Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [48]
“He’s asked about you a few times,” Jessica told her, as they walked into her grandfather’s house.
“He has?” Joe’s interest was the best news yet. She had to hear this, and she didn’t want her grandfather listening in. “I’ll put everything in my room,” she told him, then grabbed Jessica’s hand and led her back to her old bedroom.
Everything in her room was just as she’d left it. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that—other than grateful.
“What did Joe say?” she asked, hopping onto the bed and sitting there cross-legged.
“He said…” Jessica bit into her lower lip. “You don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I do.”
“All right. He said you were a fool to leave.”
Her old boyfriend’s remark wasn’t far from the truth, and Calla had no problem accepting it.
“But the only reason he said that was because he misses you,” Jessica added quickly.
“He’s not dating anyone…special, is he?”
“No.” Jessica glanced at her watch. “Listen, I’ve got to run or my mom will kill me. Meet me at the church at seven, okay?”
“Sure.” Calla walked her friend to the door and watched as Jessica raced toward the pharmacy where she’d parked. Calla realized she hadn’t asked her about Kevin, the one true love of her friend’s life. Jess hadn’t mentioned him, which suggested that things weren’t what they had been. Kevin Betts attended art school in Chicago, and it was difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship. Not long ago, Calla had envied him the opportunity to escape Buffalo Valley.
“Gramps,” Calla called, seeking him out. “Do you know if Kevin is still dating Jessica?”
“Don’t have a clue,” Joshua McKenna muttered.
For the first time Calla looked carefully around the house. Now that her mother was married and living with Dennis, the house wasn’t as homey as it used to be. Her grandfather had put up a Christmas tree, but it was a small aluminum one that sat on an end table. That was the extent of any holiday decorations. Her mother had always gone overboard with Christmas and Calla was surprised to realize how much she missed it. She missed silly things, like the two cotton-ball snowmen she’d made in sixth grade. She missed the crocheted and starched snowflakes that added a festive air to the house. Sarah had been ridiculous about the holidays—even placing lights in the windows, including an old gas lamp that had once belonged to Calla’s grandmother—and Calla knew now that she loved all the Christmas traditions as much as her mother did.
“I’ll bet Mrs. Sinclair could tell you about Jessica and Kevin,” her grandfather said. “You’ll probably see her at church tonight.”
But it would be awkward to ask her old teacher, especially there. Rather than wait, Calla reached for the portable phone and retreated to her bedroom.
Mrs. Sinclair sounded pleased to hear from her. “I didn’t mean to bother you,” Calla said, getting to her point immediately, “but I need to find out about Jessica and Kevin before I say something I shouldn’t.”
“Oh, Calla,” Lindsay Sinclair breathed, “we’ve all missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“Are you going to stay?”
“I—I…” Calla could see no reason to delay talking about her problems with school. “I’ve…my grades haven’t been the best. I don’t know if I can graduate this year and it’d be too embarrassing to come back and not graduate.”
“Yes, you can,” Mrs. Sinclair insisted. “I’ve been on maternity leave and Mrs. Folsom from Devils Lake filled in for me. But I’ll be returning after the first of the year. We’ll work together and you can get caught up, but it’ll take effort on both our parts.”
“You’d do that for me?” Calla felt like weeping. She hadn’t wanted to say anything, but not being able to graduate with her class was her biggest concern. Because she’d been tardy so often, she’d flunked two classes and her grades other than drama weren’t that good. Not the way they’d been here in Buffalo Valley.
“We’ll do whatever is necessary to get you back on course. Don’t you worry.”
“That’d be great.”
“Now, listen, about Jessica and Kevin, they broke up in September.