Leaving Eva (The Eva Series Book 1) by Jennifer Sivec Page B

other plans, but they decided to teach her anyway, so that when she moved, she could get a job in any restaurant doing anything. It was as though this was what she was meant to do. She insisted that, although she loved it, it wasn’t for her for the rest of her life. She wanted to make a lot of money so that she would never have to rely on a man to take care of her, like Rose relied on Thomas.
    Brynn was happy that the older couple taught her so much. She was making decent money, and she happily stashed all of the cash that she made in a shoebox in her closet buried under a pile of shoes and clothes. It was her escape money. The rest she put in the bank after Thomas took out his cut. She had long since stopped calling him Daddy and referred to him now only as Thomas which he didn’t seem to mind.
    Brynn couldn’t wait to leave town. And she never thought about any of the boys in her school until Adam Michael sat next to her in English. She was starting to fill her bras out more, and her acne was clearing up. But she didn’t hang out with the popular kids or dress for any other purpose than to be practical.
    When Adam sat next to her, she knew who he was. He was the only boy who didn’t tease and make fun of the girls, or pick on the smaller boys. She thought well of him because he was scrappy, and because he didn’t care what anyone thought about him. He wanted to be everyone’s friend, and it didn’t matter if they were smaller, smarter, weaker, or less popular than he was. She decided that she liked that about him.
    He was smart, too, and even better at math than she was. He was talking about college already when most boys in their small town only cared about the Friday night Football game.
    The first note he ever passed to her simply said “Hi.” When she read it, she couldn’t help but smile. She looked over at him and he had smiled back, a nice shy smile, his deep dark blue eyes twinkled with mischief. She noticed that sometimes his eyes were as blue as the ocean, and other times they glittered like beautiful sapphires. They were bold and beautiful, not like the watered down blue in Thomas’ eyes.
    The second note he passed her said “there.”
    Brynn giggled without realizing it, and was surprised. She never giggled, and she wondered what was happening to her. She put the note in her worn copy of Jane Eyre, and she kept her eyes straight ahead for the rest of the class, even though she could see him stealing glances at her out of the corner of her eye.
    “You liked my note?” He caught her after class. Adam was smiling as he did in class, and Brynn felt like mush inside. She had never really talked to a boy before, especially not someone as cute as Adam, and she had no idea what to say.
    “Yes. I got your note.” Her voice was barely audible and she fidgeted uncomfortably. He is so cute, oh my goodness. He was standing much closer to her than any boy had ever stood before. She felt her palms start to sweat, and her shirt suddenly felt too tight. She was warm.
    “You didn’t pass back.” He was baiting her, and she could feel it.
    “I don’t pass notes in class,” she said straightening up a little. “I don’t like to get in trouble.” His voice is driving me crazy. Is it really that deep?
    “Why would you get in trouble? It’s just a note.” He was laughing at her, she could tell.
    She didn’t like when people laughed at her. “I don’t break the rules.”
    He could tell by Brynn’s tone that she was frustrated with him. That’s why he liked her. She was different. Sometimes when he looked at her, she looked so sad, and other times she looked indignant. She always looked like she knew what she was doing, especially in class when she was smart and confident, and he liked that about her, too. But he never really saw her happy, and when she giggled in class he felt happy. He knew that, for some reason, he needed this girl in his life. He needed to be able to make her happy.
    He was going to