Nate (A Texas Jacks Novel) (46 page)

“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that. We just thought for sure that you would have met someone by now,” Jen says, peeking over at Ava again before continuing. “We just think that it’s time you start to move on and find your own happiness. That’s all. We didn’t mean anything else by it Holls, really. We love you, and we’re just trying to be here for you and look out for you.” She reassures me with a smile, but I can see the unveiled sympathy in her eyes.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I know I need to jump back into the dating world. It’s just hard after—after—” I let out a deflating breath. “I’m sorry. I still have a hard time talking about it.”

“We know. But it’s been a year since you last heard from him. You don’t know where he is, or what’s happened to him. He hasn’t even tried to contact you that we know of. I hate to be the bearer of bad or unwanted advice, but you have to let him go,” Ava says as she wraps an arm around my shoulders for a one-armed side hug.

“Well, I really should go see if my parents need extra help today.” I say as cheerfully as possible. “Thank you for meeting me for brunch and catching up.
I've missed you both so much! It was so good to actually see you and talk with you. It’s been way too long. Keep me posted on the birthday party, and when Jay gets to town.” I tell the girls then swoop in to give them each another hug. I really do miss them. They’re like sisters to me.

“Okay. We’ll give you a shout when we know what our plans are for the rest of the holiday vacation, and so on,” Jenifer promises.

“I better be off, too. I need to check in with Sean before he heads out to his family’s house and we miss each other. See you ladies later.” Ava waves to us before heading out into the semi-warm day.

“I guess I’d better go, too. I need to check with Jay and see exactly what time his flight arrives and then get the guest room set up. I’ll keep you posted about Christmas Eve, and Hollie?” she turns to me with a warm look on her face.

“Yes, Jen?”

“Ava and I, we both love you.” She hugs me then walks away and continues right out the door, leaving me standing by our table, alone.
How did that happen?
I was trying to escape them first, not the other way around.
They know me too well
, I think to myself, before walking down Holly Lane to
Reed's Pharmacy.

The sun is a tad higher in the sky now. The weather is still pretty cool, and the sun is trying to warm the town up as best as it can this time of year. I take in my surroundings again, noticing for the first time today that all of the light poles have garlands wrapped all the way around from top to base, with red ribbon mixed in. I make a further assessment of the Linden Trail and notice all of the white, twinkling lights interspersed throughout the trees.

Linden Trail is a nickname that the town has for a cobblestone walkway that is lined with linden trees that were planted really close together. The trees form an archway-like covering over the path that leads down to the town square, on the other side of Holly Lane. I had forgotten how beautiful the trees could be in winter, when the leaves turned all white before they started to fall off. It’s a gorgeous sight, and one that I often take for granted, even though its beauty greets me each new day.

And with that hope, I believe I can find it in me to pick up the pieces of my heart and start to mend them back together again. I’m excited to see what the New Year brings my way. Until then, I’ll allow myself a little more time to mourn the one that got away.

June, 2013

“Jen,” I tug on her shirt, trying to get her attention while she’s yapping away with Ava about wanting to get to the beach as soon as possible. “Look behind me, without being overly obvious about it, and tell me if you recognize anyone.” I say with a slight, tilted backward nod, trying to be nonchalant about getting her to follow my directions, without appearing obvious myself.

“Oh my gosh,” she breathes, bugging her eyes out at me.

“You see them too, right?” I ask
. Because I really want her to verify I’m not seeing things.

“Who? Who are you two talking about?” Ava butts into the conversation, way too loudly. I give her a big
knock it off,
wide-eyed glare, but she’s either clueless or doesn’t see what I’m trying to do as she keeps trying to look around us on her tippy toes.

“Knock it off, Ava.” Jen scolds her. “I believe I see Mr. and Mrs. Frost straight in front of us, behind Hollie’s back. But, why are they here and how come no one mentioned they would be here at the same time as us?” Jenifer wonders aloud.

“They’re probably here on vacation, like the rest of us. So, what’s the big deal? It’s a free country. Come on,” Ava pulls on Jen’s left arm. “Let’s go say hi to them. Maybe they want to have lunch or dinner with us one day while we’re here.”

I bug my eyes out at her, like she just said ‘The aliens have landed, the aliens have landed!’ “Are you crazy? We can’t just march up to the president of
Frost Bank
and say, ‘excuse us. We would love to share a bit of food with you.’ That’s just nuts. He probably has better things to do than hang out with some teenagers. Plus, he’s here with his wife. Maybe they’re having a cozy, romantic getaway from all their nosey neighbors in Holly Grove?”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. The Frosts are actually pretty nice, mellow, and down to earth people. You know that. They wouldn’t turn their noses up at us. Stop being silly, and let’s go.” Ava says with an air of authority to her voice.
Who does she think she is, my mother?

“Are you taking over the role as my mother while you’re here?” I ask her, echoing my thoughts.

Rolling her eyes and sighing heavily, she asks, “Seriously Holls, did your fun gene take a vacation, too?” This cracks her and Jen up, and they start making their way over to the Frosts, leaving me to trail after them alone.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Frost!” Ava enthusiastically calls to them with a wave. “What a pleasant surprise, running into you all the way over here. What are the chances?” she says, holding out her hand while going in for a handshake with Mr. Frost.

