the sky. The sun turned weak and the air cold. The rain came slowly at first, a splattering of droplets here, a heavier mist there, almost as if Mother Nature couldn’t make up her mind. Even though the calendar read June, no one was surprised by the weather. Those few bright, sun-filled days at the end of May had been an unexpected gift, something every Seattleite had known and not taken for granted. Summer clothes might have been brought out and worn, but no one had packed away their jeans and sweaters. As Jenny stared out the front window, she couldn’t help but think how the weather perfectly mirrored her mood.
She ran a finger lightly across her lips, remembering how it had felt to be held by Jared, kissed by him. Within his arms, she’d come alive. Gone were the doubts that had always plagued her before. Instead, with Jared, she’d become a woman she didn’t recognize. Someone confident, bold. Someone who knew they were exciting a man as much as he was exciting her. The evidence had been in Jared’s every fractured breath, in the way he’d said her name over and over again, like he couldn’t quite believe it was her he held in his arms, her he kissed. But then he’d ended their embrace and pushed her away.
Go, before I do something we’ll both regret.
And she had. She’d run away, scared and burning with raw humiliation. She tried not to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped their kiss. But she knew. She would have given herself to him wholly and completely and not thought about the consequences until much, much later.
And she would have regretted it. She, better than anyone, knew there was no future with a flyboy with itchy feet. Steven had loved her wholeheartedly, and still he hadn’t been able to commit to her fully. They’d been engaged but each time Jenny had pressed for a wedding date, he’d put her off. She wasn’t about to make that same mistake. She wasn’t going to give her heart to someone who didn’t want the same thing she did. She and Jared were business partners, nothing more. The sooner she paid him off, the sooner she could get on with her life.
The front door opened, and she heard the stomping and wiping of shoes on the front mat before the heavy clomp clomp of footsteps came down the hallway. She tensed, fearing it was Jared, then relaxed when Zeke came into view.
Poking his head into the office, he braced one hand on the doorjamb. “We’re ready to take off.”
“Tell the Johnsons to have a good visit with their nephew. And be careful up there.”
“Aren’t I always?” The creases in his weathered face deepened into a grin. “Besides, it’s only a quick trip to the San Juans. I’ll be back ’fore ya know it.”
“Still, be safe.”
He went to push off from the doorframe, then paused, his smile going slack. “You okay?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear and fought for a true smile. “Never better. Just a little tired.”
Her false bravado didn’t seem to convince him.
“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “Now scat. We don’t want to keep paying customers waiting.”
Concern still softened his eyes, but he let the subject drop. Several minutes later, she heard the seaplane start.
Alone, she let the facade fall away. She massaged her forehead and tried to stave off the feeling of doom as she stared at the calendar on her desk. She tried to ignore all the open spots in the schedule but found it impossible. True, with summer nearing, there were a few more charters on the books but not nearly enough. All week she’d worked on ideas to bring in business, to improve Blue Sky’s bottom line. She’d lost count of the number of calls she’d made . . . the number of people she’d talked to. Each business she’d reached, the conversation had ended the same way: thanks, but no thanks. No matter how hard she tried, nothing she did made a difference.
Panic unfurled. Now, she silently acknowledged, the stakes were even higher. Yes, she was still determined to prove to her family that she was capable of running a successful business, but now there was so much more at risk.
What do you want to hear? That one day my mother left and never came back?
That night, when she’d stood next to Jared by the edge of the lake, something vital inside of her had changed.