“I don’t want to stay, but I don’t want to go back to Peter and Priscilla’s either.”
Peter and Priscilla’s. “Stop talking about them like they’re strangers.”
“They might as well be.”
“They’re your parents. They love you.”
She glared at him. “They’ve never been, and never will be, my parents. I don’t have any parents. Remember? I don’t belong anywhere or to anyone.” She slid off the stool and headed for the door. Susan gave him a worried look. He shook his head in frustration and followed Abra. She was already at the corner getting ready to cross the street.
“Wait a minute!” Joshua caught up with her in the crosswalk. “What’s going on inside your head?”
She faced him under the streetlight, eyes glittering. “I’m sick of being told how I should feel and what I should think about everything! I’m sick of seeing Penny have everything she wants, whenever she wants it! And I’m sick to death of you and everyone else defending her all the time and telling me I have to make the best of things.”
“Hold on a minute.” He had to take a breath and fight to stay calm. “You’re not being fair.”
“Just leave me alone!”
He caught her firmly by the arm and yanked her around to face him. “You want to go home? Fine! I’ll take you!”
“It’s only six blocks. I’d rather walk.” She tried to pull free.
“Oh, no you won’t.”
“I’m a big enough girl now, in case you hadn’t noticed! I can take care of myself!” she screamed at him.
“From where I’m standing, you’re acting like a bratty two-year-old throwing a fit because you’re not getting your way.” He marched her back to his truck. “Get in!” She did, slamming the door so hard he thought it would pop off its rusty hinges. Joshua slid into the driver’s seat. “We’re going for a ride.”
“I don’t want to go for a ride!”
“Tough! You’re going to cool off before I take you home.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared out the window.
Joshua drove around town for half an hour. They didn’t say a single word to each other. His temper cooled. Abra finally wilted, and tears poured down her cheeks. “You just don’t get it, Joshua.” She sounded broken. “You don’t understand!”
“About seeing someone and feeling light-headed and turned upside down and inside out?” He shook his head. “Oh, yeah. I do.” He felt her looking at him as though she understood him. He knew she assumed he was talking about Lacey Glover. He didn’t want to correct her. She was breaking his heart and didn’t even know it.
He pulled up in front of her house and shut off the engine. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Abra.”
“I’ve been hurting my whole life. I can’t remember a time when I haven’t felt like I wasn’t enough.”
When he started to put a hand out to touch her cheek, she turned away and opened the truck door. He got out quickly and came around to walk her to the house. She was already through the gate. He caught up and swung her around. “Listen to me, Abra. Please.” When she tried to wrench free, he held both her arms and leaned down to look her in the face. “Guard your heart. It affects everything you do in this life.”
“Maybe you should’ve practiced what you preach.” She gave him a sad smile. “Lacey Glover doesn’t deserve you.” She ran up the steps and went inside.
Zeke heard Joshua come in. The back door closed with a hard thud. Keys jangled onto the table. Water ran in the kitchen sink. Zeke rose from his easy chair and went into the kitchen. Joshua was bent over the sink, splashing water in his face. Zeke took the towel from the oven handle and put it in Joshua’s questing hand. “Thanks,” Joshua muttered, drying his face. Zeke had never seen his son so angry.
“Something wrong?”
“You could say that.” He gave a mirthless laugh. “Abra fancies herself in love.”
“It had to happen sometime.”
“I don’t like him.”
“You met him?”
“For about two minutes. Long enough to know he’s bad news.”
Zeke chuckled. “It took that long to make up your mind?”
Joshua threw the towel onto the counter. “Okay. Maybe I wouldn’t like any guy she fell in love with, but this one . . .” His eyes were dark with pain. “There’s something about him, Dad. I don’t usually have a visceral response to people, but he set my teeth on edge.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She just met him today.” Joshua let out his breath. “I’d like to know more about him. His name is Dylan Stark. Ever hear of him?”
Zeke frowned. “Does he have family here?” The name didn’t ring a bell.
