Chapter 3: Alex

“He’s late,” I said, leaning back against the car to stretch, feeling the muscles in my back grate against each other as I breathed in the afternoon air. Just being here made me feel so much better, and being able to stretch my legs had sent the pain scurrying away. For now.

I looked back at the Victorian I had grown up in. It hadn’t changed a bit since I had left, although it could have used a fresh coat of paint, and some of the windows looked like they needed to be changed. Still, it was pretty much the home I had left behind, and a wave of nostalgia washed over me as I took it in.

Kelly, on the other hand, had found her way back to whatever was taking her attention away on her phone. She was stretched out on the hood of the car, eyes glued to the small screen in her hands, looking more like she hadn’t wanted to come here than ever before.

“You’re one to talk,” she said, fingers dancing across the touch screen in a way I knew I would never be able to do.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, come on,” Kelly said, exasperated. “When was the last time you picked me up from soccer practice on time?”

“That’s not fair,” I frowned.

“Really?” She turned to look at me, raising her eyebrow the way her mother had always done when I said something ridiculous. “I know the groundskeeper by name, dad. I know he’s divorced with three kids, plays in a jazz band on weekends and thinks that religion is a load of shit.”

“Language,” I replied.

“Just saying.” She turned back to her phone, once again ignoring me.

She has a point.

Janice’s voice seemed to be whispering in my ears more and more these days, and I quickly brushed it aside. A part of me knew that Kelly was right, but what was I supposed to fucking do? I can’t be in two places at the same time, and I never kept her waiting for too long.

An hour, Alex. At least an hour.

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair, turning to look out at the road in hopes of seeing my father’s truck anywhere in the distance. My eyes wandered, and they fell on the few houses around us. I wondered if the people I had grown up around still lived in them. Some of them I had come to really cherish over the years, especially after my mother had passed. Others had seemed like leeches, practically throwing themselves at my father in hopes of becoming the next Mrs. Logan. At least in that department, my father had had the good sense to keep his distance.

“Did granddad change his truck?”

I turned around, first looking at Kelly, then focusing my attention on the Range Rover that was making its way toward the house. I frowned, knowing well that there was no way my father could afford another car, let alone a four-by-four. Besides, that old blue Ford had always been his life. His mistress, as my mother had always called it. He had even named it Lulu, for fuck’s sake.

The Range Rover slowed down as it neared the house, pulling up a few yards away from the house. I tried to get a look at the driver inside, but the sun was reflecting off the windshield and blocking my view.

“My old man wouldn’t be caught dead in a Range Rover,” I said, waiting.

The car doors opened and two men stepped out of the Rover, each clad in jeans and a checkered shirt that passed for typical ‘Kent-attire’. I recognized the one with the cigarette in his hands, but couldn’t place him. He smiled at me, obviously recognizing me as well, and threw his hands up in the air in greeting.

“Holy fucking shit. If it isn’t Alex Logan himself!” he called out.

“Heath?” I hoped I had the name right. “Heath Collins?”

“One and only, buddy!”

I clasped Heath’s hand, and he pulled me into a hug, slapping my back a couple of times more than I would have preferred. I pulled back, attempting to give him the best smile I could fake. I had grown up with Heath, and the nicest thing I could ever say about him was that he knew how to spend his family’s small fortune in ways that would make the billionaires back in Miami cringe. Other than that, I had always steered clear of him. Which made it even stranger that he would show up here.

“How’s Miami, my man?”

“Sunny and hot,” I replied, briefly nodding at his friend who was watching me with a deep frown on his face.

Heath turned to the other man and slapped his shoulder. “Jack, meet Alex Logan,” he introduced us. “We go way back. Like to fucking kindergarten.” Heath turned back to me, all smiles and eyes that mirrored mischief. He looked over my shoulder, and his smile widened. “Now who is that pretty lady?”

I turned and waved Kelly over, silently happy that she made enough of a fuss before finally sliding off the hood of my car and trudging over. “This is my daughter, Kelly.”

Heath bent down, hands on his knees, and looked Kelly in the eye. “Welcome to Kent, little lady,” he said. “I bet your dad has told you all about me, eh? His old pal Heath?”

“Never heard of you,” Kelly responded.

“Kelly!” I frowned at her, but couldn’t help the smile that played at the edge of my lips.

