Forever Love (Love Conquers All Book 4)

by Persons, Cheryl

  “Love you;” she heard rustling and then Peter was back on the phone.

  “She’ll be fine;” he reassured her.

  “I know, but maybe I shouldn’t have come here.”

  “Megan, you’re going to have a great time. I promise if anything happens I will call you.”

  “I know!”

  “Have you seen anyone yet?”

  “I just saw Mary Jo; we’re all going to Billy’s Steak House for supper.”

  “Have a good time; remember to tell everyone I said hi.”

  “I will; goodbye Peter.”

  “Goodbye;” they hung up and she looked at the phone in her hand. It would have been easier if he would have been there. Now she was going to have to face the rumors alone as to why he wasn’t there. She groaned as she headed out of the room. She just wanted to get the weekend over with and sadly it was just beginning.

  ____________________

  Mary Jo and Megan were escorted to the private room and she saw that several people had already arrived. The alumni were hugging and shaking hands. She spotted Brandon talking to a few of the guys that she remembered from the football team. He smiled and waved; she just nodded.

  “Welcome girls.” Megan hugged Janie Brewster; she was the main person responsible for putting the class reunion together. “Take a seat; we’re waiting for a few more people, but I think that we’ll get started.”

  Mary Jo and Megan took a seat and it wasn’t long before Brandon sat down across from them. “Hey; where’s Peter?”

  Mary Jo and Megan looked at each other.” He wasn’t feeling well; so he decided to stay home with our daughter.”

  “That’s too bad!”

  She took a sip of water as she saw Janie standing up in front of the tables and tapping her water glass. “Attention ladies and gentleman. I am so happy to see all of you here. I know that several couldn’t make it tonight and they will be here tomorrow. So order up and we will start the party. Thank you!”

  The group applauded as the waitresses went around getting their orders. After Megan placed her order she looked around the room. It was awkward being there without Peter, but there were other people there with their spouses so it did make her feel a little better. She was glad she had gone and she was determined to make the best of her weekend.

  Chapter 9

  Megan woke up the next day with plenty of time to get ready for breakfast. There were only a handful of the classmates that were staying at the same hotel so it was going to prove to be a quiet meal. She knew that Brandon and Mary Jo were going to be there, but other than that it was Janie and her husband, and Sophie with her husband. Paul wasn’t going to show up until later the day.

  It was okay to have a smaller gathering; it would give them time to talk. When she got in the hallway she saw Brandon heading towards her. “I thought I was going to be the first one to breakfast.” He laughed as he fell in step with her.

  “I wanted to make sure to get there so you didn’t eat all the eggs. I know how your appetite used to be;” she teased.

  “It still is that way;” he laughed. “So, you probably are smart about that.”

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “As good as one can sleep on a hard hotel bed.”

  “It isn’t that bad.”

  He smiled; “I know; it was actually quite comfortable. How about you?”

  She shrugged. She was getting used to sleeping alone, but it seemed even stranger last night. “It was fine;” he followed her into the small restaurant. It was a small buffet that was around the edges of the room. She looked over at the food. “It looks like there’s a nice selection, and plenty of eggs.” She laughed.

  He grinned. “That’s a good thing.”

  “Do you want to wait for the others?”

  “I don’t know; what if they oversleep and they run out of food?”

  “You know, that is a very valid point.”

  Megan laughed as they grabbed their plates and went around grabbing their food and then taking a seat at a large table. “Last night was nice.” Megan began the easy conversation.

  “It was; it’s too bad that Peter couldn’t make it. Does he just have a cold?”

  “Something like that;” she smiled as she took a bite of her toast.

  “Why do I feel there’s more to the story?”

  Megan shook her head, but ignored his theory. “There’s Mary Jo.” She quickly intercepted.

  He turned around and Megan watched in shock as he stood up when Mary Jo approached the table. “Hello Mary Jo.”

  “Hello;” she smiled, but then turned to Megan. “I didn’t get to sleep until late. I talked to Paul the majority of the night.” She giggled and then turned to the food. “I am starved.” She walked away and Megan looked at Brandon.

  “Huh;” he sat down and shrugged.

  “Brandon?”

  “Yeah;” he looked at Megan and she saw the look. She started to laugh. “Oh my gosh!”

  “What?”

  “You like Mary Jo; I never saw that before. Have you always felt this way?”

  His face turned red and she knew that she wasn’t off base. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The heck you don’t. Does she know?”

  “Megan you totally have this wrong; I care for her, but I care for you too. I am a very caring guy.”

  “You are also very full of it, but your secret is safe with me.” She took a drink of her juice as she continued to look at him. He finally broke their stare and she snickered. She couldn’t believe how wrong she was about Brandon. She had thought that he was remembering their past relationship; when he was really dreaming about a new relationship. It was too bad Paul was going to soon be in the picture. She didn’t want to interfere, but Brandon and Mary Jo could have something special. She would have to wait and see.

  ____________________

  “It has been a long time since I have been in a pair of skates.” Megan laughed as she tried to steady herself.

  “You said it sister;” Brandon replied with a chuckle as he stood up.

