Unpredictable Love (15 page)

Dan slipped out, giving Trent privacy.

“
I want you to let me explain. In
person. One more time. Please.”

“
Why should I?”

“
There are things you don’t
know.”

“
I’ve seen the truth. What else is
there to say? I get it. You’ve got a ton of guys after you. Why
should you pick a clunker like me? I got that loud and clear. So,
what’s the point of rehashing it?” He reached for the phone
base.

“
Wait! Wait. Please! Give me one more
chance.”

He put the receiver back to his ear.
“Why?”

“
Because I want to tell you the truth.
I need to. It’s not fair to you. I have to do it in
person.”

“
So, there’s something I don’t
know?”

“
Yes. That’s it. Please.”

“
Where?”

“
You know where I live,
right?”

“
Right.”

“
Meet me in the backyard, by the bird
feeders.”

“
When?”

“
An hour?”

“
Done.” He hung up.

Dan returned to the room. “What
happened?”

“
I’m an asshole, a sucker. I agreed to
meet her. Says she had some truth to tell me.”

“
And you don’t believe
her?”

“
Would you?”

“
Don’t drag me into this.”

“
You know, don’t you?”

Dan held up his palms. “I plead the
fifth.”

“
All this time?”

“
Don’t ask me.”

“
Okay, okay.”

“
While you’re out, you might swing by
the store and pick up the stuff you forgot.”

“
Good idea. At least the trip won’t be
a total waste.”

“
I’m sure it won’t,” Dan said, a smile
playing with his lips.

“
There you go. Hinting that you know
what’s going on.”

“
Me?”

“
You. And if you don’t stop, I’ll make
you tell me.” Trent poked a finger in his friend’s
chest.

“
My lips are sealed.”

“
I’m going, before I do something
we’ll both regret.” Trent gave Dan a playful slap on the back and
headed for his car.

While he did his shopping, he couldn’t help
but wonder what his two-timing girlfriend was going to tell him. He
ran through a dozen scenarios in his mind waiting on line at the
checkout. He put music on the radio, but didn’t hear it until “Too
Late for Goodbyes” came on.

Was it too late for goodbye? Was his heart
so captivated he couldn’t bear to part from her forever? His head
warred with his emotions. No sane man would stay with a woman who
couldn’t be faithful. He’d wanted to sweep her from his life, but
her pleading tone on the phone touched him. He wanted to believe it
was all a mistake, but that was like adding one and one and ending
up with twelve. It simply didn’t make sense.

****

The minute Jory hung up the phone, she
plopped down into a chair.

Nan came in the kitchen. “What’s up,
kitten?”

“
I called Trent. He’s coming
over.”

“
Oh my God! Really?”

“
Yes. I’m going to tell him. I didn’t
want to do it on the phone. I think it’s only fair to do it in
person.”

Nan put an arm around her niece’s shoulders.
“That’s very brave of you.”

Jory buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
“I can’t just run away and leave him. He thinks I’ve been
unfaithful. How horrible! He thinks I don’t love him, that I
cheated on him. He probably feels like shit.” She stopped to take a
breath. “I can’t leave him like that.”

“
You realize he might be a bit ticked
off?”

She nodded. “I know. I expect that. But I
love him, and I can’t do that to him, just leave him like
that.”

“
He might break it off after you tell
him. Are you prepared for that?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I mean, I
know he probably will. Dump me. But I have to do it. I should have
done it a long time ago. Before the hospital, even. And when we had
that time alone. Oh, God. Why didn’t I do it then?” Another bout of
tears stole her words.

Nan rubbed her back. “Maybe because you
didn’t want to upset a guy who was in such bad shape? Maybe ’cause
you were looking out for him?”

“
Maybe. But now it seems so
selfish.”

“
It wasn’t. There isn’t a selfish bone
in your body.”

“
The time has come,” Jory said,
glancing at her watch. “He’ll be here in forty-five
minutes.”

“
I’ll make sure you aren’t
disturbed.”

“
Aren’t disturbed about what?” Amber
bounced into the kitchen, carrying a shopping bag. “I picked up a
few kitchen things from Laura Dailey’s table.” When no one
responded to her, Amber looked around. “What’s going on? Who died?”
Amber dropped her bag on the table and sat down.

“
Trent Stevens is coming
over.”

“
That shithead! What the hell for? If
I never see him again…” The younger sibling jumped up and
paced.

“
Jory’s going to tell him the
truth.”

Amber stopped. “You are?”

Jory nodded.

“
Good! Then, he can apologize to me.
Boy, he owes me one ginormous
sorry
.” She crossed her arms over her
chest.

Nan rose from her chair. “I don’t
think so,” she said, putting her hands on Amber’s shoulders and
turning the young woman around. “You’re not going to be anywhere
near these two when they have their, uh,
conversation.
Come with me, Cookie. We have
stuff to sell,” Nan said, peeking through the window. “Look, folks
are at our table already.”

Jory climbed the stairs to her bathroom and
washed her face. She dabbed on some make-up, combed her hair, and
took a deep breath. Time to head out back. She filled a large can
with birdseed from the garage and hiked to the feeders.

Jory took down the biggest and filled that
first, then returned it to the stand. She hummed the Julian Lennon
tune as she finished. With her back to the house, she didn’t see
Trent approaching, but the crunch of twigs under his feet alerted
her to his presence.

Her stomach did a somersault, her hands
started to sweat, and her pulse kicked up. She wiped her palms on
her jeans shorts, took another breath.

“
Jory?” came the question in a deep
voice.

She turned to face him, squinting for a
second when she heard his exclamation.

“
You?”

She opened wide to see his face redden and
him step back.

“
You? You’re Jory? The woman I yelled
at in the store this morning?”

