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"I do love you, you know that don't you? In my fashion, I'll always be here for you. You know that!"
"Goodbye, Chad. And…I love you too! I only wish I'd known sooner, that's all." her voice broke and she ran from the room. Out into the garden, she ran, quietly, stopping only long enough to take her high heels off, she carried them in one hand, her beaded bag in the other.
She headed for the church parking lot across the street where her parents’ car was parked. Climbing in she checked under the rug for the key. It was there. Good ole predictable dad. She started the engine, it purred.
In a moment she would be driving away. She saw Chad on the lawn, waved and peeled out into the noonday traffic.
No one saw her, but him. Thank God.
She couldn't stop herself from looking in the rear-view mirror. Chad had gone inside. What would he say to them, how would he explain it to them?
There wasn't time to worry about what she was doing, or whether it was right or wrong. Her parents would be furious. She was stealing their car. Not only that, but she was leaving with no explanations. But until Chad could come to terms with his own life, she could do nothing more. . . except cry, and as she looked once more in the rear-view mirror she saw the tears streaming down her face, and she pulled over for a few minutes. It was time to cry.
Chapter One
Jumping out of the car, slamming the door, she kicked at the flat tire and glanced at the steam rising from the hood.
"Damn, just what I need," she swore aloud. "Not just one problem, but two!"
In one swift movement, Savannah bent through the window of the car and jerked her keys from the ignition, breaking a fingernail in the process. She grimaced. Walking toward the rear of the car, she stopped when she heard a ripping sound.
"Oh good grief...." She knew exactly what that sound meant. She already heard that same sound today. Her sleeve had caught on the door of the car. She opened the car door, and pulled the sleeve back in place. Pressing her lips together in one fine line, she went to the trunk of her parents’ BMW and unlocked it.
She stared aimlessly inside. She had never changed a flat tire in her life, but surely it wasn't that hard to do. She'd seen it done in a million movies. It looked relatively simple.
There in the right corner of the trunk was the jack, bolted down tight as though it hadn't meant to be used. As she fumbled with the bolt another finely manicured fingernail broke. She grimaced but kept on working. Her state of dress, and fake fingernails were the least of her worries.
"My God, I'll need a crow-bar to pry that thing loose," she wailed after several minutes of struggling unsuccessfully to loosen the jack.
Determination wasn't enough she needed a quick education in self-survival. She didn't have any plan. She had left the church because she simply didn't know what else to do. That and the fact that she couldn't marry Chad under the circumstances had suddenly changed her life forever.
What was she doing out here in the middle of nowhere? What was she trying to prove? She had a level head on her shoulders. Didn't she? She had a master's degree in fine arts, she could play the harp like an angel, and she knew how to take pictures. And up until yesterday she had been a very good real estate agent. But for the life of her, she didn't know what she was going to do next with her life or this blasted car.
Thoughts of Chad briefly interfered. She wanted to be married. It was something she instinctively knew she'd be good at. Some women had their careers, but all Savannah ever really wanted was to marry Chad. She'd taken odd jobs ever since she finished college just to look busy and give Chad the time and opportunity to pop the big question. She hadn't wanted to appear the spoiled little rich girl, waiting on the boy next door to make up his mind.
Talk about bursting bubbles. That's exactly what she had become, the spoiled little rich girl. The dumb little rich girl. The sweet little rich girl.
Thank God her camera equipment was still in the trunk. She'd planned to take pictures at her own wedding. What a fantasy that was! She knew every shot she wanted, seeing Chad's face for the first time yesterday morning, the flowers, and her young cousin bearing her ring, the wedding cake that nearly didn't arrive. So many things, so many pictures, now destroyed.
She'd wasted so many years with Chad. It had been such a comfortable relationship, Chad never forced himself on her, and she had enjoyed their dating. They did everything together, went everywhere, and enjoyed the good life. Looking at it from a distance she supposed she had become the spoiled little rich girl with such ease, with not a care in the world.
That was over, a voice reminded her. Things had changed drastically since yesterday morning. She had thrown herself into real life and she didn't have a clue as to what to do next. She didn't know how to fix the car, get a job, or even manage her own life.
She was twenty-six years old, and getting older by the moment, and she still didn't know much about life, men, or marriage. Everything she thought she knew had been turned upside down. What she needed was an education in life, and it certainly looked as though that was about to happen.
"It takes longer with some people," she reasoned aloud. "But I can do this. I can manage my own life."
She eyed the jack again and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I learned a valuable lesson with Chad. I won't be making that mistake again," she scoffed aloud as she stared aimlessly down the long deserted highway. But the dream of marriage lingered in the recesses of her mind. Perhaps it wasn't Chad she had loved so much, as the thought of marriage itself. Yes, she was in love with marriage.
She had a level head on her shoulders. She didn't need a man! Did she?
No, she didn't need one...she simply wanted one. She wanted that happily ever after picture. Okay, so she was a romantic, she silently fumed. She had believed in fairytales. But she could change, couldn't she? She could wise up, couldn't she?
She had wanted the marriage so much, she had looked forward to days and nights spent with Chad.
However, reality had played a trick on her, and saying "I do" was going just a little too far, when the best man was who Chad really loved. It seemed like a nightmare, now.
