Second Look (A New Beginning Book 3) (10 page)

She wished she could reach out and give her dad a huge hug.

*****

The following Saturday was Rob’s funeral. The day would be hard in more ways than one.

She arranged for her neighbor, Maddie, to watch Amber. Her daughter adored the girl.

Over the years, it was rare for Jennifer to use a babysitter, other than daycare. Since Amber was born, it was just the two of them and she wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world. On occasion, Amber would stay over at a friends’ house, but that started only recently. She could count on her two hands the number of times she left Amber with a sitter, and she was proud of that. However, lately she found several reasons to need a sitter and she was very happy to have found her neighbor.

Maddie knocked on her front door and Jennifer looked at her watch. She was a half hour early.

Jennifer opened the door with a questioning look and a soft greeting. “Hi Maddie.”

“Hi,” she replied. “I know I’m early but I wanted to check to see if you wanted help watching Amber while you finished getting ready. If not, I can come back in a little while.”

“How thoughtful! Thank you.”

Maddie looked nervous but with Jennifer’s praise she beamed.

“Come on in,” Jennifer said, moving aside to let Maddie into the front entry. “Amber’s in her room.”

“Okay!”

Maddie took off her shoes and then raced down the hall towards Amber’s room. Jennifer could hear Amber squeal in delight as soon as Maddie got back to her room. It made her smile knowing this sweet girl loved Amber.

As she got ready and the time to leave got closer, her stomach swirled. Somehow she was hoping to be able to avoid seeing Adam at the funeral, but she wasn’t sure how she’d accomplish that. She was glad Cassandra would be going with her.

She carefully applied her makeup, curled her hair and put on the new black dress she had bought the other night when she had gone out with Cassandra.

The girls made it to the funeral home in plenty of time to spare. They sat in Jennifer’s car for several minutes to calm her nerves. She hoped she could stay under Adam’s radar the entire time. As often as she thought of him, this was not the occasion to have a reunion.

“Come on, kiddo. We need to go on in.”

Jennifer nodded at Cassandra. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”

The girls took their seats in the very last pew, behind many heads to be well hidden from Adam. Jennifer kept low in the seat, but couldn’t help but look for him.

Finally, she got a clear shot of Adam and she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“H - o – l - y shit.”

Even though Jennifer said it under her breath, she could see Cassandra look at her out of the corner of her eye.

“Shhh!”

“Sorry,” she whispered.

Adam looked amazing in his suit, his dark blonde hair cut short and neat, his hard jaw freshly shaven and set so hard she could see the muscles flexing. His body looked fuller than she remembered, but she could tell it was pure muscle underneath his expensive suit.

She definitely shouldn’t be thinking about how he looked, but she couldn’t help herself. Jennifer shook her head to stop the thoughts that were not appropriate at a funeral.

The service began and thinking of how amazing he looked was no longer a problem.

She’d been impressed with how well Adam was holding it together, but once the service began...oh man. She watched in agony as Adam’s shoulders slumped and then shook with heart-wrenching sobs. She saw Mandi put her arm around her brother’s shoulders and pull him in close.

As he leaned closer to his sister, Jennifer lost her clear view. It was so hard to see the man she had always loved overwhelmed with grief and she couldn’t even comfort him. She wanted to be there to support her best friend, too.

Jennifer sat next to Cassandra for the service and they both cried while leaning on each other for support.

She hid as the pallbearers walked by at the end of the ceremony, including Adam at the head of his father’s coffin. He faced forward, jaw set hard, walking tall and strong. His brown eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.

Her heart felt like it was being torn in two.

Mandi came up to them after the ceremony and they all hugged, crying together for several minutes. They finally broke apart, all of them wiping tears from their eyes.

Jennifer began to fidget the longer they continued to talk to Mandi. She kept one eye on Adam who remained near the hearse, but it was pretty far away from where she stood.

As she continued to talk to Mandi and Cassandra, she began to relax because Adam still hadn’t seen her. She glanced over at Adam one more time and gasped as she saw him look their way.

He saw me.

As Adam tilted his head, he made a move towards her. She looked back away towards Mandi and said, “We’re going to go, honey. We’ll head out to the cemetery now, okay?”

Mandi grabbed her hand. “Okay, I’m sure we’ll be heading out there soon. I’m so glad you came. It means a lot to me.”

Mandi pulled them both in for another hug.

“I’m here for you.” she reminded her friend, “even if I do stay in the back. And I’ll talk to him soon, Mandi. I promised your dad. Just…not today. It’s not right today.”

Jennifer saw Mandi look over at her brother, heading their way, and her friend nodded her head. “I understand. Go ahead.”

Cassandra nodded. “See you there.”

Jennifer walked away grasping Cassandra’s hand to pull her quickly along.

“Jennifer, can you loosen your grip, please?”

“What?” Jennifer asked, and then looked down at their joined hands, where hers had a grip so hard it was turning Cassandra’s a dark pink. “Oh, sorry!”

Cassandra started shaking her hand. “I think we’re safe now. I don’t think he saw you.”

“He saw me.”

She was being childish but she just didn’t want to cause a scene at the funeral.

Cassandra’s eyes widened. “He did?”

“Yeah, he looked right at me. I wonder if his vision is as good as it used to be though. He is getting old, you know.”

As Jennifer approached her car, she braved another glance towards the church one last time.

Adam was still looking their way.

Yeah, he saw her. There was no doubt about it.

She’d have to call him soon.

Chapter Seven

Adam

My mind is playing tricks on me

Adam could have sworn he saw Jennifer at the funeral and then at the cemetery, but he chalked it up to how much he thought of her lately, especially after his dad insisted he saw her. Surely Mandi would have told him if she was back in town. Wouldn’t she?

