Shire Bottom Chronicles

Chapter Seventeen

The Handi-Mart looked deserted when Rose walked in to escape the suffocating August heat. She browsed the aisles and grabbed a few snacks for her shift at the hotel that evening. Bo's oldest son, Kaine, was at the register. "Hey Rose," he acknowledged her with a friendly smile. Kaine was thirty-seven, and his brother Cole was thirty-four. Rose hadn't attended school with them, but she knew the boys well from seeing them at the gas station all these years.

"Hey, how has business been?" Rose questioned, looking around the mostly dead store. Usually, the place was packed with customers, but maybe the heat had everyone cooped up inside. Cole glanced around almost nervously before being elbowed by his brother. Rose shook her head, figuring it was an inside joke or something.

"You missed the morning rush." Kaine laughed. He gave her a funny look as he scanned the bag of tortilla chips, guacamole, monster energy drinks, and Slim Jim's. "In for a crazy night?"

"No, just work, unfortunately. You know how it is running a business, you have to cover all of the shifts when your drunk employee doesn't show up to work." Rose sighed, and the brown-haired man smiled at her.

"Too bad, a girl like you deserves a crazy night once in a while. Did you hear about the party in the forest this weekend?" Kaine asked, totaling her groceries.

"I've heard talk of it, but no formal invite. I'm not even sure who is throwing it," Rose insisted and handed Kaine her debit card.

"I hear it's the Quints, they're celebrating Paxton's big promotion." Kaine smirked at Rose flirtatiously. "Would you maybe consider coming with me?"

Rose blushed, taking the grocery bag from Kaine. He was obviously asking her out on a date, but she wasn't sure what to think about that. Then again, a party actually sounded like fun; it had been months since she went out and enjoyed herself. One night wouldn't hurt. "Sure, I'd love to go. What time does it start?"

"Ten p.m. on Friday. Paxton wants to do a bonfire." Kaine grinned. "He's really excited."

Rose's eyebrows shot up. "It must be one hell of a promotion," she said thoughtfully. It was well known that Paxton never stayed in one job for long. He was always getting fired or quitting at the drop of a hat. She remembered how cocky he'd acted in high school, expecting the world to do him favors. He had no ambition from what Rose observed, but maybe he had turned his life around.

"Apparently." Kaine chuckled. He waved as Rose headed out the door. "See you on Friday, Rosie!"

Rose cringed at the annoying nickname. Cat started using it years ago, and now everyone else had jumped on the bandwagon. Her mind drifted to Kaine as she got into her car. He was handsome in a rugged sort of way, but he was ten years older than her.

Rose hadn't been on a date in a long time. Her last boyfriend was Dylan O'Dell; they dated from high school until a couple of years ago. He had started being really clingy and accused her of flirting with Komazzi. He never believed her when she insisted he was sleeping over because of Cat. It certainly wasn't that Komazzi wasn't attractive, but he would never even look twice at Rose.

She looked at the clock and realized she still had several hours before she needed to head to the hotel, and decided to stop by the house and maybe take Cerberus for a walk to the park. He always enjoyed going anywhere with Cat or Rose. Rose wandered up the stairs, still lost in thought about her pseudo date. Maybe she should go shopping with Cat and get a new outfit. She was pulled back to reality when she accidentally bumped into Matt as she exited the elevator.

"I am so sorry!" Matt exclaimed. "I was just stretching my legs. I need to get back in shape and back to work as soon as possible." Matt had been having nightmares about Paxton being his temporary stand-in and getting Komazzi killed.