Forever With You (Silver State Series)

by Renae Kelleigh

  Forever With You

  (Silver State #3)

  Renae Kelleigh

  Text copyright © 2013 Renae Kelleigh

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Part 1

  Chapter 1 – Frank’s

  Chapter 2 – All Nighter

  Chapter 3 – Moving Day

  Chapter 4 – Mixer

  Chapter 5 – Open Up

  Chapter 6 – Oreos

  Chapter 7 – Meaningless

  Chapter 8 – Getting Educated

  Chapter 9 – Two Truths

  Chapter 10 – Decision

  Part 2

  Chapter 11 – Tubing

  Chapter 12 – The Barn

  Chapter 13 – Feel It All

  Chapter 14 – Presto

  Chapter 15 – Diagnosis

  Chapter 16 – Shots

  Chapter 17 – Record

  Chapter 18 – Macary

  Part 3

  Chapter 19 – Distance

  Chapter 20 – Contest

  Chapter 21 – Dating You

  Chapter 22 – Holiday

  Chapter 23 – Super Bowl Sunday

  Chapter 24 – Chance Meeting

  Chapter 25 – Fill In

  Part 4

  Chapter 26 – Flights

  Chapter 27 – Cabo San Lucas

  Chapter 28 – Bottle Cap

  Chapter 29 – The Sighting

  Chapter 30 – Violated

  Chapter 31 – Girls’ Day

  Chapter 32 – Back to Reality

  Chapter 33 – Tip-Off

  Chapter 34 – Wedding Bells

  Epilogue – Please

  Part 1

  Chapter 1 – Frank’s

  Tuesday, July 12

  Tawny – 3:00 PM

  “Well folks, we’ve done it. The thermometer here at KLOS has just tipped past a sweltering one hundred and eight degrees Fahrenheit, which means we have officially broken the record of one hundred and six degrees set back in 2005.” The weatherman on the FM station blaring from the kitchen makes it sound like an accomplishment, as if everyone in Winnemucca has been pulling out all the stops to purposely transfigure our town into the furnace it’s been this summer.

  I’m working a double at Frank’s Pizza today. Lunch was pretty much a bust – I waited on a total of two tables. I’m guessing the heat has something to do with it. All I can do is sit and roll silverware by the window AC unit at the back of the tiny restaurant, as far away from the blistering heat of the brick ovens as it’s possible to get. I’m waiting for the dinner rush to come around – although truthfully I’m not expecting much of a turnout this evening either.

  I can hear Mick, the daytime shift manager, out back on his cell phone while he takes his smoke break. I’ve gathered from his multiple phone calls this afternoon that he’s going through a pretty gruesome breakup with his live-in girlfriend, Jamie. Earlier he was swearing like a sailor, irate as can be, but now he’s switched to crying and begging. I roll my eyes, thinking for the hundredth time today and the millionth time this month how badly I need to get out of Winnemucca.

  It’s hard to believe it’s already been over a year since I graduated high school. After a lot of thinking and discussing with my parents and older sister, I decided I would take a gap year and work before going off to college. Considering the sort of high school career I led, which cycled from unconventional at best to downright dysfunctional at worst, I just wasn’t quite ready to leave home yet. My mom was more than thrilled to keep me, of course – my sister, Rhiannon, thinks she’s scared to death of becoming an empty nester.

  It’s true I’ve managed to save up a decent amount of money working, especially since our parents haven’t held me responsible for any of my own finances. Still…I have got to get out of here. I didn’t think it would be this hard being the one left behind, one of only two in my class who stuck around after graduation. The other was a boy named Bryan, who stayed to work on his family’s farm.

  Christmastime was when it really hit home – all of my high school friends descended on the town for the holidays, each of them full of fascinating stories about college and classes and the new friends they’d made and places I’ve never seen before. I started applying to schools the very next week, and I received my acceptance letter from UN Reno a couple of months later. I’m counting down the days until freshman orientation – thirty-two days from today I will move out of this godforsaken town and begin my new life. And it will be in a place where no one knows my history, and no one will look at me with sympathy in their eyes, like I’m still the girl with no hair, no strength, and no future prospects.

  4:15 PM

  The cold water gushing from the bathroom faucet feels heavenly against my hot skin as I splash it on my heat-flushed cheeks. I wipe my face with a paper towel, then flip my hair upside down and gather it into a messy ponytail. After a few years with nothing more than a trim, it’s almost back down to my waist.

  I’m smoothing back the flyaways when the sound of a fist pounding against the door causes me to jump. “Tawny! You have customers!” Mick bellows.

  I tug on my hair to tighten the elastic, then open the door just in time to see Mick’s surly form retreating into the kitchen. I round the booths at the back of the restaurant and make my way to the tables near the front windows. A guy and girl sit facing me in the corner booth. I quickly recognize my former classmate Les Rayburn; the girl whose chair his arm is draped across the back of is his girlfriend, Leila Anderson – she was a year behind us in school.

  I pull my notepad out of my apron as I approach. I’m still fishing around for my pen when a familiar voice says, “Tawny Read?”

