No Surrender by Sara Arden Page B

her have the best view.
    “They’re so powerful. Look at them, just standing there impervious to time. To the landscape around them. They don’t fit here, but they stand there anyway.” She laughed. “Kind of like me, I guess. I mean, I don’t know how powerful I am, but I don’t fit in Winchester. Yet I stand there.”
    “You fit anywhere you want to be, Tuck.”
    She was quiet and kept her own counsel on the flight back to Lawrence.
    When they were on the ground and he’d helped her out of the plane, she launched herself into his arms.
    “Thank you.”
    “My pleasure.” He enjoyed having her in his arms. It was a simple thing to have done for her, really. He couldn’t help but think Lynnie wouldn’t have wanted to do this with him either. He could never get her to go up with him.
    Yeah, he was a different man than the boy who’d been quarterback for the Winchester Eagles. A million miles away from that kid.
    “I’m starved. That fritter didn’t go very far.”
    “Good. Picnic time.”
    “Oh, is the food going to be okay?”
    “Yeah, it’s in a cooler in your top box.” He pointed to the rear of the bike.
    “Trust the flyboy to be prepared for any emergency.”
    “Of course. I know better than to take risks with not feeding you. Your hangry self is terrifying.”
    She shoved his shoulder lightly. “So where are we going for our picnic?”
    “Do you remember that road...?”
    “Oh God, yes!”
    He loved that she knew what he was thinking. It was as if they were always on the same wavelength.
    “I’ll let you drive,” she said, handing him the keys to the Harley.
    “Hell yeah!” He swung his leg over the bike and she climbed on behind him, palms flat on his stomach. It felt good to have her hands on him—hell, everything about this day was good.
    The road he was taking her to was one where they’d gotten lost heading into Lawrence for a party on a Saturday night. They’d finally given up and had their own party. It had been their junior year, and Sean and Lynnie had been broken up.
    It took him a while to find the right turnoff. It was a tiny road, gravel and unkempt, but there was a hunting platform in the trees and they’d climbed up there and partied until dawn.
    He carried the cooler and hoisted himself onto the platform, checking its durability before allowing Kentucky to come up.
    He had a bottle of sparkling grape juice since they were driving, cheese and apples, cold roasted chicken breast, and a Godiva chocolate bar for her for dessert.
    Sean handed her a paper plate and she piled it high. He liked that about her, too. She was never shy with her food, and she never pretended she didn’t want to eat if she was hungry.
    “That night has to be on my list of wildest times ever,” she said. “It was all of us, right? And some new people? Lynnie’s boyfriend at the time and some of his friends?”
    He remembered that night so clearly. He’d been tempted to get drunk, like some of the other people in their group. But he’d felt as if he had to be responsible. Someone should be able to drive if they needed it, but it had been hard. He’d just wanted to drown his feelings in a bottle of that cheap shine Kentucky had made in her aunt’s bathtub.
    “Yeah, everyone was there.”
    “I remember vaguely that you were shooting the new BF dagger glares all night.”
    “Do you? What else do you remember?”
    She gave him a crooked grin. “I remember eating way too many of those moonshine cherries. I still love those things. God, but my head felt like there was a whole marching band in there the next morning. It was ridiculous.”
    “How much trouble were you in?”
    “None. My aunt said my hangover was my punishment. That and making me watch VHS recordings of old black-and-white big band shows with her.”
    “I guess you learned your lesson.”
    “I did.” She laughed. “I still love those damn cherries, but I know my limit. I can’t remember a lot of what happened.”
    “Really?