Awakening (37 page)
Authors: Sydney Holmes
SHANE
Shane sat holding his corn dog in the air, stunned at what had just happened. He couldn’t believe his luck. The girl! His girl—the one he had been trying to meet for weeks was working here of all places. When she handed him his lunch, he got lost in her eyes. They were the brightest green he had ever seen and they glowed as if a light was shinning within. When their eyes had locked, it was as if she looked straight into his soul. He shivered at the thought.
He noticed her the day she moved in and had been trying to talk to her ever since. He thought it would be relatively easy, given they lived in the same apartment complex, but he had been so wrong. She moved like a cat and he always missed her. He even considered stalking the mailboxes, figuring she had to get her mail at some point, right?
When Shane first saw her, she took his breath away—and that never happened. Dressed in old tattered jeans and a tight black tank top, he couldn’t stop watching her. As she carried in her boxes, he kept expecting her friends to show up and help her move the big stuff. As far as he saw, no one ever came and she never really moved in anything big.
At first he thought she was young, like just out of high school, the way she moved, her body was rippled with muscles as she carried her boxes up the stairs, the sparkle in her eyes and spring in her step as she practically skipped down the stairs empty handed to get more. But after awhile, he decided she was not that young after all.
Her silky brown hair was cut short, just hitting her chin line in the front, but cut tight in the back. She looked like an athlete or even an athletic model. She had the kind of beauty that gave most women confidence. But this girl never looked anyone in the eye when they passed on the stairs and never once stopped to talk.
Shane watched her move in all her stuff, never once venturing out and offering her help or hospitality. He had been kicking himself ever since. What a dickhead move that was. He could have manned up, introduced himself and offered her help. But he just stood in his ground floor apartment mesmerized by her all day like some creepy stalker. Just when he realized his mistake and was about to venture out, his phone rang and then his whole life got turned upside down.
“Uncle Shane!” His niece Jennifer screamed, pushing a French fry in his face.
“What’s up sweetheart?” he asked her coming out of his daze.
“Eat silly.” She plopped a handful of fries into his paper boat.
“What’s wrong?” his nephew Jake asked. “You look funny.”
“It’s that lady,” Sean added, before inhaling his burger.
Of all of his sister’s kids, he related to Sean the most. Shane vividly remembered being nine. Just at the cusp of being cool, but not quite old enough to pull it off. Jennifer, the oldest of the group, was a lot like their mother, organized, bossy yet caring. At eleven, she had already perfected the art of getting her brothers to do what they needed to do without making them feel like she owned them. Jake was seven and a handful on a good day. Why or how he agreed to watch them for two weeks while his sister and her husband enjoyed a second honeymoon was beyond him. At day three, Shane wondered if he was really going last another eleven days, but hey who’s counting?
“Do you know that lady?” Jennifer asked him.
“No sweetie. But I think she lives in our complex. I guess I just didn’t expect to see her here. That’s all. Go ahead and eat so we can get back in the pool.”
He sat back and ate his disgusting corn dog in three bites. This is what he remembered doing as a kid. Hanging out at the pool, eating pool food, and soaking up the sun. He and Melody spent more time in their community pool during the summer than anywhere else. That’s where he learned to watch people. He learned to recognize the difference between fear and excitement when kids jumped off the diving board. He watched teenage boys square off silently when they were both eyeing the same girl. He watched in awe as his sister’s friends evolved from play mates to real girls and he watched his friends change their behavior around them. All skills he uses on a regular basis as a Private Investigator. He loved being a PI. He knew early on he was never going to be an inside desk guy, nor did he follow orders really well. But, he did learn that he could blend in almost anywhere and had a face that people rarely remembered.
Between that and his theater classes in college, he soon became one of the top investigators in his area. The only down side, at 32, nothing surprised him and trust was a hard commodity in his world. Other than casual relationships along the way, he had never had what he would call a girlfriend, never met that one girl who took his breath away. Not until now anyway. And he didn’t even know her name. He needed a name to go with that face and that body. He needed it now.
Shane abruptly stood causing all three kids to look up at him nervously.
“Keep eating guys. I’ll be right back.” He nodded his reassurance and turned toward the snack bar.
It was time for him to man up. He was a PI for God’s sake. He could get a name, at least.
“Can I help you?” The young girl at the window was all eyelids and smiles. Shane chuckled as he remembered his own time in the hellish teenage years.
“Yeah, hi.” He turned on his most charming smile. “I was just wondering. There is a lady who works here, she just brought us our food.” Shane waited.
“Oh yeah. That’s our manager, Rowan. Is something wrong?” The girl asked with some concern in her voice.
“Nope. That’s great. Rowan, huh? Thanks. That’s all I needed.” He turned, a genuine smile on his face.