“Peter might know something. I doubt he’d let Penny out the door without asking twenty questions first.” Joshua smiled slightly, hopefully, then shook his head. “I don’t want Abra having anything to do with this guy.”
Zeke went by the elementary school the next day to talk with Peter. “He was forthright with information,” Peter said. “He’s Cole Thurman’s son. It was before your time, Zeke, but he almost ripped Haven Community Church apart when he had an affair with the choir director. He wrecked that marriage and then started up with another woman before he got the message and left the church. I see him around town once in a while. I’m not saying Dylan is a chip off the old block. But I will say he has managed to pit my daughters against one another. I don’t like him.”
“Is Penny going out with him again?”
“If I say no, he’ll be forbidden fruit. I’m making him welcome.” He looked grim. “I’d rather have my enemy close, where I can keep an eye on him. I know Penny is a flirt and flighty at times, but underneath all that, she has a good head on her shoulders.”
“And Abra?”
Peter was grim. “She’s never understood how much we love her.” He didn’t have to say what he meant. She might look for love somewhere else.
Zeke thought of Joshua, but knew it wasn’t the time for his son to make any declarations. She was too young, Joshua still too broken from the war. His heart ached already, seeing what the war had done to his tenderhearted son. What would it do to both of them if Abra followed the deceiver rather than the lover of her soul?
Zeke knew he had only one way to do battle for this child he and his son both loved. He prayed.
CHAPTER 5
The devil tempts us not—’tis we tempt him,
Beckoning his skill with opportunity.
GEORGE ELIOT
THE DAY BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED, Abra withdrew money from her college savings and went to Dorothea’s Dress Shop just around the corner from the square. Mitzi called Dorothea Endicott the town’s best dresser. She’d been a model in New York back in the day, every inch of her slender six-foot frame declaring her an expert in fashion. She took one look at Abra and smiled. “I’ve been hoping you’d walk into my shop someday. You have all the right stuff in all the right places, my dear, and I can’t wait to teach you how to dress.”
The next morning, Abra ignored Penny pounding on the bathroom door and telling her to hurry up. She’d put on the flared skirt and button-up blouse and red leather belt Dorothea had chosen for her. She pulled up the collar just so and left her hair down. It hung loose over her shoulders and down her back.
They weren’t even out the gate when Penny told Abra she was meeting Dylan. A quick glance over Abra’s new outfit added a silent statement that all her primping wouldn’t matter one bit. They walked three blocks and Abra heard the growl of a powerful engine come up alongside them.
“Two gorgeous girls and I only have room for one. What a sad state of affairs.”
Penny opened the car door and slid in. Dylan ignored her and grinned at Abra in a way that made her toes curl inside her new shoes.
Penny put a pink bandanna over her hair. “Don’t tell Daddy, Abra.”
Dylan winked at her before he peeled out, leaving Abra to smell burning rubber and smoke.
During
lunch break, Abra saw Penny sitting with Michelle and Pamela and several football players. Michelle waved Abra over to join them. Penny smiled as though Dylan wasn’t between them. The bell rang and they all got up to return to class. Penny fell into step with Abra. “The gang is going to Eddie’s after school. Do you want to come with us?”
By “gang,” Abra knew she meant Michelle, Charlotte, and Pamela and probably Robbie Austin and Alex Morgan as well. “Aren’t you meeting Dylan?”
She grimaced. “No.”
“No?” Was she really supposed to believe that?
“Daddy doesn’t really want either of us going out with him.”
“That didn’t stop you from getting into his car this morning.”
“I learned my lesson.”
“What are you talking about?”
Penny looked unsettled. “Dylan isn’t Joshua, Abra. He . . .” Charlotte caught up with them and Penny frowned. “Dylan sort of scares me,” she whispered. “I’ll tell you about it later.” She walked backward down the hall toward her next class. “Come with us to Eddie’s.” She grinned. “Alex said you’re a knockout. He’ll probably ask you to homecoming.” Penny turned and hurried through the other students.
