“Pardon?”
“Milk. You don’t have any in that basket. Do you want some?”
With braces and acne, the girl behind the checkout couldn’t be more than fourteen. She was all angles and edges, and yet to grow into her body.
“Hazel,” she then said.
“Brad,” he added, wondering when he’d last had a conversation with anyone at a checkout, other than to hand over money.
“So, do you want that milk?”
Looking down at his basket, he thought maybe he did.
“Be right back.”
He ran, retrieved the cartoon, and returned in seconds. Hazel continued to talk as she scanned and packed his stuff, and he grunted replies, which didn’t put her off at all. Scratching his shoulder, he wondered if all this interaction was breaking him out in hives.
Grabbing the bag when he was done, he thanked her and fled. Standing outside the door, he didn’t think a cab would pass by anytime soon, so he’d have to walk.
“Want a lift?”
Bending, he looked into the lowered window of an ugly gray sedan at the woman who’d asked him the question. She had red spiky hair and her mouth formed a straight, angry line. He didn’t think they’d been introduced.
“Ah, no, thanks. I’ll walk.”
“Suit yourself.”
She drove off down the road at a pace he could outrun, leaving him shaking his head. He had to get out of this crazy town, and he would… any day now.
Chapter 10
Brad woke the following morning to a clear blue sky. Today they were flying to the Buchanan land. Dressing in the gray shorts Declan had selected for him and another T-shirt. He laced his feet into sneakers, and then shoveled in two pieces of toast. After scalding his mouth on his coffee, he climbed on to his Harley and headed for the McBride residence further along the road.
He’d spent the evening alone, and his equilibrium was restored. He would do this, go and see if his father’s tentacles had reached here yet, and then he’d leave this place. Maybe one day he’d come back for a visit, perhaps when he had a niece or nephew, but for now he needed to put some distance between himself and Lake Howling.
Long and low, the McBride house sat nestled into the trees and looked like it had been there since the beginning of time. Like Ethan’s place, it was rustic and suited the environment.
He saw Ethan as he parked his bike. He was running through a final check of his helicopter before they left. First to arrive, Brad hesitated to approach. The time he’d spent alone with his brother had not gone well.
“Morning,” Ethan called.
“Morning.”
Brad made himself move closer, and then stood and watched, while his brother went through his preflight procedure.
“So, I hear you met the lovely Delany Reynolds.”
“Yup.” Brad jammed his hands in his pockets and slowly turned a circle, taking in the scenery.
“I just meant for you to drop her off, sorry you got dragged inside. Macy told me how weak her dad’s got. Thanks for doing what you did.”
“She's a bitch, that mother.”
“And then some. She thinks I'm a loser because I walked away from our father's millions.”
“Some truth in that loser comment.”
“Takes one to know one.”
