Finding Forever Read Online Free PDF Page A

a whistle. “Someone’s touchy.”
    “I’m not touchy, just tired of this conversation.”
    Beth held up her hands in surrender. “Fine. I won’t say anything else. Just do me a favor and think about something.”
    “What?” If it got her friend to stop hounding her, Jordan figured it was worth it. Probably.
    “Why do you feel as if you have to shut this guy out? I don’t think it’s just an issue of you being afraid he might tempt you to drink again,” Beth said. “Are you convinced all he wants is sex because of some misguided belief that’s all anyone would want from you? Or is it because you suspect he wants more, and therefore you have to avoid him as penance out of an equally misguided belief that since you’ve hurt people in the past, you don’t ever deserve to be happy?”
    There were times Jordan appreciated how well Beth knew and understood her, and times when she found herself annoyed with her friend’s tendency to almost always be right. This fell in the latter category. “I’m not relationship material.”
    “I’m not sure how you’d know that since you’ve never really tried to have one,” Beth countered. “And please, if you mention Matt Finney, I’m going to...” She shook her head. “If anyone wasn’t relationship material, it was him. And since I was the one he cheated on with you, I think I’d know.”
    The fact that they could even have this conversation now, given that, was perhaps a minor miracle, but one Jordan was grateful for. “I have no model for successful relationships. My childhood wasn’t like yours.”
    Beth responded with a barely-disguised eyeroll. “Plenty of people who have no model for successful relationships growing up still manage to have them.”
    “So this is the part where you shoot down everything I say, huh?” Jordan chuckled.
    Beth grinned. “That’s the plan,” she said before turning serious. “Don’t sabotage something before it even starts, Jordan. If you’re interested, if you want to know where it leads, at least give it a chance.”
              ***
    An older man with a slight paunch and a stern expression greeted Jake. “Joe Camacho, United States Customs and Border Protection.”
    “Jake Morrison. Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.” Getting the security clearance hadn’t been easy, but Reece said that even though not everyone was thrilled with the movie they were filming, there were others who were willing to offer their expertise. After all, they couldn’t stop the film being made, but maybe they could control the accuracy of some of the content.
    Camacho nodded. “You ready to go?”
    He was a man of few words, which was okay with Jake. He wasn’ t there for conversation, but to learn. “Let’s do it.” He followed Camacho to a vehicle sporting the agency logo. It looked like a military tank.
    “It’s fully armored,” Camacho said, as if reading Jake’s mind.
    “Is that necessary?”
    “These days, yes.”
    Jake knew there was gang violence in his hometown, but he’d always been sheltered from it. The violence in border towns was something he only knew about in passing from the news on TV. That was why he was eager to meet with Agent Camacho and learn about his job. Entering the equivalent of a war zone, though, was another matter.
    They drove in silence for a few minutes, until Camacho stopped the vehicle . “This is the most popular crossing place.” He pointed. “That, right there, is Mexico. The river serves as a border between the two countries.” A slight laugh escaped this throat. “At least it’s supposed to be a river. With the drought these days it’s barely deep enough to be a wading pool.” He turned off the vehicle’s headlights and flipped a switch inside that activated night camera surveillance, enabling them to see activity on the other side of the border.
    “Incredible,” Jake said.
    “Where you from?”
    “Iowa.”
    Camacho laughed. “Then this ought to be quite an