Revelations (The Revelations Series Book 1) (23 page)

She had to warn Jonas and if he wouldn’t listen then she would go to Dango and tell him what she had learned. They had to stop this and soon, and if they couldn’t then the girl had to die.

JENNA
spent the rest of the afternoon washing and drying the laundry. She put Alex’s on his bed and was putting hers in her dresser when she heard the familiar rumbling of Dylan’s truck coming up the driveway.

“Is it seven already?” She hadn’t realized how late it was and she wasn’t ready. She grabbed a new pair of jeans and a light blue tank top that Arlene had bought her and hurried into the bathroom. After changing, she checked her outfit in the mirror. She grimaced at her reflection. The pink top looked so much better on her. She quickly changed her shirt then freshened up her makeup.

“Jenna, Dylan’s here,” Arlene called up the stairs as she was running a brush through her hair.

“I’ll be right down,” she yelled back as she pulled the sides of her hair up leaving the back down and fastened it with a brown butterfly clip.

She couldn’t help but smile when she saw Dylan waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. She touched her lips as she thought about their kiss earlier that afternoon. She couldn’t believe that even though God thought of her as an abomination that he had sent her someone like Dylan. Maybe God wasn’t so bad after all. Then a twinge of guilt washed over her as she remembered her mom.

Jenna, please don’t let my death keep you from living your life, or from falling in love with this wonderful boy. Open your heart to him. It’s the only way you’ll get through this.

Jenna spun around expecting to see her mom behind her. But, the hallway was empty.

“What’s up?” Alex asked coming out of his room.

“Nothing, I’m just going to Charlie’s with Dylan.” Jenna glanced around once more then focused her attention on Alex.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s just that I could have sworn…” Jenna stopped herself. She didn’t want Alex to know she heard her mom’s voice. Then she would have to explain the dream to him and that was something she didn’t want anyone to know about. “Nothing, forget about it. Do you want to come with us?” she asked as they headed down the stairs.

“No, that’s okay. Dean called and asked if I wanted to go. I was actually heading to find you to see if you wanted to come with us?”

“Do you want to hitch a ride with us?” Jenna asked.

Alex shook his head. “No, he’s already on his way.”

“Who’s on their way?” Arlene asked as they got to the bottom of the stairs.

“Dean is,” Alex responded. “We’re going to Charlie’s.”

“So are we, so I guess we’ll see you there,” Dylan told Alex as he smiled at Jenna.

Thinking of her mom’s words on the steps, Jenna walked over to Dylan and took his hand into hers. “You ready?” she asked. She glanced up at Alex to see the anger in his eyes when she had taken Dylan’s hand into hers.

Dylan nodded then glanced at Arlene and smiled.

“Have a good time,” Arlene told them. “Don’t be too late.”

“I’m glad she’s okay with it,” he told Jenna as they closed the front door behind them. “I wasn’t looking forward to trying to hide it from her.”

Jenna smiled as they walked down the steps. “I’m not sure we could. She knew the night of the beach party I liked you. And, I didn’t even tell her.”

“So, you talk about me behind my back do you,” he joked as he opened the truck door for her to climb in. “Just what did you tell her?”

Jenna laughed as she slid into the middle of the seat. “Oh, I told her I had a crush on the cutest guy in town, and that I hoped he would kiss me.”

“Did he?”

“It was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

Dylan laughed. “That’s good to know. Don’t forget there’s a lot more where that one came from.” Dylan started the truck as Dean came roaring up the driveway in his Jeep. He stopped beside the truck and Dylan rolled his window down as he got out of the Jeep.

“Hey, man, I heard you’re heading to Charlie’s,” Dylan said.

“It is a Friday. You know that’s where the gang always meets up on Fridays. I knew you had been working all week and were probably tired so I called Alex to see if he wanted to come.”

“I finished early today. I was going to call you but figured we would just meet you there.”

“Hey Jenna,” Dean said as he peeked his head in the window. “Jasmine and Carla will be happy you’re coming.”

“Are they there already?” Jenna asked. She was hoping to have some alone time with Dylan by herself before she had to share his attention.

“They might be. I’m not sure.” Dean took a step back. “I’ll see you guys there in a little while. I’m sure Dylan wants you all to himself first.” Dean laughed as he turned and headed up the steps to the house.

“So, are you hungry?” Dylan asked as he rolled up the window.

Jenna realized she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. She had been so busy with the laundry that she’d forgotten all about eating. “What do you have in mind?” she asked as they pulled away from the house.

“Well, to be honest, Dean was right when he said I wanted you all to myself first. So, I planned a little surprise before we head to Charlie’s to meet up with everyone.”

Jenna smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. “I can’t wait to see what it is this time. The last surprise was pretty great.”

“I can’t lie; I had a little help with this one. But, I promise; you’ll love it.” Dylan pulled the truck out of the driveway and headed toward Main Street.

Jenna giggled. “Let me guess, Arlene?”

