hadn’t gone to the meeting? What if he’d chosen an internship somewhere else?
Seeing him again made her ache for the little girl she’d been and the way she had missed him so desperately the summer after she and her father had moved to Kelso. For three years, they’d been best friends. His parents were busy and so were hers. Together they found time for each other, a world where they chased butterflies and jumped rope and played house. He was the father and she was the mother. Or she was the sisterand he was the brother. Sometimes they would stay in character all day long.
Tanner’s mother didn’t like him going to other kids’ houses, so most of the time they played at his. His backyard was the stage for a hundred games of make believe and mysterious monsters and unrivaled challenges and story lines.
Jade remembered one of Tanner’s favorite games. She leaned her head back, and she could see them as they were more than a decade ago.
“Okay, Jade, close your eyes.” Tanner would take her hand and lead her to the corner of the yard. “See how much you trust me.”
“Not this again!”
“Come on, you love this one.” Tanner had been persuasive back then, too.
“Okay.” Once her eyes were closed he would lead her on an obstacle course through the yard. “Come on, Jade. Trust me; don’t open your eyes.”
“I won’t! I promise.”
And she hadn’t. Her trust in Tanner had been absolute.
The sky was growing black, and a handful of stars poked their way through the darkness. Even now those days with Tanner stood out as the happiest time in her life. The years since then had been wracked with disappointment and insecurity. Everyone who mattered had let her down. Everyone but Tanner. He was the only person she’d ever truly trusted.
Back then she’d been certain she would marry him one day. Other kids teased them about it, but secretly in her little girl heart, she knew it wasn’t a joke. How could she marry anyone else?
A lump formed in Jade’s throat and she swallowed hard. Everything had changed since then. Jade knew more aboutmarriage now, how it could make a person crazy.
She sighed. Every moment with Tanner tonight had been magical. They’d grown up in two completely different worlds, yet still they shared a bond that had not faded.
Tanner’s words from earlier that night echoed in her mind now.
“I want to see you tomorrow and the next day, and the next …” He’d stared deep into her eyes. “I want to know what you’re about now that you’ve grown up.”
Jade wanted to see him, too. She wanted to bare her heart to him the way she had as a child. But while the bond between them hadn’t seemed to change, their circumstances had. There was no way to bridge their worlds now. Tanner would never be interested in her. Besides his internship only lasted through the summer.
Still there was something about the way he had looked at her earlier that night that made her heart sing. If she hadn’t known him better, she would have said he looked at her the same way Jim Rudolph did.
And Jim Rudolph’s intentions were obvious.
Jade had met Jim when she was a freshman in high school. He was a senior that year, quarterback of the Kelso football team, a tall, stocky boy with a baby face. Most of the girls at Kelso dreamed of dating him, but Jade hadn’t been interested. Throughout high school she enjoyed dozens of acquaintances, but no lasting friendships. Close friends would eventually want to come over and meet her parents. And Jade was not willing to share that part of her life with anyone.
So she remained aloof. Girls envied her; boys found her a challenge, but she was never concerned with any of them. She found comfort in running and biking and reading mysteries. In the controlled world she had created for herself there was noroom for relationships of any kind.
But Jim Rudolph simply would not take no for an answer.
In Jade’s freshman year he followed her around campus between
Seeing him again made her ache for the little girl she’d been and the way she had missed him so desperately the summer after she and her father had moved to Kelso. For three years, they’d been best friends. His parents were busy and so were hers. Together they found time for each other, a world where they chased butterflies and jumped rope and played house. He was the father and she was the mother. Or she was the sisterand he was the brother. Sometimes they would stay in character all day long.
Tanner’s mother didn’t like him going to other kids’ houses, so most of the time they played at his. His backyard was the stage for a hundred games of make believe and mysterious monsters and unrivaled challenges and story lines.
Jade remembered one of Tanner’s favorite games. She leaned her head back, and she could see them as they were more than a decade ago.
“Okay, Jade, close your eyes.” Tanner would take her hand and lead her to the corner of the yard. “See how much you trust me.”
“Not this again!”
“Come on, you love this one.” Tanner had been persuasive back then, too.
“Okay.” Once her eyes were closed he would lead her on an obstacle course through the yard. “Come on, Jade. Trust me; don’t open your eyes.”
“I won’t! I promise.”
And she hadn’t. Her trust in Tanner had been absolute.
The sky was growing black, and a handful of stars poked their way through the darkness. Even now those days with Tanner stood out as the happiest time in her life. The years since then had been wracked with disappointment and insecurity. Everyone who mattered had let her down. Everyone but Tanner. He was the only person she’d ever truly trusted.
Back then she’d been certain she would marry him one day. Other kids teased them about it, but secretly in her little girl heart, she knew it wasn’t a joke. How could she marry anyone else?
A lump formed in Jade’s throat and she swallowed hard. Everything had changed since then. Jade knew more aboutmarriage now, how it could make a person crazy.
She sighed. Every moment with Tanner tonight had been magical. They’d grown up in two completely different worlds, yet still they shared a bond that had not faded.
Tanner’s words from earlier that night echoed in her mind now.
“I want to see you tomorrow and the next day, and the next …” He’d stared deep into her eyes. “I want to know what you’re about now that you’ve grown up.”
Jade wanted to see him, too. She wanted to bare her heart to him the way she had as a child. But while the bond between them hadn’t seemed to change, their circumstances had. There was no way to bridge their worlds now. Tanner would never be interested in her. Besides his internship only lasted through the summer.
Still there was something about the way he had looked at her earlier that night that made her heart sing. If she hadn’t known him better, she would have said he looked at her the same way Jim Rudolph did.
And Jim Rudolph’s intentions were obvious.
Jade had met Jim when she was a freshman in high school. He was a senior that year, quarterback of the Kelso football team, a tall, stocky boy with a baby face. Most of the girls at Kelso dreamed of dating him, but Jade hadn’t been interested. Throughout high school she enjoyed dozens of acquaintances, but no lasting friendships. Close friends would eventually want to come over and meet her parents. And Jade was not willing to share that part of her life with anyone.
So she remained aloof. Girls envied her; boys found her a challenge, but she was never concerned with any of them. She found comfort in running and biking and reading mysteries. In the controlled world she had created for herself there was noroom for relationships of any kind.
But Jim Rudolph simply would not take no for an answer.
In Jade’s freshman year he followed her around campus between
Similar Books
