Thankfully Yours

  Thankfully Yours

  Violet Theron

  Copyright © 2019 Violet Theron

  Cover Photo Credit: Deposit Photo

  Cover Design: Canva

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  Chapter 1

  Jennifer

  “Jen!” My older brother, Chris, wraps his long arms around me and gives me a bear hug.

  “Hi,” I croak with a red face as I withstand the immense pressure of his hard body against my cheek. “Can’t… breathe.” He continues to squeeze me tight. Even though I can’t see his face, I’m sure he’s got that stupid loving grin on.

  “Hey, sis!” My little sister, Ashley, chirps and hugs us both at the same time. I can feel my face getting redder because of the lack of oxygen. My siblings are anything but not affectionate.

  It’s nice to be home. Even though it’s only been a few months since I’ve been away at college, I’ve missed my family.

  “So how goes it, college girl? Met any cute college guys yet?” Ashley asks when Chris takes the luggage from my hands, as we walk inside of our parents’ house.

  I blush. It’s only been the first few months of my freshman year and I don’t even know where some of the buildings are yet. I’ve met a lot of great people on campus and I have made some friends. Classes and extracurriculars have been on the top of my mind, and I haven’t even given any thought to dating.

  “How are you guys?” I change the subject quickly.

  Chris sways his muscular body as he pushes up his glasses. It’s funny, my brother is built like a bear and looks like a linebacker, but he isn’t into sports or macho at all. He is a sweet, sensitive guy, and he is the most well-read person I know. “Well, I’m still taking writing classes at the community college and working at the bookstore. Ashley got a part-time job working at the auto shop.”

  “The auto shop?” I swallow. Images of a tall, broad-shouldered hunk flash in my mind.

  “Yeah, I work with Hunter now. I do random things at the shop: paperwork, inventory, clean-up and stuff,” Ashley rattles off a long list of things.

  She continues to chatter away as my mind floats elsewhere. Hunter was my brother’s best friend growing up. When we were kids, we all played together. And I have been in love with him since forever. As we got older, I saw less and less of Hunter. He was always one of the popular kids. Captain of the football team, who dated one cheerleader after another. All the girls he dated were tall, thin, and beautiful. I was the frumpy freshman in baggy jeans and flannel shirts. My friends were other outcasts from the Anime Club and Quiz Bowl.

  During our entire high school career, Hunter and I only had one class together, ever. When he was a senior, and I was a sophomore, we were in the same math class. I was advanced for my year and he was an average student. All year long, I wished that he would at least talk to me, just once. But instead, I sat in the back row all year long as I watched him exchange notes with the constellation of pretty girls who sat around him. The only time he talked to me was to ask for help on his homework. I realized that he only saw me as his friend’s geeky little sister.

  To everyone’s surprise, Hunter turned down the football scholarship that everyone knew he would get at the local university. His father had a bad stroke during his senior year and he stayed home to take over his family’s auto shop. That’s when he drifted apart even from Chris. Even so, I asked him to the prom my senior year as a last-ditch. It took me days to work up the courage and my hands shook as I talked to him in the auto shop dirt lot. Instead, he just smiled politely and told me I should ask someone from my class. I was heartbroken for days.

  Going away for college is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I get to start over and have a clean slate. In college, no one cares if you were popular in high school. They appreciate you for your thoughts and values. Of course, I also start wearing contacts and dressing better. Being away from home also means that I get to buy my own clothes. I look down at the cute crop top and fitted jeans I’m wearing.

  “Jenny!” Mom hugs me in the doorway. “How was your flight?” Dad soon joins her.

  Seeing both of my parents lovingly beam at me is totally worth the six-hour flight that I just endured.

  “Come inside.” Mom pulls me away from the brisk fall air and into the warmth of the house. “I made hot cider for everyone.” The house smells like cinnamon and cookies. I inhale deeply and smile.

  Before we sit down to sip hot cider around the table, Chris pulls me aside and whispers, “By the way, I invited Hunter to Thanksgiving dinner. I hope that’s okay. I don’t want him to be alone during the holidays. You know, with his dad in the hospital and his brother away in the army and all.” Chris knew about my prom fiasco and he was sympathetic, and he told me he didn’t think Hunter was good enough for me, anyway. It didn’t help with the heartbreak but at least I was glad that I had my brother. But Chris is also a big softie and a very loyal friend, so it’s no surprise that he asked Hunter to Thanksgiving.

  I turn red but then I just shrug as nonchalantly as I can. “That was more than six months ago. It’s basically ancient history. Of course, it’s okay,” I lie. I don’t want to tell Chris that the reason that I haven’t dated anyone in college is because no one really measures up to Hunter. Broad-shouldered Hunter with his kind eyes and secret smile. I desperately hope that when I see him, he would become completely bland and ordinary to me. That he was just a teenage crush and part of my past. I know that it’s silly for me to not move on, but the heart wants what it wants.

  Hunter

  “Here, Dad. Just one more bite.” I push a forkful of mashed potatoes in front of his face.

  Dad shakes his head. “I can’t eat anymore. You should go, enjoy the party at the Coltons.” He has been saying that for the past hour. It was kind for Chris to invite me, but it will be torture to see his big happy family and be reminded of what I don’t have.

