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chapter 3: Janica

Ty whooped and scooped me into his strong arms and hopped off the two foot rise of the merry-go-round. Still tight in his arms, we strolled over to the swings. He lowered onto one of the swings, and my legs under his arms so that I straddled his torso while he swung in slow, lazy movements.

"I've always wanted to do this." He lowered his lashes and tilted his head, his finger lifting my chin as he glided his long lashes along my cheek.

"Butterfly kisses?" I choked on a snort of laughter as I clung to the chains.

"Nope." He stared at me through lowered lids. "Hold you like this on a swing."

I squeezed my eyes and turned away, feeling awkward with all the special attention he gave me. "If that's the case, then why haven't you done it earlier?" I dropped my head back, extending my arms until I could see the inky sky dabbled with white, shining specks.

His body moved a bit and I knew he had shrugged. "Just haven't found the right moment."

I thought of Jannie and the ache behind my heart kinked. "So her death provided that?" Ty stiffened and I closed my eyes against the wet pain. His warm hands wrapped around my ankles and he worked me off him. Once my feet were planted in the sand, he walked away, his face to the sky.

"I can't believe you said that."

If I felt bad before, I felt even worse now. I guess we've always had something small going on. He always blew kisses at me anywhere at school, whistled at me with his friends, squeezed my hand as we passed each other in the hallways . . .

Soon, Ty's silhouette blurred by the rush of tears. Did it hurt him like it hurt me? I knew he didn't like Jannie all that much, but not enough to kill her. I sunk to the ground and hugged my waist, bending over until my stomach soured.

It wasn't until Ty knelt beside me, his warmth enveloping my patheticness. "I'm sorry about everything, Melissa. I'm scared. I've never hurt let alone killed." A violent shiver coursed through him and I pressed my head to his thundering heart.

"I can still hear her laughter, Ty. Oh, gosh, how I miss my Jannie—she was everything to me ever since we learned how to talk." The darkness inside me stretched bigger, I gripped his shirt and buried my face in him.

"Let's go." Ty swept me into his arms and carried me several yards. He set me in the truck and bent over me. I heard a click as I rubbed the tears away with the heels of my palms. Time felt as if froze for me, and the next thing I knew, my head lulled forward and my eyes bulged wide as I gasped. Bright lights made me flinch and I moaned.

Had I fallen asleep?

I found myself curled in Ty's truck, the soft leather sighed against my skin. "Ty?" I called out when I saw he wasn't sitting in the driver's seat. His keys dangled from the ignition, the engine purring as soft music wafted.

Bright red letters spread across the food store. Smith's. This was for real. What am I doing? This is crazy. My thoughts reeled as I mathed out our situations. More like dilemmas. It took Dad eight hours a day, five days a week to bring in food, clothes, heat and electricity. What made me think Ty could meet all those needs?

The parking lot buzzed with life as families unloaded their goods. The only thing that separated me from home was the truck door. It would take me about thirty minutes on foot from here to get home. There was no need to run away. Was there?

Just when I gripped the handle, a flutter snared the corner of my eye. Ty's brilliant smile struck my heart as he approached the truck, and I waved back.

I loved being with him. He was everything to me and after all these years, he was finally mine. With a sigh, I locked my fingers together and bit my lip. I'll just play along and see how far this goes. Ty wouldn't seriously leave the comfort and safety of home. Would he?