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.But nothing would block the image of her daughter’s accusing brown eyes, so like the eyes of Thomas Wood.The floodgates of memory burst open, and suddenly Jan was immersed in the past she had thought was buried forever.Chapter ThreeH is eyes like deep pools of chocolate, Thomas sat on the doorstep at the back of the Calhoun house and gazed at Jan.“Why not?” he asked her.“You could at least come and see it.”Why not? Seated beside him, so close their hips touched, Jan hugged her middle.Thomas had graduated from college a week ago, and two days later, she had learned the awful, wonderful truth.Snuggled down inside her, in the soft folds of a perfect nest, their baby was growing.So, why didn’t she want to spend next semester’s savings, risk the life of her unborn child, freak out her parents and board an airplane bound for a war-torn island off the coast of India? Why didn’t she want to just go off with Thomas Wood, unmarried and pregnant, like a couple of hippie backpackers with no ties and no morals, living on nothing but love? Who did he think she was, anyway?“I can’t go with you, that’s all,” she said.Her hair, a waterfall of thick auburn curls, tumbled over her knees as she crouched barefoot on the step.“I’m only nineteen, and we’re not married and besides…I don’t want to go to India.”“It’s not India, Jan.It’s Sri Lanka.” He picked up a strand of her hair and twirled it around his finger.Thomas had wonderful hands—big, brown, manly fingers with thick nails and calluses that proved he knew hard work.Of all the things about him that made her stomach do flip-flops, his hands were the best.She recalled the first time she had met Thomas—he’d been lifting a rosebush from a flower cart into the trunk of her mom’s car at the nursery his parents owned.She had noticed his hands first, loved them instantly, then looked at his face and realized she had seen him in school.“Hi,” he had said to her, and hooked his thumbs on the pockets of his jeans.He gave her a crooked smile.“I think we were in biology together last semester.”She had nearly melted into a puddle in the parking lot.How could any man have fingers like that? And those eyes! And that mouth! And why hadn’t she paid better attention in biology?Now, almost two years later, she still felt the same.But it was no longer just a physical spark between them.Thomas had walked into her heart, broken down all her restraints, taken her body, given his in return, become her whole world.And now he wanted her to abandon family, friends, stability, security—everything—to follow him halfway around the globe.How could she say yes?How could she say no?“We’ll be in India for less than a day,” he told her, as though that were the most natural thing in the world.“The plane lands in Madras, and then we switch airlines and fly to Colombo.Someone from the tea company will meet us in the city and drive us up to Nuwara Eliya.”“I can’t go, Thomas.”“I’ll help pay your way.It’s not as expensive as you think.Besides, you got a scholarship last year, and you’ll get one when you transfer over to UT-Tyler.I know you will.C’mon, It’ll be fun, the two of us together.”“My parents would have a cow.”“You’re not a kid anymore, Jan.They like me.So what if we travel together?”“So what? We’re Christians! They would die of embarrassment if I went off on a vacation with my boyfriend.The whole church would know.”She swallowed as she thought of the months to come.Everyone would soon know about the baby she was carrying.An abortion was out of the question.Jan was studying to become a teacher, and she loved children.All her life, she had dreamed of having a big family of her own.This was an unplanned beginning, but she wasn’t about to cut short her child’s life just because things had started badly.No, she would simply tell her parents what had happened, and then she would have the baby…and move into an apartment of her own…and try to finish school…and…Fighting tears, she dipped her head.“Just go, Thomas.Go home.Do whatever you want.This isn’t going to work out.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” He turned and caught her by the shoulders, forcing her to face him.“Listen, Jan, I wrote you the whole time I was gone, didn’t I? It’s not like we were apart that long anyway.Three months.We both stayed faithful, and nothing changed between us.Why are you acting this way all of a sudden?”“Nothing changed? You changed.”“I did not.I just evolved into who I was already becoming.We’ve been together two years, Jan.You knew what I wanted out of life, and now it’s within my grasp.I got a great internship, I finished up my courses, I graduated, and now Wilson Teas wants me to come back and work there full-time.Management level.This is a great opportunity for me.And Sri Lanka is an amazing place.You’ll love it.”“I’m not going, okay?” She pushed away from him and stood.Walking across the yard, she tugged her shorts down on her thighs and wondered how long she would even be able to wear them.By the end of summer, she’d be in maternity clothes.Unbelievable.She could hear Thomas behind her.“What’s the big deal, Jan? Why are you pushing me away? I came all the way back to Texas to see you.”“You came home to graduate [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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