She nodded.

“
You can’t be,” he said, shaking his
head.

“
Guilty as charged.” Pain sliced
through her as old, hurtful comments from her childhood resurfaced
in her head.
“You’re Amber’s big sister?
I’d never have guessed.”

“
Then who was the one I called a
bitch?”

“
Amber. My sister. She’s the one who
sent you the first letter. That’s her picture. Well, of course, you
know that.”

“
So, you’ve been lying to me the whole
time?”

Jory glanced at the ground while she nodded.
“I’m sorry.”

“
Sorry?” Trent raised his eyebrows,
his expression stormy. “Why are you telling me now?”

“
Because of the look on your face, in
the store. When you thought Amber was cheating on you. You were
hurt, betrayed. I couldn’t leave you like that. I just couldn’t. It
was my fault you felt that way.”

“
Damn right, it’s your fault. And now,
you’re sorry?”

“
Yes. Amber signed up for the pen pal
thing, but she signed the letter to you with my name. She always
does that to me. But you don’t care about that. So, I wrote you,
fully intending to stop corresponding…”

“
Then why didn’t you?”

She shrugged. “I guess I liked getting your
letters. You were interesting.”

“
Just interesting?”

Heat flooded Jory’s face. “Before I knew it,
we’d become friends, kinda close.”

“
And you figured lying about who you
were was the way to keep us together?”

“
I figured you had another year and a
half over there, and who knew, by that time, maybe you’d have found
someone else, and I wouldn’t have to tell you.”

“
Come on, Jory. If you’re telling the
truth, make it the whole truth.” He leaned on his cane.

“
Total truth?” She dropped her gaze to
the ground again, and her voice lowered. “I didn’t want to lose
you.”

There was silence.

“
I knew once you knew the truth, well,
you wouldn’t want to continue.”

“
Why not?”

“
I mean, you were expecting someone
who looks like Miss America, like Amber. You know? Not me. I’m not
in her league. Far from it. I know it. It’s okay to say so.” She
blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay as she struggled to get
through her confession.

His gaze roamed over her, bringing the
warmth of humiliation to her cheeks. All her life, people had
pitied her because she wasn’t as pretty as Amber. She should be
used to it, but it hurt to feel his frank assessment, knowing he
was disappointed. Of course, she’d come up wanting.

“
I even wrote a letter, telling you
the truth, but Nan didn’t mail it. Then, you were in the hospital,
and I thought maybe you needed me. And it never seemed the right
time to tell you. So, I didn’t. I know it was selfish of me. But I
wanted, I wanted—” She stopped, taking a gulp of air, trying to
slow her pulse, rein in her emotions.

“
What did you want?” His eyes
narrowed, his face became a mask.

“
I wanted to be with you. Maybe you’d
never get new corneas, and you’d never have to know. I know that’s
hateful. But I couldn’t help it. I was in love with you.” Staring
at the grass, her courage melted in the hot sun. Pain seared
through her body as she sensed his anger and rejection. Losing him
was harder than she had imagined.

“
You were in love with me?”

She nodded, unable to face him.

“
And now?”

“
I don’t fall in love easily. Or out
of it, either. I know you want to move on. Who can blame you? Not
me, that’s for sure. But my feelings are the same.” She struggled
to keep her voice steady.

“
You had sex with me. Was that a mercy
fuck?”

“
Oh, no. That was the real thing. I
felt awful doing it without telling you first. Then after, I just
didn’t have the courage.”

“
Why?”

“
You were all banged up. And I didn’t
want to hurt you. But most of all, I wasn’t ready to lose
you.”

“
And now?”

“
Well, now that you’ve seen me… I
mean, I’m no prize. I wouldn’t expect you’d still be interested.
Not when you were expecting Amber. I’ve got a job in Oak Bend and
an apartment there. So, you don’t have to be embarrassed to face me
in Pine Grove. I won’t be here much.” She looked up for a moment.
“You’re angry. I deserve whatever I get from you. I
understand.”

She glanced up once more to see his face was
still pink, but not the bright red it had been at first. She let
out a breath. It was time to leave before he started yelling and
calling her names. She didn’t have the guts to stomach his fury.
She’d already accepted being the lowest of the low.

“
So, that’s that. I felt you had the
right to know. I wish you well. I’m glad you’re in such good shape
now. Again, I apologize for lying to you. And now you know Amber
wasn’t cheating on you. That should make you feel better
too.”

He took a step toward her. Her last, little
shred of bravery dissolved completely. Jory turned on her heel and
ran out of the yard. Tears streamed down her face, blurring her
vision.

“
Wait!” he called.

But Jory had no intention of suffering his
wrath. She knew when she’d reached the end of her rope.

She rounded the corner, only to run smack
dab into a group of men and women rummaging through the items on
Nan’s and Amber’s table. Jory snatched a tissue from her pocket and
dabbed her face. She covered her mouth with her hand, but couldn’t
stifle a sob.

After a quick scan of the crowd, she
continued, running up the front steps, and slammed into the house.
She made it up to her old room and flung herself on the bed,
scrunching a pillow under her chest, and cried.

****

A small voice followed a knock. “Jory. Jory?
Come out, sis. The table is hopping. It’s fun. Come on down.”

“
No. Go away.”

“
I’m sorry, Jory. Sorry I got you
involved with Trent.”

“
It’s not your fault, Amber. It’s
mine.”

Another knock was followed by a different
voice. “Can I come in?” It was Nan.

“
Okay.”

“
Amber, please man the table. Let me
talk to your sister.”

The older woman entered the room, closing
the door softly behind her. Jory lay on the bed, pillows propped
under her, gazing out the window. Nan sat down next to her.