The sun was out, but the cloud coverage kept it from being overbearingly hot. There was a gentle breeze blowing. Sara enjoyed doing simple things with Jared. He was fun and made her feel alive. She smiled and sighed contentedly. He stopped walking and studied her eyes. She frowned. “What?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. I guess I’m still trying to figure you out. You’re a mystery to me. You always have been.”
She arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Everything about you radiates light and life. The way you look at me. Your smile reminds me of sunshine and rainbows. Your eyes are so beautiful. The way the color rods catch the sunlight reminds me of deep amber.”
Sara softly smiled and tucked her chin. “You have an odd way of describing simple things.”
He laughed and they started walking again. “There’s nothing simple about you. You are so complex, sometimes it scares me. I thought I had you figured out. Then I see another side of you, like yesterday, and I realize, I don’t know you at all.”
“Well, if you keep me around, you’ll eventually either figure me out or give up on me. There’s one thing you need to remember. I’m yours.”
“You can bet I’m gonna keep you around,” he smirked. “That’s a necessity of life.” Sara laughed. “So do you wanna get some coffee and donuts?”
“Sure,” she nodded.
There was a cunning glint in his eyes. “Let’s make a quick stop at the bookstore, first.”
“No!” she said, too quickly again. “I mean, surely there must be a better place we could go than to a bookstore.”
Jared sighed. His mood changed; he got quiet. “That’s twice you’ve done that.”
Shit! He’s on to me. Sara cleared her throat. “Done what?” She glanced at the ice cream parlor, a few feet away. Her eyes lit. “I’ve changed my mind. I think I’d rather have something I haven’t had in a long time.” She tried to steer the conversation in a safer direction.
“What’s that?”
“An extra thick, cherry malt, with extra malt and extra cherries. I haven’t had one of those since I was in junior high. Is there some place we can get one?”
Jared arched an eyebrow and stared at her, dubious of her intentions. “What brought this on?”
“I don’t know. It’s a semi-hot day. I guess I’m feeling a nostalgic. Maybe it was the visit to your friend’s office.” She prattled on a mile a minute. “When I was a little girl and went to see the doctor, my mother used to take me for ice cream as a treat.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” She batted her lashes and poured on the seductive charm. If anything could distract him that would.”
He narrowed his eyes, deciding whether she was serious. Finally, he laughed. “Alright. One extra thick, cherry malt, with extra malt and extra cherries, it shall be.”
~ ~ ~
They bought malts and went to the park. Sara sat on the bench beside Jared, laid her head on his shoulder and slowly sipped hers. Minutes of silence went by. She exhaled and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think something’s wrong?” He threw her question back at her.
“You’re usually not this quiet.”
“I’m just wondering about something. Trying to figure something out. That’s all.”
Sara turned. Jared’s face was a mask of pain and worry. “What are you trying to figure out?”
He focused on the ground. “Why the person I love, who says she loves me, is hiding something from me.” He paused. Sara didn’t respond. “Why she feels she needs to sneak around and lie to me about something that doesn’t matter.” He faced her with eyes full of disappointment. “I know why you don’t wanna go to the bookstore, and why you reacted the way you did when I suggested it.”
“What?” she gasped. Her heart jumped to her throat.
Jared smirked. “Sara, you don’t think my cousin would go to the trouble of giving you my granddad’s book, and not brag about what he’d done, do you?” His voice was laced with allegation.
Her lips parted. “The man who sold me the book was your cousin?” She frowned and clenched her teeth. “I knew the bastard was ripping me off!”
His eyebrows shot up. “He didn’t tell you we were cousins?”
“No!” she pushed through her teeth.
He snorted. “I’m not surprised, but you must’ve noticed the resemblance? We kinda all look alike.”
“Well, yeah, I noticed but….”
“I bet he didn’t tell you his name either, did he?” he interjected. “Of course not, you would’ve figured it out.”
“We didn’t exchange names,” Sara growled.
“It’s Joel. His name is Joel Thundercloud.” His eyes widened and began to burn; he closed them. He clamped his teeth and looked away.
“That explains how he knew so much about….”
“Wait a minute!” he interjected again, in a low guttural growl. “Did you say he ripped you off? Joel made you pay for the book! How much, Sara?”
“A hundred dollars!”
“How did you pay?”
“Cash – my money. I wasn’t gonna use your credit card for that.”
