Free The Princess and the Pauper by Nancy Bush

exhaled furiously and swore.
    “I’ll take you back,” she said, and he finally flung himself back in the seat.
    “Fine.”
    She drove to his house with care, emotions seesawing. She wished he would just kiss her again. Pull her into his arms. Love her.
    When the Mercedes slid to a stop in front of his house, he didn’t climb out immediately. Shooting April the wry look she was coming to know, he said, “You’re going to college in the fall.”
    She barely nodded. “UCLA.”
    “Seeing each other’s pointless.”
    “I guess.”
    A drip of sweat rolled down his throat. He swiped it away. “I could meet you at the park later tonight,” he said, so quickly that she half-believed she’d imagined it.
    “When?”
    “Later.” He slid out of the seat.
    April was so jubilant that she couldn’t find her tongue. Fumbling with the keys, she watched him walk up the driveway. A tired-looking woman was standing on the porch, her frowning gaze turned April’s way as she backed the Mercedes onto the road, her heart beating light and fast.
    Tonight, she thought excitedly. Tonight…

    The air was thick and close as April shifted her weight anxiously from one foot to the other. She peered through the inky darkness at her watch. Ten o’clock. Where was he?
    The leaves shivered beneath a hot breath of wind. Silence filled the park. April stood to one side of the entrance, inhaling the dusty smell of the sun parched ground. Jesse had been right, she thought uneasily. Who knew what or who could be lurking in the shadows? So then why had he suggested meeting here?
    What if he didn’t show?
    April closed her eyes and turned her face to the itinerant breeze. She was hot and perspiring. He would come. He had to. Whatever else could be said about him, Jesse was not the type to make idle promises.
    Growing restless, she walked along the pathway through the center of the park and darted anxious looks in all directions. There was no one here but herself.
    In the distance she heard the loud whine of an engine. She stopped short, ears straining. The whine grew into a dull roar. Jesse! she thought with jubilation.
    Quickly she ran to the entrance. The roar intensified, filling the night. April glanced across the road to her parents’ imposing manor house, afraid they would somehow guess what was going on. A headlight pierced the night and Jesse pulled to a thundering stop. As soon as he cut the engine, deep silence closed in around them.
    He sat on the motorcycle long moments. April wasn’t sure whether to risk being seen by her parents and go out and meet him, or wait in the shadows. She chose the latter and remained standing near the archway to the park, her heart thudding heavily in her chest.
    Jesse climbed off the motorcycle, slamming down the kickstand. He was wearing worn jeans, a black shirt and his leather jacket. Irrational fear suddenly seized April and she stepped back, one hand at her throat. She was dimly aware that tonight was some kind of turning point; the wheels she’d set in motion were spinning her into a dangerous, unknown future.
    Jesse strode through the archway and stopped five feet in front of her. “So who are you hiding from?”
    April drew a quiet breath. He would never understand her fears. “My parents.”
    He snorted. “Maybe I should leave.”
    “No.” April glanced around. “Could we go to the center of the park?”
    He hesitated, as if weighing his choices. Reluctantly, it seemed to April, he inclined his head. “Lead the way.”
    They walked side by side, a circumspect distance between them. At the clearing, Jesse stopped short. The shrubbery, thick with summer leaves and rustling in the night breeze, surrounded them. Only the faintest moon glow shone onto the dry grass.
    “Okay,” he said, stretching his arms over his head as if his back ached. “You wanted to talk. Talk.”
    April sighed inwardly. Why did he always have to make things so difficult? “You changed shifts at the mill,” she