Page 1 of Double the D
Chapter One
Blue
Dane Butler and Drake Andrews were more like brothers than tangential foster kids who'd happened to inhabit the same group home. I'd watched them circle each other upon introduction, watched them size each other up and find the other satisfactory. From afar I'd watched them merge into one person, becoming closer than blood brothers. They'd ruled our group home, owned our high school, and dominated any sport they'd played. Upon Dane's eighteenth birthday they'd enrolled in the Navy together, leaving our town in their dust.
Over the last ten years, I'd kept tabs on them through friends and acquaintances. I knew they were decorated SEALs, had settled in Colorado to be close to their training school, and still served together. I'd even heard the whispers about how they did everything together. And when I said everything, I meant everything. Something I knew to be a fact, though I'd never admitted it to anyone, let alone myself.
Yet I'd somehow missed the memo that they were back in town. And damn if this newly acquired information wasn't screwing with my equilibrium.
I hid in the canned fruit aisle of the grocery store, gripping a tin of sliced pineapple and blindly staring at the nutritional information as I tried to control my racing heart.
They're back.
I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes. They were in the meat aisle, shooting the breeze with old Mr. Henderson. Mr. Henderson had lived three doors down from us. Growing up, he and his wife had been the kind to hand out candy and offer you a few extra bucks to help them around the house. They'd been incredibly popular with the local kids.
He'd sold the house a year before, moving into a residential care facility. I still visited him twice a week, bringing donuts and coffee in exchange for the gossip he still managed to collect.
Kept this one under your hat, old man. Could have used that information to prepare for this event. Or, you know, sell my house and move to Australia.
"Pull it together, Blue," I whispered to myself. "You can't leave now. You just need to… suck it up and act like it's not a big deal." I gave myself a mental shake, clearing the cobwebs and trying to shake off the sudden nerves.
Yep, it is absolutely not a big deal that the two objects of my teenage desire are habituating the same space as me. Yep. Not a big deal at all.
I turned, dropping the tin in my cart and pushing further down the aisle. Pride kept me from turning tail and running from the store. If I was lucky, I'd manage to avoid them.
I cautiously rounded the corner of the shelving, glancing up and down the next aisle. Three geriatrics and a frazzled mother attempting to pacify a screaming toddler.
Safe.
I turned down the cereal aisle, blindly throwing in three giant boxes of sugar-filled junk, a jar of hazelnut-choc spread, and three loaves of bread. I powered through the rest of my shop, eyes and ears alert for impending danger.
At the register I hurriedly unloaded, greeting Joan and letting her chat about the towns latest gossip while I stayed silent, desperate for her hands to move faster as they lifted and scanned the groceries.
I tucked the last bag in my cart as Joan rang it up. "That'll be two hundred and thirty-three ninety, Honey."
I reached for my wallet, the hair on the back of my neck standing to attention.
Uh-oh...
"Well, if it isn't little Bluebell McKenney." Dane's deep voice sounded abnormally loud in the quiet of the store.
I froze, fingers clutching at my card, a chill racing down my spine.
Caught.
I turned slowly, dread settling like a stone in my stomach. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, Dane dark and broody, Drake light with a small smile on his lips. I dropped my gaze, taking in their overflowing cart, heart sinking. That was more food than someone here on holiday required.
It's true. The boys are back in town.
I forced my gaze up, offering what I hoped was a friendly smile while praying the years had buried the memory of our last interaction.
"Dane, Drake. I didn't realize..." I stepped forward, holding out a hand to shake. "Welcome back."
"Come now, Belle." Drake scoffed his smooth tones a startling contrast to Dane's growl. "Is that any way to greet old friends?" He stepped forward, opening his arms.
I hesitated for a moment, overtly aware of Joan, her gossipy mouth and the interested glances from other shoppers.
I stepped away from the register, closing the distance. As Drake's arms tightened around me, I looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with Dane. His mouth kicked up just a fraction at one corner, satisfaction stamping itself across his face.
