Unchained Memories

by Dena Blake

  “Okay.” Abby swiped it across her lips and handed it back.

  “You keep that.” Jillian gave Abby a reassuring smile and reached for the door handle. “Ready?”

  “Ready.” Abby took in a deep breath and got out of the car.

  When they walked into the gym, all heads turned, and Jillian could see they weren’t looking at her. Abby was getting their attention, the boys with lovelorn eyes and the girls shooting daggers. Jillian’s stomach tightened. She should have listened to Amelia. Abby was growing up way too quickly.

  “Hey. I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight. You two could’ve ridden with me and the boys.” Blake motioned at Shane and Logan before he took a place beside her and looked at the growing crowd of teenagers.

  “I had to wait for someone to get ready.” She looked across the room at Abby, who was already surrounded by boys. “First dance at the new school and all.”

  “Looks like she’s making some new friends.”

  Yeah, I know. All boys. She watched as Logan tried to squeeze between a couple of bigger boys to talk to her. Jillian was happy to see her give him her attention when he did. “Logan’s a smart kid, huh.”

  “Very. He’s in all AP classes.” Blake glanced to the middle of the gym, where Logan and Abby had taken to the dance floor with a few other students. “They seem to get along well.”

  “They do, don’t they.” She smiled “And they look cute together.” Jillian was thankful Logan and Abby seemed to have a lot in common. He was closer to her age and wasn’t overly aggressive. She seemed to focus on him and didn’t pay much attention to the other boys watching her. “What’s with the eighties music?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m not sure they’re going to get these kids dancing with the oldies they’re playing,” he said and looked across the gym. Jillian noticed the smile fall from Blake’s lips and followed his gaze to an attractive woman with wavy blond hair who was talking to Stan. She was petite but wore heels tall enough to bring her to about Stan’s height. “Do you know her?”

  Blake nodded but didn’t elaborate. She could see by the look in his eye that she was someone he still wanted to know. The DJ went way back, playing one of Jillian’s favorites, Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” On impulse, she pulled Blake onto the dance floor, and they moved surprising well together. Blake threw her out and reeled her back in smoothly in a mix of swing and jitterbug moves. By the time the dance was finished, Jillian could tell Blake’s mood had lightened and he seemed to be having as good a time as she was. The music changed to a slow ballad, and he placed his hand on her lower back and pulled her in close. Most of the single women in the room would love to be in her place at this moment, body to body with him, but being this close to Blake didn’t stir any feelings in Jillian, physical or emotional. Her mind wandered to Amelia and how her body had reacted when she’d kissed her. Just the thought of the kiss made her body warm. No, not just warm, it was blazing with fire. That was the kind of feeling she wanted.

  “That was fun,” he whispered in her ear, and Jillian hoped he hadn’t noticed the change in her body temperature.

  “It was.” She wasn’t lying. Even though there was no chemistry between them, it was great to move in sync with someone. She scanned the crowd for Abby as they circled the room, caught sight of her near the food table with Logan. Then her gaze caught the petite blonde’s, and Jillian found herself on the receiving end of a very unattractive scowl. Apparently, the woman Blake was pining after also had feelings for him. She wondered what the backstory was on the two of them but didn’t dare ask. She didn’t want to put Blake back into a sullen mood. The dance seemed to have brightened his spirits and, as a bonus, had sparked a bit of jealousy in Blake’s love interest.

  * * *

  Amelia had followed JJ and Abby to the dance. She’d also seen JJ’s eyes widen as she’d become aware of how the other students were looking at her niece. Had the woman been raised in a box? Where had she gone to school? Hadn’t she ever been exposed to boys when she was younger? Maybe not. Maybe she’d gone to an all-girls’ school. Maybe she hadn’t developed as early as Amelia had and hadn’t been exposed to the attention of older boys or the cruelty of her peers. Surely, she’d have some inkling of how teenage cliques worked. Amelia wasn’t even sure why she was so concerned. Looking after Abby wasn’t her business. She caught sight of David off to the side, in a semi-darkened corner with his date, and JJ’s words from earlier about the backseat shot through her mind.

