After placing all the cameras inside the house, Jade and Taylor were standing outside, debating where exactly to place a camera when Mrs. Archuleta came out carrying two glasses of water. Accepting their glasses with thanks, they both took a sip as she spoke.
"So, how is Gideon doing?" Mrs. Archuleta asked politely.
At the sound of her brother's name, Jade thought of the image of him and that girl standing close together in front of Andy's shop, and her lip threatened to curl in disgust.
"He is fine," she mumbled.
"Yes," the older woman said in an almost dreamy voice. "Yes, he is indeed."
The sputtering sound of choking from Taylor hardly registered to Jade as she stared at the woman in shock. Dear Lord, was there no one unaffected by Gideon?!
Caramel colored skin, and amber brown eyes framed in long curling black lashes, Gideon was akin to a fallen angel walking around Stardust Cove, driving the citizens crazy with either lust or jealousy.
Not sure what to say to that, Jade warily continued. "Um yeah…he's playing for the Oakes football team on a partial scholarship."
"Oh yes, I know," Mrs. Archuleta said enthusiastically as she took a seat on the neatly kept wicker porch furniture. "Me and a few ladies at the church went to go see a game last Thursday. He sure is a good-looking boy."
Using the opportunity to escape, Taylor ignored the pleading look Jade threw his way as he half mumbled, half laughed something about going to get a ladder.
"Yes, well…" Jade honestly wasn't sure what else to say to that.
"It's amazing such a fine handsome boy like that doesn't have a girlfriend," the older woman said, and Jade looked up to see her eyes watching Jade like an eagle. It was as if she was just waiting and watching for Jade to say or do something.
Confused, Jade turned with relief at the sound of footsteps turning the corner of the house. The relief, however, disintegrated as she caught sight of the other person walking alongside Taylor. Carrying the tall ladder with one hand, Gideon's naturally narrowed eyes caught hers first and held them as he came around the corner and stopped in front of her.
"Look who I found," Taylor announced. "Or who found me, actually."
Automatically, Jade could feel herself shutter her expression at the penetrating stare. Ever since she was younger, even before moving in with the Lattimores and before she met Gideon, Jade developed a habit of hiding behind her emotions. A habit Gideon had learned to recognize and hate.
Like a flame being sparked and immediately extinguished, she watched him mask his annoyance before setting the ladder down and turning towards Mrs. Archuleta with his arms wide open and a dimpled smile in place.
As if she were a giddy schoolgirl, Mrs. Archuleta accepted Gideon's hug with a little laugh that bordered on a giggle allowing him to wrap his strong arms around her.
The grin forming on Jade's lips from the scene froze at Mrs. Archuleta's next words.
"Oh, we were just talking about you," Mrs. Archuleta remarked sweetly as Gideon released her and stepped back.
"Were you now?" Gideon raised one eyebrow and gave her a flirtatious smile. "I hope it was something good."
Unable to stand watching anymore and praying Mrs. Archuleta didn't mention their conversation any further, Jade turned to Taylor, who was watching the exchange with his normal cheerful expression. Everyone around her was all smiles and laughter while she felt like a dark spot standing off to the side. Her gut twisted in embarrassment at the thought of Mrs. Archuleta repeating any of what she said about Gideon. She didn't want him to know they had been talking about him. She didn't want him to somehow see the hurt still in her eyes from the scene she secretly witnessed earlier between him and that girl. Jade needed time alone to compose herself before she faced Gideon. If not, she knew he would find that one crack in her armor and rip it all away, forcing her to be truthful with him and herself.
"Come on," she told Taylor, capturing his attention and signaling towards the ladder. "Let's get these last few cameras up."
"Sure." Obediently, Taylor picked up the ladder and leaned it against the side of the house before securing it in place. "I can hold it up if you wanna go up first, or you can hold it, and I can go up."
Grabbing onto the side of the ladder, she put one foot on the metal step and looked up.
The hand that appeared just above hers on the ladder was her only forewarning before she felt Gideon gently nudge her out of the way. Silently, he held out his hand for the camera and cordless drill. Averting her eyes from his stony expression with a heavy sigh, she plopped the items in his hands and stepped back.
"Ok, Beans, hold the ladder," he instructed.
Holding one side of the ladder, Taylor readily obeyed the command. Jade gave Taylor a scowl, but her friend didn't see it. He was too busy staring up the ladder as Gideon ascended as if he was in the presence of a god.
Jade would never understand how Gideon did it. How did he convert everyone to one of his loyal subjects? Even Taylor, who happened to loathe being referred to only by his surname, was now ignoring that fact and staring at Gideon with open undying admiration. It was beyond annoying.
