Waylaid

by Ruth J. Hartman

  Boyfriend?

  Well wasn’t he? We hugged, kissed, touched, and held hands. I loved spending time with him. So, wasn’t he my boyfriend?

  A couple of snooty rich girls stared longingly at Graham and then promptly gave me the evil eye as if someone like me shouldn’t be with him.

  Eat my dust, girls. He’s mine.

  High school was over now, so who cared if I did something I normally wouldn’t do in public? I stopped and turned toward Graham, pulling him toward me for a hug. When we parted, I peeked over at the girls and waved. Graham studied them for a minute and then raised his eyebrows to me.

  He whispered. “Anyone I should know?”

  “No. And believe me, you don’t want to.”

  “I see.”

  “What do you see?”

  He tugged me toward him and pressed his lips to mine. I let out a sigh, not caring that others were probably staring at us too. The open-mouthed gapes from the snooty girls was worth it.

  With a laugh, he put his arm around my shoulders. “Come on, Addy, let’s get you home.”

  I giggled too, until I literally almost ran into Jud.

  Oh no!

  Trying to stand up as tall as he could, Jud eyed Graham but his words were meant for me. “So, Addy. This who you threw me over for?”

  Graham’s arm tightened around me. “Excuse me. You have a problem?”

  Jud glared at me then. “My problem is with her.”

  “Well she’s with me, so speak up. We have someplace to be.”

  My mouth and throat were so dry I could hardly speak. I finally eeked something out. “Jud, listen, I—”

  He held up his hand toward me. “Save it. I see how it is.” He pushed through a group of girls who yelped when he nearly ran them over.

  I let out a long breath. “Sorry about that.”

  “Friend of yours, I take it?”

  I stared up at him. Was Graham jealous? Of Jud? “Not anymore.”

  “Good to hear.”

  “Are you… upset with me?”

  He grabbed my hand. “Let’s get you home. Then we can talk later. Does that work?”

  I frowned. “Okay.” I followed him out of the building and to his truck which was parked two blocks away. I wanted to talk to him about it but his jaw was clenched tight. It didn’t seem like the best time for a chat.

  When we reached his truck, he opened the passenger door and helped me up onto the seat. Then he rounded the front of the truck and climbed in the driver’s side.

  He started the truck and reached over to put it in drive. I laid my hand on his arm. “Graham, wait.”

  Pulling back his hand, he left the truck in park. “Addy, you don’t owe me any explanation. I… I have no claim on you. We haven’t known each other very long.”

  “But—”

  “I’m not finished.” He turned toward me and took my hand. “I haven’t known you for long, but I’ve come to… care about you. I shouldn’t have let the little pipsqueak get to me. Sorry.”

  I raised one corner of my mouth. “Pipsqueak?”

  “He’s not very big.”

  “True.”

  “And what is he, about fourteen?”

  I laughed. “Seventeen.”

  “Still…”

  “I dated Jud for a while. I was trying to find a nice way to break it off. Then I met you.”

  “Okay…” Graham rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand.

  I let out a sigh as soon as his skin met mine. How did he have the ability to do that? Calm me down with the slightest touch? “After that, I knew I had to do something about him. I didn’t want to be mean, but he just wasn’t the guy for me.”

  “Oh.”

  I reached up and touched his cheek. “I really care about you, Graham.”

  His shoulders relaxed. “Well this is getting kinda mushy. Should we get to your house now before your mom starts to wonder what happened to you?”

  “Yeah. Good idea.” My heart soared. He cared about me. Really cared. I moved closer to his shoulder, as close as the seatbelt would allow and I didn’t budge an inch until Graham parked in front of my house.

  I peered out the window. “I see both my brothers showed.”

  “You didn’t expect them to?”

  “I saw them and heard them yelling for me at the ceremony, but no, I wasn’t sure they’d stay for this. They both have fiancées where they live in Indianapolis, so I wasn’t sure if they would want to be here that long.”

  Graham helped me from the truck and we walked up to the front porch. “Looks like I’ll get to meet them, then.”

  I waited while he opened the screen door for me. “Don’t let them bully you. They can be obnoxious.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “I’ll do my best.”

  I bit my lip. “Sometimes I forget who I’m talking to.”

  “You got that right. Giants have no fear.”

  I laughed so hard I could barely catch my breath as we stepped inside the house.

  My oldest brother, Adam, stood just a few feet away. He glanced at Graham and then back at me. He stepped forward and hugged me. “Congrats, sis.”

  “Thanks. Good to see you.” I stepped back.

  He nodded toward Graham. “I’m Adam Lafollette.”

  “Graham Stewart.” They shook hands.

  I wrung mine together, a little nervous for Graham to meet more of my family. I knew he’d already met Mom, but I hadn’t been in the room at the time. And he’d barely spoken to my dad. Somehow seeing him in the same room with my brothers was different. It did funny things to my stomach, almost like I was queasy.

  “And who have we here?” My other brother, Anthony came around the corner. He stepped forward and shook Graham’s hand after introducing himself.

  Graham nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

  Anthony stepped closer to Adam and gave him a grin.

  Uh-oh. I know that look.

