Make It Last (5 page)

             
“When?” he
asked, trying to keep his tone light.

             
“She invited me to go to a party at the gravel pits on Saturday. You know, to catch up and stuff. Some of the people she works with and guys from school will be there
. No big deal.  You should come,
” Rich said,
as
laid-back as usual.

             
“Yeah, right,” Colin said with a laugh. “I don’t think Bree would be too happy about that.”

             
“Dude, you guys broke up like a million years ago.
I doubt she’ll be upset if you show up at the same party as her.”

             
“I’ll think about it,” Colin answered, as they pulled into
the parking lot of his dad’s store
. “You sure you want to work here for the summer? I thought you’d be looking forward to a summer of parties and girls.”

             
“Oh,
I am
, brother, don’t you worry.
”
Rich said with his signature grin.
“
There will be plenty of parties and girls, but I need to have some extra cash. When your dad brought it up last night, I figured, why not
?
”

             
Colin turned off his truck and opened the door
, ready to start the job that he’d always told himself, he’d never do. He’d always dreamed about leaving this town
and making it big, whether it was
in foo
tball or doing something else. H
e hadn’t cared, as long as it wasn’t this.

             
The General Store had been in this town since it was first settled, and it had always been run by Grayson’s. When he was little, he used to think it was wonderful to come in and help his dad stock the shelves and clean the store, but when he got old enough to work there every day after school, the store lost its appeal.

             
Colin tried to appease himself by saying that working
t
here was only temporary, but everyone knew
the truth. He was back now, H
is father could retire
in a few years
, and Colin
was going to end up behind that counter for the rest of his life.

             
“Come on
, man. Y
ou look like you’re going
to a funeral,” Rich said,
waiting for him at the entrance to the store. “We’re gonna have a great time
.
”

             
Colin looked up at the building he had loved as a child, then down the street at the Bar & Grill. Well, at least he’d have an excuse to see Briana, since he’d be right down the street.

             
With one last sigh, he followed Rich into the store, ready to begin his sentence.

             
“Howdy, boys,” Colin’s father boomed. “It’s been pretty slow this morning, so why don’t
you show Rich the ropes, Colin?
We’ll have him running the soda
fountain
so he can talk up the customers. With his pretty face beh
ind the counter, I see sales a-r
isin’
.
”

             
Mr. Grayson let out a big laugh and the
n
turned back to the counter
as Colin ushered Rich into the back
room to show him around.

             
“This is pretty cool, dude. I mean, I’ve been in the store a million times, but this time I’ll be serving the kids at the counter, just like Ol
’
e Roberta used to serve me.” Rich looked tickled at the thought and Colin just shook his
head. H
e wished he
could be as excited as Rich
about being
t
here, but he couldn’t help but think of all of the possibilities that were lost to him now.

             
“Come on, man,” he said.
“
Let’s get you set up before the customers roll in and Dad loses it
because we’re not
ready.”

             
Colin took him around the back room and showed him where they kept the inventory, specifically
, everything Rich
need
ed
to
run the soda fountain. They offered only
shakes, malts, and ice cream sundaes, so it was a pretty easy gig for Rich.

             
Once they had the cart
loaded with the supplies they
need
ed, Colin took Rich
out to show him how to stock the counter and make the items on the menu.
Just as they finished, they hea
r
d the j
ingle of the door opening
and saw a lady come in with her little twin girls.

             
“Ice cream. I
ce
cream, Mama, please,” the
girls sang in unison, as they made their way to the back of the store.

             
“Okay, girls, but you have to sit there and eat it a
ll
while mommy gets her shopping done, al
l right?” the young mother answered
.

             
“Okay, Mama, we promise,” they said.

             
As they got to the counter and boosted themselves up on the stools, Rich turned on the charm.

             
“Good morning, ladies, what can I get for you on this fine day?”

             
The twins giggled
and looked back at their mother, as if asking permission to speak.

             
“Go ahead, girls, tel
l the young man what you’d like,” s
he coaxed with a smile.

             
Colin gave Rich a slight nod and then walked off to find h
is father. T
he
girls’
giggles followed him, as Rich laid on the charm. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sound.

             
“Hey, Pop,” he
said as he approached the counter.

             
“Rich all set up?” h
is father asked.

