Stealing His Heart (McCormick's Creek Series Book 4)

by Jen Peters

  What was up today? Shouldn’t all these ladies be home with their families by now?

  Because it was ladies. There wasn’t another guy in the store except for Sam himself, who had opened up another register lane. But all the women, no matter whose line they were in, had their eyes glued to a new cashier.

  He stepped sideways so he could get a better look. Luscious light-brown hair, not a strand out of place. A full mouth with bold pink lipstick. Perfectly applied makeup and manicured nails. And a smile that didn’t match her stiff body language.

  His eyes went back to her very kissable mouth. He had to admit a flicker of interest, but when he took in the whole package—no thanks. Been there, done that, with too many “perfect princesses” in his past, none of whom could think much beyond themselves. Every one had been shallow, manipulating, even devious. That type of woman was definitely not what he needed in his life right now.

  Still, there was something about this one. He watched her lift her chin as she answered someone, proud and not backing down, but not fighting back, either.

  And they were fighting, even if nobody moved out of their personal comfort zone. People didn’t like her, but he was pretty sure he hadn’t seen her around before. And if she was new, how could she raise people’s hackles so soon?

  It didn’t matter. He really didn’t want anything to do with her type.

  She finished with Mrs. Emerson in front of him, took a deep breath, and turned those green eyes his way. “How are you? You look like you’ve been working hard,” she said brightly.

  As filthy as he was, she didn’t even bat an eye. Score a few points for her. “I’ve got everything, thanks.” He watched her scan his pizza. “Are you new in town?”

  She paused, then said, “Not really. I’m from here originally, just came back a few days ago.”

  He nodded, knowing there was more story there, and he was curious despite himself. Then he recognized her—she was the woman on the trail the day before. The silly one who had been standing out of sight in the middle of a bike trail.

  He opened his mouth to say something then remembered his dad’s old saying: discretion is the better part of valor. He’d known what it meant and usually ignored it, but not this time. There was no need to remind her of her fright and maybe have her yell at him again. Besides, she seemed to be having a rough enough day.

  He forced himself to only nod goodbye, to not say anything that would encourage anything else.

  * * *

  Raine stared after the grimy customer. She’d seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t place him. He had a strong face, although not a pretty one—stiff jaw, bumpy nose—maybe he’d broken it sometime—and a firm mouth. And tired eyes.

  And then he’d opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and left. Weird.

  “Ahem.”

  She turned back to her next customer. “I’m sorry, my mind was wandering.” Then she looked closer. “Diana?” Of course, it was one more high school “friend.” If she had to face anyone else today, she’d scream, which wouldn’t be good on her first day at work.

  Diana shrugged. “So you came back, huh? Thought you were so much better, and now look at you. Check-out girl at Sam’s.”

  Raine remembered Diana as a sarcastic snob, always wanting into a group but never quite making it. She’d been smart, though, and had gotten a bunch of scholarships. So why was she still in McCormick’s Creek?

  Raine put on her perky face and refrained from clamping her lips. “And how are you today? Did you find everything you need?”

  Diana didn’t say anything else, just popped her gum and looked down her nose as she paid.

  Raine sighed and turned to the next person—Amy, who had hung out with Chelsea’s group with her.

  “Raine!” Amy said. “You’re back!”

  She smiled and nodded. “I am, and happy to be here.”

  “Are you married? Kids? What brought you home?”

  “No to both. I just needed a change in my life.”

  “The old gang’s still around—we ought to get together sometime.” Amy waved and left.

  Raine looked after her, wondering. They’d had fun, but it was high school fun. Had anyone else moved on, or had their social life just moved up to adult-style partying?

  The next customer cleared her throat and Raine turned back. “I’m sorry, I—”

  It was Robin. Robin, whom she hadn’t spoken to since the beginning of their senior year in high school. Robin, who’d had a terrible time while Raine was getting in with the popular girls. Robin, who… No, she wouldn’t go there. Water under the bridge, and years ago. Surely her friend had gotten over it by now.

