The One For Me - January Cove Book 1 by Rachel Hanna Page B

haven't seen you around town in a long time. You been on vacation?"

"Vacation? Yes, actually I just got back," Kyle said playing along with Bill's confused memory.

"Well, I need to say I'm sorry about something. See, my daughter, Jenna.... you know her?"

"I do."

"Well, she had a big crush on you, but her mother didn't like it. She didn't approve, and I went along with her. I shouldn't have done it. I knew how much you loved my daughter, but I didn't stick up for you or her. For that, I'm sorry."

Kyle sat there stunned as he processed what the man had just said to him. Jenna appeared beside her father with a tray of food.

"Hungry, Daddy?" she asked.

"I could eat a little something," he said chuckling as Jenna helped him up and walked him to the table. Kyle didn't move.

"You okay?" she whispered after she got her father settled.

"Huh? Oh, yeah..."

They sat with Bill as he ate, and he never said another word to Kyle. He didn't even seem to realize he was there at all. He focused on his food and the TV that sat off to the side of the table. The sadness in Jenna's eyes was palpable, and Kyle felt sorry for her.

"Daddy, I'm gonna go, okay?" Bill simply nodded without making eye contact. "He gets tired after he eats," she said.

"It was nice to see you, Mr. Davis," Kyle said as he rubbed Bill's shoulder. Again, Bill just nodded and didn't look at him. It was obvious the moment of lucidity was gone.

When they reached Kyle's Jeep, Jenna waited for him to unlock the door. Instead, he walked around to her side of the vehicle and pulled her into his arms. Enveloped in her strawberry scent, he held her as tight as he'd ever held anyone. Her face pressed into his solid chest, she began to weep quietly. He let her cry and just pressed his mouth to the top of her head. They stood that way for several minutes before she pulled back a bit and looked at the wet mess she'd made on his shirt.

"I messed up your shirt," she said through a choked sob.

"No biggie. It can be washed."

"Thanks for that," she said.

"For what?"

"For coming with me. For letting me cry all over you. For holding me. It's the safest I've felt in years," she admitted softly.

A knife went straight into Kyle's heart. The safest she'd felt in years. In his arms.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

"What?"

"Your Dad remembered me."

"I know. He said your name."

"No, I mean he remembered about you leaving me. He apologized. Said your mother pushed him to agree with her and that he was wrong. He said he knew how much we loved each other, and he should have stood up for us." A huge smile crossed Jenna's face.

"He remembered that?"

"Yep."

"Oh, Kyle, thank you! Thank you for telling me that!" she said hugging him tightly around the neck. Her shape, her form, her scent - it all felt so right in his arms. As warning bells went off in his head, he did his best to breathe in and out and avoid every manly urge he was having.
     

Chapter 9
     
    When they arrived back at Kyle's house, Jenna finished unpacking a few things and then went to pick up Kaitlyn at school. As she drove back to her house, she thought about what her father had said to Kyle. For some reason, she finally had a small slice of peace about the situation.

Most people would have looked at their breakup as just a childhood rite of passage that everyone goes through, but not Jenna. Being with Kyle wasn't about being young or impetuous. She believed, and still did, that he was the one for her. He wasn't just some high school fling she had that came and went. He was a part of her soul, etched into the tiny crevices of her heart forever. That had been apparent during her marriage, and it still wasn't going away now. In fact, her feelings seemed to be increasing day by day.

"Go inside and get your room cleaned up," she called to Kaitlyn as she bounded into the house. Jenna pulled the empty boxes from her car and started to take them into the house.

"Hey!" Rebecca called