Route 66 Reunions (3 page)

Tessa took a breath of much-needed air when he turned away. As she exhaled, he stopped and turned around with a determined look in his eyes. She sucked in another lungful and forgot to breathe when he asked, “Have you ever been to Amarillo?”

“Hey yeah, that’s where we live,” exclaimed Seth.

“You’re kidding!” One step brought Blake back to the table with a huge grin on his face. “I lived there a long time ago. Don’t get home much anymore.”

A long time ago? Like eleven years?
Tessa hoped her thoughts weren’t as loud as they sounded in her mind. She picked up her pizza to keep her hands from trembling. She glanced across the busy restaurant toward the door leading outside and wished she could escape but knew she couldn’t. Maybe if she didn’t speak, he would leave. Maybe if she refused to look at him, he would give up and go.

But he shifted his weight, and she glanced up, meeting those dark brown eyes so much like Derek’s. The slight tilt at the corner of his mouth before he smiled set her heart dancing just as it always had.

“So, you live in Amarillo. What about high school? Maybe we met then. I could be remembering you from that far back.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I didn’t go to school in Amarillo.” That was true and still didn’t tell him anything.

“Naw, Mom grew up in Illinois when she was a kid.”

Tessa turned to her normally quiet son. “Seth, you need to eat if you want to go swimming this afternoon.”

What was wrong with Seth? She had never seen him chatter so much. And to a stranger no less. Why couldn’t he be quiet like Robbie and Derek?

Seth gave her a puzzled look before he took another slice of pizza, bit the point halfway up, and began chewing. Good. Maybe that would keep his mouth busy and Blake would move on to another table.

Blake didn’t move. He stood regarding her with a puzzled frown. Tessa imagined the memories playing behind his expressive brown eyes, and she almost groaned aloud. He couldn’t remember her. He just couldn’t. If only she had enough strength to tear her gaze from his.

Oh, but he was just as handsome as he had been at twenty-one. Actually, the years had been more than generous. She tried not to notice, but he stood directly in front of her, and she couldn’t look away. From a full head of wavy black hair to shoulders even wider than she remembered on his trim, athletic build, Blake, at thirty-two, was the fulfillment of her young romantic dreams. The only problem was, life had taught her that dreams seldom survived the light of day.

Against her will, she continued to meet his steady gaze. As she filled her memory with his image and he continued to study her face, she felt an intensity grow. A sort of unspoken communication that said Blake remembered everything that had ever passed between them. But he couldn’t. She didn’t want him to. Why couldn’t she blink to break the connection? Why couldn’t she look away?

When he finally spoke, he kept his voice low so that no other customers heard. “I do know you, don’t I?” He glanced at the two older boys and inclined his head toward one and then the other. “If he’s Seth, that’s Robbie.”

He looked back at her. “You’ve changed so much.”

When she still could not speak, his voice dropped to just above a whisper. “Please tell me that you are Tessa Stevens.”

Tessa refused to lie, though she desperately wanted to. She nodded and looked down at the uneaten pizza in her hand. She didn’t want to see the reaction her admission would bring.

“I thought so. You knew me right off, didn’t you?”

She looked up at him and nodded again.

A soft smile touched his lips. “You are beautiful, did you know that? I can’t believe how beautiful.”

Tessa glanced at her boys, who were apparently not listening, although she knew they heard every word. She looked back at Blake. “I don’t think this is a good time to go down memory lane.”

“No, you’re right.” He seemed to become aware of their surroundings as the hostess stopped beside him. He turned toward the young woman. “Yes, do you need something?”

She looked up, obviously startled by his sharp tone of voice. “You have a call from your mother.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll take care of it.”

When she gave a quick nod and moved on, Blake placed his hand on the table beside Tessa and leaned toward her, keeping his voice soft. “I have to take this phone call, but I want to see you, Tessa. Tonight. I’ll talk to you before you leave.”

Before she could utter a sound, he pushed away from the table and strode across the dining room to disappear through a doorway in the far wall.

