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“Shit, man, I have to go,” Landon said. “Tell me though—how was it seeing her?”
“Weird. She accused me of hurting her dog.”
“This is a story I need to hear. Call me tomorrow, little bro. Later.”
“Later.” Jackson tossed his phone onto the couch cushion beside him then pulled his computer onto his lap. Opening his email, he clicked on the renter’s agreement for the cottage. Scrolling through, he found the information he sought.
“Eugene Perri, owner.” It was right there under the Pine River Cottages logo of a little cabin with a curl of smoke rising up from a chimney and three mountain peaks behind it with a squiggling line in front that he supposed symbolized Pine River. He’d secured the cottage all online so he’d never interacted with an actual person. The key had been left for him because he’d arrived at like four in the morning and truthfully, he’d spent more time at his brothers’ houses than at this cottage since being back in town so he’d never run into Isabel’s grandfather.
He probably should have accepted Christian’s offer to stay in his barn loft at the farm, but he most likely would have run into Isabel eventually. Maplehaven wasn’t that big. Right now it was apparently no bigger than a postage stamp.
Figures he’d find her dog too. At least he’d gotten the pup back to its owner. That had been his ultimate goal. Hopefully those stitched cuts would heal and that pooch would think twice before wandering off. Wandering off from Isabel Perri was never a good idea.
He should know.
Jackson flopped back on the couch, not having any motivation to work on funding. Instead, he traveled back to the last time he’d seen Isabel.
****
Sophomore year, Maplehaven High School...
“Skipping two years?” Isabel’s nose crinkled, her green eyes searching Jackson’s face. “You’re joking, right?”
Jackson shook his head as they sat under their favorite tree at the library. “Mr. Harris in guidance called me into his office right before dismissal. My parents were there, along with Uncle Patrick, and Mr. Harris unloaded this... this plan to have me skip junior and senior year and head right to college.”
Isabel blinked at him, her brows lowered. “Do you really want to miss those two years though? I mean, senior year is when all the fun happens.” She gave him one of her sexy smiles. The ones he couldn’t resist.
Jackson and Isabel had been dating since freshman year after getting paired up in Physical Science. He had agreed to light the Bunsen burner for all the experiments and she’d signed on to write up the lab reports. It’d been a good deal that had turned into weeknight study sessions and Saturday night dates. Jackson had never had a girlfriend, but he’d won the lottery with Isabel. He wasn’t popular or athletic or creative. He was a nerd, but for some reason, Isabel picked him and they’d had a blast ever since their first date to the annual fall festival at Brenton Park.
Isabel had been Jackson’s first kiss, his first stop at second base, third base, and after the high school’s winter formal this year, home plate. Neither of them knew what they were doing really, but that hadn’t affected the outcome—Jackson was in love with Isabel. Judging by the way she never looked at another guy—even though they all looked at her—he believed her when she told him she loved him too.
“Skipping ahead will allow me to get a jump on things,” Jackson said. “I can get my degrees sooner, be out in the field faster.” He’d wanted to be an archaeologist ever since his uncle, Patrick Henley, had told him the story of the ancient Mayans. His uncle was a history teacher at Maplehaven High School and he owned a huge personal library of historical books he’d let Jackson enjoy since he was old enough to read and comprehend them. Jackson had soaked in the information on those sacred pages and longed to make his own discoveries about ancient civilizations.
Getting into college now instead of in two years would make his dreams a reality ahead of schedule. How could he say no to that?
“You already said yes, didn’t you?” Isabel folded her arms across her chest and the first signs of unease swirled in Jackson’s stomach.
When he didn’t answer her right away, she shot to her feet, her hands curled into fists at her sides.
“You already said yes. You’re going to leave me behind!” Her eyes became glossy. “What about our plans, Jackson? We said we’d go away to college together, maybe get an apartment near campus, start our lives. Now you want to go without me.”
“I don’t want to go without you, Isabel.” Jackson stood now too and rested his hands on her shoulders, but she jerked away and his hands fell to his sides. The sliver of anger in his chest grew larger. “I’m bored at school right now. You know this. Going to college sooner will give me the challenge I need.”
“Oh, great,” Isabel spat. “So now I’m too stupid to keep up with you.”
“Isabel, I didn’t say that. You’re not even close to being stupid.” Why was she making this all about her?
“No. I’m just terribly average and you need more.”
“I said I need more academically, not socially.”
Her green gaze flicked up to meet his. “Socially? So we’re just a social connection? That’s it?”
He’d almost used the word romantically, but it sounded too grown up for a couple of high school kids. “We’re more than a social connection. You know that, Isabel. I’ve told you I love you, for fuck’s sake.”
“But now you want to fuck college chicks and forget all about me.”
“Who said that?” He angled his hands at himself. “I didn’t say that. I only want you, Isabel. I’ll only ever want you.”
