Free Behind the Pine Curtain by Gerri Hill Page A

first, Mrs. Keys had tried to keep Jacqueline away, steering her toward the kids whose parents were members of the country club. But, as Kay had said several times, Jackie was stubborn.
    Finally, Mrs. Keys had given up, allowing Jackie to stay overnight often on weekends with the Garlands. It was a habit that continued all through high school. Kay had been content having Jackie as her only friend, shunning most of the other girls to spend time with Jacqueline.
    She remembered how jealous she felt when Jackie started dating Danny Thornton. That was the only reason she ever agreed to go out with Billy Ray Renfro in the first place.
    She groaned, not wanting to bring up those memories. Not yet. Despite what she’d told Rose, she was not over it. She doubted she ever would be. It was the most horrible time in her life, a time when she needed Jackie the most. But Jackie had vanished, without a word.
    “Why are you frowning?”

    Kay turned, finding a more familiar Jackie standing there in jeans and T-shirt. She was so comfortable looking. She always had been. The cute teenager she’d known had grown into a very attractive woman.
    However, the teenager she knew would never have ironed a T-shirt or tucked it into jeans. She smiled. “Feel better?”
    “Much.” Jacqueline walked closer. “Why the frown?”
    “I was just thinking.”
    “About?”
    “You. Me. High school.”
    “Ah. Well, how about we pick up some refreshments before we go to the river, huh? We can talk. It’ll be just like old times.”
    “Yes. I’d like that.”

CHAPTER TEN
    The river road was as Jacqueline remembered it. Bumpy. The Lexus took every pothole in stride, and she drove them down to the end, turning off on a side road that followed the river a ways before ending.
    “It looks exactly the same,” Jacqueline said. “Just more trash.”
    “Yeah. More trash. But I don’t think the high school kids come here as much as we did in those days.”
    “Well, they don’t know what they’re missing.”
    Instead of beer, they decided on wine, both agreeing they’d grown up enough to progress to wine when sneaking off to the river. Jacqueline grabbed the bottle and the corkscrew they bought, and Kay brought the blanket she’d tossed in the back seat when they’d stopped by her house to change. They both smiled as they walked down the same path they’d taken hundreds of times before. As Jackie had said, not much had changed. The forest opened up right at the river’s edge and they found a spot under one of the large pine trees. Kay spread the blanket and they both sat cross-legged, looking out over the water.
    “Listen,” Jacqueline whispered. “So quiet.” The gentle flow of the river was silent in the forest, and above them, cardinals sang.
    “You miss this? The quiet?”
    “Yes. Although I don’t really live in the city. I bought a condo in Monterey, so my quiet is listening to the ocean.”
    “It must be beautiful.”
    Jackie smiled. “Some days beautiful, some days foggy. But the sound is always the same. Once you’ve lived by the ocean and fallen asleep to the sound of waves crashing on shore, you find there is no more comforting sound than that. It’s endless,” she said quietly. “The day that sound stops is the day the world ends.”
    Kay watched as Jacqueline opened the wine while she spoke, her quiet words echoing in the forest. She then poured wine into the plastic cups they had snatched at the liquor store. She took one from Jackie, smiling before taking a sip.
    After only a few moments, Jacqueline reached over and tapped Kay’s leg. “Now, we’re alone, no interruptions. It’s time you told me one of those long stories you’ve been holding back on.”
    “I see you’re as impatient as ever.”
    “Why don’t you go to church anymore?”
    “Why don’t you?” Kay countered.

    “Well, let’s see.” Jacqueline leaned her head back, looking to the top of the pines and into the blue sky beyond. “How about