Abra rolled her eyes. Who cared what Alex thought? And she didn’t believe for a minute Penny had lost interest in Dylan Stark. She was just pretending, the way Abra had pretended she didn’t care about Kent Fullerton.
When school let out, Abra walked downtown instead of home or to Mitzi’s. She felt restless and edgy as though waiting for something to happen. When she heard a familiar engine purring, she knew why. She didn’t turn and look. She walked to the next shop, pretending interest in the books in the window. The silence told her Dylan had parked his car. The sound of the car door slamming filled her with excitement. She opened the door of Bessie’s Corner Café.
Susan glanced up from washing the counter and smiled. “You’re looking very pretty today, Abra.” The place was almost empty. “Sit anywhere you like.” She tossed the washrag under the counter and waved her hand over the clean counter.
“Thanks, but do you mind if I sit in a booth? I have homework.”
“Sure.” She looked surprised, but pleased. High school students only came into Bessie’s on Friday and Saturday nights after the movies. “What can I get you? Fries? A soda?”
“Just a soda, thanks.” She slid into one of the back booths as the bell jangled over the front door. Her nerve endings tingled. She didn’t have to look to know it was Dylan.
She kept her head down, pretending to sort through her textbooks. The closer the footsteps, the faster her heart beat.
“Mind if I join you?” Dylan slid into the seat facing her without waiting for an answer. He folded his hands on the table and gave her a slow, taunting smile. “And don’t pretend you didn’t know I’d follow you.”
Pride jabbed, she lifted her chin. “If you’re looking for Penny, she’s at Eddie’s Diner across from the high school. Do you need directions?”
“Are you telling me to leave you alone? Just say the word and I’ll go.” He waited. When she didn’t answer, he studied her face and everything else he could see above the table. “I’ll bet you turned a lot of heads today, Abra. Always happens when a girl lets down her hair for the first time.”
It wasn’t what he said. It was the way he said it that brought heat into her cheeks. She looked away out of self-defense and saw Susan watching them. The waitress frowned and shook her head at Abra. Dylan looked over his shoulder and gave a soft laugh. “I’ll bet she’s a friend of that PK you’re dating. Right?”
“PK?”
“Preacher’s kid. Penny told me all about him on the way home last night. A war hero. I’m so impressed.” He tilted his head slightly. “Would you like to go for a ride with me? See what I’m like?” His expression teased. “I promise not to take you any further than you want to go.” His smile dared her. “And you’ll be safely home in plenty of time to get all your homework done and have supper with your mommy and daddy. They won’t even know you’ve been missing.”
Abra’s heart raced. She glanced at Susan and then looked back at Dylan. “Where do you want to go?”
“Take a risk.” He slid out of the booth and held out his hand.
“What about your soda?” Susan spoke up from the counter.
Abra didn’t even remember ordering one. Dylan pulled a quarter from his pocket and slapped it on the counter. “That should cover everything.” Holding Abra’s books under one arm, he spread his hand against the small of her back and guided her to the door. He opened it for her and stayed right on her heels. “Seems like everyone in this town wants to protect you.”
It was a broad statement, and far from true. “No one in this town cares what happens to me.”
“Is that so?” He gave her an odd smile. “You really are an innocent, aren’t you?”
Was he mocking her? “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” Dylan dumped her books onto the floor in front of the passenger seat and opened the door for her. “Are you ready to live dangerously, little girl?”
“I have to be home by five.” She felt infantile as soon as the words came out.
Dylan laughed. “We’ll make it quick.” He leaned over the stick. “Hang on, baby. I’m going to give you the ride of your life.” He peeled out of the parking place, shoved the stick into gear, and shot toward the stop sign, braking for barely a second before the car squealed onto Main Street. He stayed at the speed limit until he turned onto the bridge. Shifting gears, he hit the gas.
