21. Reese

Sheila hums quietly, tapping her orthopedic dress shoes on the floor while she readies a loan application for a customer. They’re not due for another hour, but it’s been a slow day at work, and we’re bored. She’s been sneaking glances at me all morning and it’s starting to get on my last nerve.

“Spit it out, Sheila. You’re driving me batty.”

Her lips pull into a grin, and she laughs to herself. “I should say the same thing to you.”

“I’m driving you batty?”

“Yes. Out with it, girl. I’m dying over here.”

“Out with what?”

Sheila leans against the counter, narrowing her eyes at me. “You got lucky, and I want to hear about it. Take pity on an old woman, Reese. Let me live vicariously through you.”

I laugh, trying to escape her hands when she clutches my arms. “You’re far from old.”

“Compared to you, I am.”

She lets go of me and leans her hip on the counter. “Spill.”

“I got lucky.”

She waits for a beat, a cackle escaping her lips. “Tease. That’s all you’ll give me?”

“Would you like a name and address?”

She tips her head. “That’d be a start.”

Her eyes scan my face. “Or you could just tell me why you seem so damn angry about it.”

The chime over the door sounds and we both clam up. Only once we’ve cashed a check and watched the customer slide out the front door do we resume the conversation.

“I think I screwed up.”

She laughs again.

“Sheila. This is no laughing matter.”

“Oh, it is, honey. In twenty years, you’ll know what I mean.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I just have to get through the next twenty years of mortification.”

She pulls her grin back, clearly still amused by my trials and tribulations. “I get the feeling you aren’t going to give me the details, so I’m shooting from the hip here. But a little advice? The messy part is half the fun. If there wasn’t a little drama at the start of the movie, ain’t nobody would want to watch it.”

“That’s not nearly as comforting as you probably think it is.”

She’s cackling again, but this time, I’m smiling, too.

“I’m just happy to see you wake up a little, Reese. You’ve been in a zombie state since you started here.”

“Thanks?”

“I’ve had This Little Light of Mine stuck in my head for the past two months thanks to you. You’re like a birthday candle somebody blew out.”

“This is the worst pep talk anyone has ever given me.”

I drawl. But I’m full of shit. She’s actually hitting the nail on the head.

She cocks her head to the side. “When are you going to realize you’re too big for this town?”

“This is where I grew up.”

“I grew up in Potstown, Nebraska. Population thirty-one. You don’t see me lurking around there, do you?”

“No.”

“You got that master’s degree of yours so that you could be a bank teller?”

I point a finger at her. “You’re a bank teller.”

She gives me a flat look. “This is my retirement gig, honey. It’s just to pass the time. I already had my career. Put notches in my belt. And I didn’t have half the potential you do.”

“Who says I have potential?”

“You do. Every day. The way you think. Solve problems. You could do big things, kiddo.”

I frown, leaning against the counter.

Her voice softens. “Banking is a fantastic, challenging career path. But last time I checked, you didn’t study finances in school.”

She scoots closer, putting a soft hand on my arm. “I love working with you. And I’ll hate, hate, hate seeing you go. But you know what’s worse? Watching somebody waste their potential before they even get started.”

She’s right. This move home was always going to be temporary. I thought Jonah was going to charge in, sweeping me off my feet. But he isn’t coming back. And I don’t think I’d want him to, anyway.

If I want salvation, I’ll have to go after it myself.

I might have bungled the whole sexual awakening thing with Skyler, but there’s more to life than sex.

I want a full life. Rich with experiences and challenges. I won’t get that by hiding away in this dusty old bank. Escape is the only option.

I give Sheila a sidelong glance. “Want to help me look at job postings?”