The Leaving Season (24 page)
Read The Leaving Season Online
Authors: Cat Jordan
Lee stared. His mouth opened and closed.
“And I don't know what there was between us, but I know that it
felt right
. And that was enough. I had to be honestâwith myself and with Nate.”
Lee, his face pale, said nothing, so I kept going.
“Oh, and the ring?” I held up both hands, flipped them over, showed him they were empty. “I gave it back. And I don't want one from
you
. I don't want anything from you. All I wantedâall I cared about in the time we were togetherâwas that
you saw me
.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “You saw me.”
I waited for him to respond. His face was blank. He was utterly silent.
Seriously?
I turned sharply and stalked away.
I got behind the wheel of my mom's car and tried to put the keys in the ignition. My fingers fumbled, dropping them on the floor, and when I picked my head back up, I saw Lee leaning his hands on the hood of the car.
We stared at each other through the windshield. Snowflakes fell like tears, kissing the glass. I watched as Lee came to the driver's-side door, opening it and lifting me to my feet. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to mine.
I felt myself melt under his touch. My hands slid around his back and under his jacket; I could feel the heat of his skin
through his shirt. It warmed me from my spine to my toes.
“I see you,” he said, his voice, raspy and coarse. “All I see is you.”
Lee backed me up against the side of the car and pinned me in place. He pressed his hands on either side of me; I couldn't move even if I wanted to. He grinned slyly at me. “And now I have you where I want you.”
I grinned back. “Who says I don't have
you
where I want
you
?”
“Touché, Meredith Daniels. Touché.” He bent his head to my neck. “I love you,” I heard him mumble.
“What was that?” I managed to unpin myself enough to gently push him away from me. “Did you say something?”
He shook his head. “Must have been the wind.”
“Huh? Really? I would have sworn you said âI loâ'”
He kissed me again, but I didn't mind the interruption. Finally, he paused and let out a long, slow exhale. He looked up at the sky and blinked. “Did you notice it's snowing?”
I tilted my head up; delicate flakes dotted my nose and cheeks. “Yeah, it is.”
“What should we do now?”
I shrugged. “Maybe we should run away together.”
Lee feigned astonishment. “That's awfully spontaneous. Next you'll tell me you want to join the circus.” I felt him kiss the corner of my lips as I smiled.
“I've got a great magic act,” I said. “I can make an entire future disappear.”
He leaned into me. “Show me everything.”
I laced my hands around the back of his neck and pulled him to me. “All right. I will.”
Tell Us About an Experience That Defines You.
One? There is no one experienceâno one person, no one
eventâthat defines me. As Walt Whitman once wrote, “I contain
multitudes.” Life is messy. Plans are written and rewritten, tossed up and down and around. The only way to find out who you really are is to take a risk, a leap, a walk under a waterfall. When you stop worrying that you'll have nothing, then you know you're on the right path.
This book is a work of fictionâexcept for the parts inspired by all the guys who broke my heart and the few whose hearts I broke. They know who they are, although some of the former might think they're the latter. Thank you.
This book is also a work of love. Extraspecial thanks go to my editor, Kristen Pettit (who never forgot meâthank you!), who didn't mind sharing her own stories of heartbreak and loss with me; to editorial director Jen Klonsky and editorial assistant Elizabeth Lynch, both of whom championed the book and provided much-appreciated support from day one; and to the sales and marketing team at HarperCollins, cover designer Michelle Taormina, and copy editor Janet
Robbins, whose combined professionalism, talent, and eye for the smallest detail make me so proud to be part of their world. Thank you.
I am grateful to Charlie Olsen at InkWell Management, and my manager and good friend, Adam Peck at Synchronicity Management, and all of my students and friends for their kindness and encouragement. Writer friends especially know the ups and downs and have just the right words to say: Carrie Watson, Carol Tanzman, Liane Bonin, and Sally Nemeth. Thank you.
My family and husband have always been the ones I can count on through the best and worst of it all, and there isn't enough time and space to let them know how much they mean to me. Thank you.
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Born in Europe and raised in America,
CAT JORDAN
has spent her life in the visual and performing arts as a dancer, painter, and filmmaker. A nomad by nature, she's found inspiration for her stories and choreography around the worldâfrom Venice, California, to Venice, Italy. You can visit her online at
www.catjordanbooks.com
.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.
Cover art © 2016 by Rekha Garton/Getty Images
Hand lettering by Michelle Taormina
Cover design by Erin Schell
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE LEAVING SEASON.
Copyright © 2016 by Cat Jordan. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jordan, Cat.
The leaving season / Cat Jordan. â First edition.
  pages cm
 Summary: “Middie Daniels is torn between the memory of her missing boyfriend, Nate, and Nate's brooding best friend Lee”â Provided by publisher.
 ISBN 978-0-06-235137-1 (hardback)
EPub Edition © February 2016 ISBN 9780062351395
 [1. LoveâFiction. 2. Missing personsâFiction.] I. Title.
| PZ7.1.J78 Le 2016 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2015015558 |
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FIRST EDITION
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