Page 86 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Jasmine, 1999

The nice thing about marching band practice being held early in the morning was we avoided the August heat. And lucky for me, practice happened to be at the very same time the football team had their early practice.

We marched on the old practice field, but I could see the guys warming up and stretching on the big field. By the time band practice was finished, the players were pretty much geared up and ready to rock. They always got a little punchy and show-offy when we walked by. So much so that when my girlfriends, Kate and Kiesha and I, walked around the track toward the high school, we got a good glimpse of hot, sweaty, teenage boys in tight practice pants.

Not that seventeen-year-old girls looked. Much.

NOT!

“Going to Homecoming?”

Kate Patterson asked. I glanced at her and then toward the field. Searching.

I shrugged.

“Not sure. No date. Yet. What about you?”

“Todd Manchester asked me. I haven’t said yes or no.”

“Oh.”

I contemplated what Kate and Todd would look like as a Homecoming couple.

“You’ll need a dress,”

I told her.

“I bet Jack asks you.”

I searched through the mass of boys on the field. Couldn’t find him.

“I don’t know. The subject hasn’t come up. He’s really into football, and you know how the coach is about girls.”

Kate interjected.

“But it’s Homecoming! The football players are expected to have dates. That’s the way it works.”

Since I’d never participated in Homecoming before, I really didn’t know.

Kiesha Owens stopped in her tracks and tugged at my arm.

“You sayin’ that boy ain’t asked you to Homecoming yet?”

I rolled my eyes.

“We’ve only gone out a few times, Kiesha. It’s not like we’re talking seriously or anything.”

She was the one who rolled her eyes then.

“The way you two snuggle up at your locker? Girl, I figured you’d be knocked up by now.”

Kate gasped.

“Kiesha! Don’t go saying things like that. You know that’s how rumors get started.”

Kiesha stepped in front of me.

“Well, it’s true. You all hot and heavy all over him after Science class.”

I laughed.

“I am not. I—”

“Heads up!”

Kate pushed us both backwards. A football came soaring over our heads as I stumbled backward. I watched as Jack flashed by and caught the ball, landing with an oomph on his side about five feet away.

“Man, that had to hurt,”

Kiesha muttered.

“Asphalt leaves bad burns. And those tiny little black balls…”

I rushed to Jack’s side. He groaned and looked up. “Sorry,”

he said.

“But you were about to get beaned by the ball.”

He was in pain, I could tell, but his eyes crinkled, and his smile was broad.

“You’re crazy,” I said.

“For you,”

he replied.

And I wanted to kiss him. Hard.

****

A knock came at the security room door and Jasmine jolted. Carl Robbins’ voice came through the door.

“Everything okay, Ms. Walker?”

“Yes, yes. Just fine. I’d like another few minutes please.”

“Of course.”

She hadn’t considered that he was hanging around outside the door.

Jasmine looked to the safety deposit box and then slid the top back off the box. At once, she gasped.

Cash. The box was filled to the brim with cash. There was a yellow envelope with her name on it on top. With shaking hands, she reached for it, undid the flap, and slipped single sheet of folded paper out of its place.

Jasmine opened the letter. It was dated the second day of January, this year.

Dear Jasmine,

It has been many years since we have talked but I want you to know I have never forgotten you. Having you grow up in my house was one of my greatest pleasures. You were a joy to be with, such a kind and caring soul. I have missed you very much over the years but feel satisfied that I gave you what you needed while you were here.

Jasmine, I don’t want you to fret about leaving. You were a woman coming into your own. I do regret, though, not being able to tell you why I said the things I said that day in the kitchen. I said it because I love you. And I fear you took my words in the wrong way. I know I could have worded things differently, perhaps, but at any rate, I apologize. You’ll never know how deeply I missed you when you were gone and how I wished I could take back and erase our last words together.

I must confess I’ve been following you all these years. You didn’t know it, but I attended your college graduation, and when you received your law degree, I was there, too. I celebrated at home when I learned you had passed the bar exam. You’ve worked hard, Jasmine, and I am ever so proud of you.

But that is only part of why I am writing this letter.

By now, you have probably noticed this safety deposit box is full of cash. Sort of unconventional, wouldn’t you say? Most people keep their money in an account, but I didn’t want to do that with the money you have found here.

Jasmine, for all the years I took in foster children, I lived simply. I had enough money to live on from my own inheritances. Over time, my parents, my husband, and others left things to me, and I either sold or invested. So, I didn’t really need the money from the state to keep all of the children, and every dime I earned, I stashed away over the years. Usually I hid it in the house but as the amount grew, I cashed it in for larger bills and just put it here, in this safety deposit box.

