and Steven couldn’t stop talking about how amazing the Ghost flew and Steven’s dad finally interrupted and said there was no way anyone could be that good. Steven was silent for the longest time, and then he said the Ghost was.”
“Yeah, I remember.” She also remembered how Steven’s voice had taken on an almost reverent tone when he spoke of the Ghost . . . of Jared. Steven had all but worshipped at the tips of Jared’s wings.
“Hey, have you . . .”
Paul didn’t even have to finish his thought for Jenny to know what he was asking. “No. Steven’s parents are still down in Arizona. Half-here, half-there, remember?” She hadn’t seen them since the funeral. A part of her had been relieved that they’d left so soon after the funeral. Bumping in to them would be another painful reminder of everything she’d lost. Everything they’d all lost.
All of a sudden, Jenny couldn’t stay in bed a moment longer. “Listen, Paul, I’ve got a full day. I really need to go.”
It wasn’t the complete truth, but she had to get off the phone and now. She didn’t want to talk about Steven, about his living and not living here. Or his parents and how Jenny hadn’t found the courage to face them since the funeral.
“I’m here for you, Jelly Belly. Just say the word, and Jared is gone.”
“Sweet, but slightly overprotective. You can back off, Paul. I have it handled. Really,” she said, not sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.
Now, an hour later, Jenny sat the edge of her yard and buried her feet into the sand. Tiny pebbles and rough grains filtered through her bare toes and over her feet. It wasn’t even nine in the morning, but already the lake was alive with activity. A bright Saturday in May that promised unseasonable warm weather would do that.
Shielding her eyes from the sun, she could make out several of her neighbors from her spot on the shore. A handful of fishing boats speckled the large lake as they trolled near the shorelines, while a group of teenagers braved the cold water for a few hours of waterskiing. Their rock music and loud voices echoed across the water. Each time they sped past Mr. Wilcox, their wake tipped and rocked his shallow aluminum boat. Grabbing the boat’s side with one hand, he raised the other, fist clenched, and shouted out an obscenity that was thankfully obscured by the music.
Bracing her hands behind her in the thick grass, she tilted her face upward, closing her eyes against the sharp rays. Warm sun beat down on her, and the heady fragrance of her grandmother’s flowers surrounded her. Not for the first time did Jenny wonder what her grandmother would say about the mess she was in.
Spilled milk don’t clean itself.
Her nana’s voice came to her swift and clear. How many times had Jenny heard that old saying? But even Nana had to see that this mess wasn’t so easily taken care of. For days she’d been trying to figure out a way to improve the business’s bottom line. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out a way. And then there was her other worry: one very large, very intimidating, heartbreakingly handsome worry working in the hangar behind her.
With a small shake of her head, she tried to concentrate on anything other than Jared. She listened to the music blaring from the kids’ boat, she listened for Mr. Wilcox’s raised voice, she strained to hear the lawn mower coming from next door, but none of it did any good. No matter how hard she tried, she could not force him from her mind.
Everywhere she went, he was there, making her feel like an intruder in her own house, in her own yard. In her own business. Whenever she turned around, she saw him watching her . . . judging her. She wasn’t sure what unsettled her more: the watching or the judging. Her whole life she’d been judged by her family and had been found lacking; she should be used to it by now. But there was something different in the way Jared looked at her. His gaze held an intensity she’d never seen before. Like he could look deep into her soul and see her every doubt, her every insecurity. And her every mistake.
Then there were the other times when those looks had nothing to do with uncovering her darkest failures and everything to