Pros & Cons (8 page)

“Everything’s pretty much the same,” he says with a shrug. “Except there’s a new sheriff in town.”

This is Dad’s subtle way of reminding me that the local people—not to mention the Feds—are always on the lookout for one of our impromptu family reunions. Dad’s replacement as sheriff hadn’t been as willing to ignore my indiscretions, so our visits had become few and far between.

“Who’s the new sheriff?”

Dad smirks. “Shane Barnes.”

I laugh. Loudly. So loudly Dad’s smirk becomes a frown.

“You’re scaring the fish, Jenna.”

I grin sheepishly. “Sorry about that. But seriously? This county elected Shane Barnes as sheriff?

I’m pleasantly surprised by this news. Maybe my trips home can become more frequent now.

Dad chuckles and pulls his line out of the lake to check his bait. “It was a landslide. He’s a good man. I never did understand what happened between the two of you.”

Shane Barnes was a lot of my firsts. First school dance. First kiss.
First time
. We broke up my senior year of high school when he cheated on me with Beth Riley. I hadn’t been terribly heartbroken. I’d been desperate to get as far away from Strawberry Flatts as possible, while Shane was and would always be a country boy at heart. Dad, happy to have another guy around the house, took our break-up a little harder.

“It was complicated, Dad.”

I’d never told my dad the real reason we split, and there’s no reason to do so now. Shane apologized, and we’d parted as friends right before I moved away to college. I saw him at Mom’s funeral, but besides that, I haven’t spoken to him again.

“Love is always complicated, Jen. You just have to decide if it’s worth the trouble.” His voice drops lower, deeper. “Unless, of course, that decision is made for you, and you have no choice but to let the person go.”

Tears fill my eyes as I stare out at the water. If only I could have a love story like my mom and dad’s. I honestly can’t see my father ever remarrying, and while a selfish part of my heart doesn’t want him to, the unselfish side hates that he’s up in these mountains all alone.

After a few silent moments, Dad clears his throat.

“So, Jenna, speaking of love . . .”

And here it is. The traditional boyfriend speech.

“Nope.”

“No?” His voice is filled with suspicion. “You’re running around all over the world and nobody has caught your eye?”

“My life isn’t for everyone. You know that.”

Dad nods thoughtfully. “Having something in common is important. Maybe you can find someone with . . . similar interests. Abby did.”

“Abby did.”

After a careful inspection of his hook, he lobs his line back into the water.

“I worry about the two of you, Jenna. I see your names crawl across the ticker on my television, and I’m afraid the day’s coming when I’ll see you’ve been captured. Or worse.”

I swallow nervously. It’s so rare for my dad to show emotion.

“We’re smart girls.”

“Like Thelma and Louise,” he says with a grin, but I can tell it’s forced. “You used to make me watch that movie all the time.”

I smile at the memory. “It’s a great movie.”

“It is. Teaches some powerful lessons, too.”

I’m intrigued. “Such as?”

“Remember what that FBI agent said? ‘Brains will only get you so far, and luck always runs out.’ By the end of the movie, those girls were jumping over the Grand Canyon. You can’t jump over the Grand Canyon, Jenna.”

The rain begins to fall a little harder, so Dad decides to call it a day. The trip back to the house is a quiet one. A guilt trip this vigorous is unusual, even by my father’s standards. He’s never been happy with the life I lead, but he’s rarely this vocal about it. I decide to wait until we’re home to tell him about Abby.

“If it means anything, you may not have to worry about Abby much longer,” I tell him, hoping this will satisfy him a little. “I think she and Coop are really serious. They’re both talking about getting out.”

I take off my jacket and hang it on the hook next to the door. Dad drops his fishing gear on the kitchen floor and turns toward me.

“What will that mean for you?”

“I don’t know. I’ll be on my own, I guess.”

“You wouldn’t get out, too?”

“Why would I get out?”

His face is an alarming shade of red. “Because you don’t have to live like this! You could use your degree and actually live a normal life. One where I don’t worry day and night about you getting arrested or shot!”

What the hell?
Dad never, ever raises his voice.

“Are you nuts? You know how this works, Sheriff York. If I stop running, I
will
be arrested. I
will
go to prison. Will that help you sleep better at night?”

Dumfounded, he slowly collapses into a kitchen chair. “Is that why you keep running? Because you’re too afraid of the consequences?”

I take a deep breath and sit down next to him. “It’s not the only reason, but yes. It’s something I consider every time I even remotely think about putting down roots. I can’t have a normal life, Dad. It will never happen.”

The house phone rings, and I take another deep breath to try to calm down.

“This conversation isn’t over, Jenna.”

Dad heads to the living room. Frustrated and tired, I race up to my bedroom and slam the door behind me. Collapsing on the bed, I grab my cell phone off the nightstand. I hadn’t bothered taking it to the lake since cell service out there is nonexistent. I’m not surprised to find several texts—one of which is from Abby.

