Hero (Alpha Mountain 1)

Hanging flower baskets dangled from the vintage street lights. It was picture perfect, and it made no sense why all I’d wanted to do was leave this place.

Maybe a few tours in a war zone made me realize exactly what I’d had all along. Same went for the woman beside me.

“Well, hello, you two,” Holly said brightly when we walked in. Gram had told me she was the one who came up with the idea to convert part of the building into a little coffee shop. Pure genius. Her gaze traveled between Indi and I with curiosity.

We placed our order for one coffee and one mocha. When Holly returned with them, she shamelessly asked, “So, are you two a thing now?”

That was a small town for you. Everybody’s business was everybody’s business. Which was one of the reasons I had kept to myself up on the family property by the mountain since I returned. I hadn’t wanted to talk about why I’d left the military, and I especially didn’t want to talk about Buck.

But I had no problem setting the record straight on this issue. I slid my arm around the front of Indi and pulled her ass back against my front. “Yep. We are definitely a thing.” In Indi’s ear, I murmured, “You’re my thing.”

“Wow.” Holly chuckled in surprise. “That’s a fun development. You know, Buck would be happy, I’m sure.”

I almost managed not to wince. Buck was still a sore topic and not just for me. I tightened my hold on Indi in case she felt the same elevator drop every time she heard his name.

“I’ll bet your parents are thrilled,” Holly said, looking to Indi.

“Ah, they don’t know yet,” Indi said, twisting to look over her shoulder at me. “But I’m sure they will soon.”

Unease churned in my belly. Would Buck’s and Indi’s parents be thrilled? They sure as hell hadn’t wanted to see me after the memorial service. Of course, I hadn’t wanted to see myself either, so we were in agreement on that. It had been a dark time.

I dropped two fives on the counter and picked up my coffee. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks,” Holly offered with a megawatt smile. “Have a great day.”

As we walked out, Indi darted another glance my way. “We’re going to be the talk of the town in about an hour.”

“That long?” We fell into step with each other on the sidewalk. It had rained sometime during the night, and the concrete was drying in places. The air had a hint of dampness, as if everything was washed clean. “If the town’s going to be gabbing about me, I love it with your name attached,” I declared. “But your parents?”

“Yes?”

“Will they—are they—” I cleared my throat. “Have they forgiven me?”

Indi stopped and faced me. Her hair was back in a ponytail, and she wore no makeup and was hands down the prettiest thing I’d ever seen in my life. She put her hands on her hips. “Ford, what are you talking about?”

I worked to swallow. Sweat broke out on my upper lip, and I wanted to run and not stop.

“For Buck’s death?” she asked.

I managed to nod.

“What is there to forgive?” She studied my face closely. A little too closely. “Were you part of it? Whatever got him killed?”

“No.” Thank God I didn’t have to lie about that. I hadn’t been a part of that. No fucking way. But I had been there. I felt responsible. “Your mom told me it was too painful to see me after his death. That’s why I haven’t been around. But it’s… eaten at me, you know?” I scrubbed a hand across my beard. “It feels wrong, and I don’t know how to make it right. The only way to do that is if Buck would come back. But he won’t.”

“Come on.” Indi tugged my arm. “Let’s go see them now. It’s time to get past that.”

Relief that Indi believed we could move on had me following at her side. We cut through an alleyway to head toward the south part of town where Buchanan Lumber and Hardware store stood.

Just the sight of it made my chest hurt. I had so damn many memories tied up with the place. The sound of the bell on the door when it opened. The smell of fresh sawdust and popcorn from the machine that stood in the corner, always full with fresh, buttered kernels for the patrons.

Buck and I used to stop in on the way home from school to fill our bellies with popcorn. Indi would often be there, too, perched behind the counter to do her homework.

The familiar bell jangled as we entered.

Sam Buchanan looked over from the counter where he was ringing up an old timer, and he did a double-take when he saw my hand on Indi’s lower back. After saying goodbye to his customer, he cocked his head as the two of us approached.