Unbroken (15 page)

“He’s the best,” Britney replied with a nod.  “
The poor guy took a lot of ribbing over the years, having a girl for a best friend, but he never let it get to him,” she added with a grin.

“
The two of you never dated?” Jake asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Honestly, we tried it in high school, but it didn’t take long for us to figure out that it would never work.  It was like I was dating my brother and he was dating his sister.”  Britney made a grimace, shaking her head.

“With that much history between you I can imagine it might have been a bit awkward.”

“Trust me, it was.”

“And now your best friend is an NFL quarterback with two Super Bowl wins.  That’s got to be pretty crazy.”

“You know, I was afraid that it might be
weird at first, but the fact is that nothing has really changed between us.  He lives farther away now, but he’s still the same old Tyler I grew up with. Although, I have to say that it is a little strange to see him on television and magazine covers. I would imagine that it’s similar with you and Rayanne.”

“It is.”  Jake nodded.  “The whole cele
brity thing can be totally nuts at times, and it’s really great to have people like Rayanne who know the real me and aren’t affected by all of the hype.” 

“I think it’s the same for Tyler.”

“And I think he’s incredibly lucky to have
you
for a best friend.”

Britney blushed at the compliment, but she appreciated it nonetheless.  “Thanks, Jake.”

They chatted
there in the kitchen for several more minutes before Jake eventually went off to change clothes for his evening workout and Britney made her way to the office to catch up on the day’s work.

Lying in bed that night, Britney’s thoughts were in a whirl as she went over her last conversation with Tyler.  Was he right, she wondered?  Was it possible that
Jake
was
attracted to her?  Wow, just the thought sent a delicious little thrill rushing through her body.  For even though she knew that it would never work between them, secretly she couldn’t help wishing that it could.

“
I saw in the local paper that there’s a classical music performance hosted by the Park Service tonight at the Redfish Amphitheater,” Jake began, regarding Britney from across the table.  Surprisingly, she’d come down to breakfast without her glasses and he was finding it difficult to keep his eyes from lingering on her face.  He was also pleasantly surprised by the outfit she was wearing, a pair of denim capri pants and a short-sleeved, light-blue top. 

Britney looked up from her cereal, her spoon hovering just above the bowl.  “Oh?”

“Yeah.  I was thinking that maybe we could go and check it out if you’re interested.”

Though the invitation caught her off guard, she certainly wasn’t averse to an outing with Jake.  “Sure, I’d love to go.  It sounds like fun.”

“Great.  It starts at eight, so I figured we could head over sometime after dinner.”

“Okay. 
And speaking of dinner,” she began, casting a glance toward the refrigerator, “which would you prefer tonight, the beef stroganoff or the baked ziti?”  Now that Jake’s week of full kitchen duty was over, she was back on dinner detail.

“Hmm.
”  He thought about it for a moment.  “Let’s go with the stroganoff.”

“You got it.”

“I should be home from Boise by five-thirty, otherwise I’ll call and give you a heads up.”  Ben had called earlier, wanting Jake to accompany him to the city for the day.  He was planning on selling his four-wheeler to a friend of his and wanted to buy a newer model.  And with the two-and-a half-hour drive time each way, it was going to be an all day trip.

Britney nodded, returning
her attention to her cereal as Jake grabbed a large travel mug out of the cupboard and filled it with coffee. 

That evening,
Britney was just putting the stroganoff into the oven to heat when Jake strolled into the kitchen, just a few minutes past five-thirty.  “Hi, how’d it go today?” she asked.

“
Great.”  Jake moved to the island, resting his hip against the rounded edge as he watched Britney.  “Granddad found the exact make and model he wanted in stock at one of the Boise dealers, so we won’t have to make another trip.  In fact, I just unloaded it for him at the farm.”

“
Oh good.  I’m sure he’s pleased.”

“Yeah.  He was dying to try it out, so we fired it up and he
and Rowdy took it for a quick spin before I left.”

“Boys and their toys,” Britney said with a grin.

“You know it,” Jake laughed.  “Hey would you mind if I took a quick shower before dinner?  I got a little dirty unloading the four wheeler.”

“
No, of course not. And by the time you’re done, I should have everything just about ready.”

