Authors: MK Harkins
Intentional
Text copyright ©2013 MK Harkins
All Rights Reserved
eBook ISBN: 978-1-63002-959-3
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized by, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
For Nancy Bailey
May 6, 1953–March 29, 2013
Your strength, courage, and kind spirit
will continue to inspire me every day.
You are like “sunshine on a cloudy day”
Thank you for sharing your love of books.
I love you always.
Table of Contents
Betrayal
Whether it is friendship or romantic love, it always leaves the one betrayed with the burden of forgiveness.
Mattie
Age Ten
It’s the first day of fourth grade. It’s a new school, and I don’t know anyone. My mom promised me ice cream after school. I think she feels bad for moving us again. It’s not her fault.
My dad works as hard as he can. He can’t help it if his big boss keeps wanting to make him move. He has to go where his boss tells him. That’s the way of the world, he tells me. I understand. It’s just hard.
My mom tries to make me feel better. “Honey, at every school you’ve gone to, you have made friends so quickly. You are such a sweet and beautiful girl, the kids can’t help but love you.” She hugs me tight. I love the way my mom smells. It’s always a mixture of sweet perfume and cookies.
My mom takes me into the school office. I find out I’m in classroom 4A—Ms. Ambuske. She walks me down the hall. “Honey, do you want me to go in with you?”
“That’s okay, Mom. I can take it from here.”
She gives me a sad smile. She always tells me not to grow up too fast. I think this is harder for her than for me. I enter the classroom and give Ms. Ambuske my admittance slip. I know the routine: she calls the class to attention.
“Everyone, we have a new student, Mattie Parker. Please try to make her feel welcome!” Class hasn’t started yet. The kids all crowd around me, shouting out their names at once. I giggle. These kids seem nice.
I notice a blonde girl sitting back, away from everyone. She looks at me—I’m not sure if she likes me. She has no expression at all. I find my desk and start to put my supplies away. I feel a tap on my shoulder. It’s the blonde girl. She smiles and says, “Hi, I’m Sarah. Do you want to come to my house after school today?”
I’m really surprised. Out of all the kids I’ve met today, I would never have expected Sarah to even talk to me. Maybe she likes me after all. “Sure. I’ll check with my mom.”
My mom drives me to Sarah’s house. I think she wants to check everything over. She meets Sarah’s parents, Dan and Nancy Bailey,
and they hit it off immediately. We realize that we live only two blocks away.
They invite us to dinner on the coming weekend. I can tell my mom is really happy—we both have new friends!
Sarah and I go up to play in her room. She asks me lots of questions. Sometimes she gets very quiet, but I think it’s going okay.
My mom comes back to get me when it’s time to leave. Sarah stops me and asks, “Do you want to be best friends? If you do, I can tell everyone else to like you.”
I want to be friends with Sarah, but I don’t want her telling people that. I don’t know what to say, so I just say, “Sure” and go home. I want to talk to my mom about it, but she’s so excited that I have a new friend already, I don’t want to mess up her mood.
Fourth grade turns out to be a pretty good year. I study hard in school. Sarah becomes a daily friend. I know the types of things that bother her. She doesn’t like hugs and gets really mad if you disagree with her. If I don’t do any of those things, then everything is okay. I’ve become an expert. I also know that I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side.
Sometimes she doesn’t have very nice thoughts about some of the kids. I think that’s why we’ve become such good friends. I know I can teach her to turn her thoughts around. My mom is always telling me about different ways to understand and help people. I think I can help Sarah.
Thirteen Years Later
Mattie
My phone is chirping loudly. I grab it off the floor and look at the caller ID. It’s Sarah. “Hey, Sarah! How’s your second week at work going?”
“Good. I’m getting all settled in. I wanted to see if we could get together to have lunch today.”
I look down at my clothes. Yuck—sweats and a tank top. My job as a graphic designer allows me to dress casually on the days I don’t meet with clients. “Today?”
She laughs. “Mattie, you don’t have to dress up. No one cares what you look like!”
“But, Sarah, I don’t want to embarrass you. I’m a mess! I’m working today.”
She replies, “Don’t worry about it. You have one hour.”
I rush home in a mad dash. Sarah may not care what I look like, but I sure do. I look frantically at the clothes in my closet. I see jeans, sweats, shorts, and yoga pants—okay, I need to go shopping.
What do I wear? I glance over to the side. Aha! I have one dress tucked away behind a ratty pair of sweatpants. I wore it to my graduation last year. I love the dress—it has a pretty yellow print—but does it make me look too young? Hmm. I can balance things out with my makeup. I examine my face and decide to go with a sultry smoky eye by using gray and black eye shadow, adding a fresh coat of mascara. Now I just need to do something with my hair. Luckily, I washed it today, so all I need to do is pull it back into a loose ponytail.
I take a step back and take a long look. Mission accomplished. I feel confident as I head out to meet Sarah.
Sarah’s work is only a few blocks away, so I decide to walk. I love the climate in Sedona, Arizona. Sarah and I both grew up in Massachusetts, so we are reveling in the nice weather. Gone are the freezing winters! Gone are the sweltering summers! Well, it will still get hot here, but it won’t be as brutal.
I slow down my pace and take in my surroundings. It’s quite beautiful here. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The green trees scattered around make an interesting backdrop for the famous Red Rocks in the distance. I’ve heard that the red-orange color of the rocks
stimulates creative thinking and problem solving. We’ve moved to the ideal place.
I enter the building of Harkins & Schweet Law Firm and take a look around. The interior is stunning. Whoever decorated the entry space has captured a professional atmosphere, yet it’s also beautiful, warm, and inviting. I feel happy that Sarah’s landed a job here; I can tell this is a very successful company.
I stop at reception to ask directions to Sarah’s office. The receptionist, an elderly woman, smiles politely and starts to pick up the telephone. I see a hand reach over and stop the phone midway. I’m startled for a moment as I look up to see the most gorgeous brown eyes looking back at me.
I stare back at him and think,
Is it possible for a man to be this good-looking?
His face is as handsome as any I’ve ever seen in an Abercrombie ad, or on any other beautiful male model, for that matter. He’s older than I am—my best guess would be late twenties—and he’s dressed in a fine gray suit, a white shirt, and a black tie. His hair is perfectly cut and trimmed—everything you would expect from a successful lawyer. I catch myself—is he a lawyer? Why haven’t I
heard about this incredible, godlike creature from Sarah? She has to be gaga over this one!
As I rudely stare at him, I notice him smiling at me. He must get this type of reaction a lot. Oh no, I hope the drool isn’t dripping out of my mouth.
“You must be Sarah’s friend.” The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I feel shivers run down my spine. His voice is silky, deep, and husky all at the same time. Oh no! I have to answer him. My mind draws a blank. I stand there and nod stupidly. Yes, yes, I am.
He laughs, touching my arm, and says, “Follow me.” Oh yes, I will follow—I have no problem with that.
As we walk down the hall to Sarah’s office, he leans down to me (does he have to be over six feet tall?) and says, “I think you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Okay, if I was dumbstruck before, now I’m really tongue-tied. I smile back at him and roll my eyes. I’ve heard that line before, but this time it makes my insides go to mush. What’s with this guy?
I finally get my wits together and ask him who he is. He stops, gives me another devastating smile, puts out his hand, and says, “I’m Jeremy Harkins, partner.”
