Calmer Girls by Jennifer Kelland Perry

Author:Jennifer Kelland Perry [Perry, Jennifer Kelland]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult, sisters, teen pregnancy, teen behavior, dysfunctional families, contemporary romance, family life, teen drama, teen 16 plus
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

“I desired more…than was in my reach. Who blames me?”

- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

The gloom of fog had lifted overnight and the overcast clouds were scattering, making way for a golden Friday and the promise of a gorgeous weekend. Samantha rose early and dressed in a hot pink tank top and black spandex bicycle shorts, hand-me-downs from her sister. She decided to try a run around the neighbourhood like Veronica did. She tucked her hair behind her ears and pulled on a ball cap to keep it under control and out of her eyes. Tying her sneakers, she realized she hadn’t been getting much exercise lately, and for her frame of mind this might be what she sorely needed.

Veronica was at work, and Darlene slept. Samantha locked the door behind her and began with brisk strides to warm herself up. Sunshine poured over her bare arms and shoulders and wind blew warm at her back. She’d considered taking her Walkman, but opted at the last minute to listen to the pleasant sounds of the waking neighbourhood instead.

She waved to the young paper-girl with the bangs in her eyes, trudging up the street on her route; her shoulder was weighed down with a linen satchel full of newspapers. She smiled at three small boys who whizzed past her, their reed-like legs vigorously pumping the pedals of their BMX bicycles. Before long, they would all be back in their classrooms, another summer burned through and the prospects of a new school year ahead to trail-blaze. A quiver buzzed through her when she imagined the many new faces, of students and teachers alike, she would soon encounter.

She rounded the corner onto Gower, picking up her pace to an easy jog as she approached Ben’s house. A familiar car was pulling into the driveway as she got closer. It was the navy blue Ford Taurus.

The pretty, dark-haired woman she and Kalen had seen there before was getting out of the car. Ben’s mother. She was alone.

Samantha liked how the sunlight bounced off her long hair. It was the same rich, brown colour as her son’s. Even her eyes resembled his, with the high lovely arch of her eyebrows. She smiled at Samantha, who realized with instant embarrassment she’d been staring. She returned the smile, looked away and kept on jogging.

Unable to ignore the urge, she turned around in time to catch a sleepy-looking, half-dressed Ben letting her in. They embraced. Obviously, she loves her son, she reasoned. She visits often and doesn’t appear to be the neglectful type. Of course, appearances can be deceiving, can’t they? Samantha imagined her saying, “Good morning, Benny.” Did his mother still call him that now that he was grown? Or would he mind it even coming from her?

She picked up her pace again, jogging faster now, lost in thought. The tempting sight of Ben Swift, naked from the waist up, was a mental snapshot not easily dismissed. Even with his unpredictable moods, and her concern over Veronica, she couldn’t get him out of her head.

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