  I put the fork down and watch as my father close his eyes. Ever since his stroke three years ago, he hasn’t been the same. How do you take a man who has always provided for himself and his family and make him into a complete invalid? Someone who can’t even feed himself or go to the bathroom on his own?

  As long as I can remember, Dad was always proud and strong. We never had much, but he always made sure we had everything we needed. He was proud that he built the auto shop from the ground up and that he intended to send me and my brother to whatever colleges we wanted. Everything fell apart when I decided not to enroll in college and take the football scholarship because Dad was still lying in the hospital unconscious and my brother Hugh was away on his overseas tour with the army. As soon as Dad found out, he was so angry. He called me a hundred names, but I knew that he was ashamed. Ashamed that he got sick and ashamed that he cost me my future.

  I know that whenever he closes his eyes and stops talking to me, he wants me to leave. He doesn’t want a constant reminder of his failures as a father in front of him. But after Mom died, he and my brother are all that I got. How can I leave him in the hospital by himself and attend freshman orientation and play football? How can I abandon the only parent I have left?

  I get up and help the nurses clean up. They made a lovely potluck lunch for the patients and their families in the long-term care unit. I thank them for the food and walk out of the hospital. The fall air is crisp and fills my lungs. I check my watch and note that there’s still an hour before Thanksgiving starts at the Coltons, so I take the long way and walk.

  Chris Colton has been my best friend since we were kids. Our moms grew up together. I also remember his sisters. Ashley is a spunky little thing who hel
ps me with random errands at the auto shop after school, and Jennifer, well, Jen is an interesting girl.

  When we were kids, Jen was always the sweet one. When my mom died, I stayed with the Coltons for some time. She would try to cheer me up and get me to come out to play with the others. And when I refused, she would sit down quietly next to me on the floor and keep me company. I have never forgotten that. Yet slowly, we just grew apart. She was always the smart student, top of her class, and always hanging out with the brainiac crowd. I was athletic and popular, but I wasn’t a great student. I was always ashamed that I had mediocre grades, and I never felt smart enough for Jen and her friends.

  In high school, I often saw them hanging by the bleachers during football practice, always talking and laughing with each other. I envied their ease with one another and their friendship. I had teammates who admired me and girls who wanted to date me, but I had no close friends.

  The girls were pretty and fun, and they were a good distraction. I jumped from one girl to the next and tired of them fast. I was in my senior year when I started to notice Jen. Jen with her long straight black hair and big glasses that sat on her pert little nose. Her full figure was developing fast and couldn’t hide anymore under baggy pants and flannel shirts she got as hand-me-downs from her older brother. Jen who could quote Tolstoy and ace geometry all in one breath. Jen who was destined for a top university and far away from our little town. And by then, we were in two completely different worlds.

  The distance only got wider after Dad got sick. Before that point, I could admit with embarrassment that I dreamed about going to the same college as her. I wasn’t nearly as good a student, but I was a great athlete with solid grades. Maybe I could get into one of the top schools and then convince her to follow me. As my girlfriend.

  That flimsy idea popped the second that I realized that to pay for Dad’s care, I have to make money. Hugh promised to contribute everything he had but healthcare is expensive. I could send Dad to a state-run facility two hours away for a fraction of the cost and still go to school on my scholarship, but after spending ten minutes touring the place, I turned around and walked out. I would never send Dad to such a place, bleak and cold and far away from his family and friends. Just like that, I gave up my future.

  I often thought about what would have happened if Dad didn’t get sick. Would she have dated me? The dumb jock who was bad at math? Would we have gone to the same college? Would we have stayed together in college? When she asked me to her senior prom, I was already running the auto shop on my own. The prospect of college closed a long time ago. All I could do was wipe the motor oil off my hands and laugh. Laugh at the irony of it all. I couldn’t take her to the prom, I told her as gently as possible. Wouldn’t you rather go with one of your friends? One of your friends who is going to college and isn’t stuck doing manual labor for the rest of his life?

  She looked so upset that I wanted to pull her close and hug her tight. But I restrained myself. This is for the best, I told myself.

  Now, a few months later, I am going to her parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner. I ran into Chris when he came one evening to pick Ashley up from work. I told him I was going to the hospital for Thanksgiving lunch.

  “Come for dinner at my house afterwards,” he smiled. He was kind and didn’t want me to be alone during the holidays.

  I wanted to refuse but Ashley joined in. “Oh, come! Please come! Mom and Dad would love it! Jenny will be home, too.”

  My heart jumped at the mentioning of Jen’s name so I agreed without giving too much thought. I wonder how she’s doing? If she likes college? I wonder if she’s already met a great guy at school. Someone smart and poised, and with a bright future.

  As my mind wanders, my feet already take me to the street where the Coltons’ house is. It is a quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac with only three houses on it. I see a girl wearing a fashionable coat and tight-fit jeans, jumping under a Halloween ghoul made from a white plastic sheet that is still hanging from a tree. Without thinking, I reach up and grab the ghoul out of the tree and hand it to her. She looks up at me and her brown eyes widen.

