Unpredictable Love (14 page)

Saturday mornings, the dollar store was
busy. The women divided up their list of items and each went her
way. Jory picked up a basket and headed for the craft aisle. Amber
joined her a few minutes later with everything but two
must-haves.

“
You get the tape and pick out a
tablecloth. I’ll get on line.”

Amber agreed. Jory selected the first line
she saw. It didn’t matter if it was longer than the others, her
sister would have more time to find the last necessities. Humming
Julian Lennon’s song, she almost passed out when she glanced at the
doorway. There, leaning against a cane and wearing sunglasses,
stood SSGT Trent Stevens.

* * * *

Jory’s mouth fell open. She sucked in air
while her heartrate doubled. She tightened her grip on the basket.
Glancing around for an escape route, like a rabbit cornered by a
fox, the young woman didn’t know where to go. She froze, staring at
the young man. He filled out a snug T-shirt and jeans. Tall and
lean, he looked as handsome and sexy as his picture.

Jory had never seen him in street clothes.
She couldn’t tear her gaze from him. He removed the dark glasses.
His eyes connected with hers, and her heart stopped completely. She
held her breath, her mouth as dry as a wad of cotton, as discovery
loomed.

But there was no acknowledgment in his look.
As if she was a total stranger to him, he shot her a cold glare
before turning away. Realization that he didn’t know who she was
washed over her, making her weak. Of course, he wouldn’t recognize
her. He had never seen her before. Jory didn’t know whether to
cheer or sob.

She leaned against a display for support.
The pain of being non-existent to him was worse than she could have
imagined. She froze. The man behind her nudged her to go forward.
Jory stepped out of the line. Turning to him, she murmured, “Forgot
something.”

Trent moved steadily. His limp didn’t appear
to slow him down much. He was headed for the sale rack in front. A
familiar voice grabbed Jory’s attention. Amber was talking as she
walked down the aisle toward the check out.

Panic seized Jory by the throat. With
shallow breathing, she waved at her sister and shook her head
furiously to get her to stop where she was. Amber glanced up, gave
her a quizzical look, then resumed her path toward disaster.

The moment she came into view, Jory closed
her eyes, but couldn’t shut out Trent’s greeting.

“
Jory!” he called, moving toward
Amber.

Jory’s eyes flew open.

The younger woman looked up, confused. Jory
shook her head again and brought her finger to her lips. Amber got
the message and turned to face her pen pal quickly approaching. The
older girl muttered a quick prayer that her sister would play along
and not expose her.

“
Wait! Jory. I want to talk to
you.”

Amber tapped her foot, watching Jory sneak
up closer, pretending to be studying a box of laundry detergent.
Jory focused her eyes on some fabric softener on a shelf in the
aisle where Amber awaited her doom. When he got close, Jory held
her breath, her ears tuned to every syllable.

“
It’s me, Trent. Hasn’t been that
long. I’d think you’d remember.”

“
Oh, yes. I do, I do.” Amber nodded,
but there was confusion in her eyes.

“
Just want you to know that I know all
about you.”

“
You do?” was her feeble, pleading
reply.

“
Yeah. I saw you get in that
convertible, and kiss some guy.”

“
Guy? You must mean Troy.”

“
I don’t give a fuck what his name
was. I saw you. You kissed him. After telling me you weren’t seeing
anyone. You lied. You led me on. Slept with me. Was that a pity
fuck?”

“
Please, keep your voice down.”
Amber’s face reddened. “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

“
That’s just what I thought you’d say.
Liar. Bitch.”

Jory closed her eyes. Maybe it was justified
for Amber to get the grief for her sister’s action. Wait. No one
had been unfaithful. Jory’s heart sank. What had started as a
simple deception, a little white lie, had become a tangled web of
deceit.

