trying to figure things out.
“Yeah, right,” Bree whispered under her breath as she got up and left.
“So did something happen between you and Jack?” Tim asked, breaking through the silence that followed.
I nodded.
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s bad news. Real bad. I can’t get into the details right now. For the time being, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Or not.”
Tim adjusted his black-rimmed glasses.
“All right, I guess,” he said, scratching behind his ear. “I suppose it’s possible, people having different sides to them. Like in that old Brando film, One-Eyed Jacks .”
That’s exactly what Jack was. A one-eyed jack. And like Rio in the movie, I had seen the other side of his face.
“Ready?” I asked Ty after a while, a warm sensation rippling through me as I glanced at him. He was quiet, deep in thought, and staring up at the sky.
“Yep,” he said.
We said goodbye to the others and walked to his truck.
“Are you tired?” he asked.
“No, not really,” I said. “Why?”
“I want to show you something.”
CHAPTER 16
We drove out to the highway and unrolled the windows as we headed out of town, gliding down US 20 and cutting deep into the desert.
I sent a text to Kate to let her know I’d be late.
“Thanks,” I said to Ty after I put my phone away. “What you said about Jack. It meant a lot that you said those things to the team.”
“I’m glad you’re not mad. I was worried you might be. But I couldn’t do it, Abby. I couldn’t sit there and listen to stories about good ‘ol Jack. No way.”
I reached over and took his hand and kissed it.
We kept driving. Finally, he slowed down and turned off the road and into a dusty lot.
“We’re here,” he said.
We were the only ones around. I knew we were somewhere in the Badlands. We got out of the truck into the pitch black night.
“I come here sometimes,” he said. “You know. Late at night. When it’s clear like this.”
My heart skipped a few beats and my breathing was shallow.
“Really?” I asked, as he moved closer.
“I come to look at the stars. I do a lot of thinking. About you. About us. It’s a good place for it.”
He brought down the bed of the truck and hopped up and then offered me his hand. I took it, hoping he wouldn’t notice how much I was shaking.
“Cold?” he asked.
It wasn’t from the cold.
“No,” I said, staring up into his face, finding his eyes. They were large, full of passion. “Not really.”
But he grabbed the blanket anyway and wrapped it around me. He kissed me, perfect and tender.
“I wanted you to see this,” he said, looking up. “But it’s only a preview of what it’ll be like up in the mountains. I hope you can make it.”
It was dead quiet, our heavy breathing the only sound in the desert night. He leaned over and we kissed again and then he looked up.
I followed his eyes and finally understood why we were out here. It was the sky.
“It’s amazing,” I said.
It really was. The sky was out in front of us, horizon to horizon. Black and full of more stars than you could count in a year.
“Wow,” I said. “Man, oh, man.”
“Best planetarium around. That you can drive to anyway,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to bring you out here all summer.”
I laughed for no reason and knew that he could tell how nervous I was. I wanted to be with him, could feel the pinpricks on my flesh, could feel his fast white energy on my skin, pulling me closer, drawing me in.
“I love you, Abby,” he whispered in my ear. The words hung between us as he waited for me to say something. I hugged him again, unable to speak.
I tried, but the words didn’t come out. I felt it, I knew it. But I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t say them. It was such an incredible night, full of love, full of desire. But those words. I couldn’t say them.
We looked back up at the sky.
I smiled shyly and tried to breathe.
“My dad used to take us out
“Yeah, right,” Bree whispered under her breath as she got up and left.
“So did something happen between you and Jack?” Tim asked, breaking through the silence that followed.
I nodded.
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s bad news. Real bad. I can’t get into the details right now. For the time being, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Or not.”
Tim adjusted his black-rimmed glasses.
“All right, I guess,” he said, scratching behind his ear. “I suppose it’s possible, people having different sides to them. Like in that old Brando film, One-Eyed Jacks .”
That’s exactly what Jack was. A one-eyed jack. And like Rio in the movie, I had seen the other side of his face.
“Ready?” I asked Ty after a while, a warm sensation rippling through me as I glanced at him. He was quiet, deep in thought, and staring up at the sky.
“Yep,” he said.
We said goodbye to the others and walked to his truck.
“Are you tired?” he asked.
“No, not really,” I said. “Why?”
“I want to show you something.”
CHAPTER 16
We drove out to the highway and unrolled the windows as we headed out of town, gliding down US 20 and cutting deep into the desert.
I sent a text to Kate to let her know I’d be late.
“Thanks,” I said to Ty after I put my phone away. “What you said about Jack. It meant a lot that you said those things to the team.”
“I’m glad you’re not mad. I was worried you might be. But I couldn’t do it, Abby. I couldn’t sit there and listen to stories about good ‘ol Jack. No way.”
I reached over and took his hand and kissed it.
We kept driving. Finally, he slowed down and turned off the road and into a dusty lot.
“We’re here,” he said.
We were the only ones around. I knew we were somewhere in the Badlands. We got out of the truck into the pitch black night.
“I come here sometimes,” he said. “You know. Late at night. When it’s clear like this.”
My heart skipped a few beats and my breathing was shallow.
“Really?” I asked, as he moved closer.
“I come to look at the stars. I do a lot of thinking. About you. About us. It’s a good place for it.”
He brought down the bed of the truck and hopped up and then offered me his hand. I took it, hoping he wouldn’t notice how much I was shaking.
“Cold?” he asked.
It wasn’t from the cold.
“No,” I said, staring up into his face, finding his eyes. They were large, full of passion. “Not really.”
But he grabbed the blanket anyway and wrapped it around me. He kissed me, perfect and tender.
“I wanted you to see this,” he said, looking up. “But it’s only a preview of what it’ll be like up in the mountains. I hope you can make it.”
It was dead quiet, our heavy breathing the only sound in the desert night. He leaned over and we kissed again and then he looked up.
I followed his eyes and finally understood why we were out here. It was the sky.
“It’s amazing,” I said.
It really was. The sky was out in front of us, horizon to horizon. Black and full of more stars than you could count in a year.
“Wow,” I said. “Man, oh, man.”
“Best planetarium around. That you can drive to anyway,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to bring you out here all summer.”
I laughed for no reason and knew that he could tell how nervous I was. I wanted to be with him, could feel the pinpricks on my flesh, could feel his fast white energy on my skin, pulling me closer, drawing me in.
“I love you, Abby,” he whispered in my ear. The words hung between us as he waited for me to say something. I hugged him again, unable to speak.
I tried, but the words didn’t come out. I felt it, I knew it. But I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t say them. It was such an incredible night, full of love, full of desire. But those words. I couldn’t say them.
We looked back up at the sky.
I smiled shyly and tried to breathe.
“My dad used to take us out
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