My cheeks grew warm and I knew I was blushing. Parker had just kissed me in front of his mother as if we were a couple. I took a quick breath and smiled up at him to reassure him that I was perfectly fine.
Both Buck and Mrs. Benson looked at us strangely. As if this was a Parker they weren’t used to. As if someone had slipped into his body and taken over.
Parker ignored them as he poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip. He takes it black, I realized, cataloging that information. There was so much I didn’t know about him. Pepperoni on his pizza, coffee black, rescuer of damsels in distress. But not much else.
“So?” Mrs. Benson said. “Any ideas?”
My heart squeezed shut as I realized this was the moment where I had to face a dark future.
Parker glanced at me over the top of his coffee cup and slowly smiled.
“What?” I asked as I held my breath. What had he done without talking to me first?
“Mrs. Thompson,” he told his mother as if that said everything.
Her brow furrowed for a moment then she slowly nodded. “Yes, that will work. Genius.” The look of admiration in her eye for her son said so much.
“What?” I asked again.
Parker turned to me, obviously deciding that he couldn’t keep me in suspense any longer not unless he wanted me to start slapping him in the back of the head.
“Mrs. Thompson. She lives on the corner. About six doors down. I mowed her grass for four years …”
“And I did it for three,” Buck added.
“The Jackson boy does it now,” Mrs. Benson said. “But he charges more than you two did.”
Buck mumbled around a mouthful of cornflakes, “I don’t know about the kids these days. They have it so much easier. It doesn’t seem right.”
Mrs. Benson laughed. I bit my lip to stop myself from yelling at them. I needed to know what Parker meant.
He saw my obvious distress and relented. “Mrs. Thompson is a sweet, older lady, who has been having health problems.”
“She’s had to start using a walker,” Mrs. Benson told me. “And she isn’t able to keep her house as clean as she liked to.” Here, Mrs. Benson turned to Parker and raised an eyebrow.
He nodded to her then continued with me. “She has agreed to let you live there in exchange for light cleaning and cooking.”
“What?” I asked.
“But you’ve got to pretend that she is helping you. The only way she would agree was if I pitched it as a charity case.”
“It IS a charity case,” I said. “And she would be helping me.”
“Yeah, but really, you would be helping her out,” he said. “She’s old and doesn’t want to be a bother to her children. But if you lived there, you could sort of see after her.”
I frowned up at him. “Don’t try to manipulate me, Parker Benson. I know what you are doing. Trying to make it look like I am helping her when she would really be saving me and you know it. You think that I can’t accept help from others so you're trying to twist things around.”
He blanched a little as we stared at each other. I heard a soft chuckle off to the side.
“She’s got your number, bro,” Buck said.
Parker started to say something to his brother but I pulled his face around to keep his focus on me.
“Don’t get me wrong. It is a brilliant solution. I just don’t want you thinking you are fooling anyone. Especially not me.”
He swallowed hard then nodded.
Seeing that he understood I turned to Mrs. Benson and said, “What can you tell me about Mrs. Thompson that will help me make her love me.”
Chapter Ten
Jade
My boyfriend was a genius. This was so perfect.
Mrs. Thompson was a sweet, older lady. No bigger than a bird, with short gray hair and thick glasses. She peered over the top of them, looking me up and down then slowly smiled and invited me in.
Parker started to follow but Mrs. Thompson shook her head and told him to come back later.
He frowned then shot me a quick glance to make sure I would be alright. I smiled up at him and touched his arm to let him know I was fine.
He signed then nodded and left us alone.
Mrs. Thompson indicated I should go first then followed me, leaning on her walker the entire way.
“My hip,” she told me when she caught me staring at the walker.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
She frowned for a moment then said, “Tea, that is always the right answer. Come with me and I will show you how to do it right.”
I followed her and began to wonder just how much help did she really need. But then I saw the strain next to her eyes and realized even this simple movement was taking a lot out of her.
“So dear,” she said as she filled the tea kettle. “You are Parker’s girlfriend?”
“He told you that?” I said, surprised that he was so open about it.
She laughed. “The way he talked about you. I could tell.”
My heart filled up with happiness. Parker said nice things about me to other people. She set the kettle on the stove then opened a cupboard to remove a china teapot and an entire set for two people.
As she retrieved the cups, my heart ached at the sight of her gnarled fingers racked with arthritis. Maybe I could actually help her.
“I have two rules,” she said out of nowhere and I shifted inside. I was going to have to get used to that, I realized. “No drugs. And no boys in your room. The living room only. Even if it is Parker.”
All I could do was gasp. “It’s not like that,” I said quickly.
She paused and raised an eyebrow at me. “Why not? That’s Parker Benson. Of course, it is that way. No, I understand that young people have to be … together, shall we say. I just don’t want it going on in that room.”
“Mrs. Thompson. I promise. Nothing …”
She reached out and patted my hand. “Dear. I am not being judgmental. It is just that my grandchildren visit unannounced sometimes. No, you two do what you need to do. Just be careful. Don’t let a baby ruin everything before you are ready.”
