Romancing the Storm: Second Chances (2 page)

Cullfield always sends their people off with a big to do. We have parades and picnics in the park and parties at the courthouse square. When the mission is military, all vets appear dressed in their uniforms. We have the occasional missionary such as this, so today is the day of celebration. In this case, both Dr. Kendall and his son Blaine are the center of the party. A parade begins marching down the Main Street with the two celebrities in the center. The marching band leads the way followed by the uniformed vets and various groups who are showing their support. I stand on the sideline wishing he'd ask me to ride alongside him for the send-off.

At the last minute, his Aunt Pepper spots me and whispers to Blaine. He smiles at me and motions for me to sit with him. I reluctantly climb aboard the trailer and sit down on the floor not wanting to garner any of the attention. I just wish it had been his idea and not his aunt. I feel like a third wheel.

He puts an arm around me as we travel the road. His father looks down at me on the floor and shakes his head. Blaine laughs and pulls me up, so now I'm sitting on his lap. He wraps his arms around me and I'm flying higher than a kite. I wish he'd ask me to come along on the trip. I can always find a teaching position when we return. I have skills I can contribute to the team. I'd have to pack. I turn to talk to his father and then I freeze, the words won't come out. What if Blaine doesn’t want me to come along? I can’t go inviting myself like this.

"You reckon they will give us a return parade?" Blaine whispers in my ear as he smiles and waves to the yelling girls on the side of the road.

"Probably," I say with a chuckle. Just then I look down, and my eyes lock with Judah's. He smiles sadly seeing me sitting on Blaine's lap.

"
You okay?"
Judah mouths from the sidelines. His concern is touching.

I smile and nod. The parade marches on and we finally reach the end of the road. A picnic waits at the park and hand-in-hand we walk from the parade to the park. The community looks for any excuse for a gathering. The
Cullfield Poppies
have center stage playing old bluegrass tunes. The old men show up for all occasions including the lighting of the town's Christmas tree on the courthouse lawn at Christmas playing tunes. The locals gather in front of the make-shift stage, dancing and swaying.

Aunt Pepper pops up and hugs Blaine. "We're going to miss you Blainey boy, aren't we Gracie?" She smiles to her daughter, Blaine’s cousin.

I smile and nod, my eyes misting again. Tomorrow morning I'm sending the love of my life off to Africa for God-only-knows how long. I'm not too thrilled about it. I just hang on as the tears stay behind my lids threatening to spill forth any second. I draw in a deep breath trying to control my emotions.

Blaine pulls me along from person to person who is giving him their well-wishes. Many ask if he's taking me along too. I just shake my head feeling angry that I wasn't invited. So many others believe he and I are a team and so, of course, they’d assume I’d be going along.

"Hey man, best of luck," Judah says while shaking Blaine's hand. I feel a little better having my best friend there.

Judah gives me a sympathetic look. He's hurting for me, and I love him for that. He's such a good friend. He gives me a quick hug. "I'll be here for you," he whispers in my ear sending goosebumps traveling down my neck. He leaves and I feel the pull to follow him, my safe friend, who is always there for me.

Instead, I follow Blaine as he pulls me away from the celebration meant just for him. "Come on," he says as we race up the road toward my little house. I look back at the gathering and giggle.

"Don't you want to stay for your celebration?"

He chuckles. "No, I celebrated, I said my good-byes, now I need a proper send-off from you," he says to me and raising his eyebrow. I know what he wants, what he always wants.

He pulls me to the couch where he brings me to him and lands on me with his lips, kissing passionately. "You know what would make me happy for a proper send off?" he asks with a desirous look in his eyes.

As if I didn't know. I smile and comply with his wishes as I unzip his pants and give him just what he wants. It's not mutual, though. He's too preoccupied to think about spending quality time with me, and I try to understand.

Afterward, he rises and pulls up his pants. "I have to finish packing. Thanks for the time. It will have to see me through all those hot African nights I have ahead of me," he says with a grin as he zips his pants. A quick kiss good-night and he's gone leaving me to my sad thoughts about how I’m being left here.