“You should’ve come to me first,” Jared sighed. “He had no right to sell you something that wasn’t his to sell. Besides, it wasn’t about the money. He did it to drive a wedge between us, Sara. He would like nothing better than to make my life miserable. He knew through you, was the best way to do it. There’s one thing he doesn’t know.”
“What?”
“Nothing he could do or say would ever drive a wedge between us. Don’t worry.” He stroked her cheek. “I’ll get your money back – if I have to beat it outta him!”
He’d said that as though he would enjoy carrying it out. This worried her. She believed he could beat Joel, but there was a chance he might have Jared’s special abilities. It was hard for him to control his changing eyes. She was afraid if he fought Joel, he might expose his secret. She didn’t understand how it worked, but she assumed it had to remain secret. Why did he want to make Jared’s life miserable?
Sara swallowed hard. “Are you mad at me?”
“Mad, no – disappointed and hurt,” his voice trailed off.
She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. Oh, God! I’d rather him be raging mad at me than hurt or disappointed. Rage could be dealt with, it could be shared. Hurt and disappointment were inner enemies. They couldn’t be vented, and most of the time, though they healed, they never went away. Sooner or later, something would happen and bring them back. They were always there, dripping like a gaping wound, ready to inflict more pain. Pain she’d caused. Pain she couldn’t take away.
“Look at me, Sara.”
She turned away; her voice choked. “I can’t stand the look in your eyes.”
“Sara, look at me,” he repeated in a voice as gentle as the breeze.
She took a deep breath and turned, but kept her chin tucked, and her eyes closed. Jared cupped her chin in his palm and softly pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her cheek, right below her ear and the side of her neck. “Now, please, look at me. I want you to see there is no hatred in my eyes, nor could there ever be, where you’re concerned.” He waited.
Slowly, Sara opened her eyes. He smiled. They sat for a long while, staring into each other’s eyes, their souls whispering to each other. Jared shook his head and snorted. “I’m not trying to keep things from you, Sara. I’m trying to protect you. Wrong information does more harm than good. I don’t wanna keep things from you, but sometimes it’s necessary for your well-being. I wanna share everything with you, Sara, everything.”
He kissed her thoroughly. It didn’t matter that they were in a semi-busy park, with people mingling around them, stopping to stare. As far as he was concerned, they were the only two people in the world. He didn’t care whether they approved, and neither did Sara.
~ ~ ~
They talked for a long time, but never ran out of things to say. They wanted to know everything about each other. Before they realized it, 45 minutes had passed. He took her hand and stood. “We better get back.”
She sighed. “Do you honestly think Dave will be able to tell us anything?”
“I hope so.”
~ ~ ~
They were walking along, hand in hand, chatting away when Sara glanced up. They were standing in front of her Nemesis. Her stomach flipped. Jared had taken her a different route. “What are we doing at the bookstore?”
He held the door. “Getting your money back.”
“Oh, no – that. It doesn’t matter, Jared.”
He arched an eyebrow and waited. Sara forced her breath out. She stopped just inside, silently praying Joel wouldn’t be there. She glanced toward the back. Her heart sank. Jared led her to the checkout counter. “Jared, there’s a long line. If we wait, we might miss Dave.”
He looked down at her, determined. She was wasting her breath. She sighed and silently rehearsed what to say to Joel. What could she say? Anything she said would give her away and make Joel mad at her. To her, having him mad at her wouldn’t be as bad as having Jared mad at her, would it?
Joel glanced up. The expression on his face was priceless, almost worth Sara’s agony. He looked as though he were staring into the eyes of his worst enemy. For all she knew, Jared might be his worst enemy. He didn’t say anything, and neither did Jared. They locked eyes and attempted to stare each other down.
The customers were getting restless.
Sara wondered what Jared would do. Wait until Joel had attended to his customers or demand to speak with his cousin now? Seconds later, she found out.
“Hey, friend, you wanna move to the back of the line?” A male customer asked in a dry voice.
Jared glared at him. “I’m not bothering you – friend!”
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re bothering me or not. You’re gonna wait your turn like the rest of us.”
Sara drew in a deep breath and held it. Confrontation in a public place was the last thing they needed. She touched his arm. “It’s not necessary, Jared. Let’s just go.”
He smiled and directed his attention to his cousin. “Getting your money back from this lying cheat is important, Sara. This man sold you a free book, which wasn’t his to sell in the first place. He charged you twenty times more than its market value if it had been for sale.”