             
Colin looked back over his shoulder where Rich was making up a couple of sundae’s, talking to the girls as he worked.

             
“Oh, yeah, he’ll be fine.”

             
“I thought he’d be a good fit,” Mr. Grayson replied. "It's just too bad he’ll only be here for the summer.”

             
“It’s not like he’d want to work a soda fountain for the rest of his life, Pop. It’s a temporary kind of job. I was thinking rather than trying to hire someone on like Roberta, we should focus on kids. No one wants to work a job like that
for as long as she did, anymore.
I think we should look at it as more of a temporary position.”

             
His father looked at him and smiled. “You’re probably right. Roberta was one
of a kind, that’s for sure.
I know that no one wants to work for minimum wage for long if they don’t have to, I just hate the thought of constantly having to train new people.”

             
“If it’s a part-time position
, we
could hire a few kids to work. T
hat way
, we’
d always have someone with experience and they could d
o the training as the job turns
over.”

             
“See, Son
?
I knew you’d take to running this business like a dog to water.” His father grinned, slapping his hand on his back.

             
Colin couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I don’t think that’s the expression, Pop.”

             
He couldn’t retain his foul mood
with his dad so happy that he was there
, and the sounds of Rich smooth-
talking the customers coming from the back. He just hoped he could find a way to retain that happiness.

Chapter Five

             
Briana started her shift, happy that not only was it Friday, but that it was actually
her
Friday. Getting weekends was rare
, and rarer still was getting
weekend
s
off with he
r friends so that they could barbecue
at the gravel pits.

             
Pam had allowed Briana, Kara, and Pete to switch shifts with some of the more seasoned workers, who had the prime shifts already locked. Most of them were happy to p
ick up a weekend now and then. I
t was a lot more packed and they usually made better money.

             
It was busy, even for a Friday, but Briana had plenty of help in the kitchen, so she didn’t feel l
ike she was overwhelmed. Just busy, which wa
s how she liked it.

             
Kara came sauntering back into the kitchen to pick up an order. “So, Bree, is Mr. Gorgeous going to be at the pits tomorrow?”

             
“Rich?” Briana asked absently, putting the finishing touches on the grilled chicken wrap for  Kara’s order. “Yeah, he said he was going to stop by.”

             
Kara walked up to her, forcin
g her to look up and focus. She had an odd
look on her face and didn’t say anything for a minute.

             
“What?” Briana asked her. “I’ve got a lot of orders to finish, Kara. Why are you acting weird?”

             
“I’m not, I was just wondering if you would be upset if I talked to him, that’s all.”

             
“Who, Rich? No. W
hy would I care?” Briana looked at her and Ka
ra gave her a look that said, “Y
ou know why.”

             
“Kara, I told you about that. It was just a one-time deal. We neve
r dated or had a relationship. I
t wasn’t like that. I have no claim on him. It’s fine, I swear.”

             
“Okay, cool
,
” Kara said wi
th a smile and a bounce. “I
didn’t want to poach. I just wanted to make
sure there was nothing there. Y
ou know I’d never do that to you.”

             
“I do.
Now get this wrap and get out of here. I’ve got work to do
,
” Briana said, trying to push her back out into the dining room.

             
Briana worked diligently
,
getting order
s
out as fast as she could until it was break time.
She decided to go out into the dining room. Pam didn’t mind if they took their breaks out there, as long as it didn’t cause a problem for the customers.

             
Briana grabbed a C
oke from Pete and was about
to find a seat
when she found herself face to face with Colin.

             
“Hey, Bree.”

             
This was the moment
she’
d been dreading, but now that it was there, she found that she knew just how to handle it.

             
“Hi, Colin,” She replied, and started to walk around him.

             
“Wait,”
he said
, putting his hand on her arm to stop her from walking away. “Can’t we talk?”

             
She
looked pointedly at his hand and then up at his face, not saying anything until he removed it.

             
“We don’t hav
e anything to talk about, Colin,
”
she
sai
d, hoping her face looked bored
because her nerves were bouncing all over the place. “Besides, I’m working.”

             
“Looks like you’re on break,” he replied. “C’mon, Bree, just give me a couple minutes.”

             
She
was about to tell him to shove it, when she felt someone come up behind her and tw
o strong arms wrapped around her
.