  My eyes snap up to meet the gaze of the person addressing me – Kyle Freeman. My pulse quickens – I hadn’t realized there was someone else sitting across the booth from Les and Leila. My mouth drops open at the realization he’s even more mind-blowingly gorgeous now than he was in high school. His brown hair has grown out a little, and he’s sporting a deep golden tan. The dark stubble covering his angular face makes him appear older, less like the kid I’ve known since kindergarten.

  “Yeah, hi,” I say the moment I remember to quit gawking and speak when spoken to. “Wow, it’s been a long time!” God, I hope my voice doesn’t sound as giddy as it does in my head. I swallow and concentrate on controlling the rate of my breathing. My eyes dart to Les and Leila, and I smile broadly in an effort to prove I really do have manners. I’m amazed how quickly the old feelings come flooding back – I’m so caught up in the head rush I almost forget to be embarrassed that I’m standing here in a Frank’s Pizza uniform with marinara stains on my white t-shirt.

  I glance back at Kyle, who’s beaming at me. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s actually happy to see me. “I wondered where you ended up,” he says as he sits back in his seat and crosses his arms. My eyes drop to the hemp bracelet encircling his wrist. “Did you go away for school this year?”

  I clear my throat, suddenly feeling overheated. Really, he thought about me? I fan my face with my notepad as I reply. “No, I worked. Here, actually. I’m starting at Nevada next month though.”

  “No kidding?” he asks, his eyebrows raised. “In Reno?”

  “Yep.”

  “We’ll be classmates then,” he says.

  “Wow, really?” I say, unable to keep from blushing. Of course I already knew Kyle goes to UNR. Majoring in journalism, if my memory serves… His grandma is in the same Bible study group as my mother, and understandably she likes to brag on him.

  “Yeah, we’ll have to all hang out when you get there,” says Les coolly as he runs a hand
through his mop of red hair. “Leila’s gonna be a freshman this year, too.”

  I look at Leila, who offers me a half smile. “Totally,” she agrees.

  “I’d love that,” I say. I let out a long breath, reminding myself not to get too excited. Les and Kyle never invited me to hang out with them in high school – why would they start now?

  Kyle – 4:30 PM

  “What can I get you guys to drink?” asks Tawny. I watch her, sort of amazed, as she addresses Les and Leila. I’m pretty sure the last time I saw her was at our graduation – I remember marveling at the way her oversized royal blue polyester robe matched her eyes exactly. I always thought she was cute in high school, but now she’s just plain beautiful. I’m glad to see she’s filled out some – she’s not as skinny as she used to be. I notice when she turns to take Leila’s order her hair has grown out longer, too – the end of her ponytail now touches the middle of her back. My mind goes fleetingly to the day she first showed up at school with a hat on to cover her shaven head, and a dull ache twists in my chest.

  She looks back at me, and my fogged brain scrambles to catch up to the present. “Diet Pepsi,” I say smoothly. My eyes remain on her as she turns and walks away, her slender hips swaying.

  “Looks like this year has been good to her,” says Les as he rubs Leila’s shoulder.

  “Yep,” I say noncommittally, lowering my gaze back down to my menu. Years of being Les’s friend have taught me to never act too interested in any female if you don’t want to be hounded about it or embarrassed in some way in front of her.

  5:15 PM

  Forty-five minutes later our pepperoni pizza has been reduced to crusts and crumbs. I pick up the grease-spotted slip of paper with our total printed on it in Tawny’s small, tidy penmanship and dig my wallet out of my back pocket.

  “How much?” asks Les as he reaches for his own.

  “Don’t worry about it, man, I got it,” I tell him. “I owe you for gas anyway.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, no problem.” I stand up and walk back to the counter with the “Cashier” sign suspended over it. Tawny is standing with her back to me, drying glasses with a rag. She turns around when she hears me walk up, and I could almost swear I notice her cheeks turn a little pink – it makes me smile.

  “Is there anything else you needed?” she asks as she holds her hand out for the check. I place it along with a twenty and a five dollar bill in her palm.

  “Nah, we’re good, thanks,” I reply. “And don’t worry about the change.” It’s a pretty exorbitant tip, especially by my own tightfisted standards, but I can’t seem to help that I want to give her something.

  “Whoa, okay…Thanks,” she says as she watches me unwrap a toothpick from the jar next to the register. Now would be the time to walk away – transaction complete – but I don’t.

  “You still living with your parents?” I ask her casually.

  She ducks her head bashfully and nods. “Yeah, I’m still at home.”

  I cluck my tongue and shake my head. “I couldn’t do it,” I say, chuckling. “My grandparents are great and everything, but there’s no way I could move back in there. That’s why I stayed in Reno this summer. We’re just here visiting till Saturday.”

  “Yeah, it’s not my favorite living arrangement either,” Tawny mumbles.

  “Where will you be living at UN?” I press further as I roll the toothpick between my teeth. I rock back on my heels and hook my thumbs in my pockets.