Judah is waiting at my door the next morning. "You don't think I'm going to let you send off Blaine alone do you?" he asks as he takes my hand and lays it upon his arm. I smile wearily at my friend, grateful for his support. If sweet had a name, it would be Judah.

The large van filled with all the supplies Dr. Kendall will need is packed and ready to pull out in front of his old surgical clinic. Blaine is busy helping with the last minute load to pay much attention to me. I stand back with the tears, once again, threatening to spill forth. I'm so tired of crying as I have the past several days. I feel selfish for wanting Blaine to myself right now, but he’s too busy to notice.

"Oh hey," Blaine calls to me. I walk over to help hoist the large box onto the van. "I think that's it." He smiles and nudges me playfully.

"We wanted to give you a proper send-off," I say with a forced smile and nod toward Judah, who is quietly standing beside me.

"I thought last night was a pretty good send-off," Blaine says grinning. I squirm as I’d rather he not say that in front of others. Judah looks away as anger washes over his face. Sometimes Blaine can be so irritating. He does it on purpose.

I turn to Judah. "I'm sorry; can we have a few moments?" I ask hoping he’ll understand.

Judah shrugs and walks around the van. He’s not too thrilled with me at the moment, but it can’t be helped.

Blaine takes me into his arms and looks into my eyes. "This is it sweet lips. I will see you whenever," he says and kisses me.

"Will you be able to write or call or text?" I ask hoping to have some semblance of a real relationship while he’s away. Dr. Kendall walks up interrupting out little interlude.

"No, there are no cell towers there. We'll have a satellite phone. I'll be checking in with my sister but other than that, no posts and no phones. Sorry, kiddos. Time to roll," Dr. Kendall says.

Blaine gives me a quick kiss and crawls in the passenger's seat beside his dad. Judah joins me again. Blaine smiles at us as they roll away leaving Judah and me standing there alone.

"I've given you enough time to mourn. Time to get up and move on. We're going to have an adventure waiting for us Gracie-Q," Judah says.

"Enough time? It's been three days," I say giving him an exasperated look. True, I’ve been brooding around as if I’ve lost my true love.

"Yes, enough time. You've moped around here feeling sorry for yourself over your
long lost love,
" Judah mocks as he throws his forearm over his forehead like he's me.

I giggle. Judah is a goofball, always quick-witted and fun to be around. With him, I can't be sad. But he's right, I've sat around my little home scrubbing every baseboard and chasing away every cobweb until I have nothing left to do. My summer is free until I hopefully find a job in August at the Elementary school if they hire me. I can’t help but feel a surge of excitement

"Come on, put on a swimsuit or something you don't mind getting wet," Judah says smiling wickedly at me. He clapped his hands together to make me move.

I shake my head and laugh as I change into my black swimsuit. I look in the mirror. The simple tank suit fits well over my curvy body. After stepping into my jean cutoffs and white tank top, we hop in Judah's Jeep and scurry out of town and up the hill.

"Are we going to the lake?" I ask with excitement building. I love the lake hidden up in the hills with steep cliffs and sheer drop-offs. There we hear no vehicles, only the birds busily chirping and the hot bugs singing their summer tunes. I grin at Judah and grab his hand that's resting on the gear shift.

He shoots me a smile, one I love seeing. "I knew this would put a smile on your face. You're too adventuresome to sit at home and mope."

"But mopey is fun," I joke. We have a good laugh and my mood lightens even more.

The road bumps along until it opens to a field and suddenly there's the crude parking lot to the lake, a grassy area fenced off with short posts and wire fencing. The stifling hot air feels a little cooler up here. I pull in a deep breath smelling the various wildflowers in the air. Blue-jays call as we make our way to the grassy edge that borders the tops of the bluffs. Grasshoppers hop out of our way, steering clear of the water but landing softly on the next blade of grass.

"Ouch," I say as I step out of my sneakers and hop on the hot rocks until I lay my towel down offering cool relief for my feet. The sun pours overhead, the water looks so inviting.

