enough to shoot her a look that took no words to decipher.
“I promised your mom you’d have it done before she picked you up tonight.”
Without saying a word, he turned to Jared and did a whole females look thing, complete with the rolling of the eyes.
Jenny ignored the look. It wasn’t her fault she had to be drill sergeant and make sure he got his homework done. And just when did the two of them become so chummy? She was about to let out her frustration, then stopped. Maybe she deserved his attitude. She still felt guilty for dumping him on Jared yesterday.
“I know this weekend hasn’t been exactly what you wanted, but after you finish your work, and I finish mine, we’ll do something fun. Promise.”
Slowly, he pivoted on the stool. “For real?”
“For real,” she said with a smile.
His grin was slow in coming, but when it did, Jenny felt her whole insides glow. “See you in a bit.”
“Yeah,” he said, still smiling. “See ya.”
She didn’t dare glance at Jared before she headed outside. That smile. That laugh. They captivated her and made her worry that even reconnecting with her friends would not be enough to keep her from falling under his spell. A breeze blew in off the lake, and she rubbed her arms against the chill. She should have grabbed a sweatshirt before heading out. But she hadn’t wanted to take the time. She knew Jared would be busy in the kitchen with Cody for a little bit longer, and she wanted to be alone for what she had to do.
Her steps began to falter as she made her way across the hangar to the office Steven had used. Briefly she closed her eyes and drew in a fortifying breath.
As she reached out to open the office door, her hand wavered. Everything inside of her told her to turn around and run. Leave this place that held too many painful memories. But she knew she couldn’t. Inside this office had to be the solution to her problem, the way to turn Blue Sky around and get rid of Jared. Steeling herself, she turned the knob and opened the door.
A rising sun hit the large windows and illuminated the space in a soft yellow glow. For a moment, Jenny felt disoriented. Like she was at the wrong place. This wasn’t her and Steven’s office any longer. Everything about it had Jared’s stamp of precision and organization.
She made her way to the desk. Just like in the medicine cabinet, everything was in perfect order: the pencil sharpener, the stapler, the tape dispenser, and all the other usual gadgets an office needed. But there were other things on the desk, too. And seeing them brought back a dozen memories.
Tears blurred her eyes as she traced her finger over the small replica of the F-18 fighter jet she’d bought Steven. With a clarity time could never diminish, she remembered the look of pure joy on his face when he’d opened the gift. Next to the jet were two Star Wars action figures. She laughed softly. Steven had always been a total sci-fi geek. Moving away from the desk, she took in the rest of the office and couldn’t believe what she saw. In a short time, Jared had managed to turn a storeroom of an office into a clean and orderly space.
Seeing all the changes, Jenny wasn’t quite sure how they made her feel. For so long, she hadn’t been able to come near this office. Or, if she did, it was only to fill it with more stuff. Anything to keep her from seeing it as it had been when Steven was alive. But Jared had changed all that.
She wanted to feel angry at what he had done, or, more truthfully, she wanted to still be numb and not feel a thing. But seeing the office as it should be, as she should have kept it, made her feel ashamed. She owed it to Steven—and herself—to be stronger. With a renewed determination, she began to search the filing cabinets until she’d located the files she wanted. As she stared down at the manila folders in her hand, it seemed like a lifetime ago when she’d first sat down and tried to come up with marketing strategies to improve the business. She’d shown them to Steven, and he’d looked them over and said they’d figure out which ones were best. But then Steven had died, and the thought of going back