CH 3
1165 Words
in the past.
“Have you spoken to Jessie?” Ben, his friend, and the other groomsman
asked as soon as Eden left for the bouquet toss.
“We danced,” Cam responded defensively, “and spoke briefly.”
“Chicken,” Ben declared.
Cam sighed. He knew his friend was right. But ….
“I need to,” he admitted. “I’m just not sure what to say.”
“You tell her she broke your heart.” Ben hesitated a beat, then pinned him
with his icy courtroom stare. “You tell her you forgive her and want her back.”
“I’m dating Eden.”
“Dating,” Ben repeated quietly. “What if Eden catches the bouquet?”
“What about it?” Cam shrugged. “That won’t change anything.”
“Won’t it?” Ben came back. “You know Eden’s going to want more.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Eden graduated from college and is ready to start her career,” Ben
reminded him. “Isn’t marriage the next step.”
“So?”
“So, what are you going to say to her then?”
Before Cam could answer, a squeal had him looking over his shoulder to
see Eden push Jessie aside to grab the bouquet.
“Oh, shi …” he barely got out before Eden launched her body into his arms
and locked their lips together.
It took several seconds to regain his wits and create a little distance between
them, “Whoa there, Sugar,” Cam drawled, his standard nickname tripping off his
tongue. “Where’s the fire?”
Eden mumbled something, but his attention had drifted across the room to
where Jessie stood, watching him. He gave her what he hoped was a ‘we need to
talk’ look, but before he could move, she ran from the room. His surprised eyes
sought Sadie’s but when she sent him an accusatory look, all he could think
about was it was time to fix things.
“Eden, I,” he began, giving Ben a ‘help-me-out’ expression.
“What Cam’s trying to say,” Ben turned his blue-eyed charm on Eden, “is
I’m taking you home tonight, while he takes care of a few things.”
Eden’s innocent expression should have left him feeling guilty. “What’s
going on?”
“I …” Cam searched for how to explain something he wasn’t sure how to
answer.
Ben sent him a ‘you so owe me’ look, and uttered, “Cam needs to take care
of something for Ryan,” as if he’d been rehearsing the words for hours instead of
seconds.
“Oh, okay.”
Eden’s smile dimmed and for a split-second, Cam felt guilty. Then, just as
they had all night, the words ‘the heart wants what the heart wants’ floated
through his mind. They reminded him of what was important. With little more
than a buzz on her cheek, he went after what he wanted – a second chance.
As he’d expected, he found Jessie on the ice at Sonny’s. Illuminated by a
single light, she skated to music only she could hear. Her movements weren’t as
polished as when she had practiced daily. But as she transitioned from a split
jump to an axel and then moved from a salchow to a sit spin, he realized she was
lost in her memories.
Cam watched her for another minute. When he couldn’t stay away any
longer, he dropped onto an old bench and slipped into his skates. He hadn’t worn
them since the last time he’d been on the ice with Jessie. It hurt too much,
making him think about what could have been. Instead, he’d tried to bury those
feelings, living only in the what was and choosing safe company.
And, until four days ago, he’d been successful. Then, Jessie had walked
into Randy’s, with Sadie on one side and Cassie on the other. She’d laughed and
talked with her friends as if she’d never left.
Each laugh had been like a stab to his heart. Every word had caused a sick
feeling in his gut. His solution hadn’t been to confront. Instead, he’d paid more
attention to Eden. And while that had temporarily numbed his pain, the look on
Jessie’s face had made him miserable.
There was a large part of him that hoped she’d finally come home … to stay
… and to him. That she was ready to give him the chance he’d been waiting for
since she was fourteen. Except, as had happened so often in the past, before he’d
been able to talk to her, she’d disappeared. And, just like always, he’d followed,
finding her on the ice at Sonny’s.
Those times, though, he’d stayed on the outside, looking in. Even when
he’d placed his beat-up old skates in his trunk, he’d planned nothing specific.
Tonight felt different. It had taken watching two of his best friends pledge
their lives to each other to realize safe wasn’t working. Cam wasn’t sure where
things would go. He wasn’t sure how he’d be accepted. What he did know, was
he had to try. As for everything else, there was always hope.
With that in mind, he stepped onto the ice. For, wherever Jessie was, he
would find her.
two
Eleven Years Ago
Jessie’s Home
December 27
2:00 p.m.
MOST FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRLS spent their Christmas break hanging with friends,
talking on the phone, and dreaming about boys. Except Jessie no longer felt like
a normal teenager. Her parents and brother, James, had been killed in a fiery car
crash the previous February. Since then, nothing had been the same.
The holidays had been spent with the Hunters, their surrogate family. And
while they had tried to create a ‘normal’ Christmas, Jessie had felt out of step –
and not like celebrating. She’d been constantly bombarded by memories, both
good and bad. Plus, the dreams she’d thought were behind her, had returned.
They followed her everywhere, unsettling her in many ways.
You’re our little princess, her mother and father teased.
You’re behaving like a princess, her big brothers cried when she’d followed
them around.
Stop acting like you’re a princess, kids at school would yell when she
wanted her way.
Thanks to help from her grief counselor, she didn’t dream often. However,
if she was lonely, or it had been a highly emotional occasion, they returned.
Christmas had been one of those times.
The dreams always began with a mashup of happy times. Inevitably,
though, they morphed into those final moments with her parents.
JESSIE STOOD on the porch dressed in old sweats, while her mother gave her last
minute instructions. The longer she stood there, the more the wind whipped
through her thin clothing, causing a chill to race up her spine.
“Hurry, Ruth,” her father honked the car horn. “We’ll be late picking up
James.”....
- Writer