  Megan looked at Mary Jo as she was spinning in the center of rink. “Oh brother; I don’t think it’s been that long for Mary Jo.”

  She saw Brandon looking towards Mary Jo and he smiled. “Yeah; she looks right at home.”

  “I remember she said she wanted to be a professional ice skater when she was younger; this isn’t much different.”

  “Whose Idea was it to come here?”

  She pointed to the group that was skating around the floor like they had been doing it for years. “Apparently we didn’t get the memo that we were supposed to be practicing for this weekend.” She put her stuff in a cubby hole and turned to him. “Are you ready?”

  He laughed. “Do I have a choice?”

  “Probably not; we’re supposed to be enjoying all of our pastimes; I seem to remember we used to be quite talented on the skates.”

  “Maybe 20 years ago;” he grinned.

  She held onto the edge of the wall as she entered the rink. “Here goes nothing.”

  She cautiously moved around the edges, holding onto the wall every time she turned a corner. “Isn’t this fun?” Mary Jo called as she whizzed by Megan.

  Megan laughed. That wasn’t exactly the word she was going to give it. She looked behind her, because she could sense that someone was very close to her. She saw Brandon slowly, but steadily gaining on her. “We look like two people that are learning how to walk for the first time.”

  He laughed as he reached her. “I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to give it up.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Are you kidding me? We just got our skates on; surely you can’t mean that.”

  “Uh…I do;” he laughed. As he was about to cross in front of her she noticed that his legs were getting shaky. He went to reach for her, but she started to pull away. She knew if he went down she would too. However, he did latch onto her wrist and like dominos they were
both falling to the ground. They both started to laugh and she covered her face. “Is it my imagination or is everyone watching us?” Brandon asked between giggles.

  Megan pulled her hand from her face and looked at him. “It’s not your imagination.” She looked up as Mary Jo approached them. She shook her head as she looked between the two of them. Megan started to laugh as she skated off. “How are we going to get up?”

  “I’ll get up then pull you up.”

  Megan wasn’t sure that would work, but it was the only suggestion they had. He got up and did as he said; when he pulled her up she nearly knocked him over, but was able to stop herself. She chuckled; “Thank you!”

  “You are welcome!”

  She turned around and saw Mary Jo standing behind her; she was giving her a disapproving look. Megan just shrugged as the announcer was coming over the loudspeaker. “Okay ladies and gents; we are going to play the next song for you. Grab your best girl and skate like you mean it.” A slow started to grace the speakers and she looked at Brandon.

  “May I have this skate?” He laughed as he held out her hand.

  “I think that I’m going to sit this one out, but there’s another girl that I am sure could show you around the rink.” She pointed her head towards Mary Jo and he laughed. “It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

  He looked reluctant, but as she was heading off the rink he was heading towards Mary Jo. She sighed as she sat down and when she looked back out to the skaters she was surprised to see him heading off the rink. He sank down in the seat next to her. “That didn’t work.”

  “What happened? I didn’t think she would honestly say no.”

  He looked at Megan; his once cherry expression was solemn. “She probably wouldn’t have, if…”

  “What?”

  “Paul’s here.” She looked back at the rink where Mary Jo was standing next to the railing and talking to a man about their same age. “What do you know about him?”

  Megan felt awful seeing the down look in his eyes. “Not much; they haven’t been dating very long. I’m sorry Brandon.”

  “It doesn’t matter!” She saw that that wasn’t true; he really had strong feelings for her and it made her question as to why it never had come out. It was clear that it wasn’t something that had just happened; he had been harboring these feelings for awhile now. There was no doubt about it; it was love.

  Chapter 10

  As Brandon and Megan were removing their skates she saw Mary Jo heading their way. She was all smiles as she approached them. “I want you both to meet Paul McIntyre. Paul this is my best friend Megan and a fellow classmate Brandon.”

  Megan looked at Brandon out of the corner of her eye and he was putting on a good front. “Hello Paul; it’s nice to meet you.” Brandon shook his hand.

  “It’s nice to meet both of you.”

  “We look forward to getting to know you better.” Megan spoke; she didn’t want it to be a fib and she needed to give him the benefit of doubt. It wasn’t his fault that now Brandon was coming out with these feelings.

  “Are you guys already done?” Mary Jo asked with a frown.

  “Yeah; after all skating is not my thing.”

  “Mine either;” Brandon chimed in.

  “Oh; that’s too bad. Paul is going to put on some skates and I thought we could go back out.”

  Megan nodded. “Some other time; since he’s here I’m taking you won’t need a ride to the park.”

  “Yeah; you can go ahead without me.”

  They had decided it was silly to take multiple vehicles so the three of them had gotten in Brandon’s car, but she knew that was out in the window once Paul got there.

  “Okay; you both have a good time. We’ll see you at the park.”

  Brandon and Megan left the roller dome and she felt the tension in the air. “It doesn’t look like there’s any breaking up of those two.”

  Megan laughed. “There are some things that I could tell you about her and it may make you doubt that statement.”

  She climbed into the car and waited for him to join her. “Oh yeah; what’s that?”

  “Do you know how many times Mary Jo has been married?”