“We’re going to have to remedy that, aren’t we?” Heath said, winking at me. “I can show you all the cool places around here. Things have really changed since you left, Alex. Really changed. Kent’s not the same old sleepy little town it used to be.”

Kelly looked up at me. “Can I get back to what I was doing, please?”

I nodded and watched her walk away, race away actually, only looking back at Heath once with enough disgust on her face to make me cringe. At least her instincts were spot on.

“So, what are you doing here?” I asked after I was sure she was out of ear shot.

“Came to see your old man,” Heath said, briefly looking at the house. “He here?”

I shook my head. “We’re waiting for him,” I replied. “You’re welcome to join us, but I have to warn you, Kelly isn’t great company.”

“Typical teenager. She’ll come around,” Heath said, and the way the words came out of his mouth immediately threw up red flags in my head. “Any idea when Samuel will be back?”

“He knows we’re coming, so I’d say any minute now,” I shrugged. “What’s this about?”

“That’s between us and him,” Jack cut in before Heath can answer.

“Excuse me?” I turned to him, my eyes shooting daggers and my fist clenched. I didn’t like this guy, and the way he was looking at me pissed me off.

“Hey, shut up,” Heath shot at him, slapping his chest. “What’s your problem?” Heath turned to me and shook his head, shrugging. “Sorry, Alex, Jack forgets his manners sometimes.”

“Apparently so,” I replied, keeping my eyes fixed on the idiot who couldn’t control his mouth.

“We only wanted to talk to him about the land out at Stone Creek,” Heath explained.

“What about it?” I knew what he was talking about, a dozen or so acres my mother had inherited from her father decades ago. It wasn’t farm land, but the landscape was beautiful, and we often had investors asking us to sell. It was a little strange that Heath would ask about the land, considering that his family already owned most of the land around town. Then again, the man was as unpredictable as a child with matches. There was no telling what his ambitions were.

“I got a few friends who are interested in the land, willing to pay a pretty hefty price for it, too,” Heath said.

I nodded, knowing that there was no way my father was going to sell the acreage because of the attachment to my mother. That, and of course the fact that Heath was involved, made me wonder just what good old dad had gotten himself into.

“I’ll let him know you came by,” I said.

Heath looked at me for a beat, trying to read me, and finally nodded. “You do that,” he said. He clapped me on the shoulder again and squeezed. “It’s good to see you, Alex, it really is. Let’s get together soon and have a little fun.”

With that, the two men made their way back to their car, Heath waving at me like an idiot and his friend looking like he wanted to do a lot more than just talk. For the first time since my leave, I wished I had kept my gun on me.

“You really attract the creeps, don’t you?” Kelly asked as I walked back to her, the Range Rover disappearing around the corner. My leg was starting to act up again, my secret friend who promised he was here to stay.

“I guess so,” I said, unwilling to go into a sarcastic spree with her. At that moment, I was more worried about my father than arguing with my snarky teenage daughter.

“Is granddad in trouble?” she asked, looking at me seriously.

She’s definitely got my instincts.

“Nah, your grandpa can take care of himself,” I mused. “We’ll have to ask him what’s going on when he gets here.”

Kelly looked at the road and nodded. “Here’s your chance.”

I turned just as my father’s old Ford turned a bend and lazily made its way up to the house. Dad let out a few honks before pulling up beside my car. “Sorry I’m late, kids!”

He climbed out of the truck just as Kelly slid off the hood and rushed to hug him. He let out a gasp of surprise when she threw her arms around him, and for a second I thought she’d topple him over and they’d both go down.

“Wow, who the heck is this young lady and where is my little granddaughter?” Samuel exclaimed. “You’re getting so big!”

Kelly hugged him harder and smiled at him, the first genuine smile I had seen on her face since the beginning of summer. “And you’re getting so old!” she shot back.

“Always with the compliments,” Samuel chuckled. “Thank you, sweetheart, I do feel like I’m closer to eighty than seventy.”

“We’re going to need to get you a wheelchair soon,” Kelly joked.

“But only the one with a Hemi engine,” Samuel laughed. “I want to be able to race up and down North Main Street with the thing.”

I smiled, momentarily forgetting about Heath and whatever problems came with him. My father looked great, better than me, in fact, and Kelly was actually glowing.

The plan to spend late summer in Kent was starting to feel like a great idea.