Chase pushed the shopping cart down the aisle of the corner grocery store. He was pretty sure the layout hadn’t changed at all in the eight years that he’d been gone.

That’s how everything seemed in Baxter Springs, though.

It was as if the whole town moved at a slower pace than the rest of the world, and it was one of the main reasons Chase had avoided going home whenever possible while he’d been enlisted in the Marines.

If his parents didn’t insist on living the rest of their lives in the rural Kansas town, he probably would’ve never gone back at all. There was just nothing there for him, and there never had been.

Well, he’d had some good times as a kid, but even then, he always knew that life would just be more interesting in a bigger city. And now that he was a free man, a civilian again after spending his entire adult life in the service, he didn’t love the idea of wasting time in Baxter Springs when he could be working in New York City with his brother.

Some of the stories Jacob had told him about working as a bodyguard sounded like even more of an adrenaline rush than Chase’s average day with the Marines, and that had been enough to sell Chase on the idea of a career change.

He grimaced as he looked down at the list his mom had sent with him. “Nice white wine to pair with fish?” Chase mumbled. “Assortment of cheeses?”

For a moment, he toyed with the idea of calling to remind her that the only wine he’d ever drank came from a box, and he was pretty sure it had been pink. Was that close enough to white? Or that the only cheese choice he was used to making was between American or no cheese at all.

Did they even have an assortment of cheeses at the little corner store? There were only like five aisles in the whole place, and Chase had already been down two of them.

“If I were an assortment of cheeses,” he mumbled to himself as he rounded the corner to the next aisle. “Where would I—oh—”

Chase looked up just as his shopping cart collided with someone else’s.

“Sorry,” the man said, his face flushing pink. “I didn’t even see—Chase?” His mouth opened and closed twice before he got another word out. “Chase Carpenter?”

“Ho-ly shit, Ben-fucking-Harper, are you kidding me? Is that really you?” Chase moved around the tangled carts and caught his old high school buddy in an embrace. “Man, you grew up. Sorry about bumping into you. I was just looking for—”

“Some assorted cheeses?” Ben asked, laughing as he clapped Chase on the back. “Yeah, I heard. I thought I recognized the voice, and then—well, then this happened.”

“Right.” Chase shook his head and brandished the list his mom had sent with him. “These damn cheeses. Man, how have you been? You know, I thought about calling you as soon as I got back in town, but…”

His voice trailed off as he remembered the last time he’d actually seen Ben.

That night before he left Baxter Springs for the Marines.

That night they kissed.

“I’ve been good, thanks,” Ben answered, cutting through the memory and making Chase realize he’d gone quiet for a moment. He wondered if Ben still remembered that night, too. “So… you’re, um, back in town?”

“Only for a couple of weeks. Jake is holding a job for me in New York, so I’ll be moving up there at the end of the month. But I just got out of the Marines and my mom threatened to disown me if I didn’t at least spend a little time back here first.”

Ben’s face fell when Chase said he would be moving soon, but he recovered quickly. Did he really think Chase would’ve moved back to Kansas permanently? It might have been a long while since they’d seen each other, but surely Ben knew him better than that.

“Sounds like you still can’t stand the thought of sitting still for too long,” Ben remarked with a wry grin. “I guess some things never do change.”

“Nope.” Chase shook his head. Maybe Ben did remember some things about him, after all. “Just the thought gives me hives. But we should catch up while I’m here. Do you have plans for dinner? I’m sure my mom could make a place at the table for you and your folks—your brother, too, if he’s free.”

Ben swallowed hard and his smile thinned out to a straight line as he pressed his lips together for a moment. “I can’t, sorry. Eric is back at the ranch waiting for me now, actually. But we’ve still got some work to do tonight before we can turn in. Our parents passed away a couple of years ago.”

“Oh, man.” Chase felt like he’d just been punched in the gut, and he reached out to squeeze his friend’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Ben. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay,” Ben said, offering a weak half-smile. “You couldn’t have known. But anyway, thank you for the invitation. Maybe some other time before you have to go?”

