FourRonan
I dragged the rake through the weeds as Shiloh started back for the house. I snuck a final glance as if to convince myself a girl like that was fucking real and not a mirage or an Egyptian queen in the flesh. Hundreds of black braids fell around the light-brown skin of her shoulders that glowed in the late-afternoon sun, that light glinting off the bracelets and rings she’d probably made herself.
Christ, she was beautiful, her dark eyes soft but sharp with intelligence. And guarded. She didn’t give anything away for free. You had toearnthis girl’s time and trust…and would probably feel like a fucking king if you did.
My stupid heart stopped as she glanced back at me. Our eyes met, sparking a jolt to my chest. We both looked away quickly, and she disappeared into the house, her dress sliding like water over her body.
I hacked at the ground mercilessly.
“Fuck my life.”
I didn’t need this torture. The house, the yard, the goddamn lemonade. It was already too much. And now Shiloh…
Forget her. No more conversations or asking personal shit. No more nothing.
Becausenothingwas what I had to offer a girl like that.
I finished up for the afternoon and grabbed my old fleece-lineddenim jacket from the back of the patio chair. The scent of fresh-baked cookies hit me before I even touched the screen door.
“Ms. Barrera?” I called. The old lady was mostly blind. I didn’t want to scare her.
“In here, darling.”
I stepped inside, making sure to wipe my boots on the porch mat first so my footprints wouldn’t dirty their floors. A plate of chocolate chip cookies was cooling on the kitchen counter.
My stomach growled, and so did that old hunger that went deeper than flesh and bone. The Barrera household was a goddamn buffet. Cozy and warm and crammed with photos and antique furniture, glass cabinets of old-lady knickknacks, and trees made out of wires and beads. Traces of homecooked meals lingered in the air. The entire place felt like a kind of wealth I’d never known or understood. Not in money but in every other thing that mattered. It was hard to believe this house—this home—and my crappy, empty apartment existed in the same town.
Ms. Barrera sat knitting with the two gray cats curled next to her on the couch. Shiloh was nowhere to be seen, thank God. I stank with sweat and needed to get the fuck out of there.
“How is it out there? Not too hot, I hope.”
“No, ma’am.”
“You met my great-granddaughter?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I hope she didn’t give you a hard time.”
“No, she’s…fine.”
She’s a work of art.
“Good. She can be rather direct.”
Which I liked. Too much. There was a lot about Shiloh I liked too much.
I cleared my throat and pulled a second folded paper from my pocket. “This is the supply list. I called around to a bunch of places to make sure you got the best prices.”
I handed it to her and quickly backed off.
“Aren’t you a doll? My eyes aren’t what they used to be, but I trust this is just right. I’ll have Shiloh place the order today.”
“Yep. Same time tomorrow?”
“Nonsense. Tomorrow is Saturday. The weekends are for fun, though I wish someone would tell that to my great-granddaughter.” Her eyes widened with a sudden thought. “Shiloh tells me you’re in her senior class at Central.”
“Yes, ma’am.”