Every day she was surrounded by Gideon's greatness. Old trophies of his lined the school halls, pictures of him were in nearly every class. She could never seem to escape those eyes of his that seemed to eternally reflect the soul of a boy that had seen too much and survived, no matter what year the photo was taken. When she graduated next year, Jade was certain that the Stardust Cove Highschool would probably have one photo of her buried in the back of their yearbook, most likely with a caption of "we never heard her speak" or "most likely to become a recluse." Or worse, "so unlike her brother," she shivered just at the thought of it. But as much as she resented everyone's infatuation with Gideon, she knew she was just as guilty. Glancing up at him on the ladder, Jade watched his profile as he concentrated on getting the camera mount in place. His lips were pinched together, holding the remaining screws between his lips, making his sharp cheekbones stand out even more so. His sandy brown hair, which was cut short on the sides and kept a bit longer at the top, gleamed in the sun showing off his naturally wavy hair. Yeah, she was just as bad as everyone else, if not worse.
She loved Gideon, he was everything to her. When they moved here years ago, and she finally trusted that this would be their permanent home, she allowed herself to dream of living near Gideon forever. Praying every night, he would never wake up one day and suddenly want to leave Stardust Cove—or her. Maybe they could be neighbors, maybe she wouldn't despise whoever he dated like she had all the other times and actually be able to be friends with the girl he chose. Maybe that woman would understand how much Jade needed him.
"So how did you even find us anyway, Gid?" Taylor called up, interrupting her thoughts and projecting his voice over the sound of the drill.
Pulling the last screw he had been holding between his lips, Gideon squinted from the sun as he lined up the next screw into the camera's mount.
"I didn't set out to find both of you. I tracked Jade via her phone. You are just a consolation prize," Gideon grunted.
Taylor laughed, oblivious to the disbelieving stare she was giving to the side of his face.
After installing a few more cameras on the outside of the house and teaching Mrs. Archuleta how to use her app to access the video, she and Gideon stood in front of his truck as Taylor said his goodbyes and gave Gideon one last wistful, hero-worshipping look before turning away. Alone now, Gideon turned to her and opened the passenger door of his truck.
"Hop in, or are you still mad at me?" he challenged.
Jade's body jerked from the direct comment. Stiffly, she took off her backpack and slid into the sweltering cab of the truck. "No, I was never mad at you," she informed him, although she knew that was a lie.
Walking around the front of the truck, Gideon stopped at the driver-side door and waved once more towards the house, and Jade could see from her position in the truck the curtains flut
ter. Sliding into the driver's seat, Gideon stuck his key into the ignition and gave her a sidelong look. "You could've fooled me, especially with the whole not looking or talking to me for two whole days thing."
"You know I don't like to make waves," she said carefully, turning to look out her window. "I was angry at you, and then yesterday…it just felt awkward."
Yesterday, she actually tried twice to approach him, to start a conversation like normal, but each time he turned and gave her a deep, waiting look that made her chest constrict. She had felt so awkward and self-conscious, she just retreated each time.
Stopping at a stop sign, they stared unseeingly as a group of middle-schoolers crossed the street. "You know," Gideon began, "it’s not natural to never make waves, right? I mean, I understand you have this constant fear that Sandra and Henry are just going to one day tell us to hit the road and all, but—"
Jade stiffened at that. He just threw one of her worst fears out casually before her, forcing her to acknowledge it as if it were nothing.
Crossing her arms, Jade took a deep breath and turned in her seat, giving Gideon a stormy look. "But what if Sandra gets mad one day and she kicks you out like she and Henry did with Ron, have you ever considered that?"
The mention of the Lattimores’ first and only biological child seemed to suck the air out of the vehicle. Kicked out of the Lattimores’ house years before they got there, the subject of the son was a taboo topic in their house. Any reminder of the estranged son only angered Henry while on the surface, Sandra pretended as if she never had a son. Like a silent bomb that had detonated over them, they sat in the deafening silence for a moment before Gideon spoke.
"There is a big difference between Ron and me." The too-quiet tone to his voice caused Jade's chest to constrict in pain. Fine, almost indiscernible traces of anger hardened Gideon's profile as he continued. "He was and probably still is addicted to meth, in-and-out of jail, and most importantly, Henry doesn't scowl when he mentions my name."
"I know," she breathed, ashamed she made him feel that she was comparing him to Ron. Scooting over to him on the bench seat, she put one hand on his shoulder. Heat seared at her hand through his t-shirt, and Jade could feel the hard muscles beneath her hand relax under her touch. Releasing a breath she didn't even know she was holding, her heart calmed a bit as she felt him relax back into the seat. Leaning her head gingerly against his shoulder, Jade closed her eyes as she let the rhythm of the truck against the road flow through her.
"I…just don't want you to give Sandra any reason to," she paused and opened her eyes, searching for the right words. "…It's just that sometimes it feels as if Sandra is—"
"Losing her mind?" Gideon offered helpfully.
Sitting up, she gave him a sharp look. "Don't say that!"
Gideon shot her a wide grin that made her heart feel as if it were just punched. She had seen him smile like that countless times to girls, that broad flirtatious smile that drove girls crazy, and she could understand why. That smile was almost too much to bear.
"I was going to say," she stressed pointedly. "That it feels she is becoming increasingly temperamental."
Making a deep humming noise of agreement under his breath, Gideon nodded.
