That First Special Kiss

She’d had the red-and-black striped sweater for a couple of years and knew Scott had seen it before, but he always commented on things like that. “Thanks. Where’s Heather?”

“She’ll be here. She’s just running late—big surprise from my sister, huh?”

Kelly turned then to acknowledge Cameron. “How are you?”

She couldn’t quite read his expression when he nodded and murmured. “Hanging in there. How about you?”

“Fine. I read your series of articles last week about the problems at that youth home in Denton. You did a great job with that—very powerful reporting. Have any improvements been made since you exposed the problems?”

He nodded. “There will be a story in tomorrow’s edition about the recent changes there, including the hiring of a new director. Only time will tell whether things will really get better, or if the changes are all just public window dressing.”

“Will you follow up?”

“Bet on it,” he promised. “I’m not so confident that the problems have been solved.”

Because she couldn’t avoid it any longer, Kelly turned then to greet Shane. “Where’s Molly tonight?”

“She’s at a sleepover birthday party for a friend. It’s something that had been planned for months.”

“How has everything been working out with the two of you this week? Any problems?”

“None,” he boasted. “We’ve gotten along just fine. It’s been junk food and arcades and movies and go-carts all week. No homework or veggies or curfews. She wants to stay with me forever.”

Kelly smiled. “I don’t believe a word of that, of course.”

Shane made a face. “Okay, maybe we’ve eaten a veggie or two.”

“And maybe Molly’s done her homework?”

“Yeah. Maybe. But we really did go to an arcade one afternoon.”

“Face it, Shane, you’ve been Mr. Respectability all week,” Scott teased. “You’ve probably been more straitlaced with your kid sister than your dad is.”

Shane shrugged. “Let’s just say I haven’t heard her complain.”

“Yeah, but she couldn’t wait to go to her sleepover party tonight, right?” Cameron ribbed.

“Well...”

“Did you give her the sleepover lecture?” Michael, joined in. “Don’t leave the house, don’t do anything she wouldn’t do at home, say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to the hosts, call you immediately if the other kids start doing anything she knows her parents wouldn’t approve of?”

The way Shane shuffled his feet on the carpet let them know that Michael had just come very close to reciting the speech Shane had made to his little sister earlier. “You forgot the part where I reminded her to brush her teeth before bed,” he muttered, making the guys laugh and Kelly smile.

The doorbell chimed and Kelly noticed that Cameron’s smile faded when Scott commented, “That’s probably Heather and Amber.”

His guess was correct. Heather came in a bit more vivaciously than usual, chattering rather too spiritedly in an attempt to cover the awkwardness between Amber and Cameron. Amber was noticeably more subdued as she greeted Michael and then Kelly, Scott and Shane. There was palpable pain in her voice when she added quietly, “Hello, Cameron.”

“Hi, Amber,” he answered gently. “I’m glad you decided to come tonight. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”

She gave him a soulful look. “I need my friends.”

He winced a little at her tone. “Of course.”

And then he turned to start a conversation with Scott about an upcoming college basketball game. Because they couldn’t bear to watch Amber watching Cameron, Kelly and Heather swept her into the kitchen on the pretext of making a pot of coffee—something Michael was notoriously bad at.

It wasn’t the most comfortable evening the group had ever spent together, but they made it through without tears or shouts, which Kelly decided was a positive sign. Cameron left early, claiming that he had things to do. Amber said very little after he left, but at least she didn’t cry. Maybe, with time, everything would get back to normal—between Cameron and Amber, and between Kelly and Shane.