Wind whipped at Abra’s hair as he raced out of town. Laughing, she tried to hold it. When the air current caught beneath her skirt and lifted it, she grabbed it and tucked it under her thighs. Dylan watched. “Spoilsport!” He grinned. He took turns so fast the wheels screamed. A green blur of trees and bushes flew by. Abra’s stomach tickled when they raced up and over a hill and down into a dip, then up again and around a sharp curve. She felt a jolt of fear when he accelerated, tearing up the road like a race driver. His grin looked more like the baring of teeth as he shifted again.
Vineyards spread out on both sides of the road. Abra’s pulse shot up when Dylan downshifted quickly and took a hard right. The Corvette slid as he compensated. Dylan shifted again and cranked the wheel so hard the Corvette swung around in a full circle and skidded to a stop in a cloud of rubber-scented dust. He leaned over and raked his fingers into her hair. “Now I’m going to do what I’ve wanted to do since I laid eyes on you.” He kissed her long and hard. She gasped when he let her go. Grinning broadly, he ran his hands over her hair.
Some intense, basic instinct rose up inside her when he stared at her. His hand curled over her hip. “I love the way you look at me.” He kissed her again. It wasn’t the same as the first time. He parted her lips and devoured her. When he drew back, he looked amused. “Never been kissed like that before, have you?”
“No.” Had he kissed Penny that way?
“You’re delicious. Let’s try it again.”
Nothing stayed hidden in a small town for long. Zeke knew Abra had gone for a ride with Dylan Stark before they crossed the bridge. Susan Wells called him. “He followed her right in here and sat at her booth. Five minutes later, he had her in his car. She’s just a baby, Pastor Zeke, and he’s . . . I know his kind only too well.”
Mitzi called the next day. Her son had told her he’d seen Abra in a red Corvette. “Hodge said that boy was driving like a maniac. He said he must have been going sixty by the time he passed Riverfront Park. Is Peter out of his mind letting Abra go off with a boy like that?”
He’d no sooner hung up than Priscilla called. “Peter told Dylan both girls are too young for him. I’ve never seen Peter so angry.”
“What did Dylan say?”
“Nothing. He just got in his car and drove away. Peter talked with the girls. I thought Penny would go through the roof, but she was fine. It’s Abra who was furious.”
Peter had told Abra she was never to speak to Dylan again, and she said she’d do whatever she wanted, and he said, “Not under my roof, you won’t!” and she said she’d leave. She could go live under the bridge! That’s where they all thought she belonged anyway, wasn’t it?
“I don’t know what to do, Zeke. Peter is out of his mind with worry and hurt. I don’t know what Abra is. Crazy in love. Isn’t that what they call it?” Priscilla wept. “I’ve never seen her like this. Will you please talk with her?”
He tried. She sat in stony silence, hands fisted, staring straight ahead. When he fell silent, she got up and walked out of the room. Peter and Priscilla came out of the kitchen and looked at him. He shook his head.
Joshua was the last to hear what was going on and the most deeply disturbed.
Joshua rang Peter and Priscilla’s doorbell. His hands were shaking. Dad had asked if he’d go by and speak to her. Joshua reminded Dad that he’d already tried to warn Abra about Dylan Stark, and he hadn’t even seen her since that night at the movies. But he figured it was worth a try.
Priscilla answered the door. “Thank God.” She stepped back so he could come inside. “I hope she’ll listen to you, Joshua.” She kept her voice low. “She’s grounded, but I’m worried the minute she goes out that door to school, she’ll be in Dylan’s car. She won’t listen.”
“How’s Penny?”
“Upset. Of course. She had a crush on Dylan, but I think it’s already over. I’m not quite sure how that happened.” She looked at him. “I thought all the melodrama over Kent Fullerton was trying, but this is frightening. We don’t know what to do, Joshua. Abra wouldn’t even speak to your father yesterday. I don’t think she heard one word he said.”
“She can be stubborn.”
“Can’t we all?” She gestured weakly. “She’s upstairs in her room. She must be hungry. She wouldn’t come down for dinner.” She gave a bleak laugh. “She said she didn’t want to eat with hypocrites.” Her eyes filled with angry tears. “Some people are very difficult to love.”