When the Leaves Stop Falling

Chapter 9

Jake trekked Austin strolling across the field in his long, lazy stride long before he reached him at his barn behind the house. His only horse, Brown Eyes, had been ignored lately due to his workload, and he wanted to spend some time with her. She was the only frivolous purchase in his whole life, and he never spent a moment regretting it.

He wasn't expecting anyone else in the county to be up. He ran the brush along the painted mare's side one more time, smoothing down and patting her soft brown hair, then set the brush down on the bench. She nuzzled her nose against his neck in appreciation and whinnied softly.

"No shoes, no shirt, no service, my friend."

Austin chuckled under his breath as he looked down at his lack of attire. "Shut up and give me a beer." He leaned against the doorway of Jake's barn and folded his arms.

Jake scratched the back of his head and grinned. "I was just headin' in anyway. Come on."

Austin followed him inside and sat down at the table in the small kitchen. Jake's house was significantly smaller than his and Grams', but was always cared for just the same. When Jake's parents had moved five years ago to head further south, Jake had torn apart the whole place to make it his. He'd restored the old woodwork, replaced cabinets, built new furniture, and added a porch out back.

Jake slid him a long neck bottle across the table and sat opposite him. "What brings you out so late?"

"Couldn't sleep." He shrugged. "Started walking and ended up here."

Jake nodded, knowing there was more to it than that, and wondered what was going on. "That's not like you. You sleep like the dead."

Austin shrugged again and took a long pull from his bottle.

Jake sighed and rubbed his neck. His shoulder-length light brown hair needed a cut. It was almost to his collar. "How's Grams?"

The crease in Austin's forehead deepened and Jake's gut sank. They'd always been able to talk to each other about anything. But something had been holding Austin back for going on a week.

"Grams is good." He paused. "Serena will be back on Saturday." Austin's tone was too casual for Jake's liking. "She said she'd like you to come over for lunch on Sunday. Wants to talk with you. I told her I'd mention it."

Now he knew something was up. "She's been home, what, once since she took off for the west coast? And not one word from her, as if I was nothing to her all these years."

Austin's gaze changed. His already dark eyes grew darker and torment edged their depths.

Jake regretted his tone and lowered it. "What's she want with me after all this time?"

"You were always something to her, you know that."

No, he didn't know, because she'd just up and left. And if he was "something" to her, she was his everything. But that hardly mattered now. There was weariness in his friend's voice, and Jake decided to leave it alone for tonight.

Nodding his head as the anger subsided, he said, "All right. I'll talk with her on Sunday then." It would be here soon enough.

Austin grunted in response. He stared into his bottle.

"You had the dream again, didn't you?" At first, Jake thought this reoccurring dream his friend had about the mystery angel woman was amusing. But lately, Austin had been having it more and more, and instead of calming Austin like it used to, it seemed to disturb him.

Austin shrugged, but the weight in his eyes didn't mirror the casual gesture and he ignored the question. "Serena's bringing someone home with her."

Jealousy crept up to close around his throat and he fought to control it. So that's what this "talk" was about. She'd met someone. Jake wondered when the day would come he'd hear she got engaged or married. That was supposed to be them, sharing a life together and growing old. Pain knifed his chest.

Austin cleared his throat. "Some woman she met in Arizona. They're traveling together."

What? A woman? "Huh?"

"Yeah. Serena ran into her in some small town, and after girl chat, decided to bring her back home. By the sound of it, they both were maneuvered."

"Okay," he drawled slowly. "Just like that? She brings home a stranger."

"So it seems." He shrugged. "She said she thought someone had hurt this woman before, but it wasn't anyone from where she was staying when Serena met her." He sighed. "You know Serena, always has to help."

Jake chuckled and drank his beer. The knot in his chest finally started to loosen. "Yeah, and I know just where she got it from too."

Austin smiled, but it didn't hit anywhere near the vicinity of his eyes. "Well, we'll find out all we need to know soon enough." Standing, he rubbed his hands over his dark hair and then looked around as if confused. He tossed his bottle in the trash. "I'll see you at the store day after tomorrow?"

"Sure. We'll finish the bookshelves and start the coffee counter."

Nodding, Austin headed for the door.

"Hey," Jake called before he could step out, and waited for his best friend to turn around. "You know I'm here if you need anything, right?"

Austin nodded, his expression fixed to torment.

Jake watched the screen door close behind him and thought that Sunday maybe too long to wait for answers after all.

Courtney reflected on their stop through Dallas long after they were back on the road. Old City Park was this historical village they'd visited, and she'd taken so many pictures she didn't know how she'd send them all back to Mrs. Meyers to tell her about the trip.

