Shoe Strings

blue as the morning
sky.   Those eyes could see right
through her, always could.   “All
right, Kerri Ann.   But when you’re
eating alone and wishing for someone to keep you company, just remember I
offered.”   He knocked on her desk
and gave her a quick wink before leaving.
    Damn it.   Why did
he do that?   Why did he let her
abuse him and then do everything he could to make her feel less guilty before
she practically threw him out of her office?   And why, after all these years, did it
still matter so damn much?
    ***
    Bryce opened the creaky door to the Pizza Den and stepped
out into the late afternoon sunshine.   He’d expected to be blown off by Kerri Ann.   She’d been blowing him off since sixth
grade when, almost overnight, she’d gone from the girl he used to wade through
the creek with to an almost alien womanly creature.   But expecting to be blown off and having
her do it again, especially in the middle of a funk that involved Jesse
Bloodworth, were two different things altogether.  
    He walked along the sidewalk, waved to Mrs. Stephenson as
she came out of the flower shop, and ducked his head under the broken awning of
the old bank building that was being renovated.   His office was only two blocks from the
Pizza Den.   It may as well have been
two hundred miles.   His feet felt
heavy, like he was taking every step through quicksand.   But as much as he wanted to turn around,
grab Kerri Ann by the shoulders, and shake her until she could see how much he
loved her, he wouldn’t do it.   Her
continued rejection was both humiliating and as comfortable as an old pair of
shoes.   Everyone in Sequoyah Falls
knew he was in love with Kerri Ann Bloodworth, had been in love with her for
going on fifteen years.   Everyone
but Kerri Ann.  
    For a moment there, when he’d seen the blush rise from her
neck, he thought maybe, just maybe, she was getting a clue.   He should have known better.   But if there was one thing he couldn’t
do, it was separate right from wrong where Kerri Ann was concerned.   He’d love her until the day he
died.   And some days, days like
today, he wished he weren’t quite so far from the grave.

 

 
    Chapter 3
    Angelita had just stepped out of the shower when she heard
her cell phone ringing from the counter where she’d plugged it in to
charge.   She raced to the kitchen to
answer it with only a towel around her body and her hair dripping in her eyes.
    “Hello?”
    “I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday,” said a
voice she knew all too well.   “Where
the hell are you?”
    “Sophie, I left you a message on your cell.”
    “You know I never check my messages.   When I couldn’t reach you on your cell,
I called the resort and they said you never checked in.   I’ve been worried sick.   So where are you and, more importantly,
are you okay?”
    “I’m in North Carolina and I’m fine.”
    There was silence on the other end of the line, except for
the background Latin music that continually played in the boutique.   Just the sound of it had Lita’s stomach
muscles clenching.  
    “Okay, I’m waiting for the punch line,” Sophie said.   “Go ahead and give it to me so I can get
back to work.   Because since you
disappeared, I’ve been a nervous wreck.”
    “There is no punch line.”   Lita tried to wrap her hair in another
towel she’d gotten from the bathroom while still holding the phone.   It wasn’t working.   “I know I worried you, changing my plans
the way I did, but I just couldn’t go to Florida after I saw my father in the
store.”
    “How did you know he was here?”
    “I came by to drop something off for you and I saw him.   What did he want?”
    “I’m not sure.   He introduced himself, gave me his card, and asked to see you.   When I told him you were on vacation, he
seemed…upset, I guess.   He wanted to
know where you’d gone, but I didn’t tell him.”
    “I’m sorry I scared you, Sophie, but I panicked when I saw
him.   I need some time to figure out
how to handle him.”
    “Okay, I get that, but why North Carolina?   Why didn’t you just go to Florida like
you’d planned?”
    “I was afraid you’d tell him where I’d gone and he’d come
find me.”
    “After what he did to you?   Lita, I’d never tell him anything.”
    “I know, I know, I just wasn’t thinking straight.   I appreciate you not telling him.”
    “So what now?   Are you going to stay there?”
    Lita