Tessa let her breath out as she put her half-eaten pizza down, her appetite gone. She had to get out of the restaurant and get some fresh air before she did something stupid. Like running into Blake’s arms and scaring him out of his wits.

Had seeing her affected him as much as seeing him had affected her? She hoped so. He deserved to be shaken after the way he had run out on her eleven years ago.

After the boys finished the last of the pizza, Tessa watched them take their turn with the bumper cars. Blake didn’t make another appearance, and she hoped he wouldn’t. His mother had never liked her. How strange she would call at the precise moment of their chance meeting after so many years. Did she somehow sense her son needed rescuing again? A bubble of laughter, bordering on hysteria, threatened to escape Tessa’s tightly held control, and she knew she had to get away. When she finally pried the boys away from the games, she headed for the door and freedom.

“Tessa.”

Her blood froze in her veins as she turned to look at Blake.

He came around the counter and stood close so only she could hear his low voice. “There’s a bar just down the road on this side. Will you meet me there tonight about eight o’clock?”

Tessa couldn’t think with him standing so close. She heard the words he spoke, but they scarcely made sense. When she hesitated, he added, “Just like old times.”

Those words she understood, and her heart sank. As much as her appearance had changed, did Blake think her appetite hadn’t? She hadn’t taken a drink in more than eight years. She tried to think of a polite way to tell him to get lost when a thought entered her head. Maybe God had led her here as a witness. Blake needed to know that another way of life existed. He needed to meet the Lord.

With pure intentions, she made up her mind. “I’d like to visit with you, Blake, but I don’t go to bars anymore. We’re staying at a hotel near here.”

She told him the address. “I’ll meet you in the lobby at eight. That’ll give the boys enough time to get interested in a movie in the room.”

Tessa didn’t wait for Blake’s response but turned and followed her boys outside. Three questioning expressions greeted her when she opened the car door and slipped behind the steering wheel.

“Mom, you were talking to that man. Who is he?” Robbie, as usual, spoke for the others. “He said he’s from Amarillo.”

Tessa started the car and sighed. “Yes, he is. I knew him long ago when we were not much more than kids.”

She backed out of the parking space. Funny how long ago it seemed, yet everything was as clear as if it all happened just yesterday. When the boys didn’t say any more, she told them, “He asked me to meet him to discuss old times. He remembers how I was before I became a Christian. I think it may be a good idea for me to tell him of all God has done for me, so I’ve agreed to meet him downstairs at the hotel in the lobby tonight.”

“So you’re going to witness to him, huh?” Robbie grinned at her from the front passenger seat, as if he knew something she didn’t.

“Yes, Robbie, that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

He shrugged. “Mom, you’d better watch him, because I saw the way he looked at you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Tessa pulled out into the street in front of an oncoming car she hadn’t seen. The driver blared his horn and stomped his brakes, so she pushed the accelerator while her heart slammed against her chest.

“Hey, be careful! I didn’t mean to get you all spooked. I just meant he has something besides God on his mind. Don’t worry about it though. After all, what can he do in the hotel lobby?”

Tessa wondered where Robbie got such ideas at only fourteen. Maybe she should keep a closer rein on him.

That evening, after an afternoon of water fun, the boys were engrossed in a movie when Tessa took her bag of personal items into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she stepped out wondering why she had spent so much time trying to look her best when her reason for meeting Blake was simply to tell him what God had done in her life. And to make sure he didn’t find out about Derek. She ran her hands down the sides of her tan slacks, smoothing them over her hips, then crossed to the bed for her purse.

Robbie glanced up just before she went out the door. “Hey Mom, don’t worry about us. I’ll keep an eye on ’em.”

He winked and grinned, making her wonder if he knew more about her and Blake than she wanted him to know. Surely he didn’t remember. He’d been barely four the last time he’d seen Blake.

“Just be really good tonight, okay?”

“Sure, you know we will.”

She slipped through the door and closed it. The elevator ride to the first floor seemed to take forever. Unless Blake had changed, he would already be there waiting for her.

