Page 24 of My Heart to Keep
She sounded older than her seventeen years. Or maybe I was still a little girl who wanted to be in love and not have anything change in my life. I knew the Maxwells had moved constantly when their dad had been in the military. But for a hometown girl like me, who didn’t travel or move around, I would not want to be away from my family or my boyfriend.
But you will when you go off to college.Even that was going to be difficult for me.
I didn’t want to cry, but I had a feeling I would be bawling before the day was out. “Is Maiken as excited?” I wasn’t sure if she’d talked to her brother about the school.
Emma let go of my hand and gave me a sidelong look. “Even if he decides to attend with us, that doesn’t mean he’s breaking up with you.”
I shuddered at the thought, although I wasn’t exactly certain we were boyfriend and girlfriend. “I won’t see him, though. We’re supposed to spend our senior year together at the same school.”And fall in love harder and deeper, and have sex for the first time, and kiss, and make out, and not come up for air until we’re heading off to college.
The boys and Christine ambled over.
Jasper, who I hardly knew or spoke to, was now a high schooler. At fifteen, he was tall for his age and resembled Maiken. They both had sandy-blond hair and similar features—strong jaw, nose, lips, and a soft gaze—except Jasper’s eyes were brown rather than blue. “Maybe you should transfer here with us.” Even his voice was similar to Maiken’s.
Suddenly, I wanted to throw my arms around him. He had a gentle way about him, unlike Marcus. “My parents wouldn’t allow that.” Besides, with Carter and Liam in college, I was the only one there to help my parents on the farm.
Christine dumped her keys in her purse then smoothed a hand down her crisp cotton slacks. “Let’s head in. Coach Green said he would meet us in the main building.”
Marcus started for the entrance of the castle-looking building. “This place looks like something out of Harry Potter.” His voice kicked up a notch, and his swagger screamed excitement.
Color me surprised.Marcus was usually brooding or had a pout on his handsome face.
The Maxwell clan was happy. Even Ethan had a pep in his step as he and Jasper talked about dorms and living on campus.
The world around me seemed light, airy, and gleeful, while I was the one sulking. Not to mention, I felt like a school of piranhas was nipping and biting inside me as my nerves crept up over thoughts of seeing Maiken.
Would he be as happy as his siblings? Would he be happy to see me?
We wound our way down a tree-lined path to the gray stone building with pointed peaks and towers jutting up into the sky. The closer we got to the massive portico, the more my heart pounded in my ears. With the mountains and dense landscape surrounding the property, I felt like I was entering Hogwarts.
The double wooden doors opened as we approached, and an average-looking man with salt-and-pepper hair greeted us. “You must be Christine.” The older gentleman extended his hand.
Christine exchanged a handshake with the man. “Coach Green?”
“Please, call me Robert.” He gave her a warm smile, or maybe he was smitten with her. After all, she was a beautiful lady. Her dirty-blond hair was swept up in a chignon, and a light dusting of makeup accentuated her small nose, big brown eyes, and full lips. “Let’s go inside.” He waved his hand to the open door.
The Maxwell kids went in first.
I lingered behind, suddenly feeling like I was intruding.
The coach eyed me. “Christine, do you have five teenagers or six?”
Christine smiled warmly at me. “This is Quinn Thompson, Maiken’s girlfriend.”
Wrinkles creased Coach’s brow. “Maiken didn’t mention he had a girlfriend.”
I held my stomach, feeling like I’d just gotten punched in the gut. I swallowed a big knot and plastered on a fake smile when all I wanted to do was puke, cry, and run for the trees.
“She’s part of the family,” Christine said.
Yep, I was going to cry.
Coach Green grinned, showing his pearly whites. “Nice to meet you, Quinn. I’m sure Maiken will be glad to see you.”
Pfft.I doubted that, but Coach’s words gave me a small kick in the pants to walk into the building. As soon as I did, the scent of frankincense hit me. I felt like I’d just entered church.
The Maxwell kids were milling around, inspecting the row of portraits hanging on the wall outside an office.
“We’ll take a tour of the property,” Coach said as he and Christine came in behind me. “First, I’ll take you folks to see Maiken. The game doesn’t start for a couple of hours. So we have plenty of time.” Coach Green waved us on. “This way.”