After a long moment, he finally spoke again. "You know that no matter what, I would never leave you, right?" he said as they pulled into the pharmacy parking lot. Leaning one forearm on the top of the steering wheel, he turned and looked at her. "Even if I had to move into an apartment or something nearby, I'd still be the one taking you to and from school each day even when you get out early and don't tell me, forcing me to track you down by your phone's GPS," he added crisply.
Smiling, she followed him out of the truck and prayed his words were true. Each word was exactly what she wanted to hear, sending her high into the clouds of happiness, but her guilt still found its way in, lining each cloud with a streak of dismal gray. How long would he feel this way? How long would it take until Gideon realized his sister was just an emotional burden who secretly fantasized about staying together forever?
Chapter 4
Checking his speed on the truck's dashboard, Gideon glanced at the time to the speedometer's right. They were making good time. They should be pulling back into their driveway at just about midnight.
"So, what did I tell ya?" Henry said with a laugh before succumbing to a fit of wet sounding coughs.
Gideon made a mental note to make some tea for him when they got back into the house.
"It's like driving a stick of butter on a hot skillet," Gideon sighed with satisfaction as he rubbed his grip back and forth over the pristine leather steering wheel.
Henry barked out a laugh. "That it is, and it better be too for as much as it cost me."
Splurging for a new rig a few months back, Henry had bought a top of the line Volvo VNL with an impressive seventy-seven-inch cab, decked out with all the trimmings. The pearlescent blue truck was the envy of all Henry's trucking friends giving him plenty to brag about on poker night at the Get out of Dodge motorist bar located at the edge of town.
Normally, Gideon only ran local routes using the company's truck, but early that morning, Henry had knocked on his room door and asked him to help him pull a run to Springfield, Missouri, and back. He had told Gideon he wanted to give him a chance to try out his new baby and to give him a taste of driving real luxury for a change, but Gideon knew as he laughed with his dad that it was something more. Gideon could see the tired lines framing the older man's eyes and overall slowness to his movements. Henry was tired, too tired, possibly to even make the run. Without a second thought, Gideon had thrown on his clothes and sent Jade a text explaining where he was going, knowing she was still asleep buried under her covers at the dark hour.
"So, I guess this is as good a time as any to confess something," Henry began slowly. "I brought you out here with me for a couple of reasons today."
Frowning, Gideon didn’t take his eyes from the dark highway as he waited.
"Well one, I brought you with me 'cause I was dog ass tired. I just couldn't seem to shake off the fatigue this morning and thought it might be best for a little backup," Henry coughed out a jovial laugh, but Gideon could tell the man was stalling.
"And…" Gideon prodded when the pause between the man's next sentence seemed to drag on forever. "What else?"
Henry didn't say anything for a second, he just shifted in his seat. "Well…" he began slowly, his deep voice rising in a suspiciously light tone as he hedged on answering. "Sandra told me last night that Jade asked her if it would be alright to…you know…go on a date tonight."
Gideon felt his blood simply stop, and his hands go cold. Blinking at the dark road ahead of him, Gideon turned and shot Henry a deadly look, praying that the man was just tossing out some sort of sick joke. But the resigned look on Henry's face told Gideon he was serious.
"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you," Henry complained. "You're already getting mad."
Gideon's body felt like cement while his insides churned with nausea and fire. It was a miracle he was keeping the truck in between the lines.
"You’re damn right I’m mad!" he growled as bile rose in his throat. Thoughts of Jade walking off into the night with some boy tore through his stomach like rusty knives. "You purposely brought me on this run so I wouldn't be there, didn't you?!" he accused.
"No, now listen," Henry shook his head and cleared his throat. "It just happened to work out perfectly, like I said before, I was tired and…"
Tired his ass.
"And," Gideon interrupted angrily. "Mom told you to take me out of town with you on a twelve-hour fucking trip so I won't be around when a goddamn high school boy," he spat the word like a curse, "comes to take Jade out to God knows where, to do God knows what," he hissed.
Multiple images tried to form in his mind, but each one was rejected, like an automatic response of his immune system. Scenarios of Jade sitting in some kid's car, or laughing together in a m
ovie, or kissing him, or him kissing her, all of them too much to bear. All of them expunged before Gideon's mind could fully grasp them, and his sanity could be threatened any further. Gideon could feel his hands begin to shake.
"Gideon," Henry groaned, scrubbing his forehead with one hand. "You had to know Jade was going to want to go out on a date one day," he tried to reason. "Hell, she is so pretty. I’m not sure why she isn't harassed all the time for dates, to be honest."
A black tide of anger was washing over the cold helpless feeling in his gut, and Gideon welcomed it. The warmth of the anger began to charge his nerves, working down to his toes and through to his jittery fingers, calming him in its wake until he was left unearthly still.
"Because I have made sure every male in a thirty-mile radius knows who the fuck I am," he said in a dangerously quiet tone as he smoothly took the exit onto the connecting highway.
A Love So Wrong: A Forbidden Romance Page 3