Adam walked over to Mandi, who was standing in the back of the room, watching people going through the buffet line.

“How ya holding up?”

Mandi jumped and smacked him in the arm. “You scared me, you jerk! I didn’t notice you walk up.”

“Sorry. I thought you saw me since I walked right up to you in your line of view.”

Mandi rolled her eyes. “Smart ass.”

“Dumb ass.”

“Spoiled brat.”

“Punk.”

They both laughed. It was almost a relief something so silly could make them both feel better on such a hard day.

“Seriously though, I feel like I’m losing it or seeing things.”

He shook his head in confusion and scanned the room.

“Why? What do you mean?”

“I could’ve sworn I saw Jennifer.”

Mandi quickly looked away and then back at him before shrugging.

“What did you think of the ceremony?”

Adam’s eyes narrowed at his sister. “Nice change of subject, you worm.”

“Jerk.”

“Hippie.”

“Assclown.”

“Okay, you two, that’s enough.”

Crap, how does she always catch us?

“Sorry mom. She’s hiding something from me, something about Jennifer I think.”

He couldn’t believe it when his mom also shrugged her shoulders and changed the subject, just like Mandi did.

“What did you kids think of the ceremony?”

His mom was in on it too? What the hell were they hiding? It obviously had something to do with Jennifer. Was she actually back in town? Did she fly in for the funeral and no one told him?

He let it go for the time being, considering where they were, but he would get to the bottom of it, especially if it meant he may be able to see Jennifer.

“Alright, change the subject. We’ll talk again later,” Adam stated to the both of them and then continued. “It was a really nice ceremony, mom. Dad would’ve liked it and would be proud of the way you held it together.”

“Yes, well, I’ve done my fair share of crying. I’m sure I’ll cry some more later, but for now I’m trying to keep it together.”

“Well, even if you don’t, you deserve to break down and have a temper tantrum if you feel like it, mom.”

Adam’s attempt at a joke was well received and his mom burst out laughing, but she also had tears in her eyes.

“It’s been a hard day, that’s for sure,” Mandi told them, and then pulled them both in for a hug.

“Should we go get some tater-tot hot dish?”

Adam tried to break the tension. He hoped they’d say yes to their dad’s favorite casserole. He didn’t want to be the only one to go up but damn that was his favorite dish too and a guy had to eat.

Adam’s mom nodded, too choked up to answer.

“I’m in,” Mandi said, giving her mom another little squeeze.

The three of them walked up to the front of the room and stood in line for food. The line moved quickly and soon he was piling his plate high.

When he got to the table he was sharing with his mom and sister, he noticed there was an empty chair at their table, as if they were waiting for his dad to join them.

“This first bite’s for you, dad.” Adam raised his loaded fork towards the empty chair as a toast and then shoved the bite into his mouth. “Mmm, Mmm, delicious.”

Both his mom and Mandi had both been silently eating, but at that gesture by both raised their forks and shared a moment for their dad.

*****

When Adam got home that evening, he sat in his living room on his favorite leather recliner and stared out at the lake. Something about watching the baby loons swim next to their parents instantly made him relax.

He was touched at the outpouring of support from his friends and co-workers that day. Tom and Colleen were there as well as Tom’s parents. He also saw Peter, Kimberly, Noah and Jeremy sitting together. All of his very good friends were there. He barely had a chance to talk to any them, but he did tell them he appreciated that they were there.

He thought it was a little odd that Noah didn’t sit with Cassandra, but come to think of it, he hadn’t even seen her that day. Adam got confused at that realization, because considering she was one of Mandi’s two best friends, he expected her to be there.

He shook his head.
What are they hiding?

The waves gently lapped against the shore and there were a few boats in the water. It was hypnotic and made him thank God that he had found this house. He loved all things to do with water; swimming, fishing, boating, tubing and skiing all were his top things he loved to do so it was only natural to find a home on a lake. It took him several months to find the perfect home but when he did, he wasted no time in putting in an offer.

Adam’s home was almost ten years old, but looked brand new. It looked like a large log cabin, and it came with a dock and a 25-foot sandy shoreline on Elk Lake, just north of Zimmerman. It had a hefty price tag, but it was absolute perfection in his eyes and well worth it. His home had four bedrooms, a huge kitchen and living room, a four-season porch, walkout basement out to the lake, two bathrooms and a huge finished basement with a game room and giant 3D TV.

His home was bigger than what he needed, but he hoped when he had a wife and kids, this would be their dream home too. In the meantime, his friends loved to come over and spend weekends having fun in the sun.

As Adam sat there, staring at the loons, his thoughts drifted to his dad. He loved coming over and sometimes he came out by himself to spend time with Adam. They’d go fishing and sometimes would go around the lake looking at the homes and relaxing.

He’d never get to go fishing with his dad again.
I already miss you.

That thought hit him hard and fast and the tears started to fall once again. He’d never cried so much in his life.

He let himself cry for his dad’s life ending too soon and knowing he would never get to have those special moments with his dad ever again.

*****

Later that evening, Adam was laying on his bed, staring at his ceiling. He’d just gotten out of the shower, a towel around his hips, water from his hair dripping down his neck and onto his bed.

Adam’s thoughts drifted to the woman he saw at the funeral and his sister’s odd behavior. He was too far away to tell who it was for sure, but she sure looked a lot like Jennifer.

Adam heard a notification for a text. He grabbed his phone from his nightstand and looked at the screen.

He raised an eyebrow.

Sarah.

It had been weeks since Adam heard from her. She didn’t try to contact him since he broke off their arrangement, which surprised him a little based on her reaction that night. He scratched his chin, now full of dark blonde stubble, as he read her message.