Unpredictable Love (6 page)

Friday morning, Jory screwed up her courage.
She handed the envelope to Nan.

“
What’s wrong, honey?”

“
This is it, Nan. The letter. Where I
tell him the truth.”

Her aunt gasped. “You didn’t?”

“
I did.”

Amber came up behind them. “Did what?”

Jory explained.

“
That’s totally dumb. You should just
tell him you met someone else. He’ll get over it,” Amber tossed
off.

“
I can’t do that. I’m in too
deep.”

The concern in her aunt’s eyes made Jory’s
water.

“
I don’t know what happened. It was
just supposed to be a friendly correspondence.”

“
And?” Amber prodded.

Emotion choked Jory for a second.

“
I don’t know. It’s stupid. I’m not
supposed to love him. He’s nothing like the man I want. He’s
totally wrong for me.” The words rushed from her mouth. “He’s not
an intellectual. Never read any of the same books I have. He likes
action movies. Hates chick flicks. Loves meat, hates salad. Likes
guns. He’s everything I should despise. But I don’t! I
don’t!”

She was fairly screaming and crying,
flinging herself into her aunt’s arms. “Why, Aunt Nan? Why do I
love him? This isn’t supposed to be.”

Nan stroked her niece’s hair as she held her
close. “Love is unpredictable, sweetie.” Nan rubbed Jory’s
back.

Amber retrieved a box of tissues and handed
it to her sister. “I’m so sorry, Jory. I never meant for this to
happen. Maybe it’ll work out?”

“
In a pig’s eye. When he reads this
letter, that’s it. I’ll probably get an angry response. Or maybe
nothing. It’ll be over.”

“
Then, why are you sending it?” Amber
rested her hands on her hips.

“
Because I have to. I can’t lie
anymore. It’s not right. If he walks away, then that’s that. It’s
the price I pay for carrying this too far. It’s not fair to him.”
Jory stepped back, blew her nose, and wiped her eyes.

“
I think you’re very brave,” Amber
said, giving her sister a hug.

“
I’m not. No, I’m not. This is
definitely the coward’s way out. A letter, rather than face him in
person. I couldn’t stand the disappointment in his eyes when he
sees me. I just couldn’t take it.”

A fresh bout of tears halted
conversation.

“
I’m so sorry,” Amber
whispered.

“
It’s not your fault,” Jory said. “I
did it to myself. I let it go on too long. I should have written
the truth months ago.” She wiped her face and tried to
smile.

Nan put the letter in her housecoat pocket.
“If it’s what you want. Sure you don’t want to think about it a
while?”

Jory shook her head. “Nope. I’m ready.
Please give it to Marla.”

Nan nodded once, embraced her niece again,
and left the room.

A shudder ran through Jory’s body as she
opened the door. She hugged Amber then slowly descended the steps.
On her walk to the car, she pulled out her phone and dialed.

“
Oak Bend Reporter, how can I help
you?” said the voice on the other end.

“
Can I speak to the editor,
please?”

Jory didn’t expect the waiting to be so
hard. One day she’d be glad there was no angry letter when she got
home. The next she wondered why he didn’t answer. Dread rocketed
through her, making her hand tremble when she opened the
mailbox.

She imagined all the horrible things
he’d write and shuddered at the names he’d call her.
It would have been worse in person.
But when no response came, the disappointment all but crushed
her.
Could he be so angry he’d never speak
to me again? He hates me. That’s it.

Fear of his words melted away,
replaced by a greater sadness. She kept track of each day.
It’s only four days. He didn’t get it yet.
Then,
it’s only a week. Not enough
time for it to arrive and him to write back.

Day after day, she’d yank open the little
door, only to view emptiness or a few circulars. Then, she’d make
an excuse as to why there was no letter there. One week became two.
Two slid into three, then four. When the month had passed, there
was no escaping the truth. She had to admit to herself that it was
over. Trent didn’t even want to yell at her, call her a lying
phony, nothing. The frustration of not knowing exactly what he was
thinking bit into her.

