Your'e Still the One Read Free Page B

inquisitive glances, it was obvious what was on her mind. The trouble was, Rachel hadn’t decided how much she wanted to share about Matt.
    It was ridiculous that she was having any reaction at all. Absurd to be replaying scenes of hot summer afternoons they’d spent swimming in Mill Creek after she’d lured him away from his chores. She’d been a kid, not even a junior yet, and incensed that his father was so mean and making Matt work all the time.
    She’d pretended to be hiking that first day she followed him to the fence line that separated their properties. And he’d pretended to believe her. After that it got to be a regular Friday thing throughout the rest of the summer. She’d just show up at the section of fence he was mending. For several weeks he only smiled at her teasing and flirting. Then one day he’d yanked off his hat and unbuttoned his shirt, and she’d nearly peed her pants.
    The sneak had worn swim trunks under his jeans, but he’d let her go through her usual song and dance trying to tempt him. They’d raced each other to the creek. He’d let her win, then gave her a victory kiss. It was brief, nothing hot or steamy, but at the time she’d been convinced she was having a heart attack.
    Until then, she’d never kissed a boy, at least not a real kiss, and she’d wanted more. But he’d slammed on the brakes, kept her at arm’s length. He’d said she was too young...anything beyond kissing wasn’t going to happen. It hadn’t stopped her from lying in the tall grass after he returned to work, staring up at the clear blue sky, daydreaming, debating whether she’d be a modern woman and keep her last name or become Rachel Gunderson.
    To her annoyance, Matt had kept his word all summer, clear through fall, up to her sixteenth birthday. The kisses had grown more frustrating and sometimes he’d rubbed against her breasts, but always through her shirt. By February, a day before her birthday, she’d made up her mind. Half the girls in her class had boasted of having sex, and she decided she would lose her virginity to Matt that night when they met behind the calving shed. She’d taken a blanket with her, confident she could entice him into going to Mill Creek to do the deed. It was only fitting they made love for the first time there.
    He’d never showed. The next morning she’d learned he left town, and her a short note. She’d cried for days, then lost her virginity to a classmate two months later. Not one of her finer moments, and she’d regretted nothing more than the rashness of her self-pity ever since.
    But that was a lifetime ago. She was no longer that silly love-struck kid. She’d changed. He’d surely changed, too. Not that she thought he’d followed in his father’s footsteps. She agreed with Mrs. Wilson. Matt was good to his core. He’d never be like his bitter despicable old man.
    “Okay, this has crossed over to torture territory,” Jamie whispered when Sally stepped away to grab a towel. “After our hair is done, you still want to get a manicure?”
    “No.”
    Jamie grinned. “That was emphatic.”
    They’d already had to wait for the color to process then had their hair shampooed between numerous interruptions. A slew of customers stopped in to make appointments but mostly to find out if the news of Matt’s return had hit The Cut and Curl yet.
    With the water running close to her ear, Rachel hadn’t heard much but then the disappointed faces told her enough. Twice she’d had to consciously stop clenching her teeth because, jeez, it was a shame to have suffered through two years of braces for nothing. “Our blow-outs shouldn’t take long, but I swear, if Sally turns off that blow-dryer one more time so she can chitchat I’ll scream.”
    “If anyone else walks in, that’s exactly what she’s going to do.” Jamie turned to Roxy, who was trying to listen under the pretense of finding the right brush. “Let’s keep this quick, huh? And we’re skipping the