Whirlwind (35 page)

And I’m next
. Sand and sea became one nauseating hue as my vision blurred.

“Animal,” Chase snarled. “I wish we’d known. We would’ve beat the living shit out of him.”

I didn’t realize I was trembling until Jason put his arm around me. “They’ve put out a statewide APB, and Detective Clark is confident they’ll catch that scumbag soon. Try not to worry. You and your mom are both safe.”

The four of us looked at each other. No one seemed to know what to say.

The beach around us emptied as the sun sank in the sky; families headed home, and only a few fishermen walked along the waterline.

Eventually Chase rose. “Why don’t we pack up and watch the sunset from the pier?” he suggested.

We collected our things, threw our clothes back on, and walked onto the pier arm in arm. Directly ahead of us the setting sun turned the cloudless sky blood red. As it dipped below the horizon, Jason pulled me close and kissed me.

“Too bad we can’t just stop time right now,” I whispered when his lips left mine.

He smiled back. “But you’re mine forever, remember? There’s a lot of time for sunsets in eternity.”

Jason pulled me close again, and his kiss filled me with the love I’d been trying to fight. I wanted to share his optimism, but one hated word canceled out my hopes for the future.

Friday.

Fifteen

“So, what do you think?” I asked, staring impatiently across the table.

Jason took an inordinate amount of time chewing the bite of burger, paused, looked up at the ceiling, then chewed some more. Annoyed, I picked up my own burger and took another bite. Finally, he swallowed.

“Well, after much consideration, I have to agree with you,” he said. “This very well could be the best hamburger I’ve ever had.” He gave me a thumbs up.

I rolled my eyes. “Told you,” I grumbled through my mouthful.

He started laughing, and I barely got my food down before I joined him.

Chase and Linda had invited us to share a movie with them, but we’d declined. After they’d dropped us off at my apartment, we’d opted for a late dinner instead. I’d shared Jason enough for the day, and though I loved Linda, I’d reached my limit with her suggestive prodding. I wanted Jason all to myself, to take him somewhere away from everything and everyone. And I knew just the place.

“I especially love the décor,” he said, pointing up. Thirty or so toothpicks were stuck in the acoustic ceiling tiles, their colorful cellophane tails creating a shiny rainbow in the fluorescent light.

I took a long drink of my malt before speaking. “Oh, come on. There must be lots of places like this in
Michigan
. I’ll bet the ceiling in every diner in
Ann Arbor
has those.” Every college hangout had a similar look—it just happened the Burger Factory had great food as well.

Jason shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I spend nearly all my time on campus. It’s a very sheltered life.”

“It’s time you got out more.” I plucked a couple of straws from the dispenser and passed him one. Then I grabbed the toothpick that’d come in my hamburger.

“Melissa!” He dropped the straw and scooted into the corner of the booth.

“Come on. Live a little.” I put the toothpick in the straw and blew as hard as I could. The tiny dart stuck in the ceiling directly over Jason. The lady in the next booth groaned and shook her head.

“You’re such a wild woman,” he said, stuffing the last of his burger in his mouth.

“You know it.” I fished some cash out of my wallet and dropped it on the table. “Finished?” I asked.

Jason didn’t answer. He picked up the straw and his toothpick and looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

“Give it all you’ve got,” I coached with a grin.

Jason looked around quickly, took a deep breath and blew through the straw. The toothpick flew straight up, but instead of hitting one of the soft, white tiles, it hit one of the steel supports and, with a
tink
,
ricocheted across the aisle. It landed, point down, in a stack of pancakes on the table across from us, as if placed there by the chef. The two people in the booth were locked together in a torrid kiss and didn’t notice.

I bit back my giggles and waved Jason toward the exit. “I think we’re done,” I choked and pushed him out the door.

We dashed out, holding our sides. Jason beat me to the car and opened the driver’s door with a bow.

“Why thank you kindly, sir,” I said in a very bad Southern accent.

“
Mah
pleasure,” he replied in an equally poor drawl, then got in the passenger side. “So what’s next, cow tipping?”

The clock on the dash read twelve minutes past ten. “Nope, too early for that. The cows aren’t really asleep until after eleven. Have you
been
cow tipping?” I asked, surprised he knew the term.

“No, Mitch told me about it a long time ago. He seemed to think it was fun.”

“It’s not, really. But there are other reasons to go to the back forty at night.”

I rolled down my sleeves and started to button up my shirt, earning a frown from Jason. We’d donned pants before heading to dinner, but he’d insisted I keep my bikini top on, and be as exposed as possible.

“It’s getting cold,” I said, leaving a few of the top buttons open for his benefit.

“I bet I can warm you up,” he said, slipping his fingers behind my neck and pulling my lips to his.

“I’m counting on that,” I said breathlessly when he released me. “But not here.”

Ignoring his curious expression, I started the car and drove to the back entrance to campus. The road wound through the school’s outlying fields, used for farming and grazing. The only building we passed was the campus dairy before turning toward the stables.

I parked between two horse trailers and hopped out, grabbing my monster Maglite from under the seat. Jason caught my hand, and I pulled him close, snaking my arm around his waist.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked. He hugged my shoulders, following the circle of light at our feet.