He had simply disappeared, the way he had
appeared. Jory stopped checking the mailbox. Her appetite went
south, and she lost weight. She nursed her broken heart by
rereading his old correspondence, looking for the truth—he didn’t
care about her and never had.

“
The county fair in Oak Bend is
coming. Why don’t we all go to opening day together?” Nan asked
over Saturday breakfast.

“
You guys go. Have fun.”

“
Come on, Jory. You never want to go
anywhere or do anything anymore,” Amber whined.

“
Is that true? Huh. Maybe. Maybe
you’re right. I’m fine here.”

“
All you do is mope over that asshole,
and feed the stupid birds.”

Jory shot her a look. “You live your life
the way you want to, and I’ll live mine.” With that, she pushed
away from the table and went up to her room.

Going to work didn’t make things better.
Archie Peabody pranced around the office like the biggest stud in
the world. He made references to hot nights with Marla and what a
sex goddess she was, especially when he was within earshot of Jory.
She ignored him, but his low-class bragging irritated her to the
point where the idea of duct-taping his mouth tempted her to the
edge of her control. Archie was a great reason to move to Oak Bend
and work for The Reporter.

When she ran out of birdseed, she didn’t
have the heart to buy more, so she simply took down the feeders.
When the chickadees and finches chided and scolded her from nearby
branches, she closed her curtains and turned on music. She missed
their sweet antics and appreciative calls. But everything that
smacked of Trent needed to be gone from her life.

Except his letters. She had tied them with a
pink ribbon and packed them away in a scented box in her dresser
drawer. There was no way she could get rid of those.

One Sunday afternoon, Jory lay on her bed
reading a romance novel when her aunt knocked.

“
I’m going up to the V.A. hospital in
Oak Bend. You know Dan’s retired military. He said they need
volunteers. People to hand out magazines, chat with the patients,
write letters for them. Stuff like that. So, I’m going. Why don’t
you come with?”

“
I’m busy. Reading.”

“
Jory Wheeler! Get your ass off that
bed this minute! Honestly, you’re setting the world’s record for
the longest pity party. You make this house feel like a funeral
parlor. Get up! Get going! Do something positive with your
life.”

Tears clouded Jory’s eyes. “You think this
is easy? He broke my heart. I broke my own heart. I don’t know what
to think, and I can’t stop. Honest, Nan. I’m sorry, but I have no
energy. It’s all I can do to get to work.”

“
Then, it’s time to get started
putting your life back on track. Get up. Now, young lady! And
change out of all that black stuff into something colorful. I’ll be
back in five minutes, and you’d better be ready.”

Her aunt’s stormy expression startled Jory.
She’d never seen Nan like that before. She changed into jeans and a
pink top, brushed her hair, put on lipstick, and went
downstairs.

“
That’s much better. Jesus Christ,
girl! All this and you don’t even know what he thinks.”

“
I haven’t heard. Isn’t that message
enough?” Jory followed her aunt to the car.

“
Don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe
something happened to him.” Jory’s deep intake of breath stopped
Nan in her tracks. “I mean, I don’t know. You don’t know, either.
Just get in the car.”

The idea that Trent might have been wounded,
or even killed, had never entered her mind. She sat immobile,
stunned. Jory’s heart rate doubled. Her hands got clammy. “You
don’t think he’s dead, do you?”

“
Good gracious! No. If he was dead,
Dan would’ve heard.”

They drove the next twenty minutes in
silence. Nan kept her eyes on the road, glancing over at her niece
from time to time. She chewed her lip and tapped her fingernails on
the steering wheel. Jory took a sidelong look at her aunt and
smelled a rat.
Nan’s up to
something.

Before she could corner Nan with the third
degree, the car pulled into the hospital parking lot.

“
We’ve got to ask for a Mavis Elton.
She’s in charge of the volunteers,” Nan said, pushing through the
revolving door, but still avoiding direct eye contact with her
niece.