  “Hey Adam, you know how you and I always told Addy not to bring home any wimps or we’d have to beat them up?”

  Adam nodded. “You got that right.”

  Anthony elbowed Adam and pointed to Graham. “What do ya think?”

  With narrowed eyes, Adam eyed Graham up and down. “I don’t know, man. He’s kinda scrawny.”

  “And short,” Anthony piped in.

  I held out my hand. “Hey, wait a minute—”

  My obnoxious brothers chortled. “We got a look at him when he was talking to Mom after the graduation. We conferred with each other and have given our approval.”

  “Yep.” Adam nodded. “He’ll do.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Well of all the—”

  Graham wrapped his arm around my waist. “Addy, the brothers have spoken. Guess I’m in.”

  Adam slapped Graham on the back and the three of them left the room, heading for the kitchen.

  What just happened here?

  I followed the merriment and walked into the kitchen. Just in time to see my dad sticking out his hand to Graham.

  Was I in an alternate universe? My parents had never, ever liked any of my boyfriends before. A few times I had thought Dad was going to chase Jud from the house with a baseball bat.

  Dad caught sight of me and grinned. “Come here, you.” He held out his arms and wrapped me in a giant hug. “I am so proud of you.”

  I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Thanks, Dad.”

  He stepped back. “But remember. This is just phase one, right?”

  I swallowed, darted a glance at Graham and then back. “Right.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Graham

  We said goodbye to Addy’s family, who were all very nice, and headed out on our own. I pulled the truck away from the curb. “Where to?”

  She shrugged. “Don’t care. Wherever you want.” She glanced at me, but I got the feeling she wasn’t really paying attention. I’d never seen her like this. Before she was always laughing. Something was really bothering her.


  Maybe I could get her to smile again. “So… If I wanted to visit, say, Jupiter, you’re on board?”

  “Sure.” She stared out the window.

  “And if I wanted to ride an elephant instead of a tractor tomorrow, you’d be good with that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know, I’ve been thinking about something.”

  “What’s that?” She leaned her forehead against the glass and kept staring outside.

  “I think that instead of calling you Addy, I’ll just start using your real name. Got any problem with me calling you Adelaide Hildegard from now on?”

  “That’s fine.”

  “Or I could use a nickname for your middle name and call you Addy-Hildy.”

  “That works.”

  “Addy?”

  She looked at me and then blinked. Did she finally see me? “Huh?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  “You’re not even here with me. I’ve said some pretty weird things and you didn’t even bat an eyelash.”

  “Oh, you did? Sorry.” She shrugged. “Just have a lot on my mind.”

  I wondered if any of those thoughts were about me. “That’s okay. Uh, by the way, what’s phase one?”

  That got her attention. “Oh, that.”

  “Yeah. I heard your dad mention it. Is it important?”

  Addy nodded slowly. “Yeah, it is.”

  I turned back to the road and focused on driving. It was so quiet inside the truck I could hardly stand it. I turned on the radio, but kept the volume low. Something was going on with Addy, and I had a gut feeling I wouldn’t like whatever it was.

  Since Addy didn’t care where we went, I drove back to Love Road. Maybe the magic we’d had here the last time would repeat itself. But I still wanted to know what was bothering her so much.

  I parked the truck and then took her hand, rubbing my thumb over her skin. “Wanna talk about it?”

  When she turned to me, the light from the dash reflected off moisture in her eyes.

  “Addy, are you crying?”

  She brushed her fingers over her eyes. “No, um. No.”

  I undid our seatbelts and pulled her close. “Please tell me what’s going on so I can fix it for you.”

  “It’s not something to fix. I mean, it’s not a problem. Well, it is, but it isn’t.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I have a plan. A life plan, I guess you’d call it. High school. College. Job…”

  Her voice was muffled against my chest, but I got the gist of things. There didn’t seem a good place for someone like me to fit in there anywhere. “So phase one was graduation.”

  She nodded.

  “And then college.”

  She sniffled. “Right.”

  “But not in Oregon?” That would be a nightmare for both of us.

  “No. Purdue.”

  Thank goodness. “Good. Go on.”

  “College is a couple of years for pre-requisites and then, assuming I even get in, four more years in the actual program.”

  “What’s after that?” I smoothed my hand down her soft hair.

  “A job, hopefully.”

  “Well, yeah.”

  She finally chuckled.

  “And then?” I tensed, not really wanting to hear her answer, so afraid it might not include me. Us.

  Addy raised one shoulder in a shrug. “The plan was always to go to college, meet someone there, and get… married after graduation. But you, Mr. Stewart have ruined that.”

  “I have?” Something inside me leaped for joy. Did that mean she’d changed her mind about going away to college? Was she not going to leave me after all?

  “So… when I go to college…”

  She was still going? My heart sank so low I thought it might not stop.

  “It will be harder to leave than I… thought.”

  I rubbed her back, making slow circles below her shoulder blades. “Addy, going away to college. It’s that important to you?”

  “It really is. Is that so hard to understand?”

  “I just never saw the point, I guess. I tried a few classes when I got out of high school but didn’t have anything I really wanted to go into. I mainly went to play sports.”