  “Hi, Jen.”

  Chapter 2

  Jennifer

  “Hunter.” His name rolls off my tongue like music. I have forgotten how tall and well-built he is. I feel so small standing in his shadow. He is inadvertently standing so close to me that I can catch a whiff of his masculine scent from the opening of his coat. I blush and step back slightly. “My parents are so embarrassing.” I look down at the ghoul that he has pulled from the tree for me. “They are crazy about holiday decorations but they never take anything down. It’s already Thanksgiving and they still have Halloween stuff up.”

  “I think it’s nice that they’re so into the holidays,” Hunter says in his deep, baritone voice. I clam up and remember with chagrin that he doesn’t have any family around for the holidays right now.

  “How are you?” His voice is deep and his green eyes are dark with sincerity.

  “I’m good.” I feel out of breath and I ask quickly, “How are you? How’s the auto shop?”

  He smiles and the corners of his eyes crinkle. “It’s good. Ashley helps out a lot.”

  “That’s good.” An awkward silence falls over us. He just stands there, looking all perfect and calm. His blonde hair is slightly tousled from the wind and there is a boyish smile on his lips. “How’s your dad?” I add.

  “Um-” He pauses and his eyes drop to the ground. “I just came from the hospital. He’s good. He’s resting now.”

  He hides it well but the pain on his face is clear. I remember when Hunter first started spending a lot of time at our house. His mom just got sick with leukemia and his dad had his hands full with everything. Our moms were friends growing up and my mom volunteered to help take care of Hunter. I remember how quiet and watchful he was at first. Unlike the rest of the children who would cry and complain, he just took in everything silently. Even as a child, I knew that he felt things deeply. I would do anything to pull him out of his shroud of pain so we could all play and laugh together.

  He is wearing that shroud of pain now, and he doesn’t want anyone to know. “It’s nice to see you,” I say incoherently as I embrace his muscular torso for a belated hug. I breathe his scent in deeply and sigh as I squeeze his warm body. I want him to feel that he isn’t alone.

  He tentatively hugs me back and wraps his strong arms around me. His hug feels nice. Warm and secure. He even smells nice, like deep amber and wood smoke. I would have loved to stay in his embrace forever.

  “Hey, boss!” Ashley’s high voice interrupts us and we break apart. “You’re right on time. Mom just put dinner on the table. Do you like yams? Because she makes this killer yam dish with toasted marshmallows on top. It’s the most delicious thing you’ll ever taste. It’s sweet and gooey and just a little crispy.” She loops her arm through the crook of his arm and pulls him into the house. I watch with envy as Hunter laughs and the two of them walk off together.

  Why does he have to be so perfect? I silently kick myself. He obviously doesn’t think about me like that. I am just his best friend’s little sister and some girl he went to school with.

  I sigh with forlorn. I’ll be back at school in a few days and I can leave this childish dream behind.

  Ashley whispers something in Hunter’s ear and he throws his head back and laughs. I can see the spark in his emerald eyes and the indulgent way he smiles at Ashley. I suddenly realize how compatible the two of them are. Ashley is currently on the cheerleading team in high school and she is athletic and popular, just like Hunter. They must have a lot more in common than Hunter and me. She is a little too young for him but she plans to stay home and go to community college just like Chris. If Hunter could wait a couple of years, they’d be perfect for each other. I suddenly realize with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

  Hunter

  “Dinner was delicious, Mrs. Colton,” I say politely as we finish eating. The
whole Colton family is here, including the grandparents and some cousins. I feel a little envious that my family is so small and spread out across the country. But everyone here is so warm and welcoming, and I feel truly blessed that they have taken me in.

  When I first saw Jen under that tree, I almost didn’t recognize her. She has always been gorgeous but now her clothes closely hug and show off those mouth-watering curves of hers. Her crop top showed off her curvy waist and I think I saw her bellybutton. I was standing so close to her that I could smell her natural scent on her hair. When she pressed her soft, warm body against mine, I immediately felt a discomfort in the front of my jeans and I curse internally. Why did I agree to come? She has always been pretty but now she has blossomed into a beautiful woman. Now, I feel even more awkward sitting three feet away from her while her little sister chats nonstop with me. I want to crawl under the table and die.

  “So what is everyone thankful for today?” Mrs. Colton puts her hands on the table and asks eagerly.

  “I’m thankful that I’ll be done with high school soon!” Ashley laughs and claps.

  “I’m thankful that the bookstore is going well,” Chris nods.

  “I’m thankful that all of my children are home,” Mrs. Colton adds.

  “I-” Jen has a lot to be thankful for. Good college, happy family, excellent health. “I’m thankful for Hunter.”

  The table pauses and everyone is staring at Jen, including me. Her dark brown eyes are bright and sincere. I gulp and see both Ashley and Mrs. Colton frown with concern.

  “I’m thankful that I am here today as well,” I break the silence and thus saving Jen from any awkward questions.

  “Oh, I hope you’ll take some leftovers home? I always make too much. Maybe pack a little for your dad, too? He’s always liked my yams,” Mrs. Colton says cheerfully.