  David seemed just as surprised as Amelia was to find herself standing in front of him. “I don’t want anything besides sitting to happen in the backseat of my car. Understand?” And she was even more surprised when the words flew out of her mouth.

  “Uh, okay,” David said, looking sideways to see if his date had caught the conversation. She hadn’t, but Amelia knew she’d embarrassed him by just being there. She’d always trusted David to do the right thing. It seemed like only yesterday she was teaching him how to ride a skateboard, but he was a driving teenager now, and Amelia knew from experience that the backseat of a Camaro could be dangerous at that age.

  “Have a good time, Dave.” Amelia shook her head. She had no idea where this parenting urge had come from. As she spun around to leave, she caught the outline of JJ’s dress from behind as she talked to Blake. It was a gorgeous sight, and Amelia knew exactly what she could do in the backseat of a Camaro, if given the opportunity. When JJ turned around and glanced her way, Amelia ducked into the locker room and slipped out, hoping she hadn’t spotted her.

  It was almost eleven o’clock by the time Amelia heard footsteps on the front porch. She’d been on the couch, reading, since she’d returned to the house. No, that was a lie. She couldn’t read, she couldn’t think. She’d just been waiting for JJ to come back so she could apologize for her intrusive behavior. Laying her book on the table, she jumped up to open the door, and Abby scooted by her without a word, heading straight upstairs.

  “I was beginning to worry.”

  “No need. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” JJ turned and seemed startled to find Amelia so close.

  “I know you are.” Her eyes met JJ’s. That’s exactly what worries me. “I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have been so judgmental.”

  JJ’s pink, heart-shaped lips looked so soft, so inviting. She closed her eyes, leaned closer, felt JJ’s breath on her lips. Their lips had barely brushed when she heard Blake and the boys coming up the steps. Thank God. She turned away, touched her lips to cool the fire tingling in them. She went back into the living room, hoping no one had seen the heat in her cheeks.

  “How was the dance?”

  “Great. You should’ve come,” Blake said. “This one really knows how to dance.” He slipped his arm around JJ’s shoulder.

  “The two of you danced?”

  “Most of the night,” JJ said, smiling as she leaned into Blake.

  “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time.” Blake turned to JJ. “Thanks.”

  “It was my pleasure.” She smiled at Blake as he went up the stairs.

  Amelia’s stomach tightened. She didn’t know what the hell was going on between JJ and her brother, but she didn’t like it one bit. Her feelings were all over the place. One minute she was irritated as hell by this woman, and the next she was insanely jealous. She tamped her feelings down into the usual compartment she reserved for feelings of that kind and took in a deep breath. “Again, I’m sorry about the way I acted earlier.”

  “Me too.” JJ put her hand on Amelia’s shoulder and let it slide to her elbow before kissing Amelia on the cheek. “You should’ve stayed and danced with me.”

  Amelia’s body buzzed as she watched JJ go up the stairs. She still didn’t know why she wanted to be close to her, but she wanted to be even closer now. These crazy feelings she was having could turn out to be a huge mistake.

  * * *

  Jillian tried to slow the rapid thumping in her ches
t as she headed up the steps to her room. The evening had been full of surprises. Dancing with Blake had been fun, and making the blonde jealous had been an absolute blast. However, coming home to Amelia had been the highlight of the night. No matter how irritated Jillian was at her, she couldn’t hold on to the anger. Whenever she looked into those big blue eyes, something inside her shifted, and all she wanted was to be wrapped up in her arms. The almost-kiss had been the topper. Thankfully, Blake and the boys weren’t too far behind, or she might have found herself lost in Amelia…again.

  Jillian changed her clothes, careful to hang up her dress before she went into the bathroom to wash her face. She gripped the counter and stared in the mirror at the reflection she’d created, wondering who this woman was whose stomach flip-flopped whenever Amelia was near. She’d dealt with all those feelings long ago. Hadn’t she? She thought about Amelia and her pulse spiked again. Apparently not. She needed to get her shit together, focus on Abby and the foundation. She’d come here for specific reasons, and somehow those reasons had become blurred.