Britney had just
finished setting everything out on the table when Jake returned to the kitchen approximately twenty-five minutes later, freshly showered and carrying a square, pink bakery box with the words
Boise Bakeshop
written on the side.

“I picked us up some des
sert while I was in the city,” Jake said, setting the box onto the center of the island. 

“Really, what’d you get
?” Britney replied, eyeing the box with an eager expression.  She loved sweets.

“You’ll see,” Jake told her.  “
After
dinner.”

“Oh come on.  Can’t I just take a quick peek?”

“Nope.  No peeking.”

“Spoil
sport,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

Jake merely grinned, thoroughly enjoying Britney’s emerging playfulness.

“Alright
, can we open the dessert now?” Britney asked, once they’d finished their meal and taken their dinner plates to the sink.

“Yep.  Now we can open it,” Jake said, as Britney grabbed a couple of forks and two des
sert plates from the cupboard.  Lifting the box from the island, he then pulled a knife from the wooden knife block and carried them both over to the table.

Waiting u
ntil Britney had taken her seat, he set the box in front of her.  “This is for you.”

“It’s not for both of us?”

“It is if you’re willing to share,” Jake responded with a smile.

Curious now, Britney reached forward and lifted the lid.  Inside was a round cake
with white frosting, decorated with a dozen large, beautifully-detailed sugared roses in varying shades of pink, yellow and lavender with the words Happy Birthday, Britney written in the center.  “Oh my goodness, it’s beautiful!”

“
When I called to order it I wasn’t sure if you preferred white or chocolate cake, so I asked her to make one side chocolate and the other side white, although now I can’t remember which is which,” he said with a laugh.  “I guess you’ll have to cut into it to find out.”

“Thank you, Jake.”  Britney was both surprised and incredibly touched by the gesture.  “This is wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.”

“It wasn’t any trouble at all,” he assured her.  “Besides, everyone should get a cake on their birthday, or in this case, the day after your birthday.”

“Well alright then,” she said with an appreciative smile.  “Let’s have some cake.”

“Oh wait,” Jake said suddenly.  “Hold on just a second.  I almost forgot something.”

Britn
ey watched as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small package of birthday candles and a lighter.

“You can’t have a birthday cake without candles.”
  Opening the package, Jake quickly poked the multi-colored candles into the top of the cake and then lit them all with the lighter.  “Don’t forget to make a wish before you blow them out.”

“Okay.”  Britney closed her eyes, thought for a moment, and then made her wish. 
Then, opening her eyes, she leaned forward and blew out the candles.

“You got them all,” Jake said cheerfully.  “That means your wish is going to come true.” 

Britney smiled and hoped for the best.  Maybe someday she
would
find happiness again.

Later that night, w
hen she and Jake arrived at the small, outdoor amphitheater just before dusk, Britney did a quick scan of the surrounding area.  There looked to be around fifty to sixty people seated on the wooden bleachers fronting the stage and another twenty or so seated on blankets scattered around the theater’s grassy perimeter.  

“Shall we sit on the grass?” Jake suggested, motioning to an empty area to the left of the stage.

“Sure.”  Fortunately there was a light breeze blowing, strong enough to keep the insects away, but not so windy as to be unpleasant.

F
ollowing Jake to the spot he’d pointed out, Britney could see that the audience consisted of people of all ages, with a few elderly couples in attendance to several families with young children in tow.  There were also plenty of young couples and a few larger groups of both men and women.  As she and Jake walked past, she was relieved that no one seemed to pay them much attention.

Setting down the picnic basket
he’d brought along, Jake opened the top and pulled out the soft, patterned blanket he’d packed inside and spread it atop the grass.  “After you.” 

“Thanks,” Britney responded, settling onto the colorful throw.

Dropping down next to her, Jake glanced up at the sky.  “No clouds tonight,” he commented.  “As soon as it gets dark we should have a nice view of the stars.”

Britney looked up at the darkening sky. 
“It’s amazing how clear the sky is here,” she mused. 

“Yep. 
It’s nothing like the city, that’s for sure.”  He reached toward the picnic basket and pulled out the bottle of wine he’d placed inside.  “Would you like some?”

“Yes, please.” 
Living with Jake, she’d quickly discovered that he had excellent taste in wine.  She watched then as he poured each of them a glass.

