Chapter One
hundred and Thirty Four:
Becky dropped
her suitcase down in the guest room she was sharing with Jenna in the opposite
wing of the Hanson’s house.
Zac pushed the
door opened and brought in her two larger suitcases into the room. “Where do
you want these, babe?”
“Anywhere,
Zaccy.” She smiled.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to
“I know, but I
wanted to. I’m a gentleman after all.” He puffed out his chest.
Becky laughed
and kissed his cheek.
He sighed.
“Okay, well, I’m going to help bring everything else in, okay?”
“Can I help?”
She asked, following him out the door and into the hall.
“Sure, want to
carry
Becky laughed.
“No way, he has more stuff than I do!”
Zac draped an
arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, no kidding, hmm? It’s a bit ridiculous.”
Becky giggled.
“What do you
want to do today?” He asked, as they reached the main floor of the house.
“I’m not sure.
Christy, Jen and I are supposed to help with the wedding…”
“Well, Jen went
out with Luke.”
“He called?!”
Becky asked excitedly.
“He pulled into
the driveway just after we did.”
“Oh,
good. She was
starting to get worried.”
“Yeah. Luke’s kind of worried too… Is
everything okay with Jen?”
Becky forced a
smile. “Yeah, she’s just a little stressed out lately, and worrying about being
so far away from Luke, you know?”
“No, I don’t.”
He laughed. “Promise me something, though?” He asked, hoisting another suitcase
over his shoulder.
“What’s that?”
she asked, lifting a considerably smaller one.
“Don’t ever
change.”
=========================
Jenna climbed
out of the front seat of Luke’s jeep. She walked around the back of the car and
met him on the driver’s side as he was lifting his backpack and a lunch cooler
out of the back seat.
“I thought we
were going for lunch…” Jen said nervously.
“We are.” He
smiled, hoisting the cooler bag over his shoulder.
He took her hand
and led her towards the park.
“Wait, Luke.
Wait!” She stopped, pulling him to a stop also.
“Yeah?” He asked.
She reached up
and removed his sun glasses, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
After a lengthy
kiss, Jenna released him, but left her arms around his neck. Luke grinned down
at her. “What was that for, hmm?” He asked.
She smiled. “No
reason, I just got tired of waiting for you to kiss me.” She perched his
sunglasses on her nose and walked ahead of him.
The thought of
food made her feel sick to her stomach.
“Where do you
want to sit?” Luke asked, matching her stride.
“Umm…” Her eyes
quickly scanned the park. “Some place in the shade?”
“Whatever you
want, love.” He smiled at her, and looped an arm
around her waist.
Together, the
walked to the nearest shady spot, choosing an isolated patch of grass under a
tree.
Luke reached
into his backpack and removed a blanket, allowing Jen to help him spread it out
on the grass.
“You thought of
everything.” She smiled.
“I did,” He
grinned.
She sat slowly,
near the base of the tree, tightly hugging her bare knees to her chest.
“Everything
okay, love?” Luke asked curiously as he sat next to her.
She nodded.
“Yeah… Fine.”
He reached into
the cooler bag and removed two cans of dr. Pepper,
passing one to her.
“Thank you.” She
took the can and set it down beside her, without bothering to open it.
Luke popped the
tab on his can and took a drink. He stopped with a heavy sigh. “Jen, talk to
me. I know something is wrong.”
Jenna swallowed.
“Why didn’t you call?”
He moved closer
to her, placing a warm palm on her knee. “Jen, I’m sorry. I should have called.
I just got distracted with work and school… it’s not easy…”
Jen sighed. “I
know. I just wish you would have called me.”
“I’m sorry…” He
leaned towards her. “But that’s going to change. I have the whole week planned
for the two of us.”
“You do?” She
asked, looking up at him at last.
“Yeah.” He smiled. “Just you
and me.”
“How can I
believe you this time?” She asked with a sigh.
“Jen, you just
have to trust me. I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”
Jenna sighed and
stood. “I believe it when I see it.”