Free One Reckless Summer by Toni Blake Page A

again.”
    He raised his eyebrows, still mildly amused. “Fifth grade?”
    “When I was in the fifth grade, I stumbled upon three scary girls in my class smoking behind the school at recess one day. To make sure I didn’t tell on them, they decided to stick to me like glue—at recess, lunch, gym class—anytime they could. An intimidation tactic.”
    Despite himself, he cast a soft grin, thinking of innocent little Jenny being forced to hang with the tough girls. “Did you ever tell on them?”
    “No.”
    “Then I guess it worked,” he said, pushing to his feet and stepping close to her. “Don’t tell anybody about me , either, pussycat. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
    And with that, he used one bent finger to lift her chin, then brushed his mouth ever-so-lightly across hers, just before walking out the door.
     
    “Stay close to the dock, honey,” Sue Ann called to her little girl, Sophie, a miniature version of her, now floating in
Blue
Valley
Lake
surrounded by a blow-up inner tube decorated with Disney princesses.
    Then Sue Ann stretched out in her lounge chair next to Jenny’s and said, “Wow, this is just like old times. Except that there’s another one of us now, and she’s short.”
    Jenny laughed, then laid her head back, soaking up the sun in last year’s two-piece swimsuit, the one she’d bought for the trip she and Terrence had taken to the Bahamas . But her mind wasn’t on Terrence, or the Bahamas . Her mind was on Mick Brody.
    In fact, just glancing across the lake to the woods that hid his home, to the trees that shrouded the place where they’d had sex, made her hot in a way she couldn’t attribute to the sun.
    “By the way,” she said, “crisis averted.” This was the first time they’d had a chance to chat privately since Sue Ann and Sophie had shown up a few minutes ago.
    “Which crisis exactly?”
    Good question, Jenny supposed—depending upon how you looked at it, there was more than just one. “I got my telescope back.”
    Sue Ann stopped in mid–sunscreen application to stare at her. “How, pray tell?”
    Jenny glanced over as if it were no biggie. “Mick brought it to me last night.”
    Sue Ann tipped her head back. “Ah, I see. Mick. So we’re on a first name basis now.”
    “Well, I did sleep with the guy,” she said—softly, so Sophie wouldn’t overhear. Fortunately, the boom box was playing and Sophie was splashing around in the water.
    “It didn’t sound like sleeping to me, ” Sue Ann quipped.
    And Jenny couldn’t help giggling a bit in response.
    To which Sue Ann said, “My, aren’t we girlishly lighthearted today.”
    Jenny couldn’t deny it. For some reason, she felt better than she had in…well, she couldn’t remember how long. She wasn’t sure why, but decided to credit it to the averted crisis. “Well, I have my telescope back now.”
    “And I know you love that thing, but I’ve never seen it make you… giddy. ”
    Jenny crossed her arms and made a face. “I’m not giddy. I’m relieved.”
    “Uh-huh, sure. So…did you get a better look at him this time? Did he look good?”
    Jenny ignored the sarcasm and blew out a long breath in reply. “Um, yeah. ”
    “Still has that sexy olive complexion?”
    “ Mmm hmm.”
    “And that dark, silky hair?”
    “Yep.”
    Sue Ann leaned forward slightly in her chair. “Muscles? Are there muscles?”
    Jenny’s stomach was getting a little fluttery just remembering. “ Oh yeah, there are muscles. Not big, bodybuilder muscles. But just, you know, nice, sturdy ones. Although I knew that already. You don’t have to see muscles.”
    Looking enlightened, Sue Ann shrugged. “Hmm, I suppose you don’t. So what did Mr. Brody have to say on his little visit?”
    “Well, he was still very adamant about me not telling anyone, so I had to promise again. So we both have to keep our mouths positively shut. ”
    “Any clues about what the big freaking secret is?”
    Jenny shook her head. “Nope. But the