Maybe if Brenna Michaels hadn’t stopped for ice cream on her way from work she wouldn’t have run into Jake Murphy. Or maybe if she had stayed at the ice cream shop longer. Pr maybe if she had just gone the normal route she wouldn’t be standing by a stump, with him in front of her.

Instead, she had stopped for ice cream for the wrong amount of time and she had taken the shortcut home. And now she was stopped, staring at Jake Murphy. He had caught her off guard, coming out from a dense group of trees. He had said her name and she had stopped in her tracks by the rotting stump.

“It’s not really all that wise for a young girl to be in the woods all by herself, Brenna. Who knows what could happen.”

“Not all that much in Shelby Forest, Jake,” she forced out. “Our crime rate is pretty low in case you haven’t noticed.”

He stepped closer to her. “Always the smart ass, aren’t you, Bren?”

She stared at him.

“You’ve been a hard girl to track down lately.”

She shrugged.

Ha ran his fingers up her arm until they curled around her biceps. She flinched a bit but said nothing. “You really shouldn’t be so cold to me, Brenna. You never know what a person might do if he was pushed far enough.”

She lifted her chin up. “I’m not scared of you.”

He gave a smirk. “You should be.”

She bit her tongue as he tightened his hand around her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh. She stared at him and in return, he stared back and dug his fingers deeper. She tried not to show any weakness but his grip hurt. She knew it was just one of his power struggles and she pressed her lips tight, not wanting to let him win. Physical pain took over emotional will and a tear welled up in her eye and fell.

“Jake, please stop.”

At her words, he let go of her arm and the shooting pain was replaced with a throbbing. He smiled and she flinched again as he reached up to wipe away the stray tear with his thumb.

“Why did we ever break up, Brenna?”

She kept her lips together.

“I know. Because you were just so, hmm…what’s the word.” He pursed his lips as if deep in thought. “Oh yeah, dull. Pretty girl, but a dull girl. Right, Bren? Do you hear that a lot?”

She looked away from him. “I need to go.”

“Well then I’ll walk you. Shelby may have a low crime rate but you never know when something could happen.”

She started to walk and Jake caught up with her, throwing an arm around her shoulders as if they were great pals. When they reached the edge of the woods, she thought he would leave but instead he stayed beside her.

She stopped when they got to the street she wanted. She tried to lift his arm but couldn’t. “Jake, please. Just stop.”

He smirked. “Stop what? This isn’t the way to your house, Brenna,” he said, going with her as she began walking again. “Going to Lynn’s house?”

She remained silent.

“Do you ever think about how sad it is that your only real friend around here is someone old enough to be your mom?”

She stopped in front of the house. “Maybe that’s because there’s not a lot of nice people my age around here.”

“Oh, there’s the smart ass again. You can’t blame the fact that you don’t fit in on everyone else, Bren. Sometimes it’s-”

“Brenna, I thought I heard you out here.”

Jake stopped and Brenna raised her eyes to see Lynn standing in the open doorway to the house, one hand on her hip. A wave of relief went through Brenna.

“Jake, I was sure I heard you had a job at the grocery store. Shouldn’t you be there?”

Jake dropped his arm from around Brenna’s shoulders and flashed a grin at Lynn. “Sure, Mrs. H. Just taking a break.”

“Well maybe you want to take your break somewhere else, hmm?”

His grin never faltered. “Sure thing.” He gave Brenna’s arm a tight squeeze and she cringed. “See you later, Bren.”

Brenna began to walk to the front door as Jake turned away. Lynn stepped out of the way so she could come into the house.

“Are you alright, hun?” Lynn asked as she shut the door.

Brenna forced a smile onto her face and followed Lynn to the kitchen. “I’m alright.”

“I wish that boy would quit bothering you. Jake Murphy is a mean spirited individual. I’ve always thought so. Don’t take anything he says to heart.”

“I won’t.”

“You’re too good for him, hun. You’re too good for a lot of people in this town.”

Brenna sat down at the kitchen table and laid her head in her arms. “Maybe.”

“Not maybe. It’s the truth. He did that to your arm?”

Brenna covered her upper arm with her hand. “He was being stupid.”

“Like I said, he has a mean spirit. Do you want something to eat?”

“No thanks.”

“I’m making hamburgers for dinner.”

“That sounds good.”

“When’s your mom gonna be home tonight, hun.”

“She never said.”

“Well I’ll send some leftovers home with you in case she doesn’t feel like making anything.”

“Alright. Do you want help with anything?”

“No. You look like you’re going to fall asleep. Go take a nap on the couch.”

Brenna smiled and got up. “Thanks, Lynn.”

* * *

Brenna woke up to the telephone ringing. She sat up quickly and was off the couch before she realized she wasn’t in her house. Shaking her head slightly, she ran her hands through her hair and walked towards the kitchen. She found Lynn on the phone. When she sat at the table, Lynn smiled at her.

“Have a good sleep, hun?”

“Yeah.”

Lynn’s attention was brought back to the phone. “What? No, not you. Brenna…Brenna Michaels…mm hmm…”

Brenna opened up the newspaper on the table and began to read as Lynn talked.

Gas prices expected to go down over the next week.

“Well then you need to stop going out every night…Yes, I understand but…”

Drunk driver expected to get ten years in prison.

“A doctor will know what you should do more that I do, Justin…well good then. Tomorrow?”

Food drive for Memphis a big success.

“…Vitamins, aspirin, fluids, rest…I know you can’t really rest. But you can’t jeopardize your health for…uh huh…”

Oh, the comics…

Brenna had just finished the last comic and was about to turn to the obituaries when she heard Lynn saying her goodbyes.

“Sorry, hun,” Lynn said, hanging up the phone.

“It’s okay.”

“Justin’s been sick for a few weeks now and he keeps calling to bellyache about it. He’s finally going to see a doctor tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I’ve told him countless times before that your body can’t heal itself properly if you keep pushing it but he’s so stubborn.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Lynn smiled a bit. “Sometimes I forget how close you and he used to be. It seems like such a long time ago that he lived at the house and was around all the time.”

“Yeah,” Brenna said softly.

“Are you alright, Brenna?”

She forced out a smile and shrugged. “Yeah. It’s just life, you know?”

Lynn leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I love you, hun.”

This time she didn’t have to force the smile. “I love you too.”