Free More Than Friends by Susan Mallery Page A

happened.”
    He kept his back to her and held the curtain slightly open. “I never forgave you.”
    “I know.”
    “I told myself it didn’t matter.”
    “But it does.”
    “Yes. It does.”
    It shouldn’t hurt, she told herself. She was doing this
for
him. With a single explanation, perhaps two or three choice phrases, she could tell him the truth. He wouldn’t hate her anymore. But at what price? No. She’d made her decision eleven years ago. And then again yesterday. He didn’t need to know what had really happened that summer. He had enough to worry about with his father.
    “You’re still angry,” she said softly. “I understand.”
    “I’m not sure that I do. I’ve spent eleven years hating you and what you did. And here I am, in your house.”
    She wanted to go to him and offer comfort. But it wasn’t hers to give. “Just accept it, Chase. Nothing is the way we thought it would be. In time—”
    “In time, I’ll be outta here.” He let the curtain fall.
    The lump in her throat returned. She coughed. “I’ve got to get to the mill. If you have a chance today, let me know how your father’s doing.”
    “Sure. No problem.”
    She paused, hoping he’d turn around and look at her or say something, but he remained silent and still, his back to her, staring out at her backyard.
    Her coat and purse sat by the door. Jenny grabbed her belongings and hurried toward her car. She wasn’t late, but that didn’t stop her from speeding down the street. She needed to put as much distance between herself and Chase as possible. They might have grown up in the last eleven years, they might have learned things and changed in more ways than she could tell, but his kiss had shown her that some things remained exactly the same.
    *
    “Do you have any
idea
of the rumors flying—”
    Jenny held up her hand. Instantly the visitor stopped speaking, but continued to stand in the doorway of her office and tap her foot. Jenny hit several more keys on the computer keyboard to complete the report, then pressed the save function and swiveled to face her sister.
    “Good morning, Anne,” she said calmly. “What brings you to the mill today?”
    “Oh, fine. Pretend like you don’t know. The entire town is talking about you, Jennifer Davidson. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself.”
    Jenny glanced at her sister. Anne and Jenny were the most similar of the four sisters, in appearance, if not in temperament. But as the oldest, Anne was also the bossiest and most outspoken. Even a husband and three children under the age of six had done nothing to defuse her energy. Even now, with a baby propped on one hip, she fairly radiated indignation and a mother-bear-like willingness to do battle for her own.
    “Well?” she said when Jenny didn’t speak.
    “You want some coffee?”
    “I want some answers.”
    “Annie, I’m a big girl. I can do what I like.” Jenny grinned. “And I have no clue what we’re talking about.”
    Her sister sat in the chair opposite the desk and settled the baby on her knee. “Chase Jackson. He spent the night with you.”
    Jenny whistled. “News travels fast. What did you do? Send out a patrol to check on me in the middle of the night? I believe this is an example of Neighborhood Watch going amok.”
    “One of my neighbors has a little boy with an ear infection. She went to the all-night pharmacy to get a prescription filled and, on the way, happened to drive by your house. Her sister works in reception at the hospital. She’d seen Chase drive up in a Bronco. That same truck was still in your driveway not forty minutes ago.”
    “You drove by, too?”
    “Of course. What are you thinking of? He’s trouble. He’s always been trouble, Jenny. Hasn’t he done enough?”
    Her family cared about her. That’s what made it bearable. But sometimes… “Chase and I are friends. Despite everything that happened, we’ve always been friends.”
    Anne shifted the baby until