Saying nothing, I pulled out my keys and unlocked the stable door.

“You have a key? We’re not going for a night ride, are we?”

“Ha! No.” Mitch had tried to teach me to ride once, with disastrous results, including a sprained wrist. “Mitch gave me his spare, just in case he lost his.”

We walked down to Buckeye’s stall. The big horse lumbered over and stuck his head out, sniffing loudly.

“Sorry, Buckeye, no carrots today.” I gave him a few pats before unlocking Mitch’s tack box. Jason occupied Buckeye while I dug out a couple of old blankets. “See you later, big guy,” I said, giving the horse one more rub.

I led Jason around the side of the building, away from the car. The road continued past the stables, next to a large grassy pasture.

He squeezed my hand. “Are we there yet?” he teased.

“Just about.”

We stopped by the fence at the edge of the pasture, and I draped the blankets over the top. Clicking off the flashlight, I stuck it in my back pocket and took both his hands in mine. In the pitch black of the moonless night I could barely see his face. “Close your eyes and listen,” I said.

I did the same, concentrating on the low whistle of a distant train and the occasional rustling of a nearby animal. Everything else was quiet, even the insects. A breath of air mixed the sweet smell of freshly cut hay with the saltiness of the ocean lingering in Jason’s hair. After I counted to a hundred, I looked up at Jason.

“Open your eyes,” I whispered. “Can you see better now?” My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could easily see the surprise on Jason’s face.

He dropped my hand, reaching for my cheek instead. “Yes,” he breathed. His smile caught what little light there was, and his eyes reflected it back to me. He leaned toward me, but I put a finger on his lips, stopping him.

“Look up,” I said.

Jason’s eyes widened as he turned them skyward. “Amazing,” he whispered. I’d guessed, having grown up in
L.A.
, he was used to a barren sky where all but the very brightest stars were obscured by city lights. In Santa Lucia, the lights were less numerous, and here on the outskirts they were nonexistent. Countless stars filled the sky, making finding something as conspicuous as the Big Dipper a challenge.

While Jason stared up at the heavens, I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his chest. “We can take the blankets out in the field and lie in the grass. If you stare at the sky long enough, you might see a satellite fly by.”

“Maybe in a minute. I’m quite comfortable right here,” he said, tightening his arms around me. The rhythm of his heart filled my ears, and I sighed, content. The last few days had been so wonderful, and I wished, more than ever, they didn’t have to end.

Three more days.
I pinched my eyes shut, reminding myself I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about the end. But was it really his departure I feared, or something else? I hadn’t admitted my true feelings to Jason—I’d barely admitted them to myself. Was that what I was afraid of? Not being left alone, but being rejected…again?

No, it had to be losing him. Jason had all but told me he felt the same way. He’d been open and frank with his feelings from the beginning. I was the one hiding. Here under the stars, enveloped in his arms, I decided no matter what happened on Friday, it wasn’t fair to keep my feelings to myself any longer.

“Jason,” I whispered.

He lightly stroked my hair. “Yes?”

I lifted my face from his chest and looked into his eyes. They seemed to glow in the dark—becoming navy blue beacons, both patient and encouraging. He cupped my cheek, his thumb lightly caressing my face as I struggled to compose some kind of preamble.

Instead, I blurted out, “I love you, Jason.”

His thumb stopped, and with it my heart.
Oh crap! I read him wrong.
The hesitations and pregnant pauses I’d assumed were silent I love
yous
—were they really unspoken regrets?
I’m such an idiot!

His hand moved again—not away, but into my hair. He tilted my head up and kissed me with a new intensity, a blistering confirmation. Breathing heavily, he lifted his lips from mine and leaned back, his eyes reflecting the fiery passion burning through my veins.

“How I’ve wanted to hear you say that,” he whispered, his voice pouring over me like molten steel. “I love you too.”

My heart exploded in my chest. Joy and hope and love combined into something indescribable, filling my entire being. I felt more awake—no, alive—than I ever had before. I rose on my tiptoes, dying to show him exactly what he’d awakened in me.

As he bent down to kiss me again, the silence was broken by a different sound.

“How sweet,” said a low, mocking voice.

In an instant, the atmosphere changed. It was as if the ground had suddenly turned to ice, sapping all the warmth and love away and replacing it with frigid fear. Jason froze for a split second then whirled around, shielding me from the intruder.

We both knew who had spoken.

Ron stood in the middle of the road, about eight feet away. He didn’t have a light, but one arm was extended toward us. I couldn’t tell what he had at first; it wasn’t a weapon I recognized. He gave it a shake, and I heard the familiar clinking of a steel ball inside a metal canister.

My pepper spray.

You have a weapon too.
Dad’s voice rang clearly through my head. The long metal flashlight poked me in the back.

“You’re quite a difficult woman to find, Melissa Jean Williams,” Ron sneered. His coarse voice matched his bedraggled appearance. His shirt was hanging out of his ripped jeans, and even in the dark I could tell he hadn’t shaved recently. “It was a long drive to
San Jose
. But it was worth it in the end. My little distraction this morning gave me the time I needed to look you up.”