Got a potential job. Sounds interesting. Call me when you can.

I smirk. So much for vacation.

I continue scrolling, and a particular text message catches my eye. I don’t recognize the number, but I know it can only be from one person.

I can still taste your lip gloss.

Before I can even formulate a response in my head, my cell vibrates. I’m so stunned by the text message that I answer without even checking the number.

“Hello?”

“So you are alive. Good to know.”

“Summers?”

“I think we’re probably on a first name basis by now, don’t you?”

“You’re funny.”

“Why didn’t you reply to my texts?”

“Did you send more than one?”

“I sent . . . six.”

Six?

“I didn’t reply because I’m just now checking my phone. I was fishing with my dad.”

“You fish?”

I sigh and lay back against the pillow. “Badly, but yes. I am spending quality time with my father, which is what you should be doing instead of sending me sappy texts. What do you want, Ethan?”

“I wanted to see if you were okay. Why did you run away so fast yesterday?”

“I didn’t run.”

“Bullshit. You couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

It was true. After the epic kiss, I’d pushed him away and jumped into my car. I hadn’t even looked back in the rearview mirror before speeding out of the parking lot.

“We need to talk about this, Jenna.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. It was a mistake, Ethan. A monumental mistake. One that will never happen again.”

He laughs. “Well that confirms my theory.”

“What theory?”

“One kiss isn’t enough for you, either.”

I wait for the snappy comeback to make its way to my lips, but it doesn’t come. He’s right, but I’d die before admitting it. I notice he says
either
, which means he’d been just as affected by our kiss. This information makes me entirely too happy.

“And you’re speechless. That
has
to be a first.”

“Jerk.”

“But I’m a jerk who’s a great kisser.”

“I’ve had better.”

There’s that snappy comeback.

“Liar.”

 How does he know?

Dad yells my name from downstairs. “Look, Ethan, I have to go. I’m cooking dinner for my dad and then I’m hitting the road.”

“Already?”

“One day was long enough.”

“I know that feeling. Listen, call me when you leave. Maybe we can—”

“No, Ethan.”

“Why not? It’s obvious neither of us can stand to stay with our parents for more than twenty-four hours. And I guarantee Abby and Coop aren’t ready to go back to work. You and I could go somewhere.”

I try to fight it. I really do. But my curiosity gets the best of me.

“Where would we go?”

“Where would you like to go?”

I laugh. “I don’t know. Surprise me.”

“Done.”

Crap.

“Ethan, I was joking.”

“I’m not,” he says softly. “Be serious for one minute and admit that you want to do this.”

It’s impossible to ignore the hidden meaning behind his words. He’s not just asking me to take a road trip. He’s asking me to explore
this
. Us. Whatever we are.

“It’s so dangerous.”

“I like danger. I like you.”

Deep in my heart, I know this is a mistake, but my heart doesn’t send that message to my mouth.

“Okay,” I hear myself say.

“I wish you’d at least wait until morning,” Dad says with a sigh.

He gives the tires a kick, checking for whatever it is you check for when you kick tires. It makes me smile and only adds to my guilt for leaving him so soon.

Ethan had texted directions to a landing strip about fifty miles away, and I’m supposed to be there by dawn. I have no idea where we’re going, and honestly, I don’t care. It’s only been a day, but I’m already suffocating in Strawberry Flatts. Time to move on.

“Dad, you know it’s not safe in the morning.”

“I know, I know. Someone might see you in the daylight.”

Saying goodbye to my father is never easy, but it seems harder this time. Dinner had been calm but strained, especially once I told him I’d be leaving tonight. True to his word, Dad picked right back up with our conversation, practically begging me to turn myself in. There was a desperate quality to his pleas this time, and it unnerved me.

Dad sighs. He knows when he’s been defeated. Awkwardly, he pulls me into his arms. We’ve never been ones to show emotion, so our hug is weird and clumsy. But I hug him back, because he’s my dad, and we don’t see each other enough.

My fault.

“Stay away from the Grand Canyon,” he whispers against my ear.

“I will.”

I can breathe a little easier once I’m on the road. Naturally, the highway is vacant as I race out of town. I nearly make it to the county line when headlights suddenly appear in my rearview mirror. A quick glance at my speedometer confirms I’m doing eighty-five, which means I either have a stalker or there’s a cop on my ass.

I get my answer when blue lights flash in my rear view.

My choices are limited. I can either gun it and hope for the best, or I can pull over, plaster on a smile, and pray he doesn’t ask for my license or registration or any type of identifying information whatsoever.

Deciding to take my chances, I pull to the side of the road and turn off the ignition.

What’s wrong with me?
I know better than to speed through this little town. Is this really how my career’s going to end? I can see just picture tomorrow’s headlines:
World-Famous Con Artist Busted for Speeding – Receives Life in Prison.