  “Hey, Robin, how are you?” she asked brightly.

  Robin just looked at her and blinked, her brown eyes wide but not showing anything. “Fine,” she finally said.

  “Did you find everything today?”

  Robin nodded.

  “I hear you’re starting an animal shelter.”

  She nodded again.

  Okay, then. Evidently forgiveness wasn’t on the menu. Raine scanned her few items, accepted payment, and watched Robin leave.

  The elderly Beaumont twins were next in line. Miss Lily leaned forward. “You really did hurt her, you know,” she said in a loud whisper.

  “But it was so long ago!” Raine blurted.

  Miss Rose snorted. “Not for her, it wasn’t.”

  Raine flushed. Back in high school, she had ignored her conscience and done one underhanded thing. She’d never dreamed that Chelsea would take it far beyond putting jokes in Robin’s presentation and into true bullying. But Raine hadn’t joined in on what followed at all, and she’d thought that Robin would realize that.

  Miss Lily, again in a stage whisper, said, “She’s only just now moving past it, mostly because she fell in love with a man who believes in her. Cliff’s the first one she’s really trusted with anything since, you know.”

  Raine had never dreamed that she’d hurt her friend so badly. Robin was such a gentle soul, and now she had to deal with Raine’s presence to remind her.

  Raine’s heart ached with regret—regret she should have felt years ago and had been too clueless to realize. She’d been clueless, or just plain stupid and selfish, about a lot of things back then.

  She blinked back tears as she scanned the Beaumont sisters’ canned vegetables. Her long string of bad decisions probably began with this one with Robin, but it was appalling to realize just how badly she had hurt her friend.

  “I’ll make it up to her somehow,” she promised the elderly ladies. She didn’t know how, but she would.

  The rest of the customers didn’t bring such emotional repercussions, but by the time the rush cleared, Raine felt like she’d been poked, prodded, and examined within an inch of her life. And judged, over and over and over. She’d put on a fierce smile and walled off her emotions, but it left her completely drained.

  With a sigh, she wiped the counter and conveyor belt and went to do some straightening. Candy bars and potato chips near her register, snack bars in the next end cap.

  She needed to apologize to Robin. Go to her house? Meet her somewhere? Her mind envisioned a sincere apology and a tearful hug of acceptance.

  She re-arranged magazines and realized she would more likely get a door slammed in her face before she could get an apology out. But she had to try.

  Cereal boxes and lunch treats were next. The more time passed, the farther she got from her register, but nobody had even come in the store. It wasn’t all that late in the evening, and she’d thought it would be busier, being the only grocery store in town.

  Sam’s IGA wasn’t going to last long at this rate. Or at least not succeed well. It would last, simply because it was a long drive down to the valley for the big box stores. But if they could find a way to keep customers up here…

  She mused as she worked, releasing thoughts of Robin and letting her mind center on business problems. She didn’t know much abou
t profit margins and how deeply sale items could be discounted, but wouldn’t there be ways to get people to buy more? And what about something fun to bring people in?

  No, she was just a cashier. It wasn’t her job. She needed to focus on herself, changing her own life and fixing past mistakes, not giving unsolicited recommendations to other people.

  But as she straightened shelves, she took some steak sauce bottles over to the meat counter, and put some stew seasoning packets near the potatoes. If marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars could be put together in the summer, why not other things?

  She rang up three other customers through the evening, one of whom had both steaks and steak sauce in her basket. It had worked!

  “Lorraine DiMarco! I didn’t think you’d dare show your face in this town again!”

  Raine whirled around—it was Ree Swanson, the third of their 3Rs from school, and obviously still Robin’s best friend.

  Any emotional strength she’d had was long gone, and her defenses rose quickly. “Look, Ree, that’s between me and her. Besides, it was all a long time ago.”