  “No; I don’t suppose I do. I didn’t even know she was married once.”

  Megan laughed. “Then you’ll really be surprised; she just recently had her 4th divorce.”

  He turned to look at her and she nodded. “Are you serious?”

  “Would I kid about that? In her defense she just has a rotten time of picking the right guy. They’re either not over their exes, they decide they don’t want to be married, they would rather live with their mother, and this last one he found a woman that was 18 years old to move on with.”

  “Wow; that’s too bad.”

  “Mary Jo didn’t go down without a fight. She tried to make the marriages work, but they just weren’t meant to be.”

  “You would think that she would give up eventually.”

  “You would think so, but she likes the idea of love and so I think that keeps her hopeful.”

  “Maybe she’ll finally find it with this Paul McIntyre.”

  Megan looked at him as he continued to drive towards the park. “Are you going to tell me when you first realized that you were in love with Mary Jo?”

  He snickered. “You’re not going to let this go; are you?”

  “Should I?”

  He pulled into the parking lot and parked. When he looked at her she cocked her head and he started to laugh. “It doesn’t matter now; let’s just drop it.”

  Megan wanted to object, but she saw the pleading in his eyes. “I’ll drop it; for now.”

  “I guess that that will have to do.”

  They got out of the car and looked around the empty park. “It seems no one else wanted to leave the roller dome.”

  “It appears that way.” He walked over to the basketball hoops and grabbed a basketball and threw it at her. “I’ll play you a game.”

  Megan rolled her eyes. “Do you really want to be beaten that badly?”

  “You wish, but let’s see what you have.”

  “Prepare to go down;” she dribbled the ball and threw it over him as it connected with the hoop she smiled. “Score!” She chuckled as he took the ball.

  “Beginner’s luck;” he teased.

  “As if;” she reached for the ball that he was holding tightly out of her reach. “We better stop; the rest of the class is starting to arrive.”

  “What?” He lowered the ball and she grabbed it out of his hands. “Hey;” he argued.

  “You are totally easy. That would be 2-0; in case you’re not keeping score.” She winked at him. “Your ball;” it was a great way to pass the time; she was glad that he had suggested it.

  ____________________

  Megan looked at Brandon and grinned. “If I make this basket, I will have beaten you by 20 points.”

  “Whatever;” he mumbled.

  She threw the ball and smiled as it swished through the net. “I win;” she grabbed the ball and handed it to him. “I smoked you.”

  “You won; you didn’t smoke me.” He laughed.

  She walked over to him and nodded. “I smoked you!”

  “Okay fine; have it your way.”

  She looked over and saw the cars starting to pile into the parking lot. Mary Jo and Paul were the first ones to head to the basketball court. “How was the rest of your time roller skating?” Megan found herself trying to figure out Mary Jo and Paul’s relationship.

  “It was great; they did the chicken dance and a limbo contest. Did you have a good basketball game?”

  Megan looked at Brandon. “Yep; I won.”

  “Do you have to keep saying that?” Brandon asked with a laugh. “I’m going to go where I’m appreciated.”

  Megan rolled her eyes and turned to Mary Jo. “He is such a baby.”

  “I heard that!” He yelled as he gained distance to them.

  Megan laughed. “He doesn’t like to lo
se.”

  When she looked at Mary Jo, her eyes were raised. “I can see that. Is something going on that you would like to tell me?”

  Megan frowned. “I don’t think so; what?”

  “Come on Megan; you look like you’re close with a certain ex-boyfriend.”

  Megan’s mouth dropped open. “We’re friends; I’m married.”

  “Just as long as you remember that;” Megan was shocked and hurt that she would actually question her.

  “Don’t worry; I didn’t forget.’ She turned and walked away. It was best to not even acknowledge how irritated she was; especially when it wasn’t about her. It was about Mary Jo and she didn’t even know it.

  ____________________

  Peter looked over at Jasmine as she was watching the movie. She looked at him and smiled. “I love you Jasmine!”

  “Love you too daddy.” She looked back at the movie and he smiled to himself. He knew he had to find a way back into Megan and Jasmine’s life full time. That was why he made the call to Seth and he prayed that he was doing the right thing.

  When the doorbell rang he went to let Seth in. “Seth, thank you for coming;” they shook hands as Seth entered the house.

  “No problem;” he sensed when he called that there was hesitation on Seth’s part, but as they stood there in silence he was convinced. “I’m here; what did you want?”

  “I can tell that Megan told you about us; what did she say?”

  “She told me everything.”

  “Okay;” Peter looked in the living room where Jasmine was still watching the television. “Not to sound like a creep, but there could be different variations of a story; I want to know what hers is.”

  “Are you calling her a liar?”

  “What? No; I’m just saying that what she may say happened could be different from my version, but they could equally be truthful.”

  He knew he was rambling; he just wanted to know what Megan said about him. “She said that it was her idea and that you didn’t do anything to her, but I don’t know…”

  Peter nodded. It was understandable that he would be apprehensive. “I love your sister Seth and you have to know that. I never knew how unhappy she was, but I am going to spend every day to make sure she knows how much I love her.”