He stood as she entered the lobby. Thankful they had the place to themselves, yet apprehensive at the same time, Tessa went to meet him. His welcoming smile and the light of appreciation in his eyes was almost her undoing. She breathed a quick prayer that she would not fail in her mission.

“Hi, I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” he admitted.

So he had insecurities, too. Tessa sat in a chair turned at an angle to the sofa he had been sitting on.

He sat down. “Did you have any trouble getting away from the boys?”

“No, they’re pretty good kids. They don’t usually give me much of a fuss. Besides, they found a movie to watch on TV.”

Blake smiled. “That’s good. You know, unless my memory is getting faulty, you just had two kids last I knew.”

Tessa’s breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t ready to talk about Derek. She knew nothing about Blake. How could she possibly offer him a son, when she had no idea what kind of father he might make?

When she didn’t say anything, he shrugged. “I guess it has been a long time though. As my mother always says, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.”

“Yes it has.” Tessa tried to relax in the chair. “Blake, I want to tell you about some of the things that have happened in my life. You mentioned that I look different, for one thing.”

His eyes brightened as his gaze slid over her. “You were always pretty, Tessa, but you’re a real knockout now.”

An infuriating flush covered her cheeks. She tried to ignore the pleasure his appreciation gave her. “I’m not talking about surface beauty.”

“I am.” Blake grinned. “Your hair’s a different color, too, isn’t it?”

Tessa thought of the girl Blake remembered and shuddered. The life she had lived as a teenager seemed more a nightmare now than real. Back in Illinois, at barely fourteen, she had joined a gang of kids that called themselves the Outsiders. She had dyed her hair black and wore black clothing, which was the trademark of the gang. Alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs were easily obtained and encouraged by the group. She refused the hard drugs but drank as often as she could. From the time she was Robbie’s age, she smoked at least half a pack a day, except when she was pregnant.

“Yes, I used to dye my hair black.” She touched the ends of her short, light brown hair. “I tried blond later, but this is my natural color.”

“Good. I like it a lot better.” Then, before Tessa could say more, he leaned forward. “I want to tell you, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I finally figured out who you were. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought of you and what we had.”

Tessa’s eyes widened. What was this? A line he had come up with just so he could sample what they had shared before? She decided this might be a good time to get some answers.

She leaned toward him, her body rigid. “How do you expect me to believe that, when you walked out on me eleven years ago without so much as a ‘so long’?”

Something flickered in the depths of Blake’s eyes. He leaned back into the cushions on the sofa as a rush of air left his lungs. His answer surprised her. “I got scared.”

“Of what?” She stood and stared at him. “Me? I surely wasn’t that dangerous.”

“Yeah, partly you. Partly me.” He jabbed his fingers through his hair.

Oh, wonderful. Derek did that when he didn’t understand his math problems. Tessa’s insides quivered. She sat back, holding her hand against her stomach.

“I don’t understand. What were you afraid of? Or should I even ask?”

Blake’s eyes held pain as the corner of his mouth lifted in the hint of a smile. “Maybe it would be better if we don’t go to the past now, Tessa. Why don’t we start fresh? Now? Tonight? How long do you have before you need to get back to the boys?”

She’d been nineteen when he left without a word. She hadn’t even known she was pregnant. She’d loved him so much. All the old hurts came back as she understood what he wanted. Just like before, she meant nothing more to him than a good time. How could he even suggest that they resume where they’d left off?

She leaned forward and looked him straight in the eye. “I’m going to tell you something, Blake, that I want you to understand, so please hear me out. When you didn’t show up that night, I didn’t know what had happened. I went to your parents’ house the next day. They told me you had joined the navy. They refused to give me your address, so I couldn’t even write. That hurt me more than I would admit. I never heard from you. When you didn’t contact me, I knew what we had was over.”

Blake watched her without a word as she continued. “My mother moved me here twelve years ago to get me away from the Outsiders, but as you well know, I brought that same lifestyle with me. I didn’t get my life straightened out for a good six years and one baby later. I’m not the same girl you used to know. I’ve turned my life over to the Lord Jesus. I don’t need alcohol or cigarettes anymore. And I certainly don’t need a man.”