“Yeah, she knew something was up when she came back with the part for the tractor and saw how happy I was. Besides, I didn’t think it was right if I didn’t ask her if it was okay if we dated. She is my boss, and your Aunt.”

“She’s great isn’t she? This move wasn’t an easy one for me, and she made me feel right at home.”

“I thought you wanted to move here?” Dylan glanced over at her as he drove through Main Street and headed out of town as the sun faded from view.

Realizing what she just said Jenna corrected herself right away. “I did, it was just hard leaving all my friends and my parents. But, it would have been worse if I had to go to China.”

“I don’t know, I think it might be good to get out of this town. Not sure about China, but out of this town, sure.”

“So, where are we going?” Jenna asked to change the subject.

“It’s right up the road.” Dylan drove over the bridge, his tires rumbling over the planks, and then turned left onto a dusty old road. He followed that for a few minutes until they came to a clearing.

“We’re here,” he announced as he stopped the truck and turned off the engine.

“Where’s here?” Jenna asked as she looked around the open field and saw nothing.

“Come on, I’ll show you.” Dylan climbed out of the truck and walked around to the back.

Jenna slid across the seat and hopped out as he came back around with a blanket, a small basket and a lantern. “We’re going to have a picnic… at night?”

Dylan smiled as he lit the lantern. “Just trust me, would you? Follow me, the spot isn’t far.”

Jenna followed him to the middle of the field where he handed her the lantern.

“Here, hold this for a moment.”

Jenna took the lantern and watched as he fanned the blanket out on the ground and opened the picnic basket.

“Come on, sit down. In a few minutes you’ll see why I brought you here.”

Jenna reluctantly sat on the blanket and set the lantern on the ground in front of them. She couldn’t even begin to fathom why he brought her here of all places.

“Relax, Jenna, I promise I didn’t bring you here to take advantage of you. I’m not that kind of guy.”

Dylan took the sandwiches and drinks out of the basket and handed one to her. “Arlene packed the food because I wasn’t sure what you liked. I hope it’s okay.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” Jenna unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite. She looked around at the open field as she ate. She had to admit it was pretty. Wildflowers of various colors and sizes grew all around the area and the scent of the flowers drifted on the air. She finished her sandwich and took a sip of her drink.

“If you’re wondering why we’re here you’re looking in the wrong direction.” Dylan tossed the sandwich wrappers back in the basket and laid down on the blanket. “Lay down and you’ll see why I chose this spot.”

Jenna lay down on her back and looked up into the sky. It was filled with the most sparkling stars she had ever seen. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “How did you know I would like it?”

“Well, to be honest it was Arlene’s idea. She told me your mom told her you loved the stars. It was then I knew I had to bring you here.”

Jenna rolled over on her side and faced Dylan. “I bet you bring all your girlfriends here,” she joked.

“I’ve actually never brought anyone here before. I told you, there something about you that I can’t help but want to show you things like this, to make you happy.” Dylan moved closer and gently kissed her. “Do you like it?”

“No, I love it. It’s so peaceful.” She lay back down and rested her head on Dylan’s shoulder. Just being close to him made her feel like things would somehow work out. She cast a glance at Dylan. If this was what love felt like then love was a small word for the strong emotions surging through her heart. She wasn’t sure how long they were there just staring up at the sky. She could have stayed all night close to Dylan without a care in the world, but the ringing of Dylan’s cell brought her back to reality.

“Hey, what’s up Dean?” Dylan said into the phone then looked at his watch. “Sorry, man, I didn’t realize how late it was. We’ll be right there.” Dylan stood up and held out his hand for her. “We have to get going. Everyone’s waiting for us.”

“Do we have to?” Jenna mumbled.

“Afraid so. If we don’t get there soon they’ll probably track us down. I’d rather that not happen.”

Jenna took Dylan’s hand and he helped her up off the ground. They quickly packed everything up and headed back to the truck.

“Do you think we can come back here some day?” Jenna asked as she took one more look up at the stars, then climbed in the truck and slid over into the middle of the seat.

“Sure.” Dylan put everything in the back of the truck then climbed in beside her and started the truck. “Let’s get to Charlie’s and see what’s going on there.”

“If you don’t want to go, we don’t have to,” Jenna said.

“Don’t tempt me to keep you here and all to myself.” He smiled a smile that sent her pulses racing. “I have to learn how to share you, so I might as well start now.”

Jenna smiled. If this was what it felt like to fall in love, she wished she could freeze this moment forever.

CHARLIE’S
was in the last building on the corner at the nearly empty mini mall. Dylan found an empty spot close to Dean’s Jeep and parked.

Dylan shifted his weight sideways. “You ready for this?” he asked.

Confused, Jenna shook her head. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’m not going to lie to you, Jenna. I see some of Sandra’s friend’s cars here. I’m not sure how she’ll take it when she finds out we really are dating. If you don’t want to deal with it we can leave.”