herself.
Although it had begun long before she’d arrived for the reunion, being here had brought her face-to-face with her own unhappiness and discontent. She was going to have to do some serious soul-searching and make some changes after admitting what she’d known in her heart for so long—the life she had wasn’t what she wanted.
Court turned away from her as the Life Saver made it through several successful exchanges without hitting the ground. Tom Kavenna slid it onto Annie Gilling’s toothpick and she turned to Court. He crouched in front of the woman’s petite frame and held perfectly still. The ends of the toothpicks touched, the Life Saver slid from one to the other. The rest of the line clapped and cheered. Court straightened and turned to Jolie, toothpick clenched between his teeth.
Jolie was ready. She stood on tiptoe as he bent down, matching the end of her toothpick to Court’s. The angle was right, the Life Saver slid the length of the toothpicks until it touched Jolie’s lips. Everyone in their line clapped and cheered and gathered around. Erin was there with her blow horn to announce their team as the winners.
Court picked Jolie up and spun her around. Self-control completely abandoned, she laughed like a kid again.
Even with all the others gathered around offering their congratulations, Jolie had eyes only for Court. He draped an arm over her shoulders and they moved toward the picnic tables where the food was laid out. Big smoking barbeque grills had been set up and the cooks were offloading hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken.
They filled their plates and found an open space at one of the tables. Jolie squeezed next to Court, his thigh pressed against hers. She couldn’t concentrate on her food. She sipped her soda and listened to the conversations around her with half an ear. She saw Chip trailing behind Sarah as they approached a nearby table and took seats with their backs to Jolie.
Make amends. Clean up the clutter in your life. Only then will you be able to move forward. Pop psychology guru Caroline Gordon’s words washed over her. She’d been attending Caroline’s workshops after Jeff’s death and her own wake-up call.
She’d been struggling with her discontent before then, but after the memorial service she’d decided it was past time to make changes. Caroline’s in-your-face, no-nonsense approach appealed to Jolie, and her book outlined the steps Jolie needed to create the life she wanted. Sometimes she struggled to follow them, to put herself on the line, to risk rejection or being thought a fool, but she was determined to be her authentic self. That was the Jolie that had gotten as far as she had with Melina’s proposal. That Jolie hadn’t looked for an excuse not to try.
Jolie looked over at Chip and Sarah. She owed Sarah an apology. Chip, too, maybe, although she’d broken up with him face-to-face the same day Court had given her the locket. Still, she’d strung Chip along for months, knowing she planned to leave Illinois, and that hadn’t been fair to him. She took another sip of soda, but the artificial sweetness couldn’t wash away the taste remorse left in her mouth.
“Are you all right?” Court bent his head close to her so only she could hear him.
“I’m fine,” she responded automatically, still watching Chip and Sarah. She knew what she had to do.
That evening after she’d showered and changed clothes and pretended to eat dinner with her parents even though she was still full from the picnic, Jolie curled up on the porch swing and looked back through her tablet computer, which she used to create initial designs, double-checking the ideas she’d had after her discussions with Melina. Advances in technology made fashion designing easier than it had ever been, but sometimes she still preferred her pencils and paper.
Maybe it was learning Melina was Court’s client. Or maybe it was from being around Court again. Whatever the reason, Jolie was inspired
Although it had begun long before she’d arrived for the reunion, being here had brought her face-to-face with her own unhappiness and discontent. She was going to have to do some serious soul-searching and make some changes after admitting what she’d known in her heart for so long—the life she had wasn’t what she wanted.
Court turned away from her as the Life Saver made it through several successful exchanges without hitting the ground. Tom Kavenna slid it onto Annie Gilling’s toothpick and she turned to Court. He crouched in front of the woman’s petite frame and held perfectly still. The ends of the toothpicks touched, the Life Saver slid from one to the other. The rest of the line clapped and cheered. Court straightened and turned to Jolie, toothpick clenched between his teeth.
Jolie was ready. She stood on tiptoe as he bent down, matching the end of her toothpick to Court’s. The angle was right, the Life Saver slid the length of the toothpicks until it touched Jolie’s lips. Everyone in their line clapped and cheered and gathered around. Erin was there with her blow horn to announce their team as the winners.
Court picked Jolie up and spun her around. Self-control completely abandoned, she laughed like a kid again.
Even with all the others gathered around offering their congratulations, Jolie had eyes only for Court. He draped an arm over her shoulders and they moved toward the picnic tables where the food was laid out. Big smoking barbeque grills had been set up and the cooks were offloading hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken.
They filled their plates and found an open space at one of the tables. Jolie squeezed next to Court, his thigh pressed against hers. She couldn’t concentrate on her food. She sipped her soda and listened to the conversations around her with half an ear. She saw Chip trailing behind Sarah as they approached a nearby table and took seats with their backs to Jolie.
Make amends. Clean up the clutter in your life. Only then will you be able to move forward. Pop psychology guru Caroline Gordon’s words washed over her. She’d been attending Caroline’s workshops after Jeff’s death and her own wake-up call.
She’d been struggling with her discontent before then, but after the memorial service she’d decided it was past time to make changes. Caroline’s in-your-face, no-nonsense approach appealed to Jolie, and her book outlined the steps Jolie needed to create the life she wanted. Sometimes she struggled to follow them, to put herself on the line, to risk rejection or being thought a fool, but she was determined to be her authentic self. That was the Jolie that had gotten as far as she had with Melina’s proposal. That Jolie hadn’t looked for an excuse not to try.
Jolie looked over at Chip and Sarah. She owed Sarah an apology. Chip, too, maybe, although she’d broken up with him face-to-face the same day Court had given her the locket. Still, she’d strung Chip along for months, knowing she planned to leave Illinois, and that hadn’t been fair to him. She took another sip of soda, but the artificial sweetness couldn’t wash away the taste remorse left in her mouth.
“Are you all right?” Court bent his head close to her so only she could hear him.
“I’m fine,” she responded automatically, still watching Chip and Sarah. She knew what she had to do.
That evening after she’d showered and changed clothes and pretended to eat dinner with her parents even though she was still full from the picnic, Jolie curled up on the porch swing and looked back through her tablet computer, which she used to create initial designs, double-checking the ideas she’d had after her discussions with Melina. Advances in technology made fashion designing easier than it had ever been, but sometimes she still preferred her pencils and paper.
Maybe it was learning Melina was Court’s client. Or maybe it was from being around Court again. Whatever the reason, Jolie was inspired
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