Unraveling (Second Chances) - By Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,73

and surrounding fauna were muted, the artist having chosen to focus on the sun and its reflection on the water. The water was so realistic that I was sure if I touched the canvas it would be wet.

I could hear Jared walking around the shop and speaking with the woman, but I was rooted to the spot.

I didn’t want to leave here without that picture.

I cleared my throat and the woman and Jared stopped talking. “Yes dear?” she asked.

“I want this,” I pointed over my shoulder at the canvas.

“It’s expensive,” she gave me a sympathetic look.

“I can afford it,” I told her. Or rather, my mother could afford it.

“Okay,” she said, coming over and removing the artwork from the wall. She rang it up and I slid a credit card across the counter.

“This is one of my favorites,” she said, wrapping up the painting.

I signed the receipt she had handed to me.

“Here you go dear,” she handed me a bag with the wrapped canvas.

Jared and I decided it would be better to go back to his car and leave the painting in it, than to carry it around all day.

On our way back from the car I spotted a shop that looked like it had a little of everything and Jared followed me inside.

The smell of coffee filled the homey shop. The walls were painted a golden yellow with cobalt blue trim. It seemed odd, but somehow it worked.

I got distracted by row after row of handmade wind chimes. I fingered one and smiled as the little bells dinged.

“Hey, look at this,” Jared said from behind me.

I turned around and found him standing there with a dream catcher.

“To keep your nightmares away,” he said, flicking it.

I watched it sway back and forth. “I don’t think anything is going to keep them away better than you,” I said, softly.

Jared grinned. “I’m buying it, anyway.”

He bought the dream catcher, and something else he wouldn’t let me see, before we went to the next store.

This one was full of candles, and Jared turned around pretty immediate, mumbling about getting a headache from the smell.

I laughed and gave the woman working there a sympathetic smile before running after Jared.

“Sorry,” he said, stopping so that I could catch up to him. “I shouldn’t have gone in there. Candles give me a headache.”

I laughed. “Then why did you?”

“I wasn’t paying attention,” he chuckled. “I’ll be on high alert now.” He motioned to a small bookstore. “Want to go in there?”

“Sure,” I said.

Jared opened the door and I stepped inside the small shop.

Every surface, even most of the floor, was covered in books, old and new.

I picked one up because I liked the cover and flicked through the first few pages, before skipping to the end.

“That’s cheating,” Jared said, his voice thick and syrupy, and close to my ear. I shivered at the proximity.

“No, it’s not,” I turned away from him and went back to skimming.

He chuckled. “It is. You’re supposed to read the whole thing before you get to the end.”

“I want to make sure there’s a happy ending,” I explained. “I hate reading a book where I’m completely invested with the characters and then there’s no happily ever after. Life doesn’t have one, but books should.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree,” Jared said huskily. “Do you read a lot?”

“No,” I put the book down. “I used to read more but now I just get bored with it.”

“Why do you think that is?” Jared asked, leaning against a wobbly shelf. I worried for a second that it was going to topple over, but it righted itself.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, picking up another book. “I guess so many books are just so full of drama and I mean, I get it. I do. It would be a pretty boring book without the drama. I just don’t like it,” I shrugged again.

“Hmm,” Jared mused, quietly from the corner.

“What are you thinking?” I put the other book down and put my hands in my pockets.

“You’re very strange, Katy Spencer, but I wouldn’t have you any other way,” he said, his brown eyes warming as he looked me up and down.

I melted under his heady gaze. “I could say the same about you, Jared.”

He chuckled and pulled away from the bookcase. “Yeah, you could, kitten.” He clutched his bag from the one store and asked, “Are you done here?”

“Nooo,” I drew out the word. “We’ve only been here five minutes, and you’ve done nothing but question the way I