Page 8 of Shallow

Her smile fades as she brushes a piece of dark hair away from her face. “But, son, it’s the letter. Surely you can take a couple minutes to open it.” She shoves it against my chest, and it feels like liquid fire, incinerating my future from the outsidein.

“Mom, I can’t. What if they rejectedme?”

“Carrick Kincaid,” she says in that stern mother tone that makes me stand up straighter. “You’re just as qualified as any of those applicants. This is your destiny. I know it.” Her eyes mist as her lip quivers. “Your sister knows it too. Now, are you gonna disappointus?”

This is it. I’ve studied my ass off. I’ve sacrificed any form of a social life. I’ve asked for the extra credit., I’ve aced all the tests, and I’ve gotten one of the highest SAT scores in HorryCounty.

But this one envelope holds the decision that will determine whether I fulfill a dream or run the Castaway Sands Motel for the rest of my life, catering to a bunch of over-privileged spring-breakers.

Propping the mop handle against the doorframe, I take the envelope from my mother’s hand, carefully sliding my finger underneath the glue along theback.

“Carrick, I don’t have many years left, son,please!”

Flashing her a grin, I rip the rest of it open. As I unfold the crested letterhead, I have to scan it three times before the lump in my throat dislodges enough for me tospeak.

“I gotit.”

“You gotit?”

“Mom, I got the full scholarship.” My voice stutters, and I grab the wall for support. “I’m going to Duke University in the fall.” A heaviness settles in my stomach. My dream ishappening.

Tears tumble down my mother’s cheeks as she cups her hands over her mouth. “Oh,son…”

“I’m going to be a doctor,” I whisper. “I’m going to save theworld.”

Squealing, Mom throws her arms around me, causing us to both stumble backward. “Oh, Carrick, I knew it! Your sister will be so proud,honey.”

I break our embrace and smile, even though I try my best to hide it. “Mom, would you mind finishing the room? I promise I’ll clean the next three to make up forit.”

Her elated grin fades. “Not if you’re going where I think you’regoing.”

“You don’t know her like Ido.”

“You only think you know her. She only talks to you if there’s no one around to seeit.”

She’s still ranting as I run down the broken-down steps three at a time. I don’t have a car, but I do have a beat-up motorcycle that gets me where I need to be. And right now, the only place I need to be is with the most beautiful girl in theworld.

* * *

Present Day

For an hour,I’ve stared at the centerfold of Shiloh’s magazine. Not out in the open, of course. I have it shoved in the center drawer of my shitty, beat-up desk just in case someone comes in. I’ve tried to pay invoices, return calls, even force myself to call Taryn, but I find myself gawking at her sex-kitten stare like I’ve never seen a womanbefore.

I’d followed her trial. That shit was all over the news like she was goddamn royalty. After I heard the judge say felony probation, I stopped paying attention. What Shiloh wants, Shiloh gets, and if it had been anyone else, they’d be behind bars bynow.

Groaning, I scrub my palms over my face and tilt my head back. You’d think after seven years I’d have the woman out of my system, but I guess sometimes hate and lust run parallel. I loathe her, but time has done nothing to extinguish the fire inside me every time I see her half naked on the cover of some skinmag.

Is it possible to want to fuck someone to death? Like, literally to death? Because I think I’mthere.

As I weigh the moral implications, my office door opens and Frankie pokes his bald head in. “Hey, boss, you got aminute?”

Shoving the drawer closed, I grab the handful of overdue invoices I snagged from Frankie’s desk and try to look busy. “I have one minute. You’d better talk fast,junior.”

Rubbing the scruff on his jaw, Frankie settles into the metal chair in front ofme.

“Comfy?” I ask with asmirk.

“I know abouther.”