Between the Seams Read Free Page A

best friend even though it had killed her.
    She’d written the note to him to try to explain, but in the end had chickened out. She couldn’t. She was too embarrassed and ashamed and didn’t want Chase to think she was like her mom.
    Instead, she’d folded the note and tucked it into her diary. That night, after eating supper with her parents and being told not to eat so much—that “thinness is perfection!”—by the woman everyone thought of as The Easy Mom, was the first time Jo made herself throw up.
    ~~*~~

Chapter Two
    “I saw Chase the other day,” Jo blurted out to Jenn, her best friend since the third grade, as they waited for their server to bring them their food.
    Jenn raised an auburn eyebrow. “Reeeallly? And how was Mr. Straight and Narrow?”
    “Mr. Straight and Narrow?”
    Jenn sipped from her Diet Coke. “Yes, Mr. Straight and Narrow. It makes perfect sense.”
    “I guess. I wouldn’t really know.” Obviously.
    Jenn shrugged a shoulder. “He’s always been responsible, but he’s…changed.”
    Curiosity was getting the better of her, but Jo was afraid to give that away—even to her best friend. Casually, she swirled the straw in her iced tea before taking a sip. Unfortunately, ever since bumping into him at Walmart she hadn’t been able to get those melted chocolate eyes and that slow grin out of her head.
    “How so?”
    “He’s…” Jenn paused to take a sip of her drink. “He’s really serious now. I mean, he was always a little more on the serious side than Matt, but I guess as we’ve gotten older he’s gotten more serious. He owns his own business—commercial real estate—and is pretty damned successful. He also owns a big managed game ranch off the Devils River. He doesn’t really talk about his finances, but from what he has said I’ve gathered that it’s a decent money maker.”
    “Y’know, none of that really surprises me, though. Chase was always smart. I mean, come on, the three of us were separated by—what?—a hundredth of a grade point in high school? ‘Mr. Straight and Narrow’ just sounds so uptight.”
    Jenn stared at something behind Jo and said, “I think he feels like he has something to prove.”
    Jo twisted around to see what Jenn was looking at. Above the bar was a big flat screen TV, camera zoomed in on Matt Roberts’ face as he watched the game from the Wranglers’ dug out.
    “Matt again?”
    “Matt always, you mean.”
    Jo sighed. “I don’t get it. Matt’s obviously a great pitcher, but he’s also always been a bit, well, cocky. I mean, they’ve always been a bit competitive, but I never thought Chase would feel like he had something to prove.”
    “When you get a chance, do a Google search on Chase’s name. That’ll probably tell you a lot.”
    Jo raised her eyebrows. “Okay, now I’m really curious.”
    Jenn squirmed, as if she were uncomfortable. “Let’s just say Chase has been the target of some not so nice women.”
    Jo took another drink of her tea, suddenly wishing she’d ordered something stronger. Her best friend was obviously not telling her something, but Jo couldn’t figure out what or why. They told each other everything. Well, apparently not everything if Jenn’s current reaction was any indication.
    “Okay, now you have to spill.”
    Jenn sighed. “I want to tell you, I really do. It’s just that Chase kind of confided in me one day and was really embarrassed and asked me not to tell anyone. I told him I wouldn’t, and you know how I am about giving my word.”
    “Fair enough.” Jenn had always been the most loyal, trustworthy person Jo had ever known. If you needed to confide in someone you knew would keep your secrets, Jenn was the person to go to. “I guess I need to get to Googling.”
    Jenn breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief as their waitress arrived with their food. After thanking the waitress and taking quick bites of their lunch, Jenn asked, “Why are you so curious about Chase,