Judah strips down to his swim shorts. His muscles ripple with each move. I smile as I gaze at him. I've often thought about him having a Greek god body. He catches me looking at him and raises an eyebrow. I blush, but only a little. He knows I appreciate a well-toned body.

"Yeah, I think you look good," I say as I step out of my cutoffs and tank top. He grins at me.

"Not so bad yourself," he says as he nudges me. I lose my balance for a split second and screech. He reaches out and grasps my upper arm to keep me from toppling over the edge.

I look down at the water twenty feet below and shudder. It's a long jump, and I haven't swum this summer yet. The thought of jumping into the water scares me just a little. I wrap my arms about my chest and look up at Judah who's staring at me with an odd grin.

"What's wrong? Scared?" he teases and comes at me as if he’s going to push me.

"I'm a little nervous, yes. I'm not eighteen anymore," I say and back away from him.

"I'll say. You're what? A whopping twenty-three now, like over-the-hill," he teases and laughs.

"Shut up you young whipper-snapper," I say. It's a big joke between us with him being a couple of years younger than me. Actually, I’ve never given our age difference much of a thought because he always seemed older to me.

"Okay, I tell you what, I'll hold your hand while we jump in together," he says and narrows his eyes as he glances at me. "God, you're beautiful. Your blue eyes reflect the sky and water."

I blush to the core. Suddenly I feel naked knowing Judah thinks such things of me. "You're not so bad yourself. Your, uh, brown eyes reflect the rocks beautifully," I say chuckling nervously.

"Oh sure, my brown eyes sparkle out here." He rolls his eyes and waves me off.

"They actually do. You have beautiful warm eyes." I smile at him as I step closer.

"Let's just jump." The daredevil is always ready for adventure and action.

"Okay." I step up and place my small hand in his large hand and swallow hard. The first jump of the summer is always the doozy for me. I take a few deep breaths in preparation.

"One...two...three," he says and we shove off the ledge and plunge to the dark blue water below. The exhilaration I feel as the fresh water envelopes my body takes my breath away as we slip deep into the coolness. I let go and frantically swim back to the surface. Once I make the first jump, I’m good to keep going.

"Woo! That's great!" Judah says as he shakes his head casting water everywhere after he surfaces.

I laugh as I tread water. "Yes, it is," I say and Judah disappears under the water. I swim around trying to find him. Suddenly he grabs my feet and yanks. I go under but pop right back.

I squeal and kick frantically and look down, but I can't see him. He bursts up right behind me and swings his muscled arms around me as he laughs in my ears. "Judah!" I yell as I try to turn, but his grip is tight.

"Come on, again. This time we move back and run and jump," he says as he scurries up the side of the bluff, climbing like a monkey. I swim to the ledge and hoist myself to the first rock.

I follow Judah up the bluff climbing slower and not looking back. I have a fear of heights, but I know if I fall I'll be okay because the water will catch me. We meet at the top and this time we back up about twenty feet so we can run and jump. He has to push me to do more each time.

Judah grins at me and holds out his hand. I tentatively place my small hand in his. Still, my nerves jangle as I peer over the edge. "Don't run too fast, I have shorter legs than you."

"Shapely legs too." He winks at me.

I punch his arm. "Let's go." And we're off and run and jump. This time we push out farther and let go in the air. I flail letting go of his hand before we hit the surface of the lake.

"Yee haw!" he yells before he hits the water.

I just scream as I make a big splash with my feet first. Again the cool water welcomes me as I plunge deeper and then swim back to the surface as fast as I can.

"Invigorating!" Judah says. "This time I jump first, then you. We go it alone." There he goes again, wanting me to do more than I’m comfortable.

I frown. I don't like jumping alone. I’ve seen too many horror movies. "Do I have to?" I ask as I dog paddle back to the bluffs.

"Yes, we have to add to our adventure. You're a big girl; you can do this," Judah says and laughs uncontrollably at my reluctance.

And so we spent the rest of the day jumping and swimming and enjoying each other's company. I am grateful for the preoccupation and a reason to take my mind away from Blaine's absence. Judah proves over and over his loyalty and friendship.