Jory’s heart hurt for Trent. And now, the
hole she was in simply got deeper and darker. He thought her a
liar, deceiver, a two-timer. Would a confession of the truth fix
that or make it worse? Would he call her a liar and a bitch too?
She shuddered.

“
I don’t know what you mean,” Amber
said.

“
Oh, really?” He shifted his
weight.

“
Really. Now, if you’d get out of my
way, I’ll pay and leave.”

“
Of course,” he said, taking a step to
the side. “I’d never stand in your way. I’m sure men are lined up
to take you out. Why would you bother with a washed up Marine? I
sure as hell wouldn’t if I were you. Do you sleep with every guy
you feel sorry for?”

“
If you weren’t injured, I’d slap your
face. This wasn’t meant to hurt you. Look, I can’t explain anymore.
I’m sorry things turned out this way. Please excuse me. I have to
go. I wish you a happy life.” Amber lowered her gaze to the floor
and made a beeline for the checkout. After shooting a hostile glare
at her sister, she accepted the spot in line the man who had been
behind Jory offered.

Jory stood so close to Trent, she could
smell his aftershave.

He turned to face her. His eyes were a
beautiful hazel. But the cold look of disgust in them froze her
blood. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you it’s rude to stare? Haven’t you
ever seen a man with a cane before?” His brusque, glacial tone
sliced through her guts, hurting almost as much as having him look
upon her as a stranger. The shock of the encounter left her
trembling as he strode out of the store.

In her wildest dreams, she’d never imagined
their next meeting would be like this. Humiliation and regret
washed over her as she took in what he’d said. Jory handed the
basket to her sister and fished some money out of her purse.

“
I’ll wait outside,” she whispered,
shoving the bills in Amber’s fist.

“
You’ll stay right here with me!
You’re the reason that man humiliated me in public.”

“
I don’t feel well. I’m going to the
car.” Dizzy, Jory clutched her sister’s forearm.

“
You okay?” Amber touched her
sibling’s forehead.

Jory’s mind swirled. She took a deep breath,
patted her sister, and managed to get to the parking lot. She eased
into the passenger side, as she was in no shape to drive, and shut
the door with a shaking hand. Leaning her head back, she closed her
eyes.

In a few moments, Amber opened the door.
“You want me to drive?”

“
Yes.”

“
You hate my driving.”

“
Today, you drive.” Jory didn’t open
her eyes.

“
I’ve never seen you like this. Are
you all right?”

“
How did he see you with Troy? At
McDonald’s? Maybe he came by the house. Did you see
him?”

Amber shook her head as she put the car in
reverse. “Nope.”

“
Maybe you were preoccupied or
something. Obviously, he saw you kissing Troy and thought you were
me.”

“
I guess.”

“
Thought you were two-timing him.
That’s why he hasn’t been around. Not because he was dumping me.
But because you broke his heart.”

“
Not me. I didn’t break his heart, you
did.”

“
This is very confusing,” Jory
said.

“
Did you sleep with him? In the
hospital?”

“
None of your business.”

“
He announced it to the whole store.
That makes it my business. Did you see the looks some of those old
ladies gave me? Could freeze Hell.”

Jory laughed. “That sex embarrasses you is
hilarious.”

“
You’re just lucky I didn’t tell him
it was you. What are you going to do now?”

“
I don’t know.”

“
What did he say to you before he
left?”

“
Told me off for staring. Thought it
was because he had a cane. He said I was rude. It was awful,
Cookie.” Her voice quavered. “The cold way he looked at me. Like he
didn’t know me. Like I was some stranger. The first time I see his
eyes and they’re hateful. I don’t know what to do.” Tears wetted
Jory’s cheeks.

Her sister patted her arm. “Don’t worry,
sis. You’ll figure it out. I must say I have new respect for
you.”

“
You do?” Jory rummaged through her
purse, looking for a tissue.

“
Sex in the hospital. That’s pretty
awesome. Even I’ve never done that.”

“
Probably the only place you
haven’t.”