Chase felt a pang of disappointment coupled with the shock he still felt over hearing the news about Ben’s parents, but he tried to mask all of it behind a big smile. It was late notice, after all, so it’s not like he should have expected Ben to drop everything and rush over for dinner.

But still… as close as they used to be, it would be a shame not to at least take a short trip down memory lane while Chase was still in town.

“Yeah,” Chase answered. “I’d like that. Maybe we can do dinner another time, or drinks or… something.”

“Perfect,” Ben nodded, then slowly moved to extract his shopping cart from Chase’s. “I guess I should let you get back to your, um, scavenger hunt.”

Chase rolled his eyes. “Seriously, I don’t think I’m ever gonna make it through this list.”

“I’ll give you a hint. Try the deli counter for your cheeses. Shirley back there might even arrange them on a platter for you if you bat those big blue eyes at her.”

“Oh yeah?” Chase quirked an eyebrow and cut his eyes toward the back of the store. “You think she’s got the intel on what kind of wine goes with fish?”

Ben gave a half-shrug. “I’ll give you that one for free. You can’t go wrong with a chardonnay. Just pick one. I’m sure your mother isn’t expecting any miracles here.”

“You’re a life saver, Ben Harper.” Chase stuck out his hand to shake, but then pulled Ben in for another half-hug. “And I’m serious about catching up sometime soon. I know where you live. Is your number still the same from back in the day?”

Ben shot him a funny look. “You still have my number?”

Chase shrugged. Was that weird? It didn’t seem strange until Ben asked, but now that Chase considered it… yeah, there weren’t too many other people in Chase’s phone from eight years ago.

Especially ones he hadn’t spoken with in nearly as long.

“Of course I do,” Chase said, deciding to take the nonchalant approach. He could keep whatever number he wanted, for whatever reason, right? “Last I heard, you and I were still friends, so…”

Ben chuckled. “Okay, fair enough. But yeah, my number is still the same. Use it if you get time.” He smiled and looked at Chase like he wanted to say something more. Instead, he maneuvered his cart through the narrow aisle and gave a little wave. “It was nice seeing you again, Chase. Take care, and tell your parents hello for me.”

“Will do,” Chase nodded. “And it was good to see you, too. Really good. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Chase watched as Ben turned the corner and moved out of sight, then stayed there watching that same spot for a few more seconds, just in case.

In case of what, Chase wasn’t even sure.

Maybe Ben would pop back around the corner, just as abruptly as he had a few minutes before. Or maybe he would change his mind about the dinner invitation Chase had offered.

Maybe Chase would just catch another glimpse of him shopping, doing whatever, living his normal, non-Chase-centric life. The same way he had apparently been doing for the past eight years that Chase had missed.

Because even though Chase hadn’t really noticed the changes that had happened in Baxter Springs since he’d been gone, there clearly had been some pretty big ones.

Like the way his best friend had grown up and turned into this cowboy with tight jeans and muscles, completely at odds with the teen in Chase’s mind—barely eighteen and all arms and legs.

Or how Ben had lost his parents but still apparently took care of the family ranch.

It made Chase wonder what else he had missed. What else had happened while he was off fighting on the other side of the world?

Maybe it was better that he didn’t know.

Being blissfully unaware of just about everything that had happened stateside for almost a decade hadn’t been a problem before, so maybe it was better to stay on that path for a little while longer. Once he was settled in New York, maybe he could get involved in some local stuff.

He’d be starting his whole life over, basically from scratch, so it just made sense to keep his blinders on until then. Sure, he still wanted to sit down and talk to Ben for a while—that was definitely going to happen.

But anything else? Especially anything that involved putting himself out there or putting down roots?

Yeah, that was gonna be a hard no.

He’d visit with his family, he’d touch base with Ben, and then he’d be on a plane to New York.

Two weeks.

Nothing major.

No commitments.

Just two weeks, and then he could start over.