“Packing,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to help me carry them. Peeraya’s going to ship the rest.”
“All this is yours?”
“Yup. Stuff I bought while traveling.” He handed the housekeeper a sheet of paper. “Just follow these instructions. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” she said, then nodded at Ginger. “Hello, madam.”
Ginger smiled at her, then turned to Shane. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” he said.
“This is pretty sudden.”
“Not really. It’s how I’ve been traveling around.” He cupped her face. “I’ve been living someone else’s life for the past year. You were right. My past makes me what I am, and it’s about time I reclaim it.”
“You’re going to see specialists.”
“Maybe. I might just remember more when we’re home and surrounded by familiar things and people.”
“You might not like everything you remember,” she said.
“Like what?”
She pulled her lips in. She didn’t want to talk about whatever it was that had made him go to South Africa. “Your parents? You didn’t always get along with them, especially your father.”
“I had a feeling,” he said with a shrug.
“What kind of feeling?”
“Gut. Every time I think about my parents—especially my father—I get a cross between heartburn and a nasty ulcer.”
“They aren’t that bad.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
She gave him a rueful smile. “No matter what, they’re still your parents.”
* * *
“Is that your dad?”
Shane turned his head to look. A man who bore an obvious resemblance to Shane, only older, stepped out of his car. What the hell was he doing here again?
As if he’d noticed the stares, he turned. A brief frown crossed his handsome features, then they smoothed into an affable mask. “What are you boys doing out here? It’s a school day, isn’t it?”
“What are you doing here?” Shane demanded.
“Just checking up on your progress at school.”
Shane looked at his friends. “We’re, like, fifteen minutes away from campus.”
“True enough. I finished talking with you
r teachers and thought I’d stop somewhere”—he gestured at a small eatery on the opposite side of the road—“and grab a bite.”
Fucking liar. He could never make any time to see Shane, but he’d come all the way out here to check up on his progress? Like that made any sense.
Bitterness churned in his gut. Shane already knew where he ranked in his father’s priorities—a couple of places below a decent shoeshine.