Chapter Eleven
Kimberly slept for the majority of the ride to Oakfield while Shane nursed a Monster energy drink through the night.
The further they drove from Tolstone, the more her spirit slipped into a state of total calm, like sliding into a hot bubble bath after a long day.
Being with Shane, the air mostly clear between them, was just what she needed.
And by the kiss he gave her in his apartment, it was what he needed too.
That kiss lit her up like a Roman candle, the sparks only fizzing out when he released her lips.
Every bunched nerve in her was released in that one instant, and everything seemed rosy again, despite her ranting.
If her wolf were a physical being, it would have been wagging its tail happily after the treatment they received.
It was foolish to think all had been forgiven, but it certainly felt like it when she awoke early the next morning to find her hand securely nestled in his over the middle console as they arrived in the town.
She flexed her fingers, relishing the feel of his big hand holding hers.
It was something she could get used to, but something she never wanted to take for granted.
Had he taken her hand somewhere in the night, or had she reached blindingly into the sleepy void for his comfort and he answered her plea?
Whichever way it was, Kimberly didn’t care.
Like everything else having to do with Shane, it felt right and comfortable.
Like slipping on an old hoodie that she thought she lost but found tucked in the back of the closet, forgotten but no less loved and appreciated.
The decision to come with him on this road trip was one-hundred-percent impulsive.
She had the weekend off since she worked overtime for the wedding, but she refused to tell a soul that she simply packed an overnight bag and hopped in Shane’s truck without a moment’s hesitation.
It wasn’t something the sensible, grounded Kimberly would do.
It wasn’t what Kimberly, who had lived ten years with regret and struggled to find herself again, would have done.
It was what seventeen-year-old Kimberly would have done if Shane simply offered out his hand and asked her to come away with him.
Shane didn’t exactly ask that in her apartment, but she was taking the moment for herself.
Time would tell how much trouble she’d be in.
Muscles stiff and sore from sleeping at an awkward angle in the passenger seat, Kimberly stretched out her legs and her one free arm.
Shane smiled but didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Good morning.”
Kimberly ran a hand through her hair and forgot that it wouldn’t be tangled at all. There was hardly anything to tangle. “Good morning.” She checked the clock on the dashboard and saw it was just half past six in the morning.
A glance out the window told her this town had a decent business district, with restaurants, offices, and stores lining the main thoroughfare. The residential streets branched off the main road and plenty of stoplights impeded their straight shot through town.
In Tolstone, there would have been next to no one out on the streets at this hour. In Oakfield, the place was already alive with activity. Kimberly peered ahead to check out the chain restaurants and outlet plaza signs. “I assume you have a plan for the day?”
“Yes, but first, food. Can you grab my phone and punch in Ralph’s Diner? It’s supposed to be a good spot for breakfast.”
Kimberly regretfully slid her hand out of his and reached for his phone that sat crooked in the cup holder. “You did your research, huh?”
“I had to. Everything down to the freaking demographics. This is one of the places Dominic suggested and the closest fit to everyone’s needs. Hopefully, what I find will make it work out, and I won’t have to do so many of these scouting trips.”
Kimberly punched in the restaurant on the map app. “What makes it work for everyone?”
Shane then went into an exhaustive list of who needed what.
Wanda needed a good gym. John needed a school that was hiring.
There needed to be available and reliable childcare facilities.
A college was only about a fifteen-minute drive into a larger neighboring town for Trent.
She only recognized a few of the names of his packmates, feeling a slight tug of nostalgia at the mention of her childhood pack.
“Does it have everything you need too?” she asked as Shane flipped on his blinker to turn into the diner’s parking lot.
“What I need is sitting right next to me.”
Kimberly wanted to smile but simply couldn’t. Reality was a bitch, and while his answer warmed a deep part of her core, she couldn’t let it settle.
So many things got in the way of Shane having everything he needed.
She had no dominance and wasn’t a good fit to be his mate.
Running away with him would have been much easier and less complicated when they were kids and before he became an alpha.
Not to mention the issue of her inability to shift, which was well on its way to being resolved, but not completely.
