“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?”