him in and shut the door behind him.

Setting the bag on the table, he dropped his carry-on and coat to the floor, then wrapped her up in a hug, kissing the top of her head. “I missed you.”

She returned his embrace, holding on tight. “I missed you, too.”

He eased her back enough to stare into her big blue eyes. “Where’s Colton?”

“In his room.”

“How was today?”

“Busy. But we got a great head start. We should have half the orders ready for the nine o’clock delivery tomorrow.”

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