The Strawberry Hearts Diner(69)

“I use the back door m-more than the front. Gramps liked to sit out here and w-watch the sunset at the end of the day. He said he was too busy gettin’ things done to see it come up, but when evenin’ rolled around—w-well, that was his reward for puttin’ in an honest day’s w-work.”

Two rocking chairs might be every bit as good as a swing, especially if they drew them up close enough together that they could hold hands in front of that screen door.

“I always thought it would be great to have an old wooden door like this. We lived mostly in trailers, and they have storm doors that close quietly. A kid needs a good loud door to slam when she’s upset,” Jancy said.

He opened it and stood to one side. “Wh-when you leave you can slam it as hard as you w-want. Or I’ll be right glad to see how m-much noise I can m-make right now. I sure got in lots of trouble for that back when.”

“That’s all right.” She smiled. “Oh, look, a big country-type kitchen. My mama would have loved all this room.”

Square with cabinets along one side, a table with six chairs surrounding it, and a hutch filled with antique dishes, to Jancy the room looked like something out of a magazine. Her grandmother had had a shelf full of cream pitchers, most of which were carnival glass. When they’d sold the trailer, her mother had wanted to keep them all, but there wasn’t room for a box full of useless items like that, so they’d been sold with the trailer. Jancy hadn’t ever thought she’d have a house to put them in.

“Livin’ room is through here.” He tugged on her hand. “And down that hall is a bathroom and three bedrooms.”

The living room was about the same size as the kitchen. East windows would let in the morning sun. Hardwood floors gleamed when he flipped on the light. He sank onto an oversize leather sofa and pulled her down into his lap. With his arms around her, she snuggled against his chest.

“It’s just like I imagined it would be,” he said.

“What?”

“Holding you in m-my living room.”

“Me, too, Shane,” she said.

Then his lips found hers, and it didn’t matter if they were in a tent out in the middle of a forest or on the fortieth floor of a fancy hotel. All she wanted was to stay in his arms forever. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he stood up, carrying her as gently as if she was a child.

“Wait,” she said breathlessly. “Sit back down on the sofa with me, Shane. I can’t do this until we’ve talked.”

“About?” he asked.

She’d never felt compelled to tell anyone in her previous relationships about her past, but this burden had weighed on her soul for so long.

“My mama died,” she said.

“I know that.” He kept her in his lap when he eased back down onto the sofa.

“She was my best friend and the glue that held the family together. I didn’t want her to be cremated. I wanted her to be buried in Pick by Granny, but—”

She went on to truly open up about her feelings. Then, step by step, she told him the rest—about how her life had taken a dark turn since that day four years ago when her dad called her workplace and told her that her mama was dead.

When she finished, she expected him to push her off his lap and tell her to go. But he tipped up her chin and looked deep into her teary eyes.

“Is that all or is there m-more?” he asked.

“That pretty much covers it.” She’d stopped short of telling him that she’d been on probation for a year for her part in the car theft. Later, she promised herself, she would come clean about that part of her life.

“W-well, then, that’s not so bad.” He grinned. “You m-made some bad choices, but then, all of us have. It’s the decisions we m-make going forward that are important, Jancy.”

This, too, shall pass. She’d said those words to Vicky, not realizing that Shane would be willing to erase her past. Tears flowed down her cheeks and left wet dots on her bright-red T-shirt. She started to swipe at them, but Shane covered her hand with his and kissed away the tears.

“I can’t stand to see you cry.” His warm breath sent waves of desire through her body. “I promise to never, ever hurt you, Jancy. I’ll always be here for you, and you can tell me anything.”

“Okay, then, please pick me up and take me down that hallway to your bedroom,” she said.

He cupped her face in his big hands and kissed her—long and hard—with so much passion that the whole world stopped moving. She felt as if she floated from the living room to his bedroom, where he laid her ever so gently on a chenille bedspread that covered a king-size bed and then kicked the door shut with his boot.



Jancy awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed when an alarm went off. Shane said something in his sleep, and she heard someone mumbling in the hallway. She quickly jerked her clothing on and slipped out, feeling her way down the dark hallway. When she reached the living room, someone stood up from the sofa.

“Emily!” She wasn’t aware that she could squeal in a whisper.

“Jancy!” Emily gasped.

“What are—” she started.

“Same thing you are, I imagine,” Emily butted in. “Now it’s time to go home and sneak into our bedrooms. I hate this, but it’s Pick and I don’t want—”