  “The dorms. Argenta Hall?”

  I nod. “That’s where I lived last year. It’s not bad, really. The food’s actually pretty good.”

  She cocks her head to the side and smiles. “That’s good.”

  An awkward silence settles between us. I fidget a little, scrounging for something else to say, but my mind is blank. The sound of chair legs scraping against linoleum alerts me that Les and Leila are ready to go. I look back at Tawny and say hurriedly, “Hey, why don’t you give me your number? That way I can look you up once school starts back up and we can catch up some more.”

  “Oh, okay,” she says. The words tumble out like she’s been holding her breath. She recites her phone number, and my thumb flies over my phone’s screen, rushing to get it programmed before Les can come investigate. When I glance up he’s looking at me curiously. I stuff my phone back in my pocket.

  “Thanks, Tawny. Later.” It comes out more brusquely than I had intended. I quickly swivel around to follow Les and Leila out the swinging glass door.

  Chapter 2 – All Nighter

  Friday & Saturday, July 15-16

  Tawny – Friday, 10:45 PM

  I’m lying on my bed watching reruns of “The Cosby Show” and hoping against all hope that my social life will improve substantially when I finally get out of this town. My original plans for this evening included seeing a late movie with my old friend Becca, but she flaked out at the last minute, leaving me to the solitary joys of mint chocolate chip ice cream and syndicated television. My parents have been sound asleep for well over an hour, and my ancient dog Sophie is curled up at my feet as if in a coma.

  I scoop up my phone just as the credits start to roll on the episode where Denise announces she’s pregnant. A quick glance at my inbox reminds me I still haven’t responded to a text message Rhiannon sent almost an hour ago:

  Wanna go halvsies with me on getting Mom’s sewing machine fixed for her birthday?

  I move my ice cream bowl off my lap before typing a response.

  Yeah that works

  A minute passes before the text alert chimes her response.

  OK deal. What are you up to tonight?

  Whole lotta nothing. Was considering staying up all night just for kicks.

  Really? Why?

  No reason. I’m just not tired.

  Anything you want to talk about? Blake’s out with a friend, so I have plenty of time on my hands.

  I love my sister probably more than anyone else I know, but sometimes she reads too much into things. It may not be obvious to anyone else, but I can tell from that last message she’s already jumped to conclusions about what she likely considers to be my fragile emotional state. Even though I’ve been healthy and cancer free for a few years now, she still reacts to my mood swings as if she’s solely responsible for rescuing me from my every downward spiral. Most of the time I don’t really mind her protective nature, even finding it endearing at times, but tonight she’s missed the mark.

  No I’m good. It’s just that I don’t work tomorrow so it’s not like I have anything better to do.

  OK. Well call me if you change your mind. Night T.

  Night.

  Slowly I roll up off the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping dog, and tiptoe down the hall to rinse my bowl out in the kitchen sink. The rest of the house is dark except for the pale, filtered light of the moon shining through the skylights in the living room. I turn on the faucet and let the water heat up until it’s steaming. I’ve just shut off the spigot and upended my bowl in the dish drainer when my phone chimes again; the noise is piercing against the silence of the dark house, and it causes me to stumble back in surprise.

  The text message is from an unknown number with a local area code:

  Hiiii what r u up to

  I blink at the display, confused. It’s probably a wrong number – I’ll just ignore it. I wipe my damp hands on my shorts and start out of the kitchen, but then something makes me stop. Instead of rounding the breakfast bar to head back down the hall, I hoist myself up onto the counter and type a message back.

  Who is this?

  I’ve just about given up on hearing back when the reply comes.

  Kyle

  Oh. I swallow the lump forming in my throat, completely clueless about what to say next.

  Oh hey. Nothin much, you?

  There. Poetic.

  Why aren’t u at jared minks party

  Come to think of it I had heard Jared was throwing a party for thos
e members of our graduating class who’ve made it back to Winnemucca for the summer. Now I can’t remember where… Facebook maybe?

  I don’t think I was invited

  That’s bullshit. Come over here.

  I’m at an impasse. On one hand, this could be the perfect answer to my horridly uneventful evening. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure Kyle is drunk.

  I set my phone down on the counter beside me and sit on my hands while staring at the glowing green numbers on the microwave – 11:09 PM. It’s pretty late… Maybe I should just stay in. I didn’t tell Mom I was going anywhere, and I don’t want her to worry.

  I pick up my phone and tap out my answer.

  Thanks but I’m already settled in for the night

  I hesitate before pressing Send. My mind ricochets between staying and going at least a dozen times before I finally jab at the backspace key to erase the text. Screw it – I deserve this. I hold my fingers over the screen, mulling over a reply, but then I think better of it. I’ll just go over there.

  I hop down off the counter and walk back to my room as quickly and quietly as I can, before I can change my mind. I go to my closet and begin rifling through hangers in search of something more suitable than the t-shirt and boxers combo I’m currently sporting. Sophie lifts her head as she yawns and regards me stoically before lowering her chin back to her front paws.