Shallow Creek

Brendan winced as he reached for the handle to the beer cooler.  Fighting those guys the night before hadn’t felt that strenuous, but he’d managed to aggravate every injury from getting his ass kicked a few days ago.  He’d woken up this morning feeling like one big bruise, so he made the gas station the first stop of the day to get his favorite remedy: Shiner Bock.  His dad only drank Coors Light, which might as well have been flavored water as far as Brendan was concerned.

The frigid air escaping from the open cooler was a welcome relief from the heat outside.  Even at this time of year, the thermometer in his truck exceeded ninety degrees Fahrenheit without much trouble.  The dry heat was an improvement over the humidity in a city like Houston, but it was still unpleasant.

He grabbed a six-pack, but then returned it and grabbed twelve instead.  As the door swung close, someone called out behind him, “Hey, stranger.”

When he turned, he expected to see Michelle again, but the friendly tone should’ve been the first hint that it wasn’t her.  The woman smiling at him as she approached resembled Michelle very closely, but Brendan quickly realized it was her younger sister.

“Howdy, Kim.” He tried not to be too obvious about taking her all in.  Her father, Mr. Prost, had been a complete ass-wipe, but damn, he could make some pretty daughters.

As Kim got a good look at Brendan, her smile turned to concern.

“Oh my gosh, what happened to your face?”

“Michelle didn’t tell you about my little run-in with your cousin, Scott?”  And why hadn’t Michelle told him that Kim still lived in town?

The bell over the door rang.

“Hey, Kim—”

Brendan looked past Kim to the open door and found a familiar lady staring at him, stuck in midsentence.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Brendan said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice.

Casey approached tentatively as Kim’s gaze switched between her and Brendan.  “Y’all know each other?” Kim asked.

“Did you get the license plates on the truck that ran you over?” Casey asked, ignoring Kim and scrutinizing Brendan’s wounds.

“Yeah, I did.  Scott was driving it.  He didn’t mention it?”

“You know Scott—?” Kim started, but Brendan cut her off.

“How did you two meet, Kim?”

“We met at the park,” Kim said uneasily.  “At the running track.”

“I didn’t realize it was such a popular hangout,” Brendan said, eying Casey.

“I run a lot, so I’m going to meet a lot of people there,” Casey explained nonchalantly before turning to Kim.  “I was getting gas and saw you come in here and just wanted to say hey, but I’ve got to get going.”

“Oh, okay,” Kim said.  “See you later, then.”

“Sure,” Casey said.  “See you later.  You, too, Brendan.”

Brendan grunted in response as Casey strode back out through the door.

“That was awkward,” Kim said, smiling a little.

“It happens,” Brendan said.  “So Michelle didn’t tell you I was back?”

Her eyes dropped, sheepishly avoiding his.  “We don’t really talk that much.”

“Oh, okay,” Brendan said, feeling that awkwardness that came from knowing something bad has happened between two people, but not knowing what the heck it could be.  “Listen, you got some time to kill?”

She brightened up.  “Yeah, I don’t have to be at work ‘til noon.”

Brendan hefted the twelve-pack up.  “You down to share a drink with an old buddy?”

“Uh, it’s ten in the morning,” she said.  “A bit early for me.”

Now Brendan was the one feeling sheepish.  “Right, sure.  Just a joke.”

She nodded uneasily, but said, “You can buy me a world-renowned gas station coffee, though.”

“Sounds good.”  He put the beer back in the cooler and escorted Kim to the coffee station.

While she prepared the generic-looking caffeinated coffee, Brendan decided it was a little hot outside to be messing with warm drinks.  He headed for the back coolers and grabbed two bottles of water.  When he returned, Kim was smiling and ready to go.  He paid for their drinks at the cash register, and then went outside with Kim in tow.  A quick visual sweep of the area didn’t reveal Casey or Scott Fisher’s thugs lying in wait anywhere.

The gas station wasn’t exactly fit for purpose when it came to entertaining guests, so there weren’t any chairs or tables outside.  No one else was parked at the pumps, and the overhang above them provided the only shelter from the sun, so Brendan led Kim over to his mom’s truck and popped the tailgate down.  They sat down on the open tailgate and let their legs dangle off the edge.

“I wouldn’t have figured you as the small truck kind of guy,” Kim noted, checking out the Ford Ranger.

“My mom asked me to put gas in her truck since I was heading down here for supplies,” Brendan said.  “I drive an F-250.”

“That seems more your style.”

This felt nice, hanging out with Kim.  Pressing things flew around in his mind, demanding his attention, but sitting with Kim alleviated the desire to deal with any of them.  Brendan and Kim swung their legs in silence and exchanged fleeting smiles.

“In the store, did you say Casey knows my cousin?” Kim asked suddenly.