  Jillian flipped off the light, and moonlight spilled into the room through the window, its silver beams reaching to the very corners of the space with its magic. The sheets felt cool to her skin as she slid between them. She put her mind to work on her new investigative-report idea about women and car repairs. She’d been surprised when it had taken Amelia only ten minutes to change the brake light in her car and the shop had quoted her an hour’s worth of labor, plus the cost of parts. There she was again, Amelia. She closed her eyes, thought of Amelia’s tanned skin and how she always seemed to smell like fresh flowers. She opened her eyes and shook the thoughts from her head. Focus, Jillian. Cars, mechanics…Amelia. Fuck. It was no use. Amelia was in her system, and she was going to have to work her out somehow. She pulled the covers up over her head, closed her eyes, and let fantasies of Amelia coming through the door, crawling into bed take over.

  Chapter Nine

  Amelia rearranged her schedule and broke free from the office as soon as she could when she’d received Blake’s text to come to the house ASAP. He didn’t send those very often, so it must be important. When she got there, she found him in the kitchen helping Coop peel potatoes.

  “What’s going on?” Amelia sat at the table.

  “David drew one of his caricatures in class today.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “It was of Ms. Rand, his math teacher.” Blake rinsed and dried his hands before sitting at the table next to her. “Here. Take a look.” He slid a copy of it across the table, facedown.

  “Lucy Rand?” Amelia recognized the name. “It can’t be all that bad.” She picked up the picture and let the edges of her mouth curl up as she looked at the head with scattered sprigs of hair shooting wildly about it, encompassing the huge open mouth and bulging eyes. “It looks pretty accurate to me.”

  “That’s not the point.” He snapped the picture away and stared at it, then exploded with a burst of laughter. “It is a pretty good likeness, isn’t it?”

  “Dead on, if you ask me. You should really get him into some sort of art program. He’s a very talented young man, you know.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not going to that meeting.”

  “You haven’t already met? Where did you get the picture?”

  “JJ brought it to me at lunch. She said she’ll go.”

  “Blake, you have to go stand up for him.”

  “Negative,” he said, his voice firm.

  “Don’t you think your high school experience would’ve been a whole lot more tolerable if you’d had a father to support you?” Amelia’s voice rose.

  “I remember going to that high school once or twice to get your butt out of trouble,” Coop said, as she continued preparing dinner. “David needs you to do the same for him. You gave up that college scholarship to be his dad. You can’t stop because it’s getting tougher.”

  “I’m not like you, Coop.”

  “No one is like me, Blake. But you’re a strong man.” She raised her arms and turned her palms up. “Look at all you’ve accomplished here. You changed your life, and you’re making a difference with these kids. A weak man would have never chosen this path.”

  Amelia got up and took a soda from the refrigerator. “I can go with you, if you want.”

  “Strength in numbers?”

  “Something like that.” She opened the soda and the air fizzed out. “What time is the meeting?”

  “Four. Right after school lets out.”

  “It’s about that now.”

  “Go on. I’ll finish up dinner.” Coop shooed them to the door.

  “Thanks, Coop.” He grabbed his keys and they headed out the door. “We won’t be long.”

  * * *

  Jillian sat speechless while the principal reprimanded David and Abby.

  Mrs. Patterson looked at the picture. “Do you know how disrespectful this is?”

  “I have never in my life had a student be so disrespectful to me,” Ms. Rand said as she paced the office behind the principal’s desk.

  Jillian looked at her unique style of hair and clothing and decided that probably wasn’t true. She’d probably just never caught them.

  “What do you two have to say for yourselves?”

  Abby spoke up. “It wasn’t personal. We were just having fun. He draws them of everyone, including me.”

  “It’s not any different than what you would buy at a theme park.” Jillian shifted in her seat when Mrs. Patterson narrowed her eyes. It was like high school all over again. Fear skittered through her as though she were the one in trouble.

