Free Love's Destiny (Love Trilogy #2) by Tracey Smith

all geared up for a huge production. She insisted that this was a special Thanksgiving because it would be my last one home before going off to college. Everything lately was becoming a momentous occasion in her eyes. Mom also loved any excuse to cook a huge meal.
    “I called your Aunt Claire to invite them up for Thanksgiving.” Mom told me as we prepped the turkey the night before the big day.
    My heart froze. I stopped breathing. Would Tyler be at my house tomorrow?
    “But Uncle Charlie couldn’t get the time off. Can you believe that? He can’t take time off for Thanksgiving?” Mom said exasperated.
    I let out the breath I’d been holding.
    “It is football season.” I said, not sure why I felt so relieved.
    “I know, but he really should try to spend more time with his family. Claire says Tyler is running with a bad crowd this year. He’s hanging out with some older boys and she’s worried that he’s going to get into some trouble.”
    My heart ached when she said his name. It had been months since I’d seen him. I’d been so busy lately I hadn’t really even thought about him. For some reason I felt a little guilty about that. It was strange. I wasn’t sure why the thought of seeing him made me so anxious. Surely he was over whatever heartbreak I’d caused. He probably hadn’t even thought about it since I’d left. It was nothing really, just a misunderstanding.
    “But she did promise that they would try to make it down for Christmas. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
    My heart started beating faster. At least Christmas was a month away. I had time to prepare for seeing Tyler. But why did I need time to prepare?
    The preparation turned out to be unnecessary. They didn’t make it down for Christmas either, again because of Uncle Charlie’s work obligations. But Tyler was back in my thoughts again.
    I wondered if enough time had passed that I could call him now, or maybe write him a letter. Surely he couldn’t be mad anymore. But had too much time passed? How would I explain why I had waited so long to talk to him? And if he wanted to talk to me why hadn’t he called?
    I realized how much I still missed Tyler. I wondered how he was doing, but pride kept me from calling. My phone number hadn’t changed, and he hadn’t called me either.
    Mom had been really disappointed that Uncle Charlie and Aunt Claire hadn’t come down for the holidays. To make up for it she began planning a big trip to the mountain cabin where we used to spend nearly every summer. We hadn’t all been there together since the summer before they had moved.
    She coaxed a promise out of Aunt Claire that we would all meet up there this summer and spend at least one weekend together. Just like old times. I thought about those old times. The carefree summers spent in the mountains, exploring trails, swimming in the lake, roasting marshmallows. It really did feel like a lifetime ago.
    I was looking forward to it. I was looking forward to one last summer in the mountains before going off to New York to begin my new life at Juilliard, it seemed a perfect way to say goodbye to my childhood.
    One night as summer was drawing closer I was sitting on the couch with Blake watching a movie in the living room when I heard the phone ring.  I got up to answer it but Mom beat me to it. I started to turn and head back to the living room until I heard the urgent tone of my mother’s voice.
    “Claire what is it? What’s wrong?” Mom demanded into the phone.
    I stopped in the hallway and listened.
    “He what?” my mother exclaimed “Oh God, what are you going to do?”
    What was going on? Was this about Tyler? I strained to hear my mother’s side of the conversation.
    “Well of course it’s not your fault… He’s old enough to be held responsible for his own actions.”
    So this was about Tyler.
    “Well maybe that is for the best.” I could hear the reluctance in my mother’s voice. I knew her well enough to know when she was holding back.