She hid her face in her hands and leaned her back against the counter. Jared and his cousin glared at each other like a pair of angry wolves.
“That’s ridiculous,” a female customer toward the end of the line said. “Come on, let’s go. Twenty times above its market value? I’d rather order it from Amazon!”
“Yeah, me too,” her friend said. They casually put their purchases on top of one of the bookshelves and left. Several other customers turned and left with them. Soon the only one left from the long line was the slightly rude male customer.
Joel waited on him and turned. “I could have you arrested for that!”
“I could skin you alive, for what you did,” Jared threw back. “A job I wouldn’t find so unpleasant, Joel!”
Sara stepped between them. “OK, that’s enough, both of you. Let’s all settle down and see if we can handle this situation like grownups.”
“You lied to me!” Joel snorted.
Sara took a slow deep breath. “Pardon?”
“I told you not to tell anyone where you got the book,” he ground through his teeth.
Jared softly laughed and turned away. He was trying to keep his anger in check. Joel was digging his own grave, and Sara was handing him the shovel. “You called Jared and told him everything!” she snapped. “You wanted him to get mad at me and don’t you dare deny it.” She glanced at Jared, who was grinning; he was enjoying this.
He slowly turned. “How are you gonna get outta this, Joel?” He paused. “Oh, by the way - Sara, this is Joel Thundercloud, my first cousin, once removed. Joel, this is Sara Foster, my future wife.”
He couldn’t tell who was more shocked, Sara or Joel. She didn’t know what to say. Jared smiled his crooked smile. Her heart jumped to her throat. My God! Did he propose to me? Did I hear him right? Did he say future wife? Her head was spinning. She grabbed the edge of the counter to steady herself.
Jared tightened his jaw. “My granddad’s book is not the only issue here, Joel. There’s a little matter of Sara taking an unscheduled trip after she left your store. If anyone should be calling the cops, it’s me!”
Joel glanced at Sara sidelong. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Jared?” she prompted.
“To begin with, it didn’t make sense. You hadn’t told me about going to the bookstore. When Cousin Joel ratted on you, hoping to cause trouble between us, it all fit. All I need to know is what you gave her, and how much you gave her!”
Sara’s eyes glossed. She glared at Joel, ready to jump over the counter and strangle him. “You gave it to me!”
Jared stared at Joel. “Think about it, Sara. You said you started feeling odd when you and Myra headed for the feed store. You had lunch before that, correct?”
“Yes. We went to the shoe store, and then stopped for a sandwich. We left there, went to the grocery store, drove back to the ranch, changed vehicles, and went to the feed store.”
Joel smirked. “Well, you deserve her, Jared. She’s as crazy and as arrogant as you are.”
He growled and leaped over the counter. He grabbed Joel by the collar and pinned him against the wall. Joel looked as though he were afraid to breathe.
“Jared! Don’t!”
He frowned and put his nose a breath from Joel’s. “Don’t you ever say anything like that about her again, or I promise you, I will kill you. Get into that register and refund her money. Then, you’re gonna wipe the purchase from your system altogether. We’ll return your trash. If you’ve got more of Granddad’s books in that storage room, I suggest you either destroy them or see they make their way to my father’s house. Then and only then, will I consider not pressing charges against you, for what you did to Sara.”
Joel showed no sign of remorse.
“You’ve got a choice, Joel,” Jared said. “Tell me what I wanna know or we can wait a few minutes and find out from the blood and urine tests David Whitefeather did on Sara. It might not tell me how you got it into her system, but it will tell me what you gave her. I’m sure it would be enough to warrant an investigation. Don’t you, cousin?”
“You’re talking out your ass as usual, cousin,” Joel countered. Jared made a fist and drew back. Joel sneered at him. “Go on. Hit me. You’ll be in jail before you can get outta town.” He motioned with his eyes to the security camera above their heads. “Smile, Jared.”
He glanced up, took a deep breath and shoved him away. “Running again, Joel? Taking the easy way out? You never could fight one on one!”
One side of Joel’s mouth turned up in a condescending grin. Jared clenched his teeth and leaned forward. Sara closed her eyes and held her breath. It looked as though Jared would smash Joel’s face despite everything.
Her lips parted when Jared walked around the counter and took her hand. “We’re leaving, Joel, but this is not over!”
“You got that right!” he retorted. He waited until they left and swiped his phone. “Fix this now!”
“Don’t worry, Joel. I’ve got it covered.”