“So do I, kinda,” I add weakly.
“Stopping by for a visit doesn’t count, Lil.”
“I’m here for the foreseeable future. Going to get a job at the hospital.”
“Doing what? Cleaning shit pans?”
“Nurse in the ER.” I stand taller, trying to hide how being around him is affecting me.
“That so?”
I nod proudly.
“Guess we’ll see each other then. I tend to bring a lot of people to the ER when I’m on shift.”
“Great. I’m sure you’rereallypopular with all the nurses.” I grimace. “Guess that means I’ll have to deal with seeing all your fuck buddies there too, won’t I?”
“Make sure to put in a good word for me.” He winks.
“Are you guys done? I want to hang out with my friend,” Ethan complains, and I almost forgot he was even here. My focus is purely on Parker.
“Sorry, man, you didn’t say your sister would be back.”
Ethan shrugs like it’s not a big deal, when to me it’s a huge deal.
“Why are you hanging out with a kid anyway? Other than you guys being about the same maturity wise.”
“Hey!” they both exclaim at the same time.
“My point exactly.” I laugh. “Enjoy whatever you’re doing, I’m going to see Mom.”
Without a glance back, I head outside to find my mom and see the horses. As soon as I step outside the fresh breeze smacks me in the face and I feel like I can let out a heavy breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
I knew I’d have to see Parker; I didn’t expect it to be so soon, and I didn’t know how it would feel. The good news is that the first time is now over.
The bad news is, I feel like it’ll only get worse from here.
CHAPTER 4
Parker
As soon asLily walks away I feel like I can breathe again. Seeing her wasn’t on my bingo card for the day. Seeing her look better than my memory allows was even worse. The beautiful blonde I loved so many years ago has grown into a perfect woman. My best friend. My first love. Mine.
But not anymore.
“Come on, can we go?” Ethan complains, pulling my attention back to the present.
“Yeah.” I nod. “Why didn’t you tell me your sister was coming back into town?”
Ethan shrugs. “I didn’t think you’d care to know.”
“Way to look out for me,” I tease sarcastically.
We go out to my truck to head to the fire station. Ethan had an issue with bullying in school this past year; kids are brutal. My mom is friends with his and indirectly asked if I could be a friendto him. I quickly learned he was extremely interested in firefighting. Every couple weeks we go to the fire station for him to hang out, learn a bit, and have some sort of distraction from the bullshit that is being a kid.
I know I’m going to have to have a conversation with my mom after I drop Ethan off because I have a feeling she knew about Lily coming back into town. But why wouldn’t she tell me?
The drive to the fire station doesn’t take long, our small town only has one stoplight and a lot of farmland. I rest my left arm on my door; the windows are down letting the spring breeze in through the cab.