UNPREDICTABLE LOVE
Would unpredictable love break
Jory Walker’s heart?
Uh oh. Amber signed her sister’s name on a pen pal letter to a Marine.
As usual, Jory Walker was stuck fixing her sister’s little white lie.
When letters poured in from SSGT Trent Stevens in Afghanistan, Jory had
no choice but to correspond. Sure he’d be drooling over Amber’s bikini photo,
thinking it was Jory. Since they’d never meet, what harm could it do if she
sent him a few letters?
Would her charade boomerang replacing happiness with pain? What started
off as an innocent ruse, morphed into a monstrous web of deceit. Maybe
unpredictable love was destined to break her heart.
Links/BUY
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DM4EOUW
BARNES & NOBLE
GOOGLEPLAY
ITUNES/APPLE
KOBO
SMASHWORDS
AMAZON PAPERBACK
AMAZON CANADA
AMAZON U.K.
AMAZON AUSTRALIA
Links/AUTHOR
Website – http://www.jeanjoachimbooks.com
EXCERPTS
Jory
Walker plucked three letters from the mailbox in front of the house. Two bills
and one envelope addressed to her that looked like it had been through a war.
It had, according to what was scratched in the upper corner.
SSGT. T. Stevens
Anger
bubbled up inside her. She made a beeline for the house, only to collide with
her sister.
“Amber!
What the hell?” She waved the envelope in the young woman’s face.
“I
just sent him one letter.”
“This
is the fourth you’ve gotten from him. When are you going to write back?”
“It
was a mistake…”
“You
can say that again. Especially the part where you signed my name!”
“Laura
was so convincing. I thought she meant one time. Only one letter.”
“She
asked people to sign up to write to guys in the military. Not to write only one letter and include a lewd photo.”
“It
wasn’t lewd, whatever that means. Just me in a bikini. I’m not good at writing.
Much better at pictures.” Her beautiful, blonde sister, with a Miss America
figure, grinned.
“And
the reason you signed my name?”
“I
always liked yours better. Besides, if he wanted another letter, I knew you’d
write it for me. So, it might as well have your name on it.”
“Don’t
give me that bullshit smile. I’m on to you. And the answer is ‘no.’” Jory
shoved the envelope from T. Stevens into Amber’s hand.
“Please?
Pleeeaassseee, Jory. You’re the writer. Not me.”
“That’s
right. You’re the pretty sister, and I’m the smart one.”
Amber
nodded. “I don’t mean it like that. You’re so much better than me.”
“Than
I.”
“See?”
“No.”
******************************
With patience, she’d fitted them
together to form the image of a man she could almost touch.
Sometimes, she’d reread three or
four before turning out the light. She’d tacked his picture on the wall next to
her bed. He was the last thing she saw before falling asleep and the first
thing in the morning. Jory had planned to wind down the correspondence, but
every day she eagerly awaited mail delivery, and a new peek into the mystery
man who had inched his way into her heart.
Admitting she had feelings for SSGT
Trent Stevens wouldn’t happen. Jory wasn’t some foolish schoolgirl with a crush
on a handsome Marine. She was a grown woman, who had been shouldering the
responsibilities of an adult since she was seventeen. Her head wouldn’t be
turned by a few letters and some fancy words. She was above that. Or so she
thought.
***************************
Amber leaned against the doorjamb.
“Uh, it’s after six, and I don’t see any dinner on the stove.”
Jory’s lips compressed into a frown.
She rose from her desk, fueled by anger. “You’ve got a lotta nerve. I’m up here
beating my brains out, writing four Goddamn letters to Trent Stevens. Letters
you should be writing! And you’re asking about dinner? Here’s the deal. You
want me to write, fine. But you’ve gotta cook.”
“Me?” Amber pointed at her own,
ample chest.
Jory nodded.
“Really? I can’t cook.”
“Then learn, damn it. It’s about
time you did anyway.”
“And if I don’t?” A sassy look
crossed her sister’s face, and she rested one hand on her hip.
“I’ll write to Staff Sergeant Trent
Stevens and tell him you’re a fraud. Then, I’ll report you to Laura Dailey.
They’ll drum you outta town.”
“You wouldn’t do that.” Amber
frowned, but Jory saw uncertainty in her eyes.
The older one narrowed her eyes.
“Try me.”
Amber chewed her lip. “Okay, okay.
But not every night.”
“Three nights a week.”
“Three?” Amber’s voice shot up two octaves.
“That’s right. Like it or lump it.”
Amber made a face and huffed down
the stairs. Jory broke into a smile as soon as her sister was out of sight. That’ll teach her. Besides, she needs to
learn to cook and pull her weight around here.
***************
Every week, she deposited four
letters with Nan and retrieved four from the mailbox. She marveled at how he
managed to find the time to write. Sometimes, his were only a few lines. Even
the shortest note said she was on his mind. He treated her as if she was
special, a new experience for Jory. Her lengthy responses surprised even her,
as she had never been talkative.
After a month, she felt comfortable
enough to write about her parents and the traumatic events of their death.