My insides turned over with embarrassment as my cheeks grew very hot. I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with this nice old lady.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Mrs. Thompson said. “My daughter was born six months after I got married. You young people didn’t invent sex.”
“Yes Ma’am,” I said as I fought to hold back a smile. I liked her. This was going to work.
When Parker called me later that afternoon, I reluctantly told him to stay away. I really thought it was better if Mrs. Thompson and I got to know each other. My heart ached at not being with Parker. But this was too important. I needed to make this work.
He seemed put out, I could almost imagine him pouting. And I will be honest, it did send a sense of feminine pride shooting through me. Parker Benson wanted to be with me. How couldn’t a girl enjoy that feeling?
I spent all of Sunday with Mrs. Thompson. Going to the store for food. Following her slowly as she pointed at what she wanted. Then I spent the rest of the day cleaning house. It didn’t need much. But Mrs. Thompson seemed to take so much pleasure just knowing it was done.
On Monday, Parker drove me to school. I’ve got to admit, I felt like a queen. It might all end suddenly when they threw us out. But at that moment, life was good. When Parker took my hand in his, it became even better.
People, meaning girls, kept looking at us as we walked through the hall. You know that look. A mix of shock, and hate. How had someone like me caught someone like Parker Benson?
It took every bit of will power not to smile back at them with victorious glee. And I probably failed more than once.
“You come get me if they call you into the Principal’s Office,” he said and was perfectly serious.
“I can’t just come get you out of class,” I told him.
He snorted. “Yes, you can, and you wil
l. We are in this together. If they are going to punish you, they have to punish me.”
My heart melted as I stared up at him. Of course, there was no way I was letting them take him down. But he didn’t need to know that. Instead, I just kissed him on the cheek and hurried into my class.
As I sat there, I waited for the speaker on the wall to summon me. My hands grew wet as a nervousness ate at my stomach. At first, I begged for the speaker to remain silent. Then slowly, as the minutes ticked by, I slowly started wanting for the thing to hurry up and announce my fate.
But nothing. Complete silence
What is more, there were no whispers about the boiler room. There were whispers about me and Parker, God, there were dozens of those. But nothing about the boiler room. How had Creepy Crawley kept that quiet? Filing the paperwork alone would have set off a dozen different drums.
When the bell rang, I was surprised. A whole hour and I hadn’t been summoned. Maybe they were waiting for the police? There had to be some reason. No way were they going to ignore this. That was not the way my world worked.
As I entered second-period biology, I shot Mr. Dawson a quick look. He saw me and summoned me over.
Here it comes, I thought.
“Mrs. Crawley asked me to give you this,” he said as he handed me a plain white envelope.
My heart sank until I realized it wasn’t papers, but something bulky. Frowning, I opened the envelope and poured the contents onto my hand.
A silver nose ring and four hoop earrings.
Everything came to a sliding stop as I realized what this meant. We were clear. They weren’t going to throw us out. They weren’t going to ruin Parker’s life. Maybe Mrs. Crawley wasn’t the monster I thought she was.
I gave Mr. Dawson my biggest smile then hurried to my seat before anyone changed their minds.
I was still floating through air when at lunch. Parker met me in the line. I told him what happened and he smiled.
“See, I told you, no problems.”
All I could do was snort. The boy hadn’t grown up in my world. This was a miracle where I came from.
“So,” he said as he paid for our lunch. I bit back a demand that he not do that. Things were going too well. The last thing I wanted at the moment was to get into a fight with Parker.
“I thought,” he continued, “I’ve got ASB after school. You could wait for me if you want a ride.”
I shook my head as we sat down at our table in the back. “I don’t want to leave Mrs. Thompson alone too long.”
Parker frowned for a moment then nodded his understanding. “In that case, maybe you can come over and we could do our homework together.”
Again, a nervousness filled me. I dreaded the idea of being under Mrs. Benson’s watchful eye. Plus, the whole leaving Mrs. Thompson issue.
“Maybe you could come over to Mrs. Thompson’s,” I said. “I could ask and text you if there are any problems.”
He shrugged and the situation was settled. See, that was how it was supposed to work. Two people talking out an issue. Compromising. There hadn’t been any raised voices. No dramatic exclamation. No tenseness. No eggshells.
Remarkable.
As I ate, I studied my boyfriend and marveled once again at how fortunate I had been. This was Parker Benson. I still found it unthinkable that he loved me. Me, Jade McDonald. How was this possible. He could have chosen any girl in school and she’d have fallen at his feet.
But he had chosen me. Why?
Then the future raised its ugly head and I shuddered inside when I realized it couldn’t last forever. Parker was destined for big and wonderful things. Things that started back east at an Ivy League school.
A world that would never accept me, I realized with a sinking feeling.
Make it as perfect as you can while it lasts, I thought. That was the only thing I could do. Take every moment of joy and savor it. I knew my heart would be shattered, but that was tomorrow. Today I was going to wrap myself in the wonderfulness that was Parker Benson.
For the rest of the day, I walked on air. The looks and comments about Parker and I were delicious. At least until Marcie Jones slid into the desk behind mine in fifth period.
