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“So why’d he stop by? Did he know you’d be here? I know that you two used to be close friends, but I was under the impression that the two of you didn’t talk.” It was said as a statement, but I recognized my mom’s style. It was her way of fishing for more information.
But I had to be careful with what I said. Mom had never been too thrilled with my friendship with T.J. A professional athlete didn’t make her list of acceptable husbands no matter how much money they made. And a football player was the worst of the lot in her eyes.
“I ran into the three of them last night when I went with Grace and her friend Susie—”
“Susie Ward?”
I nodded.
“That poor girl. Growing up with that illness hanging over her head.” Hearing mom say that triggered my memory and suddenly I remembered Susie from years ago. “Where’d you go with them?” she asked.
“Um, I guess that Susie is really good friends with Jonathon—”
“Man, I love this town. All those hot professional athletes. How did you survive school with them?” Sam wiggled his eyebrows as I threw a balled-up napkin at him while mom harrumphed.
“So why did he come over today?” she asked, giving up any pretense that she hadn’t been wanting the information all along.
“He invited me to his parent’s anniversary party tomorrow. And since they’ve always been so nice to me, I decided to go.” While mom may not have had much love for T.J. based on his career choice, she did like his parents. They weren’t in the exact same social circles with them owning a ranch and us a grain farm, plus their age differences—my parents were only coming up on their thirty-fourth anniversary—but they liked and respected them enough to have allowed me to travel to the States with them a number of times to watch T.J. play.
“And was that the reason for the kiss? Your agreement?”
“Rebecca!”
I groaned and shot Sam a glare that told him in no uncertain terms that he was a dead man. At least he had the decency to look sorry which may have just saved him from my ire.
I pushed back from the table and stood. “Mom. I’m twenty-six. Who I kiss or don’t kiss is my business.”
And with that pronouncement I stormed away, yelling over my shoulder that I had some work to do and to not bother me.
Just what I needed, more upheaval to my emotions. If I weren’t on the pill, I’d almost expect to be saddled with an unexpected period to make my life complete.
***
Waking up the next morning without any sign of my period was a relief. At least one thing was going my way.
The evening before had been full of tension. By the time I’d left my room—absolutely bored out of my mind and worked up from pent up stress—there’d been enough time for the family gossip mill to have spread the news about T.J.’s visit, the invitation, and of course, the kiss. They also knew about the quasi argument between Mom and me. It meant that I walked around on eggshells, worried about hidden meanings in everything that was said.
All in all, a vicious circle of worry, anxiety, suspicion, and dread with a little anger thrown in. I didn’t recall my older brother or sister receiving the same treatment about who they dated before they married. So why had I been the lucky one?
I took my time in the shower, shaving and washing everything. Once I was dry and realized the time, I sped through putting on my makeup and choosing a nice sundress that was suitable for both church and the Mitchell’s anniversary party after. My heart galloped at the thought. Not that the knowledge that I’d be seeing T.J., Brice, and Aaron again was ever far from the top of my mind, but as the time grew closer, I began to panic.
I’d kissed T.J.
I’d. Kissed. T.J.
My butt found the edge of my bed.
What did that mean? For him? For the others? And Aaron…my poor, poor boy. I never would have believed that my leaving would affect him. To hear him swear, to hear that he slept with all those people, it continued to tear at my heart. Not that I believed I was at fault—we’re all adults and needed to take responsibility for our choices—but I couldn’t deny some of the guilt I felt. Our choices and decisions are not made in a vacuum. What we choose or decide has an impact and consequences that affect those around us, especially those that are close to or love us. Those decisions then help frame the choices that others make.
“Becca, are you ready? We leave in five.”
I jumped at my mother’s voice. The towel I wore fell to the floor. Without time to spare, I jumped into my bra, panties, and dress. I pulled my hair back into a French braid, thankful it no longer dripped down my back. I grabbed my old, well-worn cowboy boots from my closet and put them on, before racing down the stairs and out the door. My parent’s car idled in the driveway with the back-passenger door open.
“I’m going to take my rental.” I pointed to the car that I’d rented at the airport to get me to Voyageur Bay. When my mom frowned, I said, “That way I can leave the Mitchell’s party when I’m ready.”
She probably wasn’t going to like that answer since they were only planning on stopping by, knowing that everyone would understand their need for the visit to be quick since Nan was still so sick, but I didn’t care. I needed to have my freedom on this. I needed to know that I could leave if things became heated between the guys and me. Plus I didn’t need my mom or dad wandering into the middle of my conversation with them.
“Fine,” she huffed as she did up her window. I walked over and closed the rear door before giving them a little wave. If I expected them to leave without me, I would have been surprised when they didn’t, but I knew my mom. While my dad was wonderful and hardworking, he left the raising of his daughters to mom, preferring to be the fun parents to us.