“Well, it’s sure lovely to see you three wonderful ladies. It surely is a pleasant surprise to see you here as well. We didn’t realize this was the week of the graduation trip,” Mr. Frost replies.

Yeah, I don’t know how, since this is a big deal, and it has been talked about all over town.

“Oh dear, I hope you all don’t think we’re here to keep tabs on you for your parents, do you?” Mrs. Frost frets, earning her a shoulder pat from Mr. Frost.

“Nonsense, don’t be silly, dear. They know better than that, right ladies?”

“Yes sir.” Jenifer replies, showing off her good manners.

We shake hands with the Frosts and exchange a few more pleasantries before Jenifer says, “We would love to have lunch with you while we are all here. If you would like to, that is.”

“That sounds like a grand idea, dear.” Mrs. Frost replies with a warm smile that brightens up her whole face.
I think we just made her day.
Maybe when we return, I’ll go around to their place once in a while to say hi.

We exchange cell phone numbers, and decide on a day to meet before parting ways. Once we are alone again, Ava says, “See? I told you so. You were worried for nothing. I’m actually excited to see them. We may get homesick, and by the time we meet up again, we’ll be put at ease seeing two adult faces we know. It’s good to have them here. You never know if we’ll need some ‘parental’ help.”

“Okay, now let’s forget you just said that, because I’m thinking someone just sucked some fun cells out of
your
brain. Let’s get our luggage and skedaddle out of here before we get left behind,” I remind them as we head over to the baggage claim area.

“Who even says
skedaddle,
anyway?” Ava asks.

“Me, that’s who. Now shut it, and march like a good soldier over to our bags.” I command as I head over to the carousels.

“Well, someone just took over the role of being ‘mother hen’ for this trip,” Jen giggles, earning her an eye roll from me.

“No thanks. I’m here to have fun, not play mommy dearest to you two.” I tell her over my shoulder while trying to locate our bags. We find them a few minutes later, and head out to find our group so we can all take the same mode of transportation to the hotel, and so no one gets separated, or lost. We eventually find our school friends shortly after exiting the airport, and we’re automatically slammed with the warm humidity of the day.

“I’m all for changing into our swimsuits and hitting the beach as soon as possible.” Ava says as she fans her shirt in and out to cool herself down.

“I second that,” Jen says.

“And I third it.”

Jude, a boy from our graduating class, walks over to us and addresses the group. “Hey guys. The airport is going to shuttle us all over to our hotel with some big, ten passenger vans, so we’ll take two over there, and then maybe we can come up with a game plan. Let’s all have a fun but safe trip while we’re here.”

Now, why isn’t Jen dating Jude?
He would be perfect for her!
It’s like Papa Jude and Mama Jenifer have taken all of their kids on vacation.
But I don’t say that out loud; I just nudge Ava in the arm and she secretly shares a smile with me, knowing we are on the same wavelength, as always.

“Sounds good, Jude. Thanks for doing that for us,” Jen smiles over at him. He smiles back at her before turning away and making his way to where all of the luggage sits. He and some other guys start to load everything into the vans.

Ava and I give Jenifer a look, and she just shakes her head and walks off in a huff at us, causing us to crack up. Yep, she totally knew what we were thinking about, which makes me laugh even more before heading her way to climb into one of the vans. I can’t wait to get into my swimsuit and jump into the ocean. I’ve seen picture after picture of the green-blue, almost clear water.
It’s beautiful.

After we checked into the hotel, met with everyone in the lobby, and made a safety plan, we went to our rooms and prepared for the beach. That’s where we find ourselves now, enjoying the sun on the beach and relaxing. I’m thinking about nothing while enjoying the cool sand between my toes as I keep digging them in and out repeatedly. Ava and Jen have gone down to the water with some of the guys from class, while I hung back with a few of the other girls. I know them, but we aren’t that close, and I don’t mind the nice, quiet solitude we have going on here.

I’ve been people watching for the last 30 minutes, and it’s starting to get a little scary with some of the clothes, or lack thereof, I’m seeing here. If my eyes aren’t deceiving me at the moment, there’s a woman walking towards the water with no top on.
Say what? Is that even allowed?
I don’t know, and I certainly don’t want to find out anything else, so I quickly avert my eyes as a shiver runs down my spine. I’m glad she’s down a bit further on the beach, as that was a scary sight to behold. I think it’s time to get off of this towel and head towards the water myself.
Just not in the same direction.

I walk a path in-between beach goer after beach goer, as I find my way down to the ocean and start to wade in, taking my time to adjust to the temperature. Finally, I’m warm and brave enough to venture further out. I eventually spot my friends quite a ways out, playing in the waves. They’re trying to jump up before the wave hits them, but each time one builds up higher, then crashes down on them, making them all laugh as they get carried away or pulled under by the waves. It looks fun, so I make my way out there, not realizing that there are sandbars between their location and me.

After a few jaunts of walking on sandbars and dropping off into the ocean for a quick swim, I make it over to the group.

“Hey! You finally made it out here. We were placing bets on how long it would take until you were bored to death by people watching. Do you want to know who won?” Jen asks sourly.

I think she’s trying to throw me off with that look.
“Let me guess—” I pretend to look like I’m thinking really hard. “You,” I finally say.