  She pulled away just enough to peer up at me. “That’s where we’re different, I guess. There’s this need inside of me to keep learning. Keep growing.”

  “Uh-huh.” I wished she’d stop pointing out our differences. My heart only wanted us to be together. Do everything together. Not be apart.

  “I’ve just always had this vision of me being a vet, you know? Haven’t you ever wanted something so bad it almost hurt?”

  I nodded. You. You’re what I want. The only thing I want.

  “So college is the only way to make my dream come true.”

  “Which… is coming up soon, right?” My voice had a raspy sound that made me feel too vulnerable.

  Addy pulled away and looked at me. “About ten weeks.”

  “Wow… that fast?”

  “Yeah.” She touched my cheek then ran her finger down the side of my neck, giving me chills.

  “So then, you’re upset because…”

  She shook her head.

  “Addy, you can tell me anything.”

  “I’m upset because…” Her voice lowered to a whisper. I leaned closer to hear. “Graham, I don’t want to leave you.” Fresh tears coursed down her cheeks.

  I pulled her close again and tucked her head beneath my chin. “Shh. It’s okay.”

  “No it’s not.” The last word came out as a sob.

  “It will be. We’ll work it out.”

  “What’s to work out?”

  I sighed. “I don’t know.” There had to be something. Anything!

  “You’re upset too, aren’t you?” Her arms went around my back and she gave a light squeeze.

  “Yeah.” I swallowed, the movement bumping her cheek. “I… I don’t want you to… I’m going to miss…”

  She gazed up at me, pulled her hands from behind me and placed them on either side of my face. “Graham, I—”

  I kissed her, very lightly at first. Then it was like something took hold of me. A desperation. All of my senses were on high alert and I couldn’t get enough of her. She grabbed my shirt front and tugged me down on top of her. I placed a row of kisses down her neck, nuzzling her shirt aside with my nose so I could kiss her collarbone.

  “Wait.” She took my hand and laid it on her chest. Even though it was covered by a shirt and bra, the heat coming off of her made me dizzy.

  “Addy?”

  “It’s… I want… to…” She inhaled sharply.

  I glanced up and she was crying again. “Oh, Addy.” I moved my hand to her back and pulled her close. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s not that. I… I just can’t stop thinking about leaving you.”

  “But you said it’s ten weeks away, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So let’s enjoy them while you’re here, right?” My throat was so tight I could barely force out the words.

  “Right.” She wrapped her arms around my middle and held me close. I laid my head next to her cheek and inhaled her lavender perfume.

  Why did I have to find the perfect girl for me right when she was ready to leave?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Addy

  My time with Graham was going so fast. Too fast! I wanted to spend every second I could with him. Normally, my parents would have had a cow if I spent so much time with a boyfriend, but after the talk Mom and I had when we went shopping, it seemed like she was more okay with me being with Graham so much.

  I took full advantage of it.

  Graham had said he wanted to take me out to eat. The place where we were going wasn’t super fancy, but it was a sit-down restaurant. He wanted to take me someplace nice before I left and had to subsist on dorm food. I know he had said that to cheer me up, but his thoughtfulnes
s warmed me all the way through.

  When I heard his truck in the drive, I didn’t even wait for him to come to the door.

  “I’m leaving, Mom!” I hurried down the front steps before she could even answer.

  Graham was just getting out of his truck when I reached him. “Well, hey. Where’s the fire?”

  “I’m lookin’ at him.”

  A slow, sexy smile crept across his lips. “Is that so?”

  “Yep.”

  He helped me up onto the seat. “In that case, let’s get you in the truck, Miss Adelaide.” He quickly shut the door.

  I rolled down the window. “Stop calling me that.”

  He laughed and got in on his side.

  As soon as he had his seatbelt on, I leaned against him. It would have been so much better if we weren’t belted in. Stupid, inconsiderate seatbelts! But I wrapped my arms around his. It was better than nothing. In a few weeks, I was sure I’d give anything to be able to do even that.

  Don’t, Addy. You’ll ruin the nice evening.

  But pushing those thoughts away was hard.

  Graham raised his eyebrows. “I take it you missed me since yesterday?”

  “How could you tell?” I pressed my check against his shoulder and sighed.

  “Ya know, I kinda like having somebody care about me like that.”

  “Good. Because it’s not going to stop.”

  “It isn’t?”

  I shook my head.

  He nodded and winked. “I hope you’re hungry. They have all you can eat fish tonight.”

  I grimaced.

  “What? Don’t like fish? And here I was thinking of a new nickname for you, my little salmon cake.”

  I smacked his thigh. “Sorry. No.”

  “Mind if I eat some fish?”

  “Why would I mind?”

  He angled a sly glance toward me. “I’m fairly sure I’ll be kissing you later, so…”

  “Ah… Well, maybe you’ll have to use a breath mint after the fish.”

  “That can be arranged.”

  A giggle bubbled up from deep inside. “You can always make me feel better, no matter what.”

  “Is there something going on that you needed cheering up right now?” Graham slowed the truck and pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

  I shrugged, suddenly sorry I had mentioned it.