Home > Race to a Christmas Reunion(9)

Race to a Christmas Reunion(9)
Author: Brenda Jackson

Myles slid onto one of the bar stools at the counter, about ready to order a tart and a cup of coffee when Sybil motioned to a customer sitting alone at one of the tables in the back. It was Lisa. She was reading the newspaper and hadn’t noticed him enter.

“Wouldn’t you prefer to join her?” Sybil asked, smiling from ear to ear.

He returned her smile as he got off the stool. “Yes, I would.”

“I know what you want and will bring your order over to you.”

“Thanks,” Myles said, remembering that Sybil was one of the few people who thought he and Lisa made a good match.

He headed toward the table where Lisa was sitting and before he got within five feet, her scent filled his nostrils. It was as seductive as always and the fragrance stirred something deep and elementally male inside him. “Good morning, Lisa.”

She jerked her head up. Her eyes widened in surprise and he saw that her grip on her cup of coffee faltered somewhat. “Myles,” she said, putting down the cup. “I see you decided to stay in town another day.”

“Yes,” he said, taking the seat across from her. “I promised Ronald that I would hang around. He ordered some new furniture as a surprise for Sheila. It’s going to arrive sometime tomorrow.”

Lisa smiled. “That’s wonderful. She’ll be pleased.”

Myles chuckled. “Not as pleased as Ronald since it’s a bigger bed. A California king-size.”

“I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

“Me, either. But it’s bigger than a regular king.”

There was silence as she sipped her coffee. Then he asked, “Are you up early to catch the after-Christmas sales?” It wasn’t eight o’clock yet.

“No, I’m usually an early riser.”

He, of all people, should know that. The couple of times they had managed to get away on private trips together, she was usually the first one awake in the mornings. One such trip had been to Cedar Keys. He would never forget that weekend, mainly because it had been their last getaway together.

Suddenly he wanted to be alone with her, away from the townspeople’s prying eyes. Besides, they needed to talk. “How would you like to go riding with me?”

She lifted a brow. “Go riding where?”

“To Ocala. I have a huge fan there who owns a sports shop. I promised if I was ever in the area that I would make a pit stop to sign a bunch of T-shirts he sells.”

She studied the contents of her coffee before looking back up at him. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Myles.”

“I disagree. Besides, like I said yesterday, we need to talk.”

“Talking won’t change what happened.”

“No, it won’t. But I refuse to leave town having you believe what you do.” He knew she didn’t have to ask what he was talking about. He was referring to the comments she had made yesterday. “Come with me, Lisa.”

Silence surrounded them again and then Lisa set down her coffee cup. “All right, Myles. I’ll go with you.”

 

 

CHAPTER FIVE


IT WAS A beautiful day and with the top down on Myles’s convertible, Lisa enjoyed the feel of the wind on her face. She glanced over at Myles. As usual he looked the epitome of sexy. He wore a pair of jeans and a pullover jersey that said Men of Steele.

As if he felt her attention on him, he glanced over at her, taking his eyes off the road for only a quick second. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or not, but his grip on the steering wheel appeared to tighten.

“Thanks for coming with me, Lisa.”

She shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me. I hadn’t planned on doing much of anything today anyway. My sisters are the shopaholics in the family. They drove to Tallahassee before the crack of dawn to hit several of the malls.”

There was silence again and then he said, “I want to set you straight on a comment you made yesterday about me not knowing if you were alive or dead. That’s so far from the truth it isn’t funny. I talked to Ronald and Joe often and I always ask about you.”

His statement surprised Lisa. “Why would you do that?”

He took an exit off the interstate. “Why wouldn’t I do that?”

“I can think of several reasons. You left me behind because you didn’t want me anymore.”

Myles looked at her and the anger she’d seen in his eyes yesterday when she had made a similar statement was back. “I refuse to drive any further until we clear that up.”

“Keep driving, Myles. There’s nothing to clear up. Although I did hurt for the longest time, I understand why you did it.”

“I don’t think you do,” he said, pulling into a fruit market off of Interstate 75. He parked the car in an isolated area of the parking lot and released the lever to push back his seat to stretch out his long legs. He then turned his body toward her.

“So tell me, Lisa, why do you think I left town that night?”

She rolled her eyes. “I know why you left town,” she said, wondering why he was determined to rehash things. “You were contacted by a professional team because they were interested in you being a mechanic for them.”

“Yes, but that would not have affected our relationship. I still would have taken the job but would have sent for you when you finished school. No matter what, I still wanted to marry you.”

Now it was Lisa’s time to be angry. “Excuse me, but I don’t recall you presenting that as an option. I distinctively recall you saying you were leaving for Charlotte and that we needed to end things.”

“Yes, but that was only after your parents came to see me.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“I’m talking about you threatening to quit school in your junior year, telling your parents you were doing it to marry me, although I hadn’t officially asked you yet. I had purchased the ring and intended to ask you Christmas night, but after your parents’ visit, I knew I couldn’t mess up your life like that. You deserved better and—”

“What on earth are you talking about? I never threatened to quit school in my junior year.”

Myles stared at her. “Are you saying your parents lied to me?”

“They did if they told you that.”

Myles didn’t say anything for the longest time and neither did Lisa as it became crystal clear just what her parents had done. And it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

“How could you have believed them?” Lisa asked in a soft voice.

Myles looked at her. He saw the tears she was trying to hold back and knew she was thinking the same thing he was. Five wasted years. “Why wouldn’t I believe them? They were your parents and they sounded worried about you and your future. They made me realize I could ruin things for you if I didn’t get out of the picture.”

“So you did.”

“Yes.”

Again neither said anything for the longest time and then she said, “They never liked you.”

“I know, but they sounded pretty convincing. I hadn’t expected them to outright lie about something like that.”

She knew that he truly hadn’t. Her parents were members of Chiefland’s upstanding community. They weren’t supposed to lie. “Why didn’t you ask me about it?”

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