Page 7 of Jake
“But at least you didn’t have to learn a new language.”
Jake couldn’t help but laugh.
“I wouldn’t say that was entirely true.”
Heather looked at him and frowned. He could tell she wasn’t sure if he was messing with her or not.
“While yes, they do speak English, it’s an entirely different English than you speak in Alabama. And I’m not just talking southernisms. They have a whole different way of using the same language and I admit, it took me a while to catch on.”
He shook his head and turned to scan the area, making sure nothing was out of place. And nothing appeared to be, but he did notice Iceman watching them. Jake wasn’t sure if he was just keeping an eye on his cousin or if he was making sure Jake didn’t do anything that might hurt her. Not that he would, but Iceman had no way of knowing that. At least not yet.
He planned to make sure they both knew he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, but they needed time to be sure of that, both of them would.
“What did you do after school?” he asked. “Did you go to college like you planned?”
The ghost of a smile curved her lips as he reminded her of the plans she’d made back when they were both little more than kids. “Yeah, I went to USA, got my degree, went to work.” She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe she’d done all that or maybe that she’d done all that and still landed here.
“What do you do?”
Her smile disappeared. “What I do now is nothing. I’m begging a bed off my cousin and hiding from a mistake.” She turned to stare off in the distance.
“A mistake?” He couldn’t help but ask, watching her in hopes she might tell him more.
6
“Amistake,”Heatherrepeated,still not looking at him. “But what about you? What brought you up here? You always swore you’d never go where it snowed.” She hoped he’d let her move the subject of their talk to him. She didn’t want to elaborate on her mistake.
She might eventually have to tell him, depending on how things went, but not now, and not here, where anyone might overhear what she felt was one of the biggest mistakes of her life. She hadn’t lied to him about that. Mitch had been a mistake. Now she wished she could forget him, but that was impossible, at least until she was sure that neither he, nor any of his buddies, and she used that term loosely, were looking for her. Until she was certain she didn’t have that chasing her, she had to be careful what she did and who she trusted, though Heather was ninety eight percent sure that Aaron had nothing to do with that group, what if she was wrong?
“After a few years of incredible heat, the snow looked a lot better. Then my president had to come and spend a year up here, so I came to support him. I got up here last fall, and found I really liked it, despite the cold and the snow. They weren’t as bad as I’d anticipated.” He lifted one shoulder and let it drop.
“Lurch had to spend a year up here?” she asked, she’d me the man, and his woman, earlier.
“No, it was Tuck. Tuck’s the president of the Tucson chapter, our original chapter. Tucson is where I’ve been for the last few years. He had to come north and once he was here, they decided to start a new chapter. Lurch is the president of this chapter, the Gillette Chapter.”
“And since Tuck is your president, you’re going back to Tucson when he does. When is that?” She couldn’t help the pang of disappointment that shot through her as she discovered that he wouldn’t be around much longer. Somewhere deep inside she’d been hoping now that she knew he was in the area, she might get to see him again, reconnect, and hopefully this time in a deeper manner than they’d ever connected in the past.
“Tuck’s going back next week, it’s why we’ve got so many men here, it’s some from Tucson and all of Gillette’s chapter. They came up to have a little fun, then escort him home.”
He didn’t answer what she thought was the most important part. How long did she have until he left too?
“And you’ll leave with him, or are you going back separate?”
He turned and gave her what, on anyone else, she would have called a flirtatious smile. But he couldn’t be flirting with her, could he?
“I’m not going back, at least not to stay. I’m sure I’ll go back for a while, maybe over the winter when there’s not so much to be done here. I have some business down there I’ll need to take care of, but it can wait.”
Heather’s head whipped around to stare at him for several seconds. She could only stand there, watching him as her mount refused to follow directions and say the words she was thinking. Finally, after what seemed like an eon, she managed to get the words out.
“You’re not leaving?”
He watched her, the corner of his eyes crinkling slightly as a slow smile spread across his face. “Not planning to. I’ve decided I like it up here. Plus, I recently found this girl I’d like to see more of.” He paused.
Heather held her breath while she waited for him to say it. Was he thinking the same thing as she had been?
“So, do you want to see me again? Can I talk you into letting me come up to Dickenson and taking you out some time?”
Heather’s heart seemed to flutter in her chest and for a moment the world began to spin, then she remembered to breathe.