The Walshs

Chapter 9

SHANE'S POV

I was driving past the Grimes' house, just peering out my window when I saw someone sitting in the porch swing with their knees hugged to their chest. It didn't look like Lori but I checked the driveway to see if Rick's car was there and it wasn't. Just his dad's old chevy truck. I pulled up in front of the front gate which caught this person's attention but they quickly lowered their head again, resting their chin atop their knees.

I stepped out of my car and walked up to the front porch. "Excuse me? Ma'am?"

When our eyes locked, I was astounded by who I was seeing. She hadn't changed much but you could sense something was different about her and you knew it wasn't positive. "Kate?" I asked in shock to see her. She looked just as surprised to see me, her mouth hanging open in amazement. "Shane?"

I chuckled and sat myself beside her on the swing, nodding. "Yeah. What are you doin' here? Thought you got that job outside King County?"

Kate hugged her knees tightly and just looked ahead of her into their front yard which was always well maintained. I leaned back and looked up at the night sky, thinking of what to say. "It wasn't for me. So here I am," she said in a quiet voice. I wasn't so sure I was talking to the same Kate Grimes that I last spoke to seven years early. The Kate I knew was always fiery, opinionated and headstrong, this Kate was shy, reserved and hidden.

"It's been a long time huh?" I asked with a soft chuckle. She shared the chuckle and nodded, a tiny smile creeping onto her face. "Seven years," she breathed in a regretful tone. I frowned slightly at the way she spoke and I scooted myself closer to her, our fingertips touching causing me to retract my hand very quickly. Kate giggled at me, trying to hide it from me by turning her head away from me. I felt my cheeks heat up and a faint blush spread across them.

"I've never seen you so flustered around a girl before," Kate teased me nudging my shoulder playfully. "I've never cared about a girl enough to get flustered," I blurted out and then the porch fell silent. Both of us knew I had, had a huge crush on Kate since we were twelve and both of us knew that Kate had made her opinion very clear on that. She thought I was arrogant and a little bit of a womaniser which when I was in my teens could really describe me but the rest I acted that way was because I wanted to impress Kate, clearly in all the wrong ways.

Her cheeks reddened and she looked away from me quickly, both of us becoming flustered by one and other. There was a moment of silence between us. "You still have a crush on me? After all these years?" Kate asked looking at me with a curious look. I bit my lip and looked at her, the moonlight catching her blue eyes and making them sparkle. Her beauty took my breath away and I found myself nodding at her question.

"Even after I left?"

"It got worse after you left," I answered looking at my feet. I had never been so nervous around a girl in my life, I was always calm and cool but something about Kim knocked all that confidence out of me and left me fumbling with my words. Kate moved herself closer to me, leaning against me and resting her head on my shoulder. "Maybe you've really changed," she whispered, her body relaxing against my side.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and held her close to me, my eyes wandering to a bruise on her cheek that was barely being covered by whatever makeup was on it. "Hey. What's that?"

Kate became nervous and tried to hide her cheek in my shoulder so I would stop asking about it. I pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, "you can tell me Katy. I won't say nothin' to Rick."

Quiet tears trickled down her cheeks and I carefully used my thumb to wipe them away. "It was just a bad relationship while I was working. I had to get away," she whispered to me. The thought of anyone, especially a man, hurting Kate boiled my blood and my grip tightened on her slightly. "No one will ever hurt you again Kate. I promise you," I whispered into her ear and gave her another soft kiss on the head as reassurance.