I suppose you’ll have to pay some sort of inheritance tax on the money, but perhaps not if you really do see my wishes through. Jasmine, this money came from the children, and I want you to put it back to good use for the children. I’d like for the money to stay here in Harbor Falls, to help care for those children in Harbor Falls who need help. And there are a lot of them.

Children like you. Will you please help them?

You are smart, and I know you know what to do. I’m trusting you, Jasmine.

Love, Ms. Leinie

With a heavy sigh, Jasmine lifted her eyes from the letter, looked up, and stared at the stark white wall opposite her. “Oh hell…”

she whispered. Then without thinking much further, she stood and went to the door, pulled it opened, and spotted Carl Robbins waiting near the entrance to the bank lobby.

“Mr. Robbins.”

He turned.

“Yes, Ms. Walker?”

She motioned for him to join her.

“I need your help and have someone call Art Manchester. I need him, too.”

He nodded and she went back into the room and stood staring at the money until Carl entered. She still held the letter in her hand.

Carl stepped up to the table, looked to the box, and said, “Wow.”

She nodded her agreement.

“That’s definitely not a recipe box.”

“No. No, it’s not.”

He flipped through a pack of bills on top.

“All hundreds,” he said.

“Yep. I guess we need to count it,” she said.

“We’ll have someone here at the bank do it for you.”

That sounded logical.

“Yes. But let’s wait for Art. I have a feeling I’m going to need some advice.”

She glanced again at her watch. And I’m probably not going to get back to Atlanta tonight.

****

Jack told Sam to take the truck home. No way was he was budging from the bank until he saw Jasmine walk back out that hallway and into the lobby. And there was no way in hell he was letting her leave the bank until he’d talked with her.

Dammit.

Fifteen years just flew by in a minute and suddenly his heart was racing as it had when he was seventeen and kissed her lips for the very first time.

Where was she?

Felt like he’d waited for hours, already. Was there a back exit?

He rose. Hell.

Cam Parker rounded a corner from behind the teller windows.

“Hey, Jack,”

he said.

“Thanks for sticking around. I got caught up in a meeting off site.”

Jack figured that meeting was with a doughnut and coffee over at Sidney’s bakery on the other side of the block. Cam reached out to shake Jack’s hand.

“Let’s go in my office, and we’ll get the details about the estate and your project.”

Heels clicked on the hard tile floor. Distracted, Jack turned his gaze toward the sound. He lifted a finger.

“One minute, Cam.”

He waited only another second, maybe two. Then voices echoed in the hallway, and the heels clicked louder.

Jack started toward the entrance to the hallway.

“Cam, I may have to postpone…”

Jasmine moved with grace down the hall, walking between the two men. Tall and thin and beautiful, dressed in a dark suit, the skirt hitting her just above the knees, her long legs punctuated with black heels, a scarlet, low-cut blouse peeking out between the lapels of her jacket—she commanded a presence that hadn’t struck him earlier.

Earlier he was simply captured by her being there. Now, he was captivated by the stunning woman she had grown into.

He glanced down at himself. He looked like he’d just stepped off the farm.

Well, he had.

The three were chatting intensely, and he was actually glad of that. He was standing before her before she realized he was there.

He halted.

They stopped short.

Jasmine looked straight into his eyes. Her face was expressionless. Like she was wearing her best lawyer face. But just beneath the surface, he sensed something else.

“Jack,”

she breathed.

“You’re still here?”

He glanced to both men, then back to her.

“Yes. I waited.”

“For me?”

He resisted a chuckle.

“Yes, Jasmine. I waited for you. When you’re finished here, could we talk? I promise, just a few minutes. To catch up. That is, if you can spare the time…”

He watched her big eyes blink once, twice. Her lashes were heavenly long, fringing her large brown eyes. They looked even bigger today than when they were kids. He’d stared into them too many times, that was for sure.

“Jasmine?”

She exhaled, and then nodded.

“Of course, Jack.”

Then she turned to the men.

“Mr. Robbins, I’ll see you in the morning, and Art, as soon as I make a decision, I’ll be in touch.”

Both men nodded their agreement and faced away. In the next instant, Jack squared himself in front of Jasmine.

“You’re staying in Harbor Falls?”

She sighed and her shoulders noticeably dropped.

“I guess I am. For tonight, anyway.”

Inside, Jack’s heart was about to burst.

“Have you had lunch?”

Jasmine shook her head. “No.”

“Good. Let’s find a bite to eat and then see if Suzie has a room at Sweet Hart Inn.”