Unplanned Love (Savage Love)

by Woody, Jodi

  “Do you think she has the flu?” asked Trisha.

  “No…I think my daughter has a broken heart,” answered Samantha. “She’ll tell me about it when she is ready. I had hoped that she would wait awhile after all that crap with Kevin, but I guess you can’t always choose when, or with whom you fall in love with.”

  “But she never even mentioned anyone,” commented Trisha.

  “I know, that bothers me a little. But she has been gone a lot and last night she said she was meeting a friend in town…” Samantha replied.

  “Bryce was so good with her on the island, I wish he hadn’t gone with Alyssa,” said Trisha.

  “She needed him too, and Seanna has all of us to help her. I hope that things will go better for Alyssa than they are for my girl.”

  Chapter 18

  The Balm of Forgiveness

  Bryce and Alyssa sat at a table together in a quiet corner booth of a restaurant, waiting for Jeff’s arrival. Alyssa had almost backed out. Shortly after they had arrived at his grandma and grandpa’s she had called the number that Jeff had given to Lucille and they had agreed to meet. Jeff had simply said that he had something he needed to say to Alyssa, that he wanted some closer. Now she sat chewing on her thumbnail and watching the entrance with a worried expression.

  “Stop eating yourself,” said Bryce as he reached over and pulled her hand away from her mouth.

  “Sorry…thanks for coming,” she repeated.

  “Yeah, you already said that. Calm down, Alyssa. He probably just wants to get past this and move on with his life. We already went over this, tell him you’re sorry for your behavior and allow him to say whatever he needs to say. He deserves that much from you. You can do this,” he said looking her in the eye.

  “I know. It’s just that it had finally gotten a little easier. Not that I loved him any less, it just didn’t hurt as much, you know?” she explained. “Oh, there he is.”

  Bryce turned enough to see the young man walking through the door. Though he looked as nervous as Alyssa, his eyes lit up when he noticed her. As soon as the spark arrived, it vanished when he realized that she wasn’t alone. Bryce felt sorry for the guy and wanting to put him at ease, got out of the booth and reached out his hand.

  “Hi, I’m Bryce. Lucille and Bryson are my grandparents. We’ve all kind of adopted Alyssa.”

  “Hi.” He looked relieved as he firmly shook Bryce’s hand. Nodding towards Alyssa with a shy smile, he slid into the bench across from them. The silence was just getting awkward when the waitress stopped to take their orders. Too nervous to eat, Alyssa and Jeff ordered drinks. Bryce’s stomach hadn’t been normal since his mad dash to town to find Seanna so he followed suit. Once they all had their drinks, Alyssa took a deep breath and dove in.

  “Thanks for meeting me, Jeff. I’ve wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t want to just force my way into your life again…”

  “Aly…” he tried to interrupt.

  “No, please. Just let me get this all out and I promise I’ll listen to what you have to say.” She pleaded. When he gave a short nod, she continued. “I have had a lot of time to think, and I know that I made a huge mistake. Not just the abortion, but the way I just shut you out, like it was all about me. I realize now that abortion doesn’t just affect the woman. So…I just want to say I acted selfishly…and I’m sorry.”

  Jeff waited to make sure she was finished and stared at his glass of soda. Bryce could clearly tell that he was struggling to keep his emotions in check. Finally he cleared his throat and said, “That’s why I wanted to talk to you too. I won’t lie, I was devastated when you told me that the baby was gone, but you weren’t the only one that was selfish. I have been going through some counseling with a support group at church and they helped me see that my abandoning you during such a traumatic time was inexcusable. I behaved badly…” He raised his tear filled eyes pleading with her to forgive. “Can you forgive me?”

  “I need to ask you to forgive me!” she exclaimed.

  “I guess we both need forgiveness. We won’t be able to move on if we don’t.”

  “I forgive you,” she said quietly.

  “I forgive you,” he managed to choke out. After taking a drink and wiping his eyes, he looked uncomfortably at Alyssa for a minute and then started to stand. “Well, I guess I should go.”

  “Wait,” said Bryce speaking for the first time. Jeff looked confused, but sat down and looked at Bryce expectantly.

  Bryce turned to Alyssa and said, “Alyssa I think I’m going to go visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Why don’t you tell Jeffry about the new man in your life and you just give me a call if you need a ride home later. You two should get something to eat.”

  “Jeff, can you stay for a while, there is something I want to tell you,” she asked.

  “…um…sure,” he replied, not sure if he really wanted to hear about her new boyfriend.

  As Bryce walked away, he heard Alyssa begin her story of how she had accepted Jesus as her Savior. He drove away praying that God would work things out for them. It was clear that Jeff still love Alyssa as much as she loved him. As much as I still love Seanna, he thought. By the time he had arrived at his grandparent’s his prayers had shifted into petitions for Seanna’s happiness. While Alyssa shared with the man she loved, Bryce unloaded all of his grief and self-loathing with two people who would give him good council and who would help him find peace in the mess he had created.

