That First Special Kiss

“Next time, we’ll choose a game I can win.”

Because she had a nagging suspicion he wasn’t talking about arcade games, she cleared her throat and then hurried over to Molly without coming up with anything to say in reply.

They were leaving the arcade, Molly carrying two stuffed-animal prizes, when they heard someone hail them. “What are you guys doing here?” Keith Samples asked as he entered the arcade.

“Hi, Keith. Do you like arcades, too?” Molly greeted her college-freshman cousin.

“Yeah, they’re cool.” Keith motioned idly to the two fashionably shaggy young men who accompanied him. “These are my friends, Bodie and Matt. Guys, meet my cousins, Molly, Shane and Kelly.”

“Hey,” the guys grunted in unison.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kelly said, aware that Keith had made no distinction between his relationship with her and the Walker siblings.

Maybe Shane was right, she thought as the two groups parted again. Maybe the younger generation had accepted her as a cousin when they’d taken in Brynn. Maybe they all thought of her simply as family.

All except Shane, of course, she added, remembering kisses that hadn’t been at all familial. She wasn’t sure how Shane thought of her now.

She wasn’t even sure how she thought of him.

They were headed toward the mall exit when Molly pointed to the multiplex movie theater located on the lower level. “They have that Christmas movie I’ve been wanting to see,” she hinted broadly, gazing up at Shane.

Shane looked from Molly to the theater marquis, and then to Kelly. “Kelly might have other plans for the rest of the day,” he suggested.

Molly’s soulful eyes turned immediately toward Kelly.

Molly had been having such a good time on their outing. Kelly couldn’t bring herself to put an end to it just yet. So maybe she and Shane were shamelessly spoiling the girl today; how could they not after those miserable tears earlier? “Actually, I’ve been wanting to see that movie myself,” she fibbed. “And I have nothing better to do this afternoon,” she added, mentally dismissing the rather lengthy list of chores she had planned to tackle on this rare day off.

“Great,” Molly said, breaking away from them. “I’ll go see when the next feature starts.”

“Liar,” Shane murmured to Kelly.

She kept her eyes on Molly. “I don’t mind. Really

.”

“If there are other things you need to do, I can take Molly to see the movie another time.”

“No. I can spare another couple of hours for her.”

“Have I told you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for her today?”

She waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve had a good time, too.”

It wasn’t long before the movie started. They passed that time having sodas in the food court. When they filed into the theater row, they put Molly between them, but when the film began, she whispered that she couldn’t see over the man in front of her. A little shuffling resulted in Shane sitting in the middle, Molly on his left and Kelly at his right. And then the theater went dark and the film began and Kelly tried to concentrate on the plot rather than the way Shane’s shoulder touched hers in the crowded row. He shifted in his seat and his thigh brushed hers. Her spine almost melted.

By the time the movie ended, she wasn’t sure she could have summarized the plot if anyone asked her. But she could probably give the exact number of times Shane had touched her, either accidentally or on purpose. She could have described every time he glanced at her in the pale light filtering from the movie screen. And she could have named the exact moment when she realized in despair that there seemed to be no going back to the comfortably friendly relationship they had before Shane kissed her.

She knew she was quiet on the way back to the ranch. Fortunately Molly chattered so much that Kelly’s near silence wasn’t overly noticeable. The telephone was ringing when they walked through Shane’s door. He snatched it up before the machine could answer. A moment later, he looked at his sister. “It’s for you,” he said. “It’s Kristin.”

Molly took the phone. “Hi, Kristin. Sure, I’m fine. I’ve had a really fun day with my brother and our friend. Oh, no, I didn’t let Amy and Lacy bother me,” she said airily. “If they don’t like me, that’s their problem, not mine.” She grinned and gave Kelly a thumbs-up, which Kelly proudly returned.

Shane motioned Kelly into the kitchen, leaving Molly to babble on about every detail of her day.

“I’d better be going,” Kelly said, glancing at her watch the moment she and Shane were alone. “I still have an hour’s drive ahead of me.”

“Kelly, you and I need to talk.”

She took a step toward the door, having no need to ask what he wanted to talk about. “We’ve already talked. It’s all settled now. There’s no need to bring it up again.”