The briefing lasted half an hour then Mavis
took them through a tour of the wards and private rooms. They
stopped in front of one doorway.

“
This soldier’s been in transit for a
couple of weeks. He’s got multiple injuries. And he’s waiting for a
cornea transplant. We’re looking for someone who likes to read
aloud.”

“
That’s Jory. She loves to read,” Nan
piped up, shoving the journalist toward the door.

Jory stared at Nan, pushed her away,
and then peered into the room. The man’s leg was in a cast and
immobilized. His eyes were bandaged. There were other gauze
wrappings and ace bandages, in addition to red, angry-looking cuts
on his arms.
He’s a mess.
“What’s his name?” Jory asked.

Mavis looked at her chart, running her
finger down the page. “Staff Sergeant Trent Stevens.”

The room began to spin. The air was sucked
from Jory’s lungs. She reached out to brace herself against the
wall.

“
If you like to read, then I’ll leave
you here to introduce yourself. Coming, Nan?”

“
In a minute.”

“
I’ll meet you in the
office.”

Before Jory could reply, the hospital
administrator was gone. “I can’t go in there.”

“
Yes, you can.” Nan pulled a crumpled
piece of paper from her pocket.

“
What’s that? My letter?” Jory
gasped.

“
I didn’t mail it,” Nan
admitted.

“
You didn’t what?” Jory’s blood
pressure rose twenty points.

“
It’s the letter spilling the truth. I
didn’t send it.”

“
You let me rot all these weeks,
thinking…God knows what…and you didn’t even send it?”

Nan shook her head. “It was a bad idea to
tell him that way.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me?”

“
Because I knew you’d write a new one
and send it yourself. Besides, about a week after you gave it to
me, Dan told me about Trent.”

“
I was right! You were up to
something. So, bringing me here was just to get me to see him. Look
at him, Nan. He’s all torn up!” Tears cascaded down her
face.

“
He’s alive. Pull yourself together.
Go in there. Now. He needs you.”

“
He won’t know it’s me.”

A deep, masculine voice called out. “Jory?
Jory, is that you?”

She turned to stare at her aunt and
whispered. “How does he know I’m here?”

Nan’s sheepish expression fueled Jory’s
fire.

“
What else did you do, Nan?” The young
woman’s face was as cloudy as a summer tornado.

“
Okay, okay. So, maybe I dabbed a
little of your perfume on your letters.”

“
You what?” Jory’s eyes
widened.

“
You heard me. I thought he’d get a
kick out of it.”

“
Great. Now he recognizes the
scent?”

“
Yep. So, you’re caught. Can’t back
out. Look, I didn’t know this was gonna happen. It was simply
something to make the letters a little…uh, sexier, more
memorable.”

“
And it worked.”

“
Go,” Nan said, pushing her niece
toward the doorway. “Go on. Make his dreams come true,
honey.”

Jory took a step into the room.

“
Is someone there? Jory? I’d recognize
your perfume anywhere.”

She inhaled a deep breath to steady her
voice, but it didn’t work. She cleared her throat and took baby
steps toward the bed before turning to look at Nan. Her aunt was
making swirling gestures, urging her to move forward. Then, she
waved and moved out of sight.

Jory swallowed. Her mouth was as dry as
burnt toast.

“
Hey, I don’t bite. Come
in.”

“
Trent?”

“
That’s me.”

He reached for her with a bandaged arm. She
rested her palm in his. It was warm and dry. She pulled up a
chair.

“
I can’t believe I’m finally meeting
you, and I’m a mess.” He combed his fingers through his crewcut
then ran them along his stubbly chin.

“
You’re not a mess. Not at all.” She
said a quick prayer to negate her lie.

“
I’m in pieces. And I can’t
see.”

She squeezed his hand.
You look damn good to me.

“
Bet you’re pissed. I haven’t written
you in weeks.”

“
No, no, not at all. Look at you. How
could you write?”
What’s one more
lie?