“Nah, I’ll go,” Chase finally said.
“Great,” said Tami, and she actually reached over and gave his arm a soft squeeze. Her touch sent tiny currents of something really sweet through his body and had him remembering how it felt when her foot had brushed up against his. Blinking, he gazed into her face. She smiled so big that her dark brown eyes crinkled. Was she really that happy he was going?
Pulling her hand back, she looked back at his parents. “I’ve been wanting to have my palm read for years.” She pushed her dark hair over one shoulder and he watched as it cascaded across her back. For some crazy reason he wondered if it was as soft as it appeared. “I love festivals.”
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t spending the day with him that had her so happy. But it didn’t stop him from being thrilled at the idea of hanging with her for the next few hours—of maybe scoring a few more smiles and soft touches. Especially when tomorrow morning they would be flying home and their weekend would be over. That would mean it might be like two weeks before he saw her again. That would completely suck.
His chest felt heavy from the thought. She did that thing again with her hair, pulling it up and letting it fall on her shoulders. He studied her profile, a small nose, full lips that looked soft and always shiny. Large brown eyes, slightly slanted, with thick dark lashes.
He tucked his hands into his jeans pockets and tried to push the tug on his emotions away. While Chase really liked girls, he hated thinking of himself as one of those guys who got all sappy-eyed and started tossing around the L word. But for the life of him, it felt as if it was where he was heading. And he wasn’t sure he could stop it.
He glanced back at Tami, who was still smiling. Still the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes on.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to stop it.
November 1, 8 a.m.
Breaking News: Update
An emergency crew has decided to brave the weather and embark on a rescue mission, hoping to find survivors of the wreckage of the Cessna 210 carrying Dr. Tallman and four other passengers.
Despite the deteriorating weather conditions, the emergency rescue crew is gathering supplies and is expected to depart on the rescue mission in the next few hours. Dr. Tallman’s plane fell off radar twenty minutes after leaving Jasper Regional Airport yesterday at 4 p.m. “There are five people out there who could be alive,” says Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteer Tom Phillips. “Three are just teenagers. If they are alive, I’m sure they are desperate for help. If they are not, we need to bring closure to the families. It only seems right that we try to get to them as soon as possible.”
Sheriff Ted Carter released this in his latest statement: “While two SAR helicopters have flown over the wreckage this morning, visibility is still low, and unfortunately no signs of life have been reported.” Tom Phillips also told the media, “While under normal weather conditions the hike up the Jasper range could take up to three hours, with these weather conditions it could take twice as long.”
Family and friends of the Tallmans flew in last night after being notified that the plane went missing. “I want to know my daughter is still alive. I have to believe she is,” says Cary Collins, father of fifteen-year-old Tami Collins. The Faith Tabernacle church in Jasper has opened its doors to the family and is holding an open service for any of the townspeople who would like to stop in and pray for the Tallman family and Tami Collins’s safe return.
October 31, 11 a.m.
Chapter Two
Chase’s parents dropped them off at the corner of First Street and Walnut Avenue with instructions to meet them back at the same corner in four hours. The first thing Mindy wanted to do was go to the square where the biggest crowd hung out to listen to the band play.
Chase’s stomach had other plans, and he would’ve loved to have snagged a hot dog from one of the concession stands. They’d passed at least three and the smell had called his name. All the blood they’d drawn for the study was probably increasing his appetite, he thought, but he didn’t argue with Mindy.
Didn’t argue even when he knew it wasn’t the music that Mindy wanted.
She wanted to find Eric. The thought hit then that his parents had expected him to watch out for his sister. And damn it, he knew his parents would say that meant keeping her away from sixteen-year-olds who leered at her. Then again, weren’t his parents being a tad ridiculous about the whole no-dating-until-sixteen rule? Hell, most of the girls in his class were already dating.
They walked the town square—snaking through the crowds, separating groups of friends—Mindy in the front and leading at a breakneck pace. She accidentally bumped into a guy wearing a black robe with a knife sticking out of his chest. And his sister, so intent in her search for a certain blond dude, didn’t even notice. There must have been a costume contest happening because a good third of the attendees were dressed like creatures of the dark.
Chase offered an apologetic shrug when Mindy stormed through a group of friends, some sporting pale skin and fake fangs, others wearing werewolf masks.
You didn’t want to piss off a park full of werewolves or vampires. Once or twice, he glanced at Tami at his side and she just shrugged as if she’d realized how crazed his sister was as well.
They’d made three or four treks—he’d lost count—around the square, without one glimpse of the boob-gawking Eric.
After the third time walking through the same group of creatures, who were looking pissed at his sister’s lack of manners, Chase finally took her by the arm and tried to get her to see reason. “Mindy. He’s not here. Let’s go grab something to eat.”
She frowned, obviously unhappy, and looked about ready to toss some ugly insult his way. But he kind of understood that she wasn’t as upset at him as she was disappointed at being stood up by the guy she had a major crush on. He remembered hearing the jerk tell Mindy several times that he’d be at the festival and for her to please show up and find him.
“We can come back later and see if he’s here,” Chase offered, noting the hurt in her eyes. Hurt that he recognized as rejection. Sort of how he’d felt when Susie Muller had told him he didn’t know how to kiss.
“I’m kind of hungry, too,” Tami said, moving in beside him, chasing all thoughts of Susie from his mind.
The warmth of Tami’s shoulder against his had him wondering if the brush was accidental or if maybe … just maybe, she liked touching him as much as he liked her touching him.