“Here you go,” he
said, handing one of the glasses to Britney.

“Thank you
.”  She held it up to her nose, inhaling the wine’s fragrant aroma and then took a sip.  It was delicious.

“I’ve got chee
se and crackers in here too, in case we get hungry later.”

Britney smiled.  He’d thought of everything.

Moments later the stage lights flickered, indicating that the performance was about to begin.  As the audience quieted, the string quartet, consisting of two men and two women, walked onto the stage and took their seats.  Within minutes the air was filled with the entrancing strains of Debussy’s Claire De Lune.

After a while, Britney laid back atop the blanket, watching as the stars slowly began to light the night sky. 
The music surrounding them was incredibly soothing and the two glasses of wine she’d consumed only added to her sense of relaxation.

“I could get used to this,” she said to Jake, as he stretched out
next to her a few minutes later.  Wow, she thought.  Lying next to Jake McCoy, listening to beautiful music and looking up at the stars; it didn’t get much better than that.

Jake interlocked his fingers and placed his hands beneath his head.  “Uh huh
.  It’s nice isn’t it?”  He wasn’t a huge classical music fan, but there was just something about the combination of the outdoors and that particular genre that seemed to be a perfect fit.

“Do you think you’ll want to live
here permanently after you retire?” she asked, curious all of the sudden.

“
Probably not,” Jake replied.  “Although I love it here, city life does have certain benefits.”

“That’s true.”  While Stanley had plenty
to offer in some areas, it was definitely lacking in others.

“I don’t know, m
aybe when I’m older.  But for now, I kind of like being able to spend my time in both places.” 

“What about you?  Could you ever see yourself living in a place like this?”

She thought about it for a moment.  “Yes, but I think I’d probably do the same thing you would, maybe split my time between the country and city.”

“
Enjoy the best of both worlds,” Jake murmured thoughtfully.  Just another thing he and Britney had in common, he realized. 

“Uh huh.” 

They lay there quietly then, content to simply watch the changing sky and listen as the quartet performed pieces by a variety of well-known composers.  

“
Thanks again for tonight,” Britney said to Jake as they walked from the garage and into the house a little over an hour later.  “For the cake
and
the concert.”

“You’re very welcome for both.  And it was my absolute pleasure
, I assure you.”  And it had been, for the more time he spent with her, the more he enjoyed Britney’s company.  With her it was easy to just be himself and he liked that.  He liked it a lot.  “Oh, but you better not mention the cake to Aunt Rose.”  His expression changed to one of mock-seriousness.  “If she finds out I bought it from a bakery instead of asking her to make you one, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“You got it,” Britney replied with a grin.  “It will be our little secret.”

Jake grinned back, and then glanced toward the living room. “I think I’ll go turn on the news. I’m interested to see if they’re making any progress containing that fire near McCall.”

“
Okay, I’ll join you in a minute.  I’m just going to get a bottle of water from the fridge.   Would you like me to get you anything?”

“Sure,
a beer would be great.” 

Walking into the living room,
Jake picked up the TV remote, hit the power button and then dropped onto one of the two leather recliners in the room.

Entering the room a minute later, Britney handed Jake his beer and then sat down on the sofa next to Jake’s chair.

“Thanks,” he said, flipping through the channels.  He stopped on one of the local channels, where a recent photo of the raging forest fire was currently being displayed on the screen.  “Oh, here we go.” 

“Hmm.  Doesn’t sound
so good,” Britney commented as the news anchors described the fire’s widening path.”

“Nope.
”  Jake shook his head.  “It’s going to be a real disaster if they don’t get some rain up there soon.”

Though Stanley hadn’t had any rain for the past several weeks,
luckily there weren’t any fires burning in the surrounding areas.  Two years ago, however, a large fire had destroyed thousands of acres of nearby forest land, Jake had informed her.  Having seen some of the resulting devastation firsthand, Britney could only hope that their current good fortune continued.  Sipping from her bottle of water, she then listed to a story on Idaho’s rising gas prices, another on proposed reform for the state’s school lunch program and a third about the capital building’s upcoming expansion.  Her interest was beginning to wane when the anchors suddenly switched gears.