  Chapter 19

  Repairing the Breach

  The day after Bryce left, Seanna sat in the media room watching movies alone. She had begged out of going to church with everyone saying that she still wasn’t feeling up to par, but assuring them she was well enough to stay home alone. Half way through ‘The Way We Were’, and a full box of Kleenex, her phone rang. Seeing it was Alyssa, she almost didn’t answer it, but worried that something might have happened to Bryce; she gave in. “Hello.”

  “Seanna?” asked Alyssa.

  “Yep, Alyssa, it’s me,” she answered wiping her nose with one hand

  “Are you ok?” she asked concerned.

  “I have the flu. That’s why I didn’t go to church,” she lied.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot you guys are on hour earlier than we are. I just wanted to tell you my good news!” she exclaimed, while Seanna braced herself for another heart-stopper. God, help me, they’re engaged…

  “Jeff and I are back together!” she said happily.

  “What…?” asked Seanna totally baffled.

  “Yeah, that’s why I flew home. Didn’t anyone tell you? Lucille called right before you left for town Friday. Jeffry had called my mom and she gave him Lucille’s number. She didn’t want to give out Daffyd’s number so she told him she’d call me. He told her he wanted to talk to me. I prayed about it and decided to just come home and meet him face to face. I was so scared and nervous. But we met and I told him I got saved and he told me that he still loved me!”

  “What did Bryce say about that?” she asked fearing for his heart.

  “He’s the one who made Jeff stay long enough that we could talk things out,” she said.

  “But…I thought you two were…” now Seanna was really confused.

  “What! Why would you think that?” Alyssa asked surprised.

  “All those times I saw you two hugging and yesterday morning you were at the bar and you were rubbing his back…” Seanna said.

  “The only times we ever hugged was when he was comforting me about Jeffry. And yesterday, I was comforting him, he felt awful about what happened at the motel,” Alyssa explained.

  “He told you about me coming on to him,” she moaned.

  “No…he said that he was the one that got carried away…” Alyssa replied.

  “Alyssa, I was the one who crawled into bed with him! What a mess. I love Bryce…” she stammered.

  “I know, that’s why he was so upset, he said that now you didn’t even want to be his sister anymore,” said Alyssa.


  “No, Alyssa, I love Bryce. Like you love Jeff.”

  “Oh…Oh!” Alyssa exclaimed. “You two are idiots!” she laughed.

  “It’s not funny, what the heck, Alyssa!”

  “Seanna, listen. While we were on the island, Bryce started having feelings for you that were not brotherly.”

  “He told you that?” asked Seanna in shock.

  “He said that when he saw you walking down the aisle towards him that something shifted, but with Kevin there and all…well, he tried to just be the big brother.”

  “Alyssa… that’s when I started feeling different about him too! But I thought he was just feeling sorry for me and pushing the brother thing to make me feel better. And I was pushing the two of you together because I thought he liked you!”

  “See what I mean, idiots!” she laughed.

  “I have to talk to him, can you put him on the phone or tell him to call me right back!” asked Seanna.

  “Seanna I can’t, he’s already on the plane back to Montana, he’d have his cell off. He said that even though he was happy for me, he couldn’t watch me put everything back together while his life was falling apart.”

  “What time is his plane coming in?” Seanna asked.

  “Let me go ask Lucille,” Seanna thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest while she waited for Alyssa to give her his arrival time. “He gets in at three your time.”

  “That doesn’t give me much time,” Seanna worried.

  “For what?” asked Alyssa.

  “To clean myself up and meet that plane!” exclaimed Seanna, as she headed for her room.

  “I thought you had the flu? Do you feel like driving?” asked Alyssa.

  “I lied. I just couldn’t force myself to get over losing Bryce, as a brother even.”

  “Ok, you go girl!”

  Chapter 20

  At Last

  Seanna had to drive like a maniac to get to the airport in time. Running even later after trying to make herself look good after two solid days of crying. The sundress she chose was one that Bryce had complemented her on several times. The color of the dress made her eyes seem greener than normal. All the excitement had put some color back in her cheeks and a little mascara and lip gloss finished it off. She had called her mom after leaving the house to tell her that she was picking Bryce up at the airport, and that she would explain everything when they got back.

  Seanna had enough presence of mind to get the flight info from Lucille and now she was trying to find her way to the right gate. Checking the flight board, she realized that Bryce’s flight had arrived ten minutes early. She found the right direction towards the gate and took off running. When she got to the gate, no one was there. Disappointed at missing him, she was just turning to leave when she remembered that he’d need to claim his luggage. Again she was racing to where the luggage was coming in off of the plain.

  She could just see him bending over to grab his bag. Yelling his name she rushed through the crowd towards him. He turned at the sound of her voice and just had time to drop his bag when she crashed into him like a freight train. She had launched herself into the air and almost knocked them both over into the conveyer belt behind him. He had managed to not only catch her but was able to keep them upright. Seanna was clinging to him with her face buried in his neck, feet dangling above the ground.

