Darlene Gardner - That Runaway Summer

“Hey, Chris,” she said, sweeping the hair back from her brother’s face. “Sorry to wake you, but we’ve got to get you packed.”

He nodded once, then sat up, the covers falling away to reveal the white T-shirt he wore over his scrawny chest.

“Okay,” he said.

Last night, when she’d taken him to the carnival, he’d balked at the roller coaster but had eaten cotton candy and gone on the merry-go-round like any other ten-year-old.

Now his eyes were solemn and he didn’t even ask why she was going to upend their lives once again.

Jill wasn’t the only one who knew the most effective way to elude a bird dog was to fly off before the hunting party arrived.

Ten months later

TRUST NO ONE.

Jill Jacobi had managed to follow that simple rule since she’d stumbled across the evocatively named Indigo Springs on a Pennsylvania map and headed there. The scenic Pocono Mountain town had turned out to be a fine place to hide. It was out of the way, yet full of interesting, stimulating people.

No wonder she’d let down her guard.

“It was real sweet of you to invite me over.” Jill spoke to Penelope Pollock in a whisper on a Friday night in July. “Even though I haven’t known you long, I already love you to death. I might change my mind, though, if you’re aiming to fix me up with the vet.”

Penelope transferred four bottles of beer from the refrigerator to the sleek granite countertop of the island in her kitchen, then rummaged in a drawer until she pulled out a bottle opener.

“Of course I’m fixing you up.” Penelope spoke without a trace of shame. “It’s what I do.”

Jill would never tell Penelope the truth of how she and Chris had ended up in Indigo Springs. So why hadn’t she been more cautious when she’d gotten a dinner invitation from the woman who fancied herself a matchmaker?

The answer was simple, yet complicated.

Jill, who could afford to trust no one, was too darn trusting.

“You should be thanking me.” Penelope popped the top on one of the beer bottles. “Dan’s a great guy. On the quiet side, but animals and kids love him. When are they ever wrong about a person?”

On the wooden deck visible through the sliding glass doors, Penelope’s husband, Johnny, tended the grill as Dan Maguire bent to pet a huge dog. The beast’s thick tail wagged vigorously as the dog tried to lick his face. Dan straightened, teeth a dentist would admire flashing as he laughed, his hand still buried in the dog’s white-and-mahogany coat.

“I’m sure he’s a nice guy,” Jill began.

“Nice doesn’t begin to cover it,” Penelope retorted. “After he started working for Stanley Kownacki, all I heard about him were good things. Now that we have a puppy, I wouldn’t dream of using any other vet.”

Puppy? That monstrosity of a dog was a puppy?

“Not many nice guys are as good-looking as he is,” Penelope continued without taking a breath. “Just try to tell me he’s not hot.”

A breeze rustled Dan’s black hair, which fell almost to his collar. Jill knew from the few times she’d happened to see him around town that his eyes were a startling blue, but they weren’t his best feature. Neither were his long interesting nose, lean high cheekbones or wide full mouth.

Her eyes dipped to his legs, left bare beneath his khaki shorts. Lean and lightly sprinkled with brown hair, they had excellent calf definition.

Yeah, she was a leg girl, all right.

“Oh, he’s hot,” Jill said, “but I seem to remember you saying no when I asked if anyone besides you and Johnny would be here.”

Wielding the bottle opener in her right hand, Penelope methodically popped the rest of the beer-bottle tops.

“So I lied,” Penelope said. “Would you have come if you knew I thought you should get busy with the hot vet?”

“No,” Jill replied. “I don’t want to get busy with anyone.”

“Why is that exactly?” Penelope tossed back her long light brown hair and gazed at Jill out of big dark eyes. “You don’t even date.”

The response that sprang to mind was that a life on the run with a ten-year-old left no room for romance. Jill swallowed the words for a version of the truth. “Between work and Chris, I don’t have time.”

“Nonsense,” Penelope refuted. “Your landlady treats you and Chris like her grandchildren. You said she doesn’t even consider it babysitting to stay home with Chris.”

“Then maybe I’m not in the market for a man.”

“What kind of talk is that?” Penelope’s hand flew to her throat. “The only acceptable reason not to be looking for a man is if you’re gay. And in that case, I know a woman I can set you up with.”

Jill laughed despite not even being close to getting her point across. There was something endearing about a recent bride wanting everyone else to be as happily in love as she was.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” Jill said, borrowing a line from one of her favorite sitcoms, “but I’m not gay.”

“Then give the vet a whirl, see where things lead. As far as I can tell, Dan doesn’t date either, but how can he resist you?” Penelope nodded toward the deck. “See. He’s checking you out.”

Jill’s eyes locked with Dan’s through the glass door. She recognized a familiar trapped look and broke the gaze.

“You didn’t tell him I’d be here, did you?” Jill accused.

“What difference does that make?” Penelope avoided looking at her. “You have no idea how hard it is to get that man to accept a dinner invitation.”

“He probably smelled a setup.”

“If you’re so against being set up,” Penelope said, handing two of the beers to Jill, “why did you just suck in your stomach and stick out your boobs?”

“I did no such thing!” Jill denied before her inherent honesty got the best of her. “Okay, maybe I did suck in my stomach, but I sure didn’t do anything with my boobs.”

Penelope giggled. “I knew you liked him!”

Jill couldn’t help but laugh. “I like everybody,” she said. “Even you.”

She followed her friend over the kitchen tile, pausing when Dan slid the door open, so she could check where the dog was. The “baby monster,” thankfully, was amusing itself in the yard.

The outdoors smelled like freshly mowed grass and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, yet as Jill handed Dan one of the beers she caught the scent of soap and clean warm skin.

“We come bearing great gifts,” Penelope announced, walking straight into her husband’s arms. Johnny’s grin lit up his entire face, transforming his average looks. He kissed her soundly while the smoke from the grill swirled around them.

“I was referring to the beers,” Penelope said when they broke apart, handing her husband one of the cold brews, “but save that thought for later.”

Johnny chuckled and went back to tending the food on the grill. “So Penelope tells me you two are dating,” he remarked casually as he flipped a burger.

“What?” Jill asked, a question echoed by Dan.

“We don’t even know each other.” Jill looked fully at Dan. He shuffled his feet, as though he was considering making a run for the hills. “Although I have seen you once or twice at the Blue Haven.”

“Of course. You bartend there.” It couldn’t be more obvious that he’d just put it together why she looked familiar.

“Jill also works at Indigo River Rafters as a guide.” Penelope’s smile was almost blinding. “I can’t wait for you two to get acquainted.”

“Penelope.” Johnny gestured to his wife with the stainless steel flipper. “You need to stay out of—”

Penelope was close enough to Johnny to plant another kiss on his lips before he could finish the sentence.