(On Hold)
Alyssa Kincaid and Jordan Knight were childhood sweethearts. It's been eighteen years since she left behind her family's rural horse ranch and all of the memories of her summertime romance. As the years had gone by, she'd gradually buried...
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~~Alyssa~~
"Oh, c'mon, I know I packed it..." Alyssa mumbled as she shifted through her boxes in search of her blue jean jacket. "Where is it?"
She sighed as she sat the box aside and hurried back into the bathroom to check and see if her straightener was ready as she glimpsed in the mirror at her messy curls. She felt like a flustered teenager preparing for her first date as she moved around in search of all of the pieces to make her outfit perfect.
She wasn't quite sure why she felt so obligated to look her best. It was just a friendly dinner at Mike's Burger Joint, it wasn't a date, but even as she told herself that she didn't believe it. After all these years, Jordan still had a pull on her and she hated it.
She didn't understand why she couldn't just tell him that she didn't want to have dinner. Why she couldn't look him in the eye and tell him that he'd been out of her life for years and the last time they'd truly spoken, he'd hurt her.
It felt like just yesterday that she'd spent her whole morning preparing lunch and contemplating the perfect way to break the news of her pregnancy to him. She'd finally settled on a little onesie and pair of knitted booties that she carefully packed in a gift bag and sat on the kitchen table of their little cottage by the river.
It was a small, abandoned place that they'd discovered and fixed up together, but it was their's and the space held lots of sweet memories. Including the night they'd whispered promises to each other that held as much love as wedding vows before they'd made love for the first time.
As the rain pitter-pattered on the roof, she'd made mini turkey sandwiches and homemade lemonade along with her special chocolate cake recipe that he loved so much just in time for their noon lunch.
When noon rolled around, there was no sign of Jordan. It was odd, he was never late to their meetings at the cottage, but she'd blamed it on the rain and waited patiently. The cottage didn't have a landline so she couldn't call, but she was sure he'd be there any moment. Slowly, the time rolled by and it was nearly two with no sign of him. Sighing, she'd eaten her half of the lunch alone and began second-guessing her plan to tell him about the baby.
By three, she was sure he wasn't coming and she'd packed away the gift bag along with most of the lunch as she prepared to leave. At a quarter to four, Jordan had finally appeared drenched in rain.
"Are you okay?" Alyssa looked at him, worried something had happened as she hurried over with a towel.
"I'm fine," he dried off and hung his coat on the hook by the door. He seemed distant and distracted unlike his usual cheery and open demeanor.
