Unplanned Love (Savage Love) (12 page)

     “
I should have known better. I’m not exactly a guy magnet. Is there anything you can do, press charges or anything?” she asked.

     “Nope, we invited him. They were clear that she was going to be taking pictures and even though we asked for the film and the sim card, we never specified that they couldn’t keep or download any copies. But he
is
in jail.”

     “What?” she said puzzled.

     “My guy also found out that he had been embezzling money from the car lot where he worked. All it took was a little sit-down with the owner, and because we had the proof he needed, he called the authorities. That’s how he got Kevin to confess about the way he stalked you, he pretended to be there to help him get out of his other charges. So I guess he’s pretty much out of the picture, and unless you are going to start club hopping at topless dancer joints, you shouldn’t run in to his cousin,” he ended with a laugh.

     “Well, he got what he deserved in the end, and things are better for you, so now I’m going to try and put this behind me,” said Seanna with a confidence that she didn’t feel.

     “There’s my girl! Your mom has been worried about you. You don’t call as much as you usually do, and Bryce says he doesn’t hear from you as often any more either,” Daffyd said with concern.

     “I took extra hours at the café and I’m just trying to get my last quarter grades up,” she
justified.

     “Seanna, if you need money, you don’t have to take on extra hours at work. You know that I have more than I could ever spend and you’re family to me.”

     “I know, it’s not that. One of the other waitresses just had a baby and I’m covering some of her hours until she can come back to work,” she explained.
That isn’t a total lie; I am covering her hours, all of them.

     “So you’re ok then?” he asked relieved.

     “Super, getting all ‘A’s and tucking the extra cash away in my savings account,” she said with pride.

     “You’ll have to give Bryce a call then and get him going. He said he got bad grades on his last two papers,” said Daffyd.

     “Will do. That’s odd, he usually gets better grades than me,” she mused.

     “I think he just needs a break,” suggested Daffyd.

     “Me too,” sighed Seanna.

     “Summer will be here before you know it. You’ll be here a couple of weeks before Bryce, so it’ll give us some time just us. Well, just you and me, your mom and Trisha and Leal,” he chuckled.

     “Do you ever get tired of having so many people around?” she teased.

     “Not when they all are so special to me,” he answered.

     “Seriously though, you and mom should take a trip just the two of you this summer, while we’re all there to help out,” suggested Seanna.

     “You know…that’s not a bad idea. Maybe I’ll surprise your mom and take her somewhere special. Keep that our little secret, ok?” he asked.

     “Sure. You know she always wanted to go to Ireland, just saying.”

     “Hmmm, and I have wanted to go to Wales, I think I’m gonna do some internet surfing. Well, Seanna, we both love you and remember if you need anything, just use that credit card. Don’t work yourself too hard.”

     “Ok, I’ll try not to. I love you. Give mom a kiss and a hug and tell her I’ll call her this weekend for sure,” she promised.

Chapter 13

There’s No Place
Like Home

     Seanna was relieved to finally be at Mountain Home, especially since Bryce and Alyssa hadn’t arrived yet. After all of her hard work the last quarter of school, she was exhausted. She did have a 4.0 grade point average to show for it as well as a couple of hundred dollars in the bank. Now, the only thing she was going to work on was a tan and
maybe a good book. Between her mom and Daffyd, there were two libraries to choose from! She had decided to just let things play themselves out once Bryce and Alyssa arrived and not to stress about how she might feel, or how things might go.

     Her first morning home, she awoke to the smell of Trisha’s homemade muffins. Throwing on some short and a tank top, she hurried downstairs to get some while they were still warm.
It’s good to be home
, she thought as she saw her loved ones gathered at the table. She hadn’t realized how much she missed being here with them all, and now she couldn’t help thinking that it just wasn’t complete without Bryce.

     “Good morning. We let you sleep, seeing how tired you were when you
got off of the plane,” said Samantha.

    “Good morning. I slept like a baby. My bed here is the most comfortable bed I ever had. But when I smelled those muffins, I just couldn’t lay there any longer,” she replied while she grabbed a plate and sat down.

     “You better have two,” said Trisha. “You look like you’ve lost weight since spring break.”

     “Maybe a couple of pounds, I haven’t been pigging out as much as usual,” explained Seanna.

     “Having a healthy appetite is not pigging out,” said Daffyd.

     “You’re not on some fad diet are you?” asked Samantha with a mother’s concern.

     “No,” laughed Seanna, “I’m good. Look two muffins
and
about a pound of real butter.”

     “You just look so tired and skinny,” Samantha replied.

     “Well, I’m not waiting tables or doing school work for the whole summer, so I will get lots of rest. Now that I am here with Trisha’s good cooking, and I am not eating café food or school cafeteria food, I’m sure I’ll gain a few pounds. So stop worrying, Mom.”

     “Ok, I’ll stop worrying,” Samantha said with a pat on Seanna’s hand.

     “Ha!” snorted Daffyd.

     “I am getting better,” said Samantha looking at her husband for confirmation.

     “You are,” he smiled. “We are all still working on something, aren’t we?”

     “Not me,” teased Leal, “I’m pretty much perfect.”

     That made Seanna choke on her muffin, and her Mom smacked her on the back as they all laughed. “Wow, way to be humble, Honey,” said Trisha.