She laid her head back on the seat and eyed the highway before them. Trees whirled by, their leaves a bright summer green and cheerful. She smiled, recalling a snapshot she took of Serena standing by an old knotted oak when her friend hadn't been paying attention. Serena's head was crooked down, her body off to the side, and her eyes had this far off distant look. Stunning, dark shoulder-length curls were tucked behind her ears, a slight smile curving her lips, as if recovering something fond from the recesses of her mind. A yellow ankle-length skirt danced in the wind behind her.

Courtney knew Serena had been thinking about a man, the one she had yet to speak about. Fragments of him drifted to Courtney's mind when Serena was deep in thought. He was on her mind a lot, more than Serena probably even knew.

She turned her head to watch Serena as she drove. Even now, she was thinking of him and that longing was on her face. Every once and awhile she'd raise her thin brows, wrinkling her beautiful face in a memory not so happy. A pain that hurt more than sickness.

"Will you tell me about him?"

Courtney had been astonished and confused the morning after their talk in New Mexico. She'd expected to wake up alone in the hotel room. Instead, Serena had smiled sweetly, grabbed their bags, and headed to the car. She hadn't backed away from her with disgust, or said callous words, or batted an eyelash after learning about her abilities or what her father had done to her. Courtney sensed no cruelty or anger from her at all.

She darted a glance at Courtney and back to the road. "His name is Jake Warner. He grew up in the house next door to Grams' estate. He's actually Austin's best friend, but when we were little, they let me tag along all the time." She smiled and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "They didn't care that I couldn't run as fast or do as many things. They'd just wait for me to catch up."

Courtney sensed hesitation. "If you don't wanna tell me, it's okay."

"No." She shook her head. "It's all right." She checked her rearview mirror and changed lanes to let a car pass before continuing. "The summer I turned sixteen was also the summer I was in the hospital on and off for complications. I had just had my surgery to put in the pacemaker and he came in my room with a handful of tulips." Her laugh came out as smooth as smoke. She rubbed her forehead as if to dispel a headache. "He asked me out!"

Courtney looked back at her, caught up in her tale, just as surprised as Serena must have been at the time. She grinned fully, nudging her to continue.

"I couldn't believe it! I mean, sure I looked, but I wasn't kidding anyone. Jake has these piercing green eyes, the color of emeralds in the sunlight. Austin teases him about his hair all the time." She gestured with her hand the length. "It's about this long, to his collar, and is a light brown. But his smile is what got me every time."

She had that pained look in her eyes again, and her voice held no amusement now as she continued. "We'd been an item since then, you could say. I used to wonder what he was doing with me, this sick girl who couldn't do most of what the other girls could do. Oh, they came around." The chuckle under her breath was unconvincing and dry. "But he never looked at them. Only me. God, I miss him still."

Courtney, for the first time in her life, understood the sentiment of what love was. She had never experienced it herself. No one had ever touched her or looked at her like that. She'd never even been kissed before, but she felt it, at least what Serena felt, for that brief lapse when she'd talked. It was the first instance where Courtney ever regretting not experiencing romance. Which was foolish. She was invisible, had made herself that way on purpose. That's why no one talked to her, or asked her out, or brought her flowers.

It was easier somehow to not know. You couldn't miss or crave what you never had.

"Hey." Serena patted her leg. "What are you thinking about?"

Shoving away her thoughts, she forced a smile. "How wonderful it must have been, to have someone care for you that much."

"There was always love at Grams' house. Austin, Jake, and I spent every waking moment together. But then I left, and I don't think Jake ever forgave me."

"He will." She turned her head to look out the window.

Serena ignored the comment, not wanting to believe it as much as she hoped it was true. It had been three years since her and Jake had seen one another, and he hadn't only been angry at her leaving. He'd been leveled.

She checked her gas gauge, realizing it was getting low. "Hey, we're coming up to Shreveport and need to fill up. It'll be dark soon. We should stay here tonight."

"Okay."

Serena wanted to ask why Courtney's mood had shifted so drastically, but before she could comment Courtney asked, "Can we stop and get the film developed? I want to send Mrs. Meyers some pictures."

"Sure, we'll do a one hour so they're ready to go out tonight."

"Thanks."

Serena smiled, noting their exit was coming up. "Let's go to the bars tonight. Louisiana has great taverns and we can play some pool, get dressed up."

Courtney suppressed the queasiness in her stomach and smiled. "I don't have anything appropriate to wear, and I don't drink."

"Well," Serena responded with a dry tone, "I can't drink either. But we can flirt and have some fun."

"I don't know how to flirt," she said so matter-of-factly that Serena threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh, honey, every woman can flirt. You'll have the boys chasing your baby blues before you know it."

Nodding, because it was just easier than arguing, Courtney sat back and dreaded the next stop for the first time since they'd left Arizona. But if Serena needed to get out and have fun, then she would oblige. After all, she had done so many things for her already, she could bar hop to return the favor. No one would be looking at her with Serena around anyway.