Prologue
I pulled my dark green Ford pickup along the curb and put the old truck in park. I didn’t shut off the engine, though, and pushed the air up a notch, letting the breeze coming from the vents blow on me, cooling my skin from the hot summer evening. I’d been outside all day helping my dad put a new roof on the pavilion at the park.
My dad was in charge of maintenance for all the city buildings in town, which was exactly four — the city hall, the volunteer fire station, the library, and the elementary school — and he did all the maintenance for the city park, which was now full. Practically the whole town was there in celebration.
The large banner strung across the park pavilion, it read: Congratulations, Chloe, and best of luck in New York. I should know, I hung it up earlier that day. It was a festive day for everyone. Everyone, that was, except for me.
In a few minutes, a car was going to pull up to the curb and Chloe Michaels was going to get in and leave, taking my heart with her.
Only she didn’t know it.
I knew Chloe was going to leave three years ago. I’d seen it in my dreams and what happens in my dreams, happens in the future, though no one besides my twin sister, Julia, knew of my little quirk.
Chloe was smart. People in town always said she was going to go places, but no one quite expected the novel she wrote in high school to hit number one on the national bestseller list. Or that she’d have an agent pursue her to sign with his publishing company so they could turn her book into a movie.
Her uncle, Gerry Michaels, lived in New York and, having met the man once or twice, I knew he would do his best to keep Chloe safe. He was a good guy, despite being a lawyer. He had a successful business in a very tall building in the heart of the city. I’d never been to New York, but I’d watched that big ball drop on the television every New Year’s Eve since I was a kid. New York looked busy and crowded. The exact opposite of where I lived.
Pinewood is a small town in Boundary County, in a remote part of North Idaho. Our small town was only twenty miles from the Canadian border and had a population of three hundred sixty-three. Soon to be three hundred sixty-two.
I should get out of the truck, everyone was expecting me, but I just couldn’t get my body to move. It was like those times when you were just so exhausted, taking that next step felt impossible. Besides, I had no real reason to get out. I’d already said goodbye to Chloe last night.
I brought my hand up to rub the spot on my chest where my heart used to beat. Now, it was just a useless muscle, keeping me alive, but losing its reason to live.
Chloe and I had been friends practically since birth and everyone in the town had figured we’d end up the town’s sweetheart couple, but we never had. Our relationship had never progressed beyond friendship, even though I’d wanted it to. But I couldn’t let it happen, and I couldn’t tell Chloe why. I wanted her happy and alive away from Pinewood, and if she knew how I felt about her, I knew she’d stay, throwing away her bright future for me. Chloe was thoughtful and sweet like that. She was always putting others’ feeling above her own. But this time, I was going to make sure she got the life she deserved, even if I had to make her hate me to do it.
My mind wandered to the teary look on Chloe’s beautiful face last night when she told me how much she was going to miss me. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done to walk away after she kissed me. She’d stood on her tiptoes and brought her sweet lips against mine. Instead of wrapping her in my arms and kissing her back, like I’d always dreamed about doing, I leaned my head back, broke the kiss, and gently took a step away from her.
The blatant hurt I saw on her face when I took that step is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It just about crumbled my resolve to do the right thing. But instead of easing her pain like I’d always done in the past, I did probably the jerkiest thing a guy could do. I opened my mouth and, instead of apologizing and explaining things to her, I wished her the best of luck and walked away.
A white limo passed my idling truck and pulled against the curb about a hundred feet in front of me. This was it. The car that was going to take her away. I snickered a bittersweet laugh. Chloe was always so romantic and imagined a handsome prince coming to whisk her away to his castle by the water. I told her she should have written a romance book, rather than suspense. She’d playfully smacked my arm and told me I didn’t have a romantic bone in my body.
She was wrong, though, but I didn’t want to let her know. I’d often thought of doing just what she’d said she imagined. I’d show up in front of her parents’ house on a white horse and ask for her hand in marriage. Though I’m not a prince, I was apprenticing under my dad and planned to open my own handyman company one day. I could have provided for her and a family just as my dad had for us. But that wasn’t in the cards for me. I know, because it was my fate in life to be able to see all the cards for other people.
I spotted Chloe in the crowd. She was hugging her mother and they were both crying. I knew her mom was telling her to stay safe in the big city and to not talk to strangers. Then she turned to her father and gave him a big hug. He was telling her to listen to her uncle Gerry and that he would look out for her. Chloe was then lost in a blur of people rushing to say goodbye and wish her luck.
I followed her the best I could but didn’t see her clearly until she was standing at the limo door. As she turned to wave to the people behind her, I thought she saw me sitting in my truck, too scared to get out, but she gave no reaction. That was for the best. She needed to leave so she could be safe. Chloe waved one last time and got into the back of the limo. Then the door shut, and she was gone.
