Love Finds You

Love Finds You - Part 10

Chapter 10

The next evening Jen was in her room standing in front of a full-length mirror. Her outfit was one she would never have picked for herself. She easily could have worn one of her own dresses to the dance, but her only white one had been ruined at the cow branding; Jen shook her head angrily at the memory. Annie had once again insisted on dressing her for the occasion. The dress was white with a lacy overlay; a brown braided belt hugged her waist. A short denim jacket complimented the look, and brown cowboy boots gave it just the right finishing touch. She had to admit, Annie had done well, the outfit looked pretty darn good on her. Even Jen's hair, which she almost always wore straight, was now in curls and the look was beginning to grow on her. She glanced at the clock, better hurry. Annie would be there any minute to pick her up. Aunt Gabby claimed she was too tired to go to a dance tonight after having such a full day at the fair yesterday. Jen had firmly declared she would stay home with her, but Aunt Gabby wouldn't hear of it.

"Your ride is here!" Aunt Gabby called up the stairs.

"I'll be right down," she called back. It amazed her how stuck in time this place was. Two months ago, Jen would never have dreamed she'd be going to a country dance, in this outfit, waiting to be picked up in a truck by her girlfriend. It made her feel like she was ten years younger. With a dab of lip gloss and one final twirl, she was off, bouncing down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Alright Annie, are you ready to teach me some country..." her voice trailed off as her eyes fell upon Zack standing there instead. At least, she thought it was Zack! She drew her breath in and had to fight hard to conceal a gasp. His navy-blue cowboy jeans were complimented by clean, black boots; a solid black, button-up shirt was tucked in at the waist, and the sleeves were rolled to the elbow, showing off his tan forearms. But most shocking was his face, his rugged cowboy look had vanished. His hair was combed and the fast growing, unruly beard had been shaved, leaving only a very nicely trimmed goatee. If Jen hadn't felt fifteen before, she definitely did now.

"I, uh," she blinked, "I wasn't expecting..."

"Annie got wrapped up in something, so I offered to pick you up," Zack explained.

"I see," was all Jen could get out.

"I hope that's alright with you."

"Just fine. Goodbye Aunt Gabby," Jen waved as she turned to walk out the door.

"You kids have fun!" she called back.

Zack followed Jen out to the truck and paused before opening the passenger door. "Listen Jen," he started, "I'm really sorry about yesterday."

"You know you apologize a lot; you do realize that." Jen wasn't in the mood for another of Zack's requests for forgiveness.

A small smile crossed his lips. "Yes, well uh, I tend to say things the moment they come into my head without thinking them through, and it gets me into trouble sometimes."

He took a step closer, his fingers fiddling with the rim of a black cowboy hat he had just put on. Jen tried to just focus on her breathing, until she smelled his cologne, and then decided breathing was a bad idea. He smelled amazing.

"I would love for you to have a good time tonight," he continued. "I don't want you to worry about me saying something rude, or you feeling like you're being attacked because that isn't my intention."

"Well, maybe you needed to think about that yesterday," Jen stated, "because I felt attacked."

"Again, I'm really sorry." His dark eyes searched hers and she could see he was being sincere. "Aunt Gabby is the closest thing to a mother I have left. With how close you are to your father, I'm sure you can understand my wanting only the best for her." He leaned in closer and whispered, "And I'm being serious when I tell you I want the same for you."