“
Shut up, girl!” Amber gave her a
playful smack on the thigh.

When they returned home, Jory trudged up the
stairs, all the way to the attic, and shut the door. She fingered a
large portrait of her parents. “Mom, Dad, I’ve done something bad.
I really screwed up this time. What should I do? I need your
advice. Please, help me,” she whispered.

She clasped the wooden frame to her chest
and cried.

A few minutes later, Amber knocked. Jory lay
on the sofa, where she had nodded off, still clutching the
photo.

“
Hey, sis. Open up.”

“
It’s not locked,” Jory said in a
sleepy voice.

Amber entered and joined her sister on the
couch. The two girls stared at the ceiling, like they had done in
the past. It was their spot for serious talks. All the important
ones had taken place in the attic. This would be added to the
list.

“
You have to come to the sale
today.”

“
Nope. Don’t feel like it.”

“
I’ve got everything set up. Come on.
People are asking for you.”

“
Yeah, right. Like who?”

“
Laura Dailey, for one.”

Jory snorted. “So?”

“
You’re moping. This isn’t going to
help you. Stop your pity party and get downstairs.”

“
After that encounter, I’m entitled to
a pity party.”

“
Look, why don’t we write this off as
a little mistake, forget it, and move on.”

“
It’s hard for me. I was in love with
him.”

“
I know. You were. Not
anymore.”

“
I don’t know now. After today, well,
it was a game changer.”

“
So forget him. He’s forgotten you.
Move on. Come on, Jory. I need your help.”

Jory blew out a breath, frowned, and sat up.
“You always need my help.”

“
You’re not around much anymore. So,
I’ve got to get it when I can.”

Jory chuckled. “You never change,
Cookie.”

“
And neither do you. You’re still the
best sister that ever was.”

The women hugged and pushed up to their
feet.

“
We’ve got some junk to sell. Let’s
get this show started,” Amber said, patting some blush and powder
over Jory’s face.

Trent got behind the wheel and drove to
Dan’s. He thought he’d feel better after telling Jory off, but he
didn’t. Part of him had wanted her to say she’d made a mistake with
that other guy, and it was really Trent she loved. But it hadn’t
happened. He chided himself for being a baby, a naïve, stupid jerk,
for wishing her back in his life.

Dan was outside watering the shrubs when
Trent returned. He raised his gaze. “Hey, where’s the stuff you
were going to get?”

“
Oh, shit! I can’t believe I forgot
that.”

“
What the hell? Something
happen?”

Trent could feel heat in his cheeks. “You
might say that.” He rubbed his neck.

The older man turned off the hose, and they
went inside. Dan sank down on the sofa. “Wanna tell me?”

“
No. But I will anyway. I ran into
that bitch, Jory. I couldn’t believe it—there she was, skipping
down the aisle, like she wasn’t leaving destroyed men in her wake.
Smiling. Happy. If she’d been a man, I’d have decked
her.”

“
What?”

“
Yeah. Jory. Told her off too. Told
her off good.”

Dan smacked his palm into his forehead. “You
didn’t.”

“
I did. She had it coming. I don’t see
the problem.”

“
You got so wrapped up in humiliating
her, that you forgot our list of supplies.”

“
That’s about it.”

The phone rang, and Dan answered. “It’s for
you.”

“
Me?”

“
It’s Jory.”

“
That bitch? Forget it,” Trent said,
turning away.

“
Take it. Take it. You should listen.
There are some things you don’t know.”

“
I know she’s a liar and a two-timer.
What else do I need to know?”

“
Give her one more chance. You might
be surprised.”

“
Really?” Trent cocked an
eyebrow.

“
For me?” Dan held the phone out and
wiggled it.

“
Okay, okay. But I’m not going to
believe some bullshit,” Trent said, taking the receiver.

“
Trent?” The voice was familiar, but
shaky.

“
Yeah. What the fuck do you
want?”