She still belonged to Gage’s pack. How could she possibly turn her back on Gage and Declan after all they had been through?
“I sure hope they’ve got good coffee,” Shane said, drawing her out of her own black thoughts.
“Likely served out of a carafe that hasn’t been cleaned in years.”
They looked up at the front of the restaurant with its stucco siding and windows painted with the weekly specials that probably hadn’t changed in the last few decades. The building itself was definitely dated, and she would have guessed it was built in the seventies.
“You think it’ll be a greasy spoon?”
Kimberly could already smell the bacon fat, and a bit of nausea tickled her gut. “Sure looks and smells like it.”
“Well, if it’s no good, you can pick where we eat lunch from my carefully curated list.”
Kimberly eyed him. “Please tell me we are not going to spend all day sampling every mom-and-pop restaurant in the town. I don’t think my stomach could handle it.”
Shane put the truck in park and shut off the engine. “No, not every restaurant.” He stretched, lifting his ass out of the driver’s seat as he tried to extend his leg against the floorboard. The top of his head nearly touched the roof of the cab. “But I promise you won’t go home hungry.”
As Shane stretched, his spine cracked and popped, prompting a deep and relieved sigh to escape him.
“Sounds like that felt good.” Kimberly laughed. “You know you could have asked me to drive for a while.”
“You were sleeping. Didn’t want to wake you.”
Kimberly leaned against the headrest. “I totally intended to stay awake and talk but yesterday was so exhausting.”
He smirked. “I have never known you to stay awake for a car ride longer than half an hour if you’re riding shotgun.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, that hasn’t really changed. But the thought counts, right?”
He chuckled. “Of course. Bottom line, it didn’t hurt my feelings, and we made it safely, even though I might have swerved into the opposite lane a few times.”
Kimberly’s eyes went round. “You what?”
He grinned. “Let’s go! I’m starving.”
Shane quickly hopped out of the truck to avoid the subject and continued his stretches.
She climbed out too and watched how the thick ropes of muscle bunched and pulled beneath his skin.
Her tummy tightened at the show, but she averted her eyes when he looked her way.
Inwardly, she marveled at the change in their situation in just twenty-four hours.
Shane had been upset, and rightfully so, but he acted now as if none of the last two weeks had happened.
It was as if the clock had been reset to the moment before their first kiss in her apartment, and the world was back as it should be.
Inside the restaurant was a maze of dark wood booths to either side of a long countertop with barstools occupied by old men wearing Vietnam veteran caps and colorful badges.
An elderly woman grinned at them, grabbed two menus, and led them to a nearby booth against a front window.
She told them their server would be along soon with coffee and hurried away to seat another older couple that followed them inside.
Kimberly hadn’t seen a single person in the restaurant without a head of gray or silver hair. “Is anyone in this town under sixty?” she whispered as she browsed over the double-sided laminated menu.
“Yes, but I’m sure none of them are awake yet.” Shane’s brows pinched as he read over the menu items. “Looks like they have a good selection. Cody is a picky eater, but there are plenty of restaurants around, too, so he shouldn’t—”
Kimberly cut him off with a gasp as her eyes fell on the beverage section of the menu. “They have Boba tea!”
Shane’s face screwed up with confusion. “Boba what?”
“Boba tea! No one has it in Tolstone. Oh my God, you’ve got to try it!”
Shane looked less than enthused. “I’ll take a sip of yours, how about that?”
“I’m holding you to it,” she replied with a wide grin. “You were saying about Cody?”
“I was just saying he needs a place where he can order the same food every visit. He’s picky.”
Kimberly tilted her head. “You’ve really put a lot of effort into finding a place that everyone will be happy with. That’s cool.”
He set down his menu and rubbed his eyes. She now noticed they had a touch of red in the corners.
“I mean, I wish I could just throw a dart on a map and call it a day, but I know I wouldn’t feel right doing that.
There needs to be available jobs, good schools, restaurants, affordable housing, and plenty of businesses.
Residential areas need to be only so far from grocery stores.
Shit like that. If I just picked a place and dragged everyone there, they’d be miserable, I’d be a terrible alpha, wouldn’t I? ”