I fought back the urge to chase down that limo and beg her to stay. Stay in this small, sleepy town. To stay with me. Instead, I put my truck in gear and turned it around to drive back the other way.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
I turned. My twin sister, Julia, was standing, leaning against a tree. Julia was a female version of me with thick brown hair and bright blue eyes. Where her body was thin, mine was thick, growing muscles from all the days our dad had put me to work mowing grass or digging forms to lay a new sidewalk. My sister always used to joke that I got all the muscle, and she got all the brains. She was born seven minutes before me and never let me forget once that though I may be bigger, she was older, and always would be.
“We all missed you at the party,” she said, and I knew she was hedging, trying to get me to talk about Chloe leaving. I would rather eat worms, but she wouldn’t let me get away with not talking about it.
“There wasn’t any reason for me to be there,” I replied flatly, all emotion gone from my voice. I sounded miserable because I was miserable.
Julia came over and sat next to me on the fallen log. As far back as I could remember, this had been our spot. It was a secret location just the two of us knew about. I never even told Chloe about it. It was off behind our house, through the thick huckleberry bushes where no one else dared to go. We’d found a path through the patch and used to spend hours in the clearing playing and talking.
“Chloe told me what happened last night . . . between you two.”
I sighed but didn’t respond.
“You know, if you’d have just told her —”
“You know why I couldn’t.”
Julia looked into my identical blue eyes, and I knew she knew how much I was hurting. We were always like that growing up, one hurt and the other would know.
“I know, but she would have understood.”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“You can still tell her.”
“It won’t change anything, Jules.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder. “It might make it easier for you.”
I let out a laugh that sounded more like a snort. “Not likely.”
She sat up suddenly and turned toward me. “Jake, if you just —”
“I know what you’re about to say, Jules, and you know why I can’t say anything. If anyone in town finds out what I can do, things’ll never be the same. You know how folks here are. Even if I left, mom and dad and you will still be here. I can’t do that to them.” I turned and looked at my sister. “And I can’t do that to you.”
She sighed and leaned her head against my shoulder again. “I know, but it sucks that you’re hurting, and I can’t do anything to make it better.”
Instinctually, I brought my arm up and slung it over her shoulder. I was always the one who made other people feel better. “I’m going to be okay, Jules,” I told her, hoping like heck I sounded more convincing than I felt. In reality, I wasn’t so sure.
“Sure, you are.”
She was my twin and just as we could tell when the other was hurt, we could also tell when the other was lying. But unlike me, my twin sister didn’t share my ability to see the future, and for that I was thankful. It was bad enough it ruined my life. I’d be darned before I let it ruin anyone else’s.
My dad was in charge of maintenance for all the city buildings in town, which was exactly four — the city hall, the volunteer fire station, the library, and the elementary school — and he did all the maintenance for the city park, which was now full. Practically the whole town was there in celebration.
The large banner strung across the park pavilion, it read: Congratulations, Chloe, and best of luck in New York. I should know, I hung it up earlier that day. It was a festive day for everyone. Everyone, that was, except for me.
In a few minutes, a car was going to pull up to the curb and Chloe Michaels was going to get in and leave, taking my heart with her.
Only she didn’t know it.
I knew Chloe was going to leave three years ago. I’d seen it in my dreams and what happens in my dreams, happens in the future, though no one besides my twin sister, Julia, knew of my little quirk.
Chloe was smart. People in town always said she was going to go places, but no one quite expected the novel she wrote in high school to hit number one on the national bestseller list. Or that she’d have an agent pursue her to sign with his publishing company so they could turn her book into a movie.
Her uncle, Gerry Michaels, lived in New York and, having met the man once or twice, I knew he would do his best to keep Chloe safe. He was a good guy, despite being a lawyer. He had a successful business in a very tall building in the heart of the city. I’d never been to New York, but I’d watched that big ball drop on the television every New Year’s Eve since I was a kid. New York looked busy and crowded. The exact opposite of where I lived.
Pinewood is a small town in Boundary County, in a remote part of North Idaho. Our small town was only twenty miles from the Canadian border and had a population of three hundred sixty-three. Soon to be three hundred sixty-two.
I should get out of the truck, everyone was expecting me, but I just couldn’t get my body to move. It was like those times when you were just so exhausted, taking that next step felt impossible. Besides, I had no real reason to get out. I’d already said goodbye to Chloe last night.
I brought my hand up to rub the spot on my chest where my heart used to beat. Now, it was just a useless muscle, keeping me alive, but losing its reason to live.
Chloe and I had been friends practically since birth and everyone in the town had figured we’d end up the town’s sweetheart couple, but we never had. Our relationship had never progressed beyond friendship, even though I’d wanted it to. But I couldn’t let it happen, and I couldn’t tell Chloe why. I wanted her happy and alive away from Pinewood, and if she knew how I felt about her, I knew she’d stay, throwing away her bright future for me. Chloe was thoughtful and sweet like that. She was always putting others’ feeling above her own. But this time, I was going to make sure she got the life she deserved, even if I had to make her hate me to do it.