  Ree pinned her with a fiery look. “No one gets over bullying like that easily. And Robin’s such a gentle soul that it was even worse. If you couldn’t see that six years ago, you ought to at least be ashamed of yourself now.”

  All of Raine’s emotions flooded back in. Ashamed, yes. And regretful, remorseful, repentant…a thesaurus wouldn’t have all the words she needed. Her shoulders sagged as she thought about Robin. “Actually, I am. I’ve made a whole lot of bad decisions, and I’m really sorry.”

  Ree frowned but didn’t say anything.

  “I’m trying to change some things—”

  “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

  “—but I don’t know how to go back and fix things.”

  Ree pulled her mass of black curls off her shoulders and crossed her own arms. “You can’t.”

  Raine shook her head. “I need to at least try.”

  Ree’s face was stony. “You know that old story about how to take back a lie? The one where the liar has to put a feather on everyone’s doorstep and then try to gather them the next day, after they’d been blown all over and were irretrievable? The answer is that you can’t.”

  “But—”

  “Just go back to Portland or Seattle or wherever, and let the rest of us get on with our lives. You’re not wanted here.” She stormed off, waiting impatiently for the automatic doors to open.

  Raine slumped against the counter and closed her eyes. Going back wasn’t an option. But could she really stay in McCormick’s Creek?

  Chapter 3

  Raine let herself into Tori’s house that night and flopped on the couch. Midnight sauntered over for a face rub. She pulled the kitten onto her chest and cuddled him, letting the rumble of his purr work its magic.

  Tori came in with a grumbly Tyler in tow. “Rough day?”

  Raine didn’t even open her eyes. “In more ways than one.”

  Tori patted her shoulder. “Let me get Tyler bathed and in bed, and we’ll talk.”

  Nearly an hour later—Tyler must have enjoyed his bath and conned his mother into several stories—Tori came downstairs. “So?” she asked.

  “So I’m a horrible person.”

  “Of course you’re not,” Tori said. “And I don’t have to say that—I’m not your mother. Want to tell me about it?”

  Raine ran all sorts of things through her mind, but it was all images and feelings, no words. Finally she came up with, “Everyone remembers what I did clear back in high school, and I can’t make it right.”

  Tori let out a long sigh. “With Robin Cooper?”

  Raine sat up. “See, even you remember!”

  “Only the aftermath—I was a starry-eyed newlywed then and not caring about much else. Remind me again?”

  She really didn’t want to, but she may as well get it out there. “The three of us were best friends, remember? Ree and Robin had been the 2Rs since kindergarten, and I became Raine instead of Lorraine so we’d be the 3Rs. And everything was wonderful.” She rubbed Midnight behind the ears.

  “And?”

  “And then by our senior year, I was so desperate to get in with the popular girls. I wanted to do fun things, go to parties, stuff that the three of us never did. The popular girls were also the mean girls, but I didn’t care. So Chelsea got me to steal Robin’s flash drive that had her presentation on it.” Her stomach clenched, her hands fisted, and Midnight squirmed away from the increased pressure. “Sorry, little guy,” she whispered.

  “And?”

  “Chelsea had said they wanted to change some little stuff, make people laugh, but they totally sabotaged Robin. The first bit was funny, but then they made it sexual, and even after the class, Chelsea kept the pictures and some of the ‘jokes’ going with texts and stuff. The school tried to shut it down, but it kept popping up. Robin was miserable and…and I pretended not to care. I just wanted in with the popular kids so badly.”

  Perhaps if she kept her muscles tense and her breath shallow, she wouldn’t burst into tears. She was a grown woman, but this was like being back in sixth grade.

  Tori was silent for a moment. Then, “I remember now. It sounds like you made a pretty bad decision.”

  “That’s the understatement of the year.” Raine managed—just—to keep the sob out of her throat.

  “So what happened after that?”

  Raine took a gulp of air. “I had fun. I was in with the popular girls, I went to parties, I dated hot guys, all that.”

