Across the Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

completely gone, just like the day of their first kiss. “Not really,” he responded. “It was just a long day.”
    Kate walked back into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Do you want me to make you something to eat?”
    He took another sip of wine and rubbed his head, massaging his temples. “No. I think I’m too tired to eat.”
    “Good.” She closed the fridge and pranced over to the bedroom.
    “What is that supposed to mean?” Jesse watched as she slipped into the bedroom and slowly slid the glass door shut. “What is up with you tonight? You’re being mysterious,” he called after her.
    Kate slid the door open a crack. “You’ll see.” Then she shut it again.
    Jesse finished the glass of wine and set it on the end table. Then he picked up the hand-carved wooden turtle that sat next to the lamp. Dust filled the grooves in its shell. Its eyes and nose were carefully carved out of its tiny face, giving the lifeless statue character. Every time he looked at the turtle, he became more amazed by its detail. Even the turtle’s small feet had tiny claws sprouting from them.
    Sarah had given this to him. He remembered the sound of the creek rushing below. The smell of summer. The heat of the sun kissing his skin. It seemed like an entire lifetime ago. He wasn’t the same scared little boy he had been back then. Things were different now. He closed his eyes and smiled as the moment came flooding back to him. Sarah’s long hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her light blue eyes reflecting the sun’s rays. And the smile on her face as she handed him the turtle. It’s your favorite animal, right? Jesse nodded, not sure what to say. It was the first time a girl had given him anything. She handed it to him and laid a kiss on his cheek. She didn’t tell him why she bought him the wooden turtle, but he suspected that it had something to do with the day before, when he had taken her to the willow tree after another one of her mother’s explosive fits.
    The day was perfect. One of Jesse’s favorites. The day he knew without a doubt that he loved Sarah.
    But love always came with a consequence.
    Letting out a frustrated sigh, Jesse turned the turtle slowly in his hand, tracing the outline of its shell.
    The sound of the glass door sliding open brought Jesse back to his apartment. He sat the turtle down and looked up at Kate, who stood perfectly framed in the doorway with her arms stretched to each side as if posing for a Victoria’s Secret magazine cover. “I told you I had something for you,” she said, smiling. Her outfit looked like dental floss holding together small pieces of white lace fabric. Her flat stomach held a golden hue, giving it a soft yet firm look, and her long, slender legs were proof of the hours she spent spinning at the gym each week.
    “I don’t know what to say.”
    She held up her hand and waved a come-on-over-here finger at him. “I don’t want you to say anything,” she said. “It’s what I want you to do .”

 
Chapter 4
    Sarah
    Sarah watched out of the corner of her eye as Rachael’s SUV pulled into the drive. She shook her head. Just what she needed right now: a rundown of last night’s dating adventure. She slammed the shovel into the dirt and gave it a kick before unearthing the soil. Rachael was her best friend, but boy did she have a way of distracting her from the work that needed done.
    “The place’s looking great.” Rachael brought her hand to a salute, shielding the rays from her eyes.
    “It’s getting there.”
    Sarah followed Rachael’s gaze. The trees had long been cleared and the ground had been recently leveled. Rows of tilled earth filled the five acres of land like the stripes on the American flag. But the holes that Sarah had recently dug reminded her of the unexpected and unplanned expense of building a fence. “This fence is taking longer than I thought it would.”
    Rachael looked at the pile of wood and the poles that had been recently wedged