     “It’s good to be home,” said Seanna shaking her head.

     Bryce and Alyssa were enjoying their time together in Arizona. Though they spent a lot of time with Bryce’s grandparents, they still had time for Alyssa to show him the area.
His grandparents had only been there for a few years since they had retired, and usually Bryce just hung out with them. So they spent one day rock hunting in the hills and Bryce was thrilled at all of the specimens he found. He wanted to take them all to Montana to show the rest of the family. Alyssa convinced him to leave half of them behind knowing how much it would cost to ship them, or to take them on the plane. Most evenings they stayed up later than the older couple and talked until the wee hours of the night. That’s what they were doing the night before they were catching the plane.

     Alyssa was sitting in a wicker chair on the front porch, and Bryce was leaning against the railing facing her. She had been sharing her whole story of what had happened between her and Jeffry, having only shared small bits and pieces before.

    
“So, do you still love him?” asked Bryce.

     “Sometimes I think I still do,” she sighed. “But I’m trying to move past it all.”

     “And how does one do that, exactly?” he asked, thinking of his one-sided feelings for Seanna.

     “I wish I knew,” she laughed. “It would be great if there was just some formula or plan to heal
a broken heart, but unfortunately there isn’t. I know that God says that he ‘binds up the broken hearted’, but I guess it must be a process. It doesn’t hurt as much as it used too. In fact it doesn’t hurt much at all, since I got saved. But when I think of what could have been…or what a great guy he is…I guess I still get sad and sentimental. So…yeah, maybe I do still love him.”

     “I always thought that love was supposed to be something that just came naturally, or at least was supposed to bring happiness and contentment.”

     “I guess that’s the way it’s supposed to be, but most of the time we screw it up,” answered Alyssa.

     “Sometimes we love someone who doesn’t love us back,” Bryce replied sadly, turning to look out at the night sky.

     “Are you speaking from experience?” asked Alyssa quietly.

     “Yeah, I am,” said Bryce. Alyssa stood and walked over to stand beside Bryce.

     “Do you want to talk about it?” she inquired.

     “Not especially. It’s still pretty painful.”

     “My heart is mending, yours will too,” she said lying her hand on his back.

     “I seem to get caught up in this pity party and can’t get out of it. My grades were awful for the last quarter. I couldn’t seem to concentrate and I
would find myself daydreaming about what I could have done, or what I should have done different,” he shared.

     “Have you talked to anyone about it, it does help to share. What about Seanna, you two are pretty close,” she suggested.

     “She has a lot on her plate right now. We haven’t talked as much since the wedding. She seems a little distant. It would be nice to have someone just call me back to the real world when I start getting depressed,” he said.

     “Well, I can do that. If you spend so much time in your emotions and feelings, it’s like we are building a concrete barrier around our heart. I guess it’s a defense mechanism. If you ever feel like sharing, I’m a pretty good listener. In the mean time, when it looks like your getting too introspective, I’ll just say, ‘how’s your heart’. That will be your reminder to allow yourself to be open to the future and stop dwelling on the past,” she said.

     “Good idea. So, how’s your heart?” he asked.

    
“Softer every day, mostly because of the care of your grandma, and with God’s love. I’m so glad I get to spend the summer with you and Seanna. That will help me keep my mind off of my own troubles.”

     “I’m glad you’re going to be there too. I’m a little worried about how things will be between
me and Sea.”

     “I’m sure once you are all together again; she’ll be the same little sister,” Alyssa assured him.

     “Yeah…my little sister.” He said sadly. “ It will be nice to be home again. I always look forward to being with my family. I may not have a lot of family left, but it seems that our family just keeps growing.”

     “Yeah, my parent’s house really doesn’t feel like home. No offence to your grandparents either, I don’t feel real at home here. They have tried to make me feel welcome, but…I can’t help feeling like I am imposing, you know?” she said. “I guess partly it’s because I know it is only temporary. Kind of like your dorm at school.”

     “Something about Mountain Home makes you feel like you belong there. You’ll see,” he encouraged her.

     “If not, I guess I’ll just have to wait until I get a home of my own. I have dreams of a little white house with a picket fence, kids running around in the yard, and maybe a black lab.”

     “That sounds just like a commercial,” he laughed.

Chapter 1
4

Summer Fun

     Alyssa had to agree about Mountain Home. Bryce showed her around the house as they killed time for the family to get home from church. Trisha had left a note on the bar letting them know which room Alyssa would be staying in. Bryce was a little relieved that Seanna wasn’t there. He really didn’t know how she was going to react, not even sure of how his own reaction would be. Alyssa noticed his nervous energy and asked him what was wrong. He wrote it all off as being excited to be home, and from sitting in the plane for so long. Finally she suggested they go to the pool to work off his extra energy.

     That is where Seanna found them when she got home. She stood at the glass door and watched them playing around in the water. Bryce was tossing Alyssa over his shoulder and she was diving backwards into the deep end. Something inside of her died. She was pretty sure that it was hope. Taking a deep breath, and saying a quick prayer for God to help her, she walked out to welcome her big brother and her friend.

     “Hey you two!” she yelled from the patio.

     “Hey, Sea!” said Bryce with a big grin. He couldn’t help
it, he
was
excited to see her again.