  “High school is not a theme park, and these two had better pay attention unless they want to be working at one for the rest of their lives,” Ms. Rand ground out.

  Jillian shot out of her chair and went toe-to-toe with Ms. Rand. “They’re both very bright students, so let’s not pigeonhole them just yet.” Jillian didn’t know much about Lucy Rand, but she had a reputation for being a bully with the students as well as with the faculty. Jillian wasn’t going to let her squash the spirit of either one of these kids. “Maybe if you’d treat your students with a little respect, they’d draw you in a better light. And they’d be in class rather than the office every day.” The back of her neck began to tingle as her irritation grew. Jillian was just about to let loose on her again when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Amelia standing behind her. “How long have you been there?”

  “Long enough.” Amelia gave her a soft smile. “I heard these two got caught with some questionable art in math class.”

  “If you can call it art,” Ms. Rand said as she cautiously backed away from Jillian.

  Jillian looked at Lucy and narrowed her eyes. Apparently, Lucy wasn’t as tough as she seemed. She’d made her way to the opposite side of the room and was now using Mrs. Patterson as a shield. She held eye contact for a few seconds before turning back to Amelia.

  “Is Blake with you?” She looked behind her into the hallway.

  “He’ll be here in a minute. He’s trying to find a place to park around all the busses.”

  The door pushed open farther, and Blake stepped into the office. Mrs. Patterson hopped up and moved around her desk. “Well, if it isn’t Blake Mathews, as I live and breathe.”

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Patterson.” He smiled, offering his hand. “I wasn’t aware barracudas needed to breathe.”

  The kids chuckled, and Mrs. Patterson narrowed her eyes at them before returning her attention to Blake. “I can see you haven’t lost your wit.” She circled back around her desk. “I certainly haven’t missed that.”

  “You’re going to see a lot more of it, if you don’t get off my son’s back.”

  “Like father, like son,” Lucy mumbled. Jillian shot her a look and moved toward her slightly. She was surprised to see Lucy flinch. Now she was sure there was a history behind her behavior.

  “I may have been a challenging adolescent,
Mrs. Patterson, but I had reasons for that. Reasons that don’t exist in my son’s life. I expect you to treat him individually and not pre-judge him because of your past experiences with me.”

  “All right, Mr. Mathews. I think I can do that.” She sat down, eyes wide.

  “Good. Now that we’ve got that straight, what’s his punishment?”

  “Three days’ suspension.” She slid the paper across the desk for him to sign. “I need your signature.”

  “And Abby?” Jillian asked.

  “She didn’t draw the picture. She’ll just have detention the rest of the week.”

  “But—”

  Jillian put her hand on Abby’s shoulder. “That’ll be fine.”

  Blake leaned over, scribbled his signature on the paper, and slapped the pen back onto the desk. “Let’s go, David.” He turned to Jillian as he opened the door. “We’ll see you two at home,” he said in a gentler tone.

  She nodded and followed them out into the hallway and lightly touched Amelia’s shoulder. “Would you mind taking Abby home with you? I have a few more things to take care of.”

  “Sure. Anything I can help with?”

  “No. I’ve got this.”

  Jillian stood outside the door waiting for Lucy to vacate Vickie’s office. She couldn’t help but overhear Lucy ranting about the low punishment Vickie had given the kids. Lucy’s face was stone cold as she exited the office, and her eyes drilled into Jillian’s until Jillian raised a brow in challenge and walked toward her. She immediately scurried down the hall and out of the office. It appeared the woman was all show and no go.

  Jillian ducked her head back through the doorway of Mrs. Patterson’s office and said, “Can I speak to you in private for a moment?”

  Mrs. Patterson looked up over her reading glasses. “Sure. Come on in.”

  “I’d like you to see something.” She handed her the caricature David had drawn of her.

  She glanced at it quickly, then threw herself back into her chair. “I don’t need to see any more of these today.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, she let out a short breath of irritation.