Second Chance Lane (Brockenridge #2) - Nicola Marsh Page 0,17

a lone tear trickled down his pale cheek.

Tash had never felt so bereft. She reached out a hand to comfort him but when his head snapped up and she glimpsed his fury, she took a step back.

‘Get out,’ Kody said, his tone cold and lethal.

When she didn’t move, he yelled, ‘Get the hell out!’

Nothing Tash said now would make the situation any better so, with a final, regretful shake of her head, she turned her back on him and walked out.

CHAPTER

8

Betty’s Bakery had been Jane’s go-to place since she’d been a kid, despite her mum’s insistent warnings that ‘once past the lips forever on the hips’. Jane hadn’t cared back then, she’d been a sporty kid and burned off the calories from Betty’s amazing baked goods. These days she had to be more careful, but she’d always had curves no matter what she ate and nothing would soothe her like a prize-winning vanilla slice.

After ducking home to change, she parked near Nancy’s op shop, the scene of the infamous incident where she’d framed Ruby for stealing a necklace, all because she’d been green with envy that the handsomest guy in school, Connor Delaney, had asked Ruby to the graduation ball and not her. She’d done some shitty things in her life since, but that had been a particular low point. Ruby had left town that night and hadn’t returned until her mum died and she’d taken over the roadhouse. If she were in Ruby’s shoes she wouldn’t have been so forgiving. Maybe Ruby understood however many apologies Jane uttered, there was nothing she could do that would truly make up for her blunders over the years. That was something she had to live with every damn day.

Her decision-making had gone downhill since she’d discovered the truth about her parents. Foolish, considering no amount of disrepute she brought on Gladys Jefferson seemed to make the slightest difference. Her mum continued to swan through life, pretending that her marriage had been perfect, that she didn’t lie like everyone else. Jane hadn’t hurt her mum with her shoddy behaviour over the years. The only person still hurting was her and she was done.

Needing that custard-filled slice of heaven more than ever, she picked up the pace and had almost made it to the bakery when a man stepped out of a doorway directly into her path. She tried to sidestep him but her foot tangled with his and she would’ve gone down in an ungraceful heap if he hadn’t grabbed her arms.

‘Watch where you’re going,’ she muttered, brushing off his grip as she straightened, only to lock eyes with a startlingly handsome guy. He looked familiar … probably one of the guys she’d gone to high school with who had left town and only visited family occasionally. He hadn’t been one of the cool crowd—she would’ve remembered him. He was tall, about six-four, with wavy dark blonde hair, brown eyes and the kind of chiselled jaw that usually adorned superhero movie posters.

‘You’re the one who ran into me.’ The deep voice, filled with censure and disapproval, made her bristle and step back. ‘So an apology wouldn’t go astray.’

That voice—the moment she heard him speak she recognised Mason Woodley, because his gruff voice used to hurl insults at her on a regular basis.

Jane had been popular in high school—with everybody but Mason. She’d enjoyed being the centre of attention back then. Everybody liked her and she thrived on it. So when Mason didn’t fall for her charms, she’d taken it as a personal challenge. But no matter how hard she tried to sweet-talk him, he’d cut her down with snarky comments that never failed to rile. She’d hide her chagrin behind saccharine smiles that he saw right through and it annoyed the crap out of her. She couldn’t wait to see the back of him at the end of year twelve.

Yet she adored his mum now. The few times Betty had mentioned her son and how proud she was of him, Jane would change the subject and Betty soon got the message. She’d rather not remember the many times Mason had laughed at her expense.

‘An apology?’ Her nose crinkled like she smelled something bad. ‘You expect me to say sorry for something you did?’ She folded her arms, annoyed that a flicker of heat shot through her body as he stared at her. She’d just spent the last half-hour chastising herself for hooking up with a stranger yet here she was, noticing how hot