Starlee's Heart (The Wayward Sons 1)

“Really?”

He shrugs, but there’s not an ounce of worry on his face, and that’s when I decide I want to kiss him more than anything else, so I do.

And I have zero regrets.

My mother must have called Leelee after our phone call and mentioned Katie riding to June Lake with me for supplies, because we’re called into the main office, given a list, money, the car, and sent on our way.

“I’m not going to complain,” Katie says, pushing the cart down the aisle. “I didn’t want to clean rooms today, anyway.”

“Glad I got you out of it, then.”

“Are you excited about the festival?”

“I don’t know much about it other than Leelee told me it’ll be very busy.”

“Oh yeah, one of our busiest weeks for sure.” She leans over the handle of the cart. “So how did the hike go yesterday?”

I focus on getting the right brand of shampoo, hoping she doesn’t see the red in my cheeks. “Good. Thank you for the bathing suit. I’ll get it back to you later today.”

“Eh, keep it. You never know when you’ll need one again.”

I doubt that’s true but I smile and select a bottle off the shelf and toss it in. We cruise down to the next row. I want to tell Katie—well, someone—about kissing the boys. About Dexter coming to my window. About Jake on the boulder. At the same time, it all feels like information that I want to keep to myself—hold tight against my chest. If someone knows, my mother could find out…and if she does…

But how? How would she find out? She’s dropped me out here in the middle of freaking nowhere. Why am I still afraid of her stupid rules? I glance at Katie and say, “How awful would it be if I said I kissed them?”

The cart stops abruptly and her eyes bug out. “All of them?”

“All of them.”

I nod and fight the smile spreading across my lips.

Her eyebrows furrow. “They didn’t take advantage of you, did they?”

“No!” I shout then cover my mouth, realizing we’re inside. “No. It was my idea. I’d never been kissed before and I thought one of them would be perfect.”

“And how do you choose between the Wayward Sons, right?” Katie gets it.

“Exactly.” I grab two packages of bacon out of the refrigerator.

“So who kissed best? No. Wait. Let me guess.” She thinks for a moment. “I’m going with Charlie or Dexter.”

“Why?”

“Charlie’s quiet. You just never know about those guys, and Dexter? He’s broody and intense.”

“Well, I don’t even know. I was blindfolded.”

“Blindfolded?” A wicked grin spreads across her lips. “Kinky.”

My neck heats. “What? No. It wasn’t like that.” I head down the baking row and pick up a new package of sugar. “It was sweet.” She raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Fine. And hot.”

“Yeah, no way those guys don’t know their way around a kiss.” She sighs. “If I was only five years younger.”

“That’s not that much older,” I say.

“Eh, I don’t go younger. Been-there-done-that.”

We finish the list and pay for the groceries. Katie pushes the cart out to the car and I pop the trunk. After we finish loading, I take the cart over to the corral and spot someone coming out of the store. My chest seizes and I look away, then back again to be sure. Same dirty hair. Same old backpack. Dugan. Why is he still around here? Why hasn’t he moved on?