“You know it won’t last,” she whispered with all the authority of someone who thinks they are never wrong. What really hurt was that deep down I knew she was right.
The sneer that came with her words built a small anger inside of me. Why couldn’t it last? What was it about me that made her think it couldn’t?
“Maybe not,” I told her with my best smile. “But remember. For now, at least, I am Parker Benson’s girlfriend. Something that you will never be. Face it, you just weren’t good enough.”
The shocked expression on her face was priceless. A memory I will treasure forever. A lifetime of demeaning looks, nasty whispers, and put-downs had just been paid back in full. Now we were even. Smiling at her, I twisted around to face forward. No matter what happened after this. At least I would have that moment.
Later after I got to Mrs. Thompson’s and had put away my stuff. I sat down on the other stuffed chair and placed my hands between my knees as I tried to work up my courage.
“I was wondering,” I stammered. “If maybe … Parker and I could do our homework together. At the dining room table,” I added quickly. “He is so smart and I …”
“Of course,” Mrs. Thompson said absently as if I had asked to get a glass of water. Waving her hand, she dismissed it as no big deal then looked up suddenly.
“If Parker is coming, then we need to make Oatmeal raisin cookies. Those are his favorites.”
My heart jumped with happiness as I added that fact to my growing list of Parker knowledge. The thought of making cookies for Parker sent a particularly keen sense of joy shooting through me.
Mrs. Thompson directed as I carried out her commands to the letter. When we were done, she pulled down a small wooden box from the back of the stove. She spent a few seconds rifling through the index cards then pulled out a bent, yellowed card that looked older than Betty Crocker’s grandmother.
“Here,” she said as she handed me the card. “My daughter already has the recipe. You can use this one to start your collection.”
“But …” I began.
She waved her hand. “I had that recipe memorized before I was eight. It was my grandmother’s. She used to cook them in a wood stove believe it or not. I can still remember the smell of the pine logs and cooked raisins.”
Her eyes closed as she thought back to that time long ago.
I swallowed deeply as I carefully held the card and wondered about each stain and the story behind them.
“Thank you,” I managed to mumble without chocking up. But only barely.
She smiled as she patted my hand. “Stick with me kid and I’ll teach you a few things.”
“Yes Ma’am,” I said as I realized that she couldn’t have gotten rid of me with a crowbar.
“Now, then,” she said as we put the last batch on the cooling rack. “You need to go get cleaned up before Parker gets here.”
All I could do was smile and nod. She understood so much. Thanking her again. I hurried to the bathroom and a quick shower.
“And wear a dress,” she called after me. “Boys like dresses.”
I was tempted to turn and tell her that in these modern times girls did not dress to please boys. But I realized I would be lying. Of course, they did.
There wasn’t much of a choice. I did have a yellow sun dress though. Perfect I thought. So much better than the flouncy black I normally wore. A lawyer’s wife shouldn’t dress like a witch, I thought, then froze. Where had that come from? My God, I was being ridiculous. But I couldn’t stop the thought from digging into my brain and refusing to leave.
Yes, I was being stupid. But I was in love. I had a good excuse.
Chapter Eleven
Parker
Jade looked delectable in a yellow dress when she met me at the door. I swear the girl was t
oo pretty. It made a guy forget about everything else in the world except her.
“Hello, Mrs. Thompson,” I said as Jade led me through the living room to the dining room table. “Thank you for letting us study together.”
Mrs. Thompson smiled up at me then returned to her knitting. But I knew her, she’d watch and listen and never miss a thing.
Jade watched me for a moment and I realized she was nervous for some reason.
“I made you some cookies,” she said. “Mrs. Thompson showed me.”
“Oatmeal Raisin?” I asked as my mouth salivated at the idea.
She smiled as she pointed to the platter on the table. “Don’t let them ruin your appetite or your mom will be mad at me.”
I laughed, “Jade, I haven’t ruined my appetite since I was six. In my world, there is no such thing as no appetite.
She smiled up at me and my heart skipped. I loved her so much. Everything about her set my world spinning.
“Come on,” she said. “You can quiz me for my biology test.” Then she looked down at the four textbooks and laptop under my arm. “Don’t worry, we can work on it after you’ve finished yours.”
I laughed. “I won’t be done until midnight. I blew off studying this weekend. My mind was wrapped up with other stuff and I couldn’t concentrate.”
She blushed when she realized I was talking about her.
“Well, we’re are not going to let that happen again,” she said. “No way am I going to be the reason you didn’t get into Harvard.”
Laughing, I took a cookie and sat down to get started. She sat down next to me and I caught a hint of strawberry and coconut. My insides clenched up as I paused for a moment and let it sink in.
“These are good,” I mumbled around a mouthful of cookie as I took two more off the platter.
She beamed as if I had just congratulated her for winning the Nobel prize in cookies.
“Get to work,” she said pointing to my books then opening her own.
Somehow, I forced myself away from thinking about her and focused on my books. Of course, it only lasted about ten minutes. When her knee accidentally brushed against mine under the table, I was lost.
Hidden Truth (The Benson Brothers Book 2) Page 6
