Breath of Scandal by Sandra Brown

Jade take the car out unless she accounted for where she was going and how long she would be gone. People didn't think well of girls who had unlimited freedom.

    By the time she arrived home, Velta was in a snit. The mailbox was full of mail that she was too tired and angry to sort through. She tossed it onto the kitchen table without even glancing through it. For dinner she heated up some soup. She had just finished her bath when the telephone rang. "Hello?"

    "Hi, Mrs. Sperry. It's Donna Dee. May I speak with Jade, please?"'

    "Mr. Jones told me she was with you!" "Uh, well, she was. She's not home yet?"

    "Donna Dee, I want a full explanation, and I want it now. Jade left the store before six and it's almost nine. Where is she?"

    "We were on our way to Gary's house and ran out of gas. "

    "Why were you going all the way out to the Parkers' place at that time of day?"

    "She had something to tell Gary."

    "Something that couldn't be told over the telephone?" "Mrs. Sperry, don't press me on this, okay?" Donna Dee whined. "You need to hear it from Jade. Anyway, we ran out of gas about halfway there. Neal Patchett came by. He had Hutch and Lamar with him. They, uh, they took Jade with them."

    "Took her where?"

    "I don't know. They drove off and left me stranded. They meant it as a joke, I guess, but this is the lowest trick Neal has ever pulled."

    "Are you at home now?"

    "I have been for a while." She explained how she had returned to town. "I figured that Jade would have gotten home by now-you know, that either Neal or Gary would have brought her. The last I saw of them, they were headed in the direction of the Parker farm."

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    Sandra Brown

    "Well, she isn't here. I haven't heard a word."

    "Do you think Jade's all right?" Donna Dee asked uneasily.

    "If Neal dropped her off at Gary's house, she's probably just lost track of time. I've had to get onto her lately for breaking her curfews."

    "Why didn't she come back for me?" "How long were you there alone?" "Not long."

    "You were probably already on your way back by the time she got there."

    "I guess so, but maybe one of us ought to call Gary's house and make sure she's there. I didn't before, because there's bad blood between Gary and Neal. Gary wouldn't like knowing that Jade hitched a ride with Neal."

    "Well, if she's at his place, he already knows, doesn't he?"

    "That's true," Donna Dee said slowly as realization dawned. "Maybe he's mad and Jade's trying to smooth things over."

    "Don't worry about it, Donna Dee. I'll call the Parkers myself. Good night."

    Velta considered the advantages of calling the Parkers but decided against it. If Jade was with Gary, she was safe. If she was with Neal Patchett, why get Gary upset? What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

    A smile tugged at the comers of Velta's lips and a rare sparkle appeared in her gray eyes. If Jade was with Neal, all the better. An evening in his company might change the girl's mind about a few things. She might come to realize how important it was to mingle with the right people, and how much more fun it would be to fall in love with a rich boy than a poor one.

    All things considered, this might be the best thing that could have happened.

    6LNE

    Had the choice been left solely to Jade, she probably would have lain on the marshy ground beside the channel

    Breath of Scandal

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    until she died of hunger, thirst, or exposure. Her survival instinct was too powerful, however. She never knew how long she lay in the dark, curled into a defensive fetal position, numbed by the violation that had been inflicted on her.

    The clouds wept for her. The mist that had been falling intermittently all day had turned into a miserable rain. Cold, mortified, and outraged, she finally uncoiled her body and managed to pull herself onto her hands and knees.

    She crawled forward a few yards and found a shoe that she had, at some point during the attack, kicked off. She groped in the darkness for its mate but