My mind wandered to the teary look on Chloe’s beautiful face last night when she told me how much she was going to miss me. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done to walk away after she kissed me. She’d stood on her tiptoes and brought her sweet lips against mine. Instead of wrapping her in my arms and kissing her back, like I’d always dreamed about doing, I leaned my head back, broke the kiss, and gently took a step away from her.
The blatant hurt I saw on her face when I took that step is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It just about crumbled my resolve to do the right thing. But instead of easing her pain like I’d always done in the past, I did probably the jerkiest thing a guy could do. I opened my mouth and, instead of apologizing and explaining things to her, I wished her the best of luck and walked away.
A white limo passed my idling truck and pulled against the curb about a hundred feet in front of me. This was it. The car that was going to take her away. I snickered a bittersweet laugh. Chloe was always so romantic and imagined a handsome prince coming to whisk her away to his castle by the water. I told her she should have written a romance book, rather than suspense. She’d playfully smacked my arm and told me I didn’t have a romantic bone in my body.
She was wrong, though, but I didn’t want to let her know. I’d often thought of doing just what she’d said she imagined. I’d show up in front of her parents’ house on a white horse and ask for her hand in marriage. Though I’m not a prince, I was apprenticing under my dad and planned to open my own handyman company one day. I could have provided for her and a family just as my dad had for us. But that wasn’t in the cards for me. I know, because it was my fate in life to be able to see all the cards for other people.
I spotted Chloe in the crowd. She was hugging her mother and they were both crying. I knew her mom was telling her to stay safe in the big city and to not talk to strangers. Then she turned to her father and gave him a big hug. He was telling her to listen to her uncle Gerry and that he would look out for her. Chloe was then lost in a blur of people rushing to say goodbye and wish her luck.
I followed her the best I could but didn’t see her clearly until she was standing at the limo door. As she turned to wave to the people behind her, I thought she saw me sitting in my truck, too scared to get out, but she gave no reaction. That was for the best. She needed to leave so she could be safe. Chloe waved one last time and got into the back of the limo. Then the door shut, and she was gone.
I fought back the urge to chase down that limo and beg her to stay. Stay in this small, sleepy town. To stay with me. Instead, I put my truck in gear and turned it around to drive back the other way.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
I turned. My twin sister, Julia, was standing, leaning against a tree. Julia was a female version of me with thick brown hair and bright blue eyes. Where her body was thin, mine was thick, growing muscles from all the days our dad had put me to work mowing grass or digging forms to lay a new sidewalk. My sister always used to joke that I got all the muscle, and she got all the brains. She was born seven minutes before me and never let me forget once that though I may be bigger, she was older, and always would be.
“We all missed you at the party,” she said, and I knew she was hedging, trying to get me to talk about Chloe leaving. I would rather eat worms, but she wouldn’t let me get away with not talking about it.
“There wasn’t any reason for me to be there,” I replied flatly, all emotion gone from my voice. I sounded miserable because I was miserable.
Julia came over and sat next to me on the fallen log. As far back as I could remember, this had been our spot. It was a secret location just the two of us knew about. I never even told Chloe about it. It was off behind our house, through the thick huckleberry bushes where no one else dared to go. We’d found a path through the patch and used to spend hours in the clearing playing and talking.
“Chloe told me what happened last night . . . between you two.”
I sighed but didn’t respond.
“You know, if you’d have just told her —”
“You know why I couldn’t.”
Julia looked into my identical blue eyes, and I knew she knew how much I was hurting. We were always like that growing up, one hurt and the other would know.
“I know, but she would have understood.”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“You can still tell her.”
“It won’t change anything, Jules.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder. “It might make it easier for you.”
I let out a laugh that sounded more like a snort. “Not likely.”
She sat up suddenly and turned toward me. “Jake, if you just —”
“I know what you’re about to say, Jules, and you know why I can’t say anything. If anyone in town finds out what I can do, things’ll never be the same. You know how folks here are. Even if I left, mom and dad and you will still be here. I can’t do that to them.” I turned and looked at my sister. “And I can’t do that to you.”
She sighed and leaned her head against my shoulder again. “I know, but it sucks that you’re hurting, and I can’t do anything to make it better.”
Instinctually, I brought my arm up and slung it over her shoulder. I was always the one who made other people feel better. “I’m going to be okay, Jules,” I told her, hoping like heck I sounded more convincing than I felt. In reality, I wasn’t so sure.
“Sure, you are.”
She was my twin and just as we could tell when the other was hurt, we could also tell when the other was lying. But unlike me, my twin sister didn’t share my ability to see the future, and for that I was thankful. It was bad enough it ruined my life. I’d be darned before I let it ruin anyone else’s.
dreamwriter.earth
|
|