  “Oh, Bryce,” she sobbed into his neck. “I’ve been such an idiot.”

  He managed to set her down on the solid ground. Grabbing his bag, with one hand on her lower back, he guided her out of the crowd, most of whom were smiling their way. “Seanna, what are you doing here?”

  “I couldn’t wait until you got back,” she explained as he eased her into a seat in one of the waiting areas.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked grabbing one of her hands in both of his, searching her face with his big brown eyes. “Take a deep breath and just tell me, Sea.”

  “Bryce Sayvage, I am totally and hopelessly in love with you,” she said losing herself in those gentle eyes.

  “But…Sea…I don’t understand,” he said bewilderment all over his face.

  “Don’t you love me?” she asked with a smile.

  “Seanna, you know I love you…” he said.

  “No, Bryce,” she interrupted. “I don’t mean like your little sister. Do you love me as a man loves a woman?”

  Bryce looked at Seanna and a million thoughts and emotions flowed through him. “Seanna…are you telling me that you love me…the way your mom loves Daffyd?” he asked still not believing.

  “Bryce I love you the way Trisha loves Leal, the way Lucille loves Bryson…I love you, the way I want you to love me,” she said with that love radiating from her face.

  “But what changed your mind?” he asked quietly.

  “I talked to Alyssa today. She called to tell me her good news about Jeff. But, I’ve loved you for a long time. I’ve just been so stupid. That’s why I seduced you in the motel. It was some drunken messed up way to try and win you over. I had tried so hard to just be your sister, and then I thought you and Alyssa were in love…”

  “That explains a lot,” he said. “But what do you mean you seduced me?”

  “When I saw you in the bed, I guess that the alcohol, took away any inhibitions that I had, I am the one who seduced you…I just wanted to have you, if only for a little while…” she looked down at their hands while her face blushed her embarrassment.

  Bryce gently lifted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. “Seanna you always had me. It just took me a long time to figure it out.”

  She leaned in and he held her close. “You still haven’t told me…” she whispered into his shirt.

  “What, Seanna, what do you need me to say?” he said willing to do anything.

  “You didn’t answer my question. Do you love me?” she asked raising her head to see his face.

  “Seanna, I love you more than I ever thought I would love anyone,” he said, leaning in and kissing her, soft and sweet.

  “Can we pretend like that was our first kiss?” she asked softly.

  “What do you mean…” he teased, “The one’s I have given you while you slept didn’t count.”

  “You mean…you’ve kissed me in my sleep?” she asked.

  “Yes, so those kisses you gave me in the motel weren’t our first. If you want to forget those then you go right ahead, but I choose to remember the ones I gave you.”

  “I can’t believe all of the hurt that we’ve caused each other. I am so sorry Bryce.”

  “It doesn’t matter, none of it. All that matters is that now we have it all figured out, we can just start brand new. I hate to break it to you…but you just lost your only brother.”

  “Well…actually, now that Alyssa and Jeff are back together, we both have a brother and sister. So…we are completely free to allow our relationship to grow into something wonderful,” she said smiling up at him.

  “I can’t wait to get home and tell everyone!” he exclaimed.

  “Trisha is going to freak.” she laughed.

  Epilogue

  “Are you ready?” asked Daffyd through the door.

  “Almost,” answered Samantha. “Ok, girlie, here we go.”

  “Wait…” Seanna said stopping her mom from opening the door. “I just want to say how much I love you and appreciate all that you’ve done for me. You’ve been a great mother and now that I’m all grown up, I know that we’ll just get closer.” The two hugged like only a mother and daughter can.

  “Now look what you’ve done. My mascara is running,” laughed Samantha.

  “People expect you to cry. You’re the mother of the bride!” said Seanna as she dabbed at her eyes.

  When the wedding march began all eyes turned to the back of the church. Bryce had a déjà vu moment when he saw the two ladies walking toward him. But this time that beautiful woman you love so much is wearing the wedding gown. Thank you, Lord, for bringing this all to pass. When his eyes met
hers, the scripture that they had chosen to read today, from Song of Solomon, went through his head.

  “Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it.”

  I would like to thank Beth Hohman and Jennifer Zimmerman for their proofreading skills and the constructive criticism. Thanks for being honest!

  I would also like to thank those that read my first book and asked for more.

  Of course, I have to thank my daughter, Carlie, who inspired the character of Seanna and my husband Eddie for all the support, monetary and otherwise, you’re a trooper.

  I hope you enjoyed my second publication. Let your friends know if you did. Word of mouth is a great advertising gift. Please consider leaving a review on Amazon.

  There may be more to come from these characters. I can’t help wondering how things turn out for Alyssa and Jeff, and what about Leal and Trisha?

  Please consider writing a review, good or bad. I appreciate the time you spent with me.