Sweet Contradiction (8 page)

“I’m not upset. I just …” I stroked the head of the uber fluffy snake and sighed. “It’s just … how did he know I would go for the snake? I mean, most girls would have gone for a bear, or the ginormous flower, or even the monkey.” I shook my head and tried to get a handle on my feelings. On one hand I was shocked and upset that he could read me so well, but on the other hand I was glad he picked correctly, even if it was just to assure myself that he felt the same connection, wanted or not, that I felt.

“It’s just a date,” Jen chided. “He likes you. I can tell by the way he looks at you.” Jen sat down on the end of my bed, already in her pajamas.

“I know. That’s the problem,” I muttered.

“Why is it a problem?”

“He’s not my type, Jen.” I didn’t know how to explain it very well to her, especially since I knew she wouldn’t understand. “He’s too nice, too perfect, too much of a small town morals kind of guy.” I glanced down into my lap and fiddled with the comforter. “What if he’s like my dad?” I whispered.

“Beth, he’s not. He’s a good guy and he might have small town morals but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would emotionally abuse and control someone using religion.” Jen’s eyes searched my face and I knew there is truth to what she was saying, but the fear that had always been in the back of my mind and heart was still as fresh as it had been when I was walking out the front door of my house when I’d turned eighteen.

“He’s not your father, Beth.”

“You’re right, Jen. Let’s get some sleep.” Jen sighed as she stood up.

“I guess we should since I have a date with Hunter tomorrow,” Jen muttered. I gasped and narrowed my eyes.

“When did that happen?” I asked. Jen blushed and threw her hands in the air.

“I still don’t know exactly how it happened at all. I may have been a victim of a body snatching alien when I said yes.” Jen’s face was dead serious and I sputtered out laughter.

“So you and Hunter tomorrow night. And then Matt and I in a few days.” I shuddered dramatically and Jen rolled her eyes.

“Oh, don’t pretend … you know you wanna jump his bones.” She winked and left me sitting in my bed with my mouth hanging open.
Jennifer Collins, you naughty girl
, I thought, fighting a smile. I clicked the lamp off and snuggled under my covers with my snake lying beside me.

“And that’s the problem,” I whispered to myself.

The next morning dawned a sunny, gorgeous summer day with birds chirping outside my window, the scent of fresh coffee brewing, and the lovely sound of Jen’s voice singing softly in the kitchen. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was hoping for some sort of natural disaster so I could get out of going into town with Jen that morning to do grocery shopping. I pulled on a worn pair of cut off jean shorts and a red tank top and jerked on my not-quite-worn-out brown boots, planning to help Jen with the shopping and then perhaps some gardening later to try and rid myself of the nerves that were jittering through my body.

The ride into town was abnormally quiet. Jen was sitting in the passenger side of my truck with her chin resting on her palm as she gazed out the window, not really noticing anything.

“You okay?” I asked softly. She glanced up and blinked a few times before visibly shaking herself out of her thoughts.

“Yes, sorry. Just wool gathering.” A half smile played on her lips, but the effort it took was evident on her face. Something
was
up.

“Jennifer Anne Collins …” I warned. She smirked at that.

“Oh no, you brought out the big guns.” She laughed and my shoulders relaxed a fraction.

“Oh, I’ve got a lot more than the dreaded
middle name
in my arsenal,” I promised, with a wink. Her eyes widened and I began laughing as I clicked through my ipod.

“You wouldn’t,” she gasped. I just smiled wider until I found the song I was searching for. Jen groaned out loud when
No Diggity
blasted through the speakers. It didn’t take long though … a few minutes later we were cruising down the country road with the wind blowing through our hair and both of us singing along with Dr. Dre. We only got a few nasty looks when we pulled into the grocery store parking lot. Jen turned beat red and I curbed in my instinct to turn the music up even louder. I jumped out of the truck and handed Jen the list we had made together before leaving the house.

“I’ll get what we need from the super market, you can pick up the produce from the outdoor market. Sound good?” Jen headed toward the store entrance without waiting for a reply. She knew I’d rather shop for the produce, so I stuck the list in my pocket, saluted her smartly, and headed to the open market down the street.

The little side-of-the-road stand I remembered had changed drastically in the last four years. Mr. Peterson had more than tripled the size of the market, built brand new, brightly colored stands, and expanded the variety of produce immensely. Johnny Cash was playing softly in the background, a few children were running around the perimeter of the market, and in the middle of it all was Mrs. Peterson just as I remembered her. Her gray hair was pulled back into a bun and she wore a white, crisply ironed, half-apron with pockets and a ruffled hem. I smiled as I saw her handing a homemade cookie to a chubby toddler hanging on to the hem of his momma’s skirt near the cash register.

Memories came rushing back … coming there every Saturday morning with Mrs. Collins and Jen to pick up fruits and veggies … but every kid in Salem knew that the best thing about the Peterson Family Market was Mrs. Peterson’s cookies. The little boy was making a proper mess of his face and clothes as his momma pulled him along to leave the market. I grabbed a basket and began picking out fresh fruit and veggies, extremely happy to sample a variety of freshly picked wild berries. I had visions of blackberry cobbler and homemade jam dancing in my head as I bought an unholy amount of the plump berries.

Much to my surprise, Mrs. Peterson remembered me and was glad to ring up my purchases while catching me up on all the town’s upcoming events. There was going to be a barn dance, with a baking and pie eating contest, a small art exhibit at the local high school to raise funds for the new classes that would be offered the following fall semester, and a church meeting for ladies at the local church. I smiled kindly at her and promised to try and make it to some of the events while I was in town. I had even meant it about the barn dance. I was grinning from ear to ear when I left the stand with my overstuffed bags of produce. It only took one person to remind me exactly why I didn’t live in towns like Salem any longer, though.

was putting my bags in the back of my truck when Beau Montgomery whipped his Ford F-150 up next to my truck. I groaned out loud and silently cursed my luck—leave it to Beau to make my good mood evaporate in an instant. I leaned back against my truck, intending to ignore him while I waited for Jen to finish up her shopping. But, just as I figured, he wasn’t going to be able to just leave me alone and go on about his day.

Beau came around his truck and pulled off his sun glasses and hung them on the collar of his red, western style, plaid shirt. A grin cracked across his face, but it wasn’t a friendly, glad-to-see-you grin, it was a cat-cornered-the-mouse kind of grin. I crossed my arms over my chest, aware his eyes were oogling my assets.

“Damn, girl, you are looking fine today.” He whistled and walked over to lean back against his truck directly in front of me, his eyes were leering as they slid over my body, making me feel dirty standing fully clothed in front of him.

“Go away, Beau, I’m not in the mood to be hassled today,” I snapped. I sent a silent plea for Jen to hurry up so we could split.

“Don’t be like that, sweet heart,” he crooned, smiling even wider.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not your sweet heart. I thought I made that clear back in high school, Beau.” I clenched my jaw and glanced over at the store entrance, willing Jen to walk through the doors.

“We both know what you wanted back in high school. Bet you still want the same thing right now, huh?” He grabbed himself to drive his point home. My brain to mouth filtering system malfunctioned when I hit a certain level of anger and right then I was so far past that level that I was surprised I didn’t have a coronary.

“You were a disgusting pig back in high school, Beau. And now it looks like you’ve graduated to a pathetic excuse of a man whore. Congratulations.” My chest was heaving and my heart was pounding when I turned to stomp away toward the store. I was going to go and drag Jen out if I had to, so I could get the Hell outta there. I should have remembered Beau’s anger from the Piggly Wiggly. A large, rough hand clamped down on my bare arm and spun me around, yanking a gasp from my throat.