know she’s not really happy with Deacon being friends with a mountain girl. Glad Jackson’s family doesn’t have that problem.
That wasn’t surprising. Charlotte Mackson made no secret that her son had married beneath himself when he’d wed Lorelei. She was a cold, proud woman. Devon had always been a little bit afraid of her. She hadn’t seen her grandmother at all since she’d come back to town to stay with Gammy. It was interesting that her mom felt it too, even when she was just friends with Deacon.
Devon went back to the diary, absently eating her peanut butter sandwich. It was more of the same, with no further mentions of Lorelei’s future mother-in-law. An empty page demarcated the years, so Devon knew she must be into her mother’s senior year entries now. She wished there were dates for the entries, but she managed to crib together a loose timeline based on events her mother wrote about.
She was only a couple of entries into Lorelei’s senior year when the tone and content of her mother’s writing changed:
He brought a girl to lunch! Her name’s Saundra—a new student who moved from a town even smaller than this one. I don’t like her, or the way she hangs all over him. She actually made him get up and leave lunch early. Deacon and I finished eating by ourselves. I know D was bothered by his behavior, but he tried to hide it. I’m so mad, I could kill him.
Devon raised her eyebrows. Yeah, that wasn’t psycho jealous at all. Her mother didn’t sound at all rational about Jackson getting a girlfriend. She took a sip of her generic soda and thought about her mother’s words. Obviously Lorelei had it bad for Jackson, but he didn’t feel the same way about her. Where was her dad in all of this? Her mother gave him only the barest of mentions, and those only in conjunction with the three of them doing something together. How did they ever wind up getting married?
She read on, her eyes scanning the pages quickly. Jackson was absent more and more, leaving Lorelei and Deacon alone. There were a few more diatribes about Saundra and Jackson and their relationship, but now Lorelei seemed focused on Deacon. Devon chewed on her lip. So had her dad been the second choice, the man she picked because she couldn’t have Jackson? Or had Lorelei come to love him once Jackson was out of the picture and no longer there to blind her?
Devon came to the last entry:
Deacon asked me to marry him today. Must tell Jackson.
There were several blank lines, followed by a two word sentence.
It’s OVER.
Devon flipped through the rest of the book, but there was nothing else written. There was still about a quarter of the journal pages left, but Lorelei had stopped writing in it after that final entry. What was over? And why did Lorelei have to tell Jackson about the proposal?
She looked at the photograph that she had been using as a bookmark again. There was her mother and Jackson, their heads close together. But in the bright sunlight Devon caught something in the photo that she hadn’t seen in the lamplight of her bedroom the night before. Far in the background was someone all in black—a woman. Devon felt her heart speed up. It couldn’t be…
She was jolted out of her thoughts by a ball of something slimy and gross smacking into her chest. Grease spattered the blank pages of the journal, and Devon’s face and clothes. She jumped up and a ball of aluminum foil containing what was someone’s cafeteria lunch hit the ground. A giant grease stain decorated the middle of Devon’s jacket.
Devon looked up to see Skylar and a few of her cheerleader minions staring at her with evil little grins on their faces. Devon shoved the journal back in her bag and grabbed what napkins she had, trying to wipe off the worst of it.
“Sorry,” Skylar simpered, clearly not sorry at all. “I was aiming for the trash.”
The girls all burst out laughing and walked away. Devon watched them go, going alternately hot and cold. She
That wasn’t surprising. Charlotte Mackson made no secret that her son had married beneath himself when he’d wed Lorelei. She was a cold, proud woman. Devon had always been a little bit afraid of her. She hadn’t seen her grandmother at all since she’d come back to town to stay with Gammy. It was interesting that her mom felt it too, even when she was just friends with Deacon.
Devon went back to the diary, absently eating her peanut butter sandwich. It was more of the same, with no further mentions of Lorelei’s future mother-in-law. An empty page demarcated the years, so Devon knew she must be into her mother’s senior year entries now. She wished there were dates for the entries, but she managed to crib together a loose timeline based on events her mother wrote about.
She was only a couple of entries into Lorelei’s senior year when the tone and content of her mother’s writing changed:
He brought a girl to lunch! Her name’s Saundra—a new student who moved from a town even smaller than this one. I don’t like her, or the way she hangs all over him. She actually made him get up and leave lunch early. Deacon and I finished eating by ourselves. I know D was bothered by his behavior, but he tried to hide it. I’m so mad, I could kill him.
Devon raised her eyebrows. Yeah, that wasn’t psycho jealous at all. Her mother didn’t sound at all rational about Jackson getting a girlfriend. She took a sip of her generic soda and thought about her mother’s words. Obviously Lorelei had it bad for Jackson, but he didn’t feel the same way about her. Where was her dad in all of this? Her mother gave him only the barest of mentions, and those only in conjunction with the three of them doing something together. How did they ever wind up getting married?
She read on, her eyes scanning the pages quickly. Jackson was absent more and more, leaving Lorelei and Deacon alone. There were a few more diatribes about Saundra and Jackson and their relationship, but now Lorelei seemed focused on Deacon. Devon chewed on her lip. So had her dad been the second choice, the man she picked because she couldn’t have Jackson? Or had Lorelei come to love him once Jackson was out of the picture and no longer there to blind her?
Devon came to the last entry:
Deacon asked me to marry him today. Must tell Jackson.
There were several blank lines, followed by a two word sentence.
It’s OVER.
Devon flipped through the rest of the book, but there was nothing else written. There was still about a quarter of the journal pages left, but Lorelei had stopped writing in it after that final entry. What was over? And why did Lorelei have to tell Jackson about the proposal?
She looked at the photograph that she had been using as a bookmark again. There was her mother and Jackson, their heads close together. But in the bright sunlight Devon caught something in the photo that she hadn’t seen in the lamplight of her bedroom the night before. Far in the background was someone all in black—a woman. Devon felt her heart speed up. It couldn’t be…
She was jolted out of her thoughts by a ball of something slimy and gross smacking into her chest. Grease spattered the blank pages of the journal, and Devon’s face and clothes. She jumped up and a ball of aluminum foil containing what was someone’s cafeteria lunch hit the ground. A giant grease stain decorated the middle of Devon’s jacket.
Devon looked up to see Skylar and a few of her cheerleader minions staring at her with evil little grins on their faces. Devon shoved the journal back in her bag and grabbed what napkins she had, trying to wipe off the worst of it.
“Sorry,” Skylar simpered, clearly not sorry at all. “I was aiming for the trash.”
The girls all burst out laughing and walked away. Devon watched them go, going alternately hot and cold. She
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