Free Alone Time: Visits to Petal, Book 1 by Lauren Dane Page B

be marrying in five months’ time.”
    He paused to smile the smile of a very satisfied man. Yes indeed, by year’s end they’d finally be married. Life was good.
    “Lucky girls.” She stood to the side. “Come in before the neighbors call the police and Shane has to come arrest us.”
    Her younger brother, Chris, the reason she’d come back to Petal, slouched at the table. When he saw Nathan, he sat up straighter. It was in little acts like that when Nathan really saw the change in the boy since Lily had taken over the job of raising him.
    Not even a year before Nathan wasn’t convinced the kid would finish his sophomore year. Their mother had lost control of him and had begun to sink into a world numbed by alcohol and pills.
    Lily had given up her job and her life in Macon and returned, and in the end had saved her mother, as well as her brother.
    “Hey, Nathan.” Chris stood and cleared his plate and cup. He’d come back from his wilderness camp a month prior, tanned and with the right attitude. He’d earned himself a spot on the high school marching band and had taken on a better circle of friends than the ones he’d gotten in so much trouble with before.
    “Do you have gas money?” Lily spoke from where she’d returned from her bedroom with her bag. Nathan stared at her a while just because he could. Her hair was twisted up into a pretty knot, leaving her neck bare in the pale pink sundress she wore. It wasn’t tight. It wasn’t lascivious. It fit her perfectly, seeming to float around her as she walked.
    All that sweetness only made the spice just beneath sexier.
    “A twenty would be much appreciated.” Chris sent his sister puppy dog eyes. Nathan recognized the look from his own siblings.
    “You can use the gas card.” She dug into her bag and handed him forty bucks. “In case you guys get pizza like you did last time. You did a good job on the lawn.”
    “Thanks.” He grinned at her praise, and Lily couldn’t help herself, she moved close enough to hug him and kiss his cheek. Quickly of course, as he was getting too old for the mushy stuff, as he’d informed her a few months back.
    “I expect to see you back here by noon or so tomorrow. I spoke to Mrs. Capwell earlier, she said to bring your swim trunks.” It was also a way for her to underline that she was keeping tabs on him. She’d talked to the mom hosting this sleepover so he’d better not try to say he’d be one place and actually go another.
    He’d come a long way from the boy he’d been when she first arrived back in Petal, but she had no plans to let him backslide. He’d done a lot to earn her trust again, but it wouldn’t stop her from knowing where he was, when he was and who he was with. Her mother couldn’t do the job, her father didn’t want to, and as it happened, she loved Chris enough to know he was worth it.
    “Who all’s gonna be in the car with you?”
    She nearly laughed aloud when she saw the look on Nathan’s face at her horrible grammar. “By that I mean, who will you be giving rides to? I don’t want you motoring around with a car full of teenage boys.” She shuddered at the thought.
    “Nah, it’s cool. I’m picking Mike up on the way over but then we’re in for the night. Mrs. Capwell got a bunch of movies, Sam said. We’re eating and swimming and stuff.”
    “Okay then. Call if you need anything. I’ll have my cell with me tonight.”
    “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He tucked the money into his pocket, hefted his duffle bag and headed out before she decided to try to kiss him or something.
    And when he was gone she realized the dread that’d lived in her belly since she’d first come back had long since left her. Oh she’d keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t go back to his old ways. But she could trust him. And that meant so much.
    Nathan grabbed her and kissed her again. “Now then. I feel like I’ve properly told you how much I’ve missed you.”
    When Chris had been at his