“Hey, wait mister,” the girl called and he turned back. “What’s your name? Seems only fair, right?” She smiled a flirty smile at him. Well okay then, maybe these teenagers today aren’t as innocent as back in the day.
“Uh, Shane. My name is Shane. Have a good one.” He nodded to her and left to go back to his charges.
ROWAN
Climbing the steps to her apartment, Rowan thought of nothing else but peeling off her clothes and taking a nice cool shower. The complex had a pool, but she needed to get the smell of old meat and grease off of her skin and out of her hair. Then, maybe if the pool was empty, she would sneak down and take a quiet dip. The last thing she wanted to do was get in a pool with a bunch of screaming kids.
Luckily there seemed to be few kids in this apartment complex. After doing as much research as possible, she had decided Oakdale would be her next step. She knew that Justin was set for a while longer, maybe later this summer he could come visit her, but the days when it was the two of them against the world were long gone. Truth be told, she liked it better this way. It seemed like her whole life she was taking care of somebody and just being in charge of herself was a nice change. Knowing that Justin was safe was enough for her. He was living his life; she was living hers.
She was thankful for her job at the pool, but knew that it was only for a couple of months at best. Summer was short lived and the kids would be going back to school, the teenagers she managed would be back in high school and she would be, once again, out of a job. She needed to find something to do that was easy to pick up and move. Maybe bar tending, or construction. She knew a lot about construction, she knew jack about bar tending or drinking.
Walking into her apartment always made her smile. She knew, without a doubt, that this was her safe place. Having moved now four times, she knew exactly how to make her home perfect for her. Not too sparse, but not so cumbersome that she couldn’t pack up and move quickly. Always keep moving! That was the key to her survival. At least for the first few years, she knew that going in, but it was worth it. Worth every inconvenience, every box lost or destroyed, every item left behind. Her freedom was worth all that and more. Jolly be dammed—this was her life!
She peeled off her clothes, throwing them in a plastic bag. They smelled so bad she didn’t want them stinking up the apartment. This was her life and she loved it, stinky clothes and all, but there was a limit.
The cool water moving across her skin as she dove into the pool was heavenly. Having put her laundry in the washer she planned on swimming till they were done. The laundry room was just across the way from the pool so doing laundry was as easy as taking an evening swim. She’d always wanted to be a swimmer when she was a kid. Now she got to indulge with each and every load of dirty clothes.
Coming up for air, she pulled herself out of the water and sat on the side. It was still hot outside, but with the sun almost down it was nice to just sit and enjoy the warm air drying her skin.
“Nice night.” The deep voice penetrated her thoughts and she darn near fell back into the pool.
“Oh! You scared me—” She turned and came face to face with the father of three from the pool. “Shane?”
His face lit up when she said his name. Yes, Tami had not let up all afternoon about the hot dad that wanted to know her name and how awesome was Tami that she now knew his. It had gotten on her last nerve.
“Hi Rowan. So the window girl told you I came by, huh?” She could hear the amusement in his voice.
“Yes, she did. Your daughter’s not old enough to be annoying yet, so I guess I shouldn’t blame you, but for heaven’s sake, Tami would not let up. Next time do me a favor and don’t ask.” Rowan slipped back under the water.
Why was he here and why was he talking to her? She was so flustered, she couldn’t think straight. She had to breath at some point so when she got as far away from him as possible she came up for air.
“…not my daughter.” She heard when her ears cleared.
“I’m sorry. What?” she asked still flustered.
“I said Jennifer is not my daughter. Neither are the boys. I’m the crazy uncle that agreed to watch them for a couple of weeks while their parents rekindled their relationship in Hawaii.” He looked right at her, waiting.
“Oh.” Rowan let that soak in for a second. “Wow, you are crazy! I take it you don’t have kids of your own?”
Shane simply shook his head.
Rowan laughed out loud, “So you had no idea what you were signing up for then. Well, you’re in for it now. Those kids looked like they’re a handful.”
He grinned and Rowan’s heart almost stopped. She had never seen anything so sexy in her life. With no other recourse, she dove back under the water to pull herself together. Popping up back on the other side of the pool, she pulled herself out of the water and slicked her hair back.
Taking a moment to look at him fully she saw that he was wearing worn jeans and a T-shirt stretched tight across his chest. He was dressed this time, but she was nearly naked, a fact not lost to her. He was standing there looking so comfortable, so casual, so edible. His muscles called to her, his fingers dangling elegantly from his hands, made her mouth water. Oh, what were those fingers capable of? She tried to clear her mind before meeting his gaze, but from the look on his face, she guessed she was not as quick as she’d hoped for.
Shane smiled as if waiting for her to have her fill. Instead Rowan turned, grabbed her towel and headed out the gate. “Good luck!” She called out over her shoulder as the gate closed.
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