The Lost Days (Prairie Town Book 3) by T.E. Ridener Page A

against Devin’s knee and he squeezed it gently before pulling away.  The last thing he wanted to do was make the kid uncomfortable.  They’d made great progress in the two weeks they’d been roommates; he didn’t want to jeopardize it now.  “You’re the furthest thing from an idiot, Dev-o.  Tell me you at least apologized to her.”
    “I did.  Of course I did.” He stared at him as if he’d suddenly grown a third eye or something.  “But I could tell she was mad at me.”
    “Understandable, but why have you been down here for so long?” And then it struck him, and he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped.  “Is it because you’re afraid to face her?”
    “Maybe,” Devin mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
    “Oh man, we really need to work on your social skills.  I have to educate you.” He stood from the floor and offered him a hand.  “First things first; when you make a woman mad, you do something to make up for it.”
    Devin grasped his hand and pulled himself up.  “That’s the thing though; I don’t exactly know how to make up for it.  How do you make up to a woman after insulting the memory of her deceased husband?”
    “That’s a good question, but flowers are usually a great start.  And,”—Nick grinned smugly—“luckily for you it just so happens I got some really pretty ones to give to Kelly tonight, for the dinner.”
    Devin squinted his eyes and wrinkled his nose—and damn it, it was the cutest thing Nick had ever seen.  “You want me to give her the flowers that you bought for her?  Isn’t that cheating?”
    “You think too much.  I don’t mind letting you give her the flowers – especially if this is going to bother you so much.  I understand that you want to start off on the right foot with her.  I do, too.”
    “Yeah, but she’s not known you her whole life.  My situation is different.” There was that sadness in his voice again.  “I really can’t afford to disappoint people anymore.  This is the only shot I get at changing her opinion of me.”
    “Devin.” He gripped his upper arms gently and stared him straight in the eyes.  “I swear to you, Kelly isn’t one of those people.  She understands what you’ve been through and she isn’t going to hang anything over your head.  She’s a good woman.”
    “But I wasn’t a good man.” Devin’s voice cracked and he dropped his gaze again.  “Sometimes...sometimes I feel like I’m pretending to be something I’m not.”
    “And I get that, too.” Nick’s voice became lower, filled with compassion.  “But have you ever thought that maybe you used to pretend to be something you weren’t?  Maybe this is the real you?”
    Devin’s eyes snapped back to his and it seemed like at that exact moment, that very precise second in time, a realization came over him.  Perhaps he’d never actually thought about it before.  Maybe the person he used to be had never been the person he actually was.
    “Think about it.” Nick winked and then turned to head back up the stairs.  “Now, hurry.  I’ll distract her while you go back to the house for the flowers.”
    “Nick?”
    He paused on the third step up and turned to look at him.  “Yeah?”
    “Thank you.” Devin peered up at him with those beautiful eyes of his, and smiled.  “For having so much faith in me.”
    “You don’t have to thank me for that, Dev-o.  That’s what friends are supposed to do.”
    With that, he turned and continued up the stairs, more than ready for their special night with Kelly to get underway.
    —————
    D evin
    He really was grateful to have a friend like Nick.  Even though his memories were gone and he felt like he was an astronaut on a strange new planet, he was pretty sure he hadn’t had many good friends before everything went dark. 
    Devin considered himself lucky now, and he was hopeful he could mend things with Kelly before they were beyond repair.
    Clutching the fresh carnations in one hand and