Chapter Three #4
The way Kimberly’s lashes fluttered had him guessing what was going on inside that beautiful head of hers.
“Yeah, they are.”
“That’s good.”
Silence stretched, and Shane was pretty sure this would have been the time for Kimberly to pull some weight in the conversation. She just continued to cut her stems, then carefully arranged them in the vase. Another song came up on her playlist. “It’s Gettin’ Better All the Time” by Brooks & Dunn.
“So, what about you?” Shane started again. “You’re in Tolstone and with a different pack. Are you happy?”
Kimberly finally glanced his way, a spark in her eyes that read more defiant than confident. “I am.”
He gave a nod. “Good. Gage is your alpha, right?”
She dropped a sprig of fern a little aggressively into the vase. “Yep.”
“Was he the merciful alpha you mentioned?”
Then, that steel in her movements melted and a soft look dawned in her eyes.
“No … I mean, Gage is a good alpha … Going to be a good alpha. But that’s not who I was talking about.
” Kimberly was about to slip in a pretty white flower, one that he didn’t recognize, but stopped and turned to look right at him.
Flustered. Torn. Like she didn’t want to have this conversation but was neck-deep in it anyway.
“Gage inherited the pack from the alpha before him. That alpha was my history professor in college.” Despite her discomfort, her lips pulled into the first whisp of a smile he had seen in a long time.
“He was the best alpha. He always made time to listen to me and give decent advice. He became like a second dad to me, the way alphas should for younger shifters.”
Shane could appreciate that. But even more than that, he was so grateful that a good alpha was there for Kimberly when she needed it most. He just wished it could have been him doing the comforting like he had before.
“What happened to him?” he asked.
Kimberly’s gaze dropped to the table and her pinky finger brushed the stem of a rose. “He died. Before he did, he gave instructions that Gage was to take over the pack. Me, him, and another wolf are all that’s left. We came to Tolstone because Gage needs help learning how to be an alpha.”
The impulse to vault over the table and wrap her in a hug made Shane fidget a bit, but he stayed where he was. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Green eyes lifted and met his in such a way that the breath froze in his chest. “And all bad blood aside, I am sorry for yours. Losing a parent is never easy.” She picked up the rose closest to her hand and spun it between her fingers.
“This is for a funeral tomorrow. The daughter lives in New York and couldn’t make the trip, so she ordered this for her dad’s service.
” She set the rose down. “It’s a small town, but we basically do all of the funeral flower orders.
Some people call with specific requests, like the deceased’s favorite colors or flowers.
But others…” Kimberly shrugged. “They just want us to slap together something because they didn’t care.
But I do, so I try to make each one special anyway. ”
It wasn’t the segue he expected, but Shane loved the way her expression brightened.
He could tell this wasn’t just a job. It was a calling.
Again, he was grateful she found something to focus on in the years since they’d been apart.
She grew up, moved on, made a life for herself. It was what they had always wanted.
“And what kind of bouquet would you have made for my dad?”
Kimberly bit her lips together and thought for a moment. “White tulips for forgiveness, and purple hyacinths for regret … maybe a dark purple dahlia for betrayal, then some lavender to tie the purples and white together.”
“And mine?”
Right at that moment, her playlist rang out with a newer song than those previously played, but one he had heard several times before. “I Wish I Could Break Your Heart” by Cassadee Pope.
Kimberly stared at him, the lyrics swirling between them like a time warp.
“Hydrangeas,” she answered.
“For?”
“Heartlessness … and devotion.”
If there was ever a definition of mixed signals, Kimberly summed it up in three words. Shane just stared. How was he supposed to come up with something to say after that? Was she trying to tell him something? And what was that something exactly? Did it even matter?
Kimberly was the first to break away and began to hurriedly position the flowers in the vase, as if she were rushing to finish the order.
Heartlessness? Shane’s dad got forgiveness and regret but all he got was heartlessness?
Maybe he was just fooling himself. Kimberly seemed adamant.
Shane hurt her too badly by not coming after her or making any attempt to reconnect over the past ten years.
Another screw up that he couldn’t make up for.
Shane sighed. “Why don’t I just come back on Monday morning and finish up?” He snatched the battery charger and yanked the cord from the wall a little too roughly.
When he straightened, Kimberly looked up, hands still on the flowers in front of her. “Oh … Okay.”
No objections. No, I’m sorry for what I said, please stay apology. She was just going to let him leave. Again.
Shane hauled his tools and equipment back into his truck, fighting the urge to be indignant by how she seemed to open up just a little, then snapped shut again.
All the way back to his apartment, he wondered if it was even worth the effort.
After all, he wouldn’t be in Tolstone for long.
What was the use in getting his hopes up when she thought he was so heartless?
Oh, yeah. Because at one time, he had been hopelessly and completely devoted to Kimberly Ross, but he fucked it all up.
Now, some deep part of him wanted to make it right again, to make up for his mistake in not following her, for not keeping his word like he should have.