Without a word, and leaving a stream of heated tension in his wake, Jude returned to his stool and sat. He picked up his pencil again and seemed reluctant to move his gaze from his canvas to his model. After a long pause, he looked at me with such raw, urgent emotion, I lost my balance and my foot fell from the stool.

“Sorry.” I quickly tried to reposition myself on the stool.

“That’s all right. Take a break.” He walked over to the wet bar, lit a cigarette, and reached below the bar to pull out a bottle of liquor. He poured himself a shot and threw it back. Then he relaxed against the counter and smoked his cigarette in sullen silence.

I got up and walked around to stretch. Jude was a hard person to read, and I had absolutely no idea what going through his mind. But I knew what was going through mine. Finley had warned me and I had waved it off as impossible. What a naive, self-confident fool I was.

Jude tossed his cigarette in the sink and returned to his canvas. I returned to my stool and attempted to recreate the same position and expression.

“Lean forward more.” His tone was colder than before. “That’s it. Now pull the hem of the shirt down lower.”

I exposed more skin.

He said nothing at first. “Lift your chin a little.”

I followed his directions.

He turned back to his canvas and then turned his face to me.

“Fuck it,” he growled and threw the pencil across the room. “Never mind. This isn’t going to work.” The stool scraped the floor as he stood abruptly, pulled out another cigarette, and slammed out the door of the pool house.

I sat there momentarily stunned and determined to fight back the tears of hurt that burned my eyes. The stool nearly fell over as I jumped off and raced to the bathroom to change. My hands shook as I changed quickly and took steadying breaths to keep from crying. I threw open the door and slammed directly into Jude.

“I’m sorry, Eden.”

“Whatever. I told you I’d be a boring model.” I tried to slip past him but his arm blocked me.

“That’s not the reason and you know it.”

“I don’t know anything except that this was a mistake.” His arm was like steel as I pushed against it.

He took hold of my waist and pressed me against the wall. “I was fooling myself. I thought I could handle it, but you looked so goddamned beautiful—”

The stress of the morning had taken its toll. Tears broke through. “Please, Jude, just let me go.”

Slowly, he backed away and held his hands up in surrender. I ran for the door. I swiped clumsily at my tears and then fanned my face to dry them. I definitely didn’t want Finley to know I’d been crying, so I went straight to my room and shut the door behind me. She would still be busy with the tattoo artist. I had a reprieve from human contact for a few minutes, and I took advantage of it.

I washed my face and plunked down on my bed feeling suddenly homesick. I wondered what my family was up to and if they’d arrived safely up north. Our family van was not really the long distance type of vehicle. I wondered if we’d be moving up north if dad got the job. And I wondered how long I’d last in this totally unconventional and somewhat turmoil filled summer job. Jude had definitely added a layer to the position that I was not prepared for.

Chapter 13

I tried to concentrate on reading a book but found myself reading the same sentences over and over again. So I tossed the book onto the end of the bed and eventually drifted off into a nice, dreamless sleep, only to be woken by Finley’s knock at the door. “Eden? Are you ready for your tattoo?”

Groggily, I got up from the bed and plodded to the door. “I guess I fell asleep.”

Finley looked up at me and seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. Even though I was probably giving up my only chance of ever getting a tattoo, it was just not something I wanted that badly.

“It’s all right, Eden. You don’t have to get a tattoo. Like you said, it’s a permanent commitment. I’ll let Becky know.” She turned around and pushed the spaghetti strap off her shoulder. “How does it look?”

“Puckered, pink, and painful but I can see Some Pig. It looks just like the drawing. It’s going to be really cute when the swelling subsides.”

She pushed the strap back up. “I can’t wait until it’s healed. Cole came by while Becky was working. He mentioned that he was having some friends,” she forced back a smile, “including Max, over for a bonfire tonight. He won’t be inviting that jerk from last night.” Without warning her eyes watered.

I grabbed her hand. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, except I’m a terrible friend.” She squeezed my hand. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were the girl he attacked?”

“It wasn’t really an attack, Finley. Nothing happened. Jude stepped in quickly.”

She swallowed back what appeared to be a sob and a faint smile appeared. “I heard Jude was so mad, it looked like he was about to kill the guy.”

I nodded. “The boy does have a temper.”

“Only when necessary,” she said. “I’m just glad he was there because I was too self-centered to even realize you were in trouble. I hope you can forgive me.”

“None of it was your fault, Finley. Don’t take blame for something that you didn’t cause.”

“I know, but I feel guilty about it.”

“Stop doing that. Stop feeling guilty about stuff you have no control over. So, should we attempt an excursion this afternoon?”

“Yes,” Finley said confidently, but I knew that could change in any moment. “Let me tell Becky we’re done for the day and then we can make our plans. Afterward you can help me decide what I should wear tonight. I figure we should get an early start on it so I can actually make it to the bonfire.”

It turned out that Finley’s invisible perimeter circled around the entire property. She had not gone past the end of the circular driveway and giant fountain at the front of the house. We decided our next goal was the jacarandas that lined the long road up to the house. It was June and they were in their full lavender glory, and the ground was covered with a layer of purple snowflakes.

Surprisingly, Finley had not changed her mind about the outing, and even more surprisingly, she did not hesitate when we reached the end of her safe zone. She kept pace with my feet and after a few steps we found ourselves beneath the purple shade of the trees.

Finley lifted her face to the sporadic rays of sunshine that managed to squeeze between the bloom covered branches. “I’ve always loved these trees.” She lowered her gaze back to the ground and kicked around the fallen blossoms with her feet. “My mom picked jacarandas for the driveway. These trees always remind me of her.”

“I’d say she left a rather unforgettable piece of herself here by picking jacarandas. They are breathtaking.”

Footsteps crunched dry foliage behind us, and like a silly ninny, my heartbeat sped up. I spun around certain Jude would be standing there, but it turned out that Butch and Sundance had followed us out of the house. Several blossoms drifted down from the branches above and clung to bigger dog’s fur.

Finley laughed. “Sundance, you look good in purple. I think I’ll knit you a lavender sweater this winter. I haven’t picked up my knitting needles in a long time. I should start that up again. It’s a great way to occupy your mind and hands.”

“I’d love to learn it. My mom doesn’t know how to knit or sew or cook for that matter. Although she does make a mean pancake.”

“I taught myself to knit through You Tube,” Finley confessed.

“You can learn a lot of crazy stuff on there. I even learned how to trim Some Pig’s hooves from some farmer in Kentucky.” She scooped up a handful of fallen blossoms and tossed them in the air like confetti. “You haven’t talked about your modeling session with Jude,” she said almost hesitantly as if she sensed that it hadn’t gone well.