I couldn’t help myself and probed deeper. “Have you been on the water yet?”
Ellie looked up sharply, perhaps sensing that I knew more than I was letting on. “A couple of times.”
“I may have told you, but Jack works down at the dock. If you’re interested, maybe we could all go fishing sometime?”
“Um, yeah, maybe. So you and Jack are close?” Ellie asked.
“Close as two friends can be. We’ve known each other since we were old enough to walk. I reckon he knows the water about as good as anyone around here. Says he wants to own his own business someday.”
She leaned in, a mischievous smile gracing her lips.”You and Jack ever, you know…?”
The directness of her question caught me off guard. Almost instantly, I could feel my face heat. “Heavens, no. Well, I take that back. He did kiss me last summer,” I said, embellishing the truth just a bit. “But I sort of got the impression he didn’t like it much. He only did it once. I don’t take it personal though. Jack’s a bachelor, and I suspect he always will be.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Jack’s heart belongs to the water, always has, and probably always will. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I reckon it’d take a special girl to tear him away from it.”
While Ellie turned and stared out the window, I thought about what I had said. It was true, Jack loved the water. But he also valued friendship and loyalty, both of which I offered him in abundance. And for the first time since learning of Jack and Ellie’s escapades on the water, I was hopeful that in time this storm would pass.
A few days later, I was finishing up Ellie’s lesson when I saw Jack coming up the path to Clara’s house.
“Jack.” I stepped out onto the porch, flashing a grin. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh hey, Sara. Long time no see. I came by to talk to Ellie.”
The disappointment nearly knocked me over, but I hid it well behind a practiced smile. “Oh. I’ve been meaning to congratulate you on catching that lunker a while back. George told me all about it.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t catch it. Ellie did. First cast, too.”
My smile wavered just a tad at that. “Is that so? I didn’t realize she knew how to fish.”
“She didn’t until I taught her.”
“How nice of you. Maybe you could show me where you caught it sometime. I’ve been dying to get out on the water.”
“You know the place,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “It’s up at the head of Muddy Creek, near the bridge. I took you there last summer, remember?”
I frowned, recalling the day. It had been hot, so hot that even the water had been warm to the touch. We spent the day basking in the sun, lazily casting our lines. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t caught anything because I had Jack, and that was enough for me. “Oh yeah. Must have forgot.”
When Ellie appeared, I slipped away and took the path that led into the woods. There, I found a quiet spot beneath the oak tree where Jack and I had carved our names as kids. It was a sacred spot, a place where we used to escape the world and all its trouble. The engraved letters, now faded by the elements, brought a bitter taste to my mouth.
I sat for hours, listening to the creek and watching the shadows stretch and retreat as the sun moved across the sky. Despite my best efforts, my thoughts wandered back to Jack. What were he and Ellie doing right now? Were they laughing, telling jokes, listening to music on the radio the way we used to? Or were they walking hand in hand, lost in the kind of intimacy we never had?
A soft breeze rustled through the leaves, whispering secrets of its own. I closed my eyes, letting the sound wash over me as I sank deeper into my thoughts. It was hard to believe that Jack—myJack—was now Ellie's. The thought of them together was overwhelming, leaving me breathless and broken.
12
By the time August arrived,I had reached my wits end. Most days, Jack was busy at the dock. But occasionally, he’d come to Clara’s, offering a helping hand with the chores or simply looking for an excuse to be near Ellie. Watching them exchange glances when they thought I wasn’t looking, knowing they were constantly slipping away to do God knows what, was like a slow death. I tried not to let it get to me, but they were always there, in the corner of my eye, a constant reminder of what I had lost.
Still, I knew that the end of summer meant the end of their summer fling. Ellie would be returning to Ohio soon, and Jack was headed to Knoxville to begin work at the factory. The thought gave me cruel comfort, a small reprieve from the heartache that had, for months, consumed me.
Eager to try and salvage my friendship with Jack, I decided to make a bold move.
“Hey, you,” I said, finding him sitting at the end of the dock one hot August evening, shoes off, feet in the water.
“Hey,” he responded without looking at me. His voice was flat, devoid of the usual warmth that used to make my heart flutter.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the impending awkwardness. “We need to talk, Jack.”