Love on the Line by Lorana Hoopes

Author:Lorana Hoopes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lorana Hoopes

11

BLAINE

Blaine pulled up to the center and took a deep breath. He could do this. He could be around these kids. They weren’t his sole responsibility, and they deserved this. His issues weren’t their fault. The words were easy enough to say, but they were a lot harder to believe, especially with his memories from the past flooding him more and more often.

Even though things seemed to be going better - he’d actually been out with Kenzi twice now which he was pretty sure was a record for him - he knew that one familiar word, one specific memory could send him spiraling back down again. He’d felt it when he looked at the one picture he still had, a picture of them together at the lake.

“I’m going to try and make it work,” he’d told the boy in the picture next to him. “I don’t want to end up alone.” The boy had said nothing, but Blaine was certain he’d felt the boy’s scorn. He could almost hear the words the boy might say - the words that had played over and over in his head for the last eighteen years. “I ended up alone. You couldn’t protect me, and you won’t be able to protect her. You’ll fail her too.”

But he was determined not to. He wasn’t sure what it was about Kenzi, but something about her made him want to break free, made him want to try again. Perhaps it was the simple way she seemed to accept him just the way he was. Perhaps it was her faith in God. Perhaps it was just the brilliant smile that warmed his soul when she flashed it his direction. Whatever it was, she was the first woman to pierce his wall in years, and he wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet.

With a final sigh, he stepped out of his Mustang and headed toward the front door of the center. A small jingling sound announced his arrival, and Shelby glanced up with a smile.

“Hey, Blaine, Kenzi’s not here if you were looking for her.”

He wondered if Kenzi had told Shelby about their dates. Probably. Though his experience with women was limited, he’d heard the other guys talk enough to know that women loved to share those kind of experiences. Besides, Shelby was looking at him differently, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

He shoved his hands in his jean pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I’m actually not here for Kenzi. I’m here because it’s my day to hang out with the kids.”

Shelby’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed a silent “o”. “Right, of course. I knew that.” But the pink color spreading across her cheeks told him she had forgotten. Her head dropped to the counter in front of her as her hands sifted through the papers. “I just need to find your original form. Aha, here it is.”

She brandished a piece of paper as if it were some lost treasure and then slid it across to him.

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