Part 15 (1/2)

Kari let her gaze fall and she shrugged. I like you, she wanted 120 to scream at him. Instead, her voice grew soft. They were almost at the bus, and she wanted to end the conversation before they boarded. ”I don't know.”

”He's seen you before. At my house. I told him you can't date until you're sixteen.”

The surprise in her voice was genuine. ”How'd you know that?”

”You told me once.” He grinned at her again. ”I remember those things.”

It turned out that Josh was one of Ryan's best friends, and the dynamic that had been established that first week of school remained for the next two years. She and Mandy often went out for pizza with a group of their friends after football games, and somehow she always wound up sitting near josh, with Ryan across the table or at the other end. At times she could have sworn he was watching her, staring at her. But when she met his eyes, he would only wink and look away.

But the flirtatious game playing that seemed to take up most of the school year fell away when summer arrived. This time they did more than play games and count stars together. They shared their hearts. Kari's best memories were of the times they spent in a quiet, sunny cove on Lake Monroe.

”We're so different in the summer,” Ryan told her as they fished together one Sat.u.r.day afternoon.

”I know.” They were sitting side by side on a fallen tree at the lake's edge, their bare feet hanging in the water.

”I wish we were like this all the time.” Ryan was quiet. ”I can tell you anything.”

Their fathers were fis.h.i.+ng a hundred yards away, but that didn't matter. They were so caught up in talking with each other, confiding in each other, that Kari figured they might as well be on a deserted island.

That lazy, hot summer they shared their feelings on everything from life at home to their dreams for the future. Ryan was the first person Kari ever told about her academic insecurities.

120.

121 ”Brooke's so smart.” Kari played with her reel and let out an extra foot of line. ”Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever measure up.”

”That's crazy.” Ryan spent the next ten minutes detailing her strong points, how kind she was and how genuine. How fun she was to be with.

There was only one topic they stayed away from, and that was their feelings for each other.

”Are you guys going out or what?” Mandy would ask when they'd talk on the phone every few days.

”No. It's not like that.” Kari would laugh at her friend's perplexed tone.

”Don't worry. If anything changes I'll let you know.”

Nothing changed. But they fished at Lake Monroe almost every day and spent so much time together that her parents grew a little concerned. But they trusted Kari, and she had a strict Ten o'clock curfew. Besides, the lake was so crowded they were never really alone together-except that one afternoon when they ran for cover as a tornado siren rang through the still air.

Storm clouds had kept most of the lake-goers away that day. When the siren sounded, Ryan took her hand, and they ran to a clearing. Crossing the lake half a mile away was the whirling sliver of a waterspout.

For a moment they stared at it, mesmerized. Ryan was the first to react. ”Come on, let's get out of here.” He pulled her from the spot and led her to a ditch not far from the beach. They lay there side by side, their hearts pounding as the small tornado made landfall, tore limbs off several nearby trees, and then dissipated before their eyes.

Next to Ryan that day, Kari had felt safe and protected-the same way she'd felt in the prayer room earlier this morning. The only other times they were alone that summer were the evenings when they met in front of her house and sat on her parents' porch swing-or at his house, where they'd sit in the bed of his pickup, staring at the stars and dreaming about their future lives.

122.

One particular night stood out among a bouquet of memories from that summer.

She and Ryan were tanned and tired, worn-out from a day of record-breaking temperatures, and they sat side by side in the back of his truck with their legs stretched out and their heads against the cab. For two hours they shared whatever thoughts crossed their hearts.

”I'm going pro, Kari . . . you watch.” Ryan's eyes shone with the reflection of the moon.

”I will.” She smiled at him and gazed up at the Big Dipper. ”Every game.”

They were quiet a moment, staring at the sky. Suddenly a star shot across the dark canopy above. Kari uttered a soft gasp. ”Did you see it?”

”Yep.” Ryan grinned at her. ”A shooting star. You know what that means.”

”We get to make a wish.”

”No.” His eyes danced. ”It means you have to answer one question, any question I pick.”

She clucked her tongue. ”If you get to, I get to.”

”Okay, deal.” He glanced at her, and she noticed he was sitting closer than usual. ”The guys were over yesterday, and one of them wanted to know whether you really liked Josh last year.” His eyes held hers. ”Did you? Don't worry; I won't tell him.”

The streetlight shone in the distance, leaving them relegated to the shadows of the night, and Kari knew something was different. Something in Ryan's tone. She decided to be bold. ”No, I didn't like him-not like a boyfriend, I mean.” She lowered her chin, suddenly more daring than ever before. ”Now it's my turn.”

”Shoot.”

”Which of the guys wanted to know?”

He turned to her, and their eyes locked-as they would do so whenever they met up in the years that followed. ”Someone.”

Kari refused to look away. ”Someone, who?”

Then in the slowest, dreamiest motion, he leaned over and 123 kissed her tenderly, lightly on the cheek. In an instant he was on his feet, jumping from the back of the truck and heading inside. ”I've got to run. See you.”

She watched him until he disappeared behind his family's front door, too stunned to move. Had that actually happened? Had Ryan Taylor leaned over and kissed her in the light of the summer moon?

Kari nearly danced home from Ryan's house that night, Thinking where things might go in the future now that he'd made his Feelings known. His kiss confirmed everything she'd wondered about since summer started. They were best friends, but the attraction was there for both of them.

That night when her mother came into her room and sat on edge of her bed, Kari told her what had happened. ”I think I loved him since that day we went to dinner at his house.” Her mother looked so beautiful; Kari hoped she could be half that beautiful when she was a grown woman. ”I know how that feels, sweetheart.” She angled her head as if there were many things she'd like to say.

After a pause she ventured, ”You know we've always prayed about the man you'll marry?” Kari nodded. ”Ever since I was a little girl.” Her mother's lips parted, and she hesitated a moment, ”Honey, you know we like Ryan a lot. But he doesn't share the beliefs as you do.”

A rush of peace came over Kari. If that's all it was, then she had nothing to worry about. ”He hasn't missed youth group all summer.”

Her mother raised her eyebrows. ”I think we both know why Ryan goes to youth group. It's not because he believes, Kari.” She sighed, frustrated. ”It's not like he doesn't believe. ANYWAY, he will one day, Mom, I know it.”

”Okay.” Her mother smiled doubtfully and took Kari's hand, it until then, be careful with your heart, honey.”

For the next ten minutes her mother tried to explain the reasons G.o.d wanted a couple to share common beliefs. But for a 124.

fifteen-year-old girl living every moment through the filter of a three-year-old crush that was finally coming to fruition, it was difficult to grasp.

Not that it really mattered. She still couldn't date until she turned sixteen.