  “Were you a ‘mean girl’ too? I do remember your mom being worried about you.”

  “I don’t think so. I didn’t pick on anyone on purpose. I just went along with everything.”

  Tori nodded. “And now it’s a question of how to make amends.”

  “Yes, but…” Raine had no words for the jumble of feelings inside.

  “But they don’t want to accept apologies?” Tori finished. “That makes it hard, but it doesn’t mean you stop trying. What about—”

  “Mo-om! I’m thirsty!” came Tyler’s cry from upstairs.

  Tori sighed. “Be right back.”

  Her cousin didn’t know the half of it. After growing up with a single mom, never enough money, never fashionable clothes, even getting free school lunches sometimes…wanting to be in the popular group led to the same thing in Seattle, which led to partying, to drinking and drugs, to sleeping around. Living for the moment.

  Had all those bad decisions really started with the one to do anything to get in with Chelsea and her friends? Was that when she had stopped listening to the little voice in her head?

  She closed her eyes again. Midnight kneaded her paws on Raine’s leg and slow, deep breaths kept the despair at bay. Robin’s face kept inserting itself into her mind— Robin’s carefully blank eyes and Ree’s fury.

  Tori returned. “He’s to stay in bed, no getting out unless something is on fire.”

  Raine chuckled. “Give him a few years, and he’ll be setting something on fire!”

  “Dear Lord, I hope not!” Tori curled into the other end of the couch. “So what to do about Robin…”

  “And Ree. You should have seen her today, all protective Valkyrie and everything.”

  “Well, you have to do more than just apologize. You’re going to have to show you’ve changed.”

  “My heart’s changed, and I’m working on the actions. And then maybe I can do something that will make up for it, even just a little.” Raine nodded to herself. She could do that. “But how will they know I’ve changed?”

  Tori gave a slight smile. “With every single thing you do, honey. With the way you live your life.”

  Raine knew her cousin was right, but wow, what a daunting prospect! She was only in the beginning of changing herself, still very unsure of her success. Not only that, but the whole town was judging her on her past actions, hardly looking at the kind of person she was now. Or at least was t
rying to be.

  She didn’t know how long she was silent, considering, but Tori eventually stood and patted her on the knee. “I’ve got some stuff to do, and you’ve got an early shift. Don’t stay up too late.”

  Raine scooped Midnight up a few minutes later and headed for her room. She lay in bed thinking, first about making amends to Robin and Ree and whomever else she had hurt. But how could she know who? She couldn’t be expected to apologize to the whole town, could she?

  But maybe she should.

  Her thoughts shifted to that grubby guy who had come through her line. Behind all that dirt had been something very attractive.

  She wondered if he might be a forest worker. Whether he was just passing through, or if he lived in town. And if so, could she get to know him better?

  Yeah, right, no. If she wanted to prove she had changed, and if she needed to prove that with everything she did, she did not need to latch onto the first good-looking guy she saw.

  She snuggled Midnight beneath her chin. A sabbatical from men: that was what she needed. But he stayed in her mind anyway, until she finally fell asleep with the kitten between her arms.

  Chapter 4

  Brandt tightened the last link in the chain and spun the wheels, the smooth whirr satisfying him that the repair was good. After spending the rainy day worrying about the shop, it was nice to do something productive. He cleaned the bike up, asked Rudy to call the customer and then close up the shop at six, and took his grimy self home.

  Home wasn’t much, just a small two-bedroom house—he’d call it a cottage if he wrote a listing for it—but it was his. He had a bit of comfortable furniture, a great home office, and not too many knick-knacks. He wasn’t a neat freak, but he liked things organized and put away.

  The walls held oversized photos of his past adventures—rock climbing, skiing, scuba diving, and one awesome picture of him coming down Devil’s Hill on his bike. Acquaintances who stopped by thought they were store-bought. His friends recognized him, knowing how he liked to spend his free time.