Book One

Forever Yours Series

An inspirational story

Amazon

Part One

In the beginning…

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Chapter One

Early January 2006

Cash MacKenzie had big plans for tonight. Sitting in the top row of the bleachers at Washington High School with his best friend, Ty Owens, he anxiously waited for the basketball game with River’s Edge High to start. Last year, the Washington team lost in the playoffs to River’s Edge by one point so the rivalry between Cash’s school and River’s Edge ran at an all-time high. Judging by the barrage of spectators filling the stands in the gymnasium, tonight’s game would be more spirited than ever. If their team won, the partying would start before they even left the parking lot.

“I hope you’re not expecting any of the guys to join us,” Ty announced as he set his varsity jacket on two empty seats to reserve them even though saving seats went against school policy. “I need to hold these spots for a couple of girls.” He sat down. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Cash responded with a disinterested shrug. “If I’d wanted to watch the game with a girl, I would’ve brought my own date.”

“I’m not fixing you up with a date,” Ty argued. “Medley Grant and I are just friends. I asked her to watch the game with me, but she wouldn’t agree to it unless she could bring her cousin along too.” The sandy-haired linebacker leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he scanned the stream of people filing into the noisy gym. “Her cousin is a sophomore who just transferred here. Medley said she came from some religious all-girl boarding school and she’s really shy. Her name is Libby Cunningham.”

Cash let out a long groan. “A religious type, huh? That’s great. What will we talk about, the Bible?” He took a hefty swig off his bottle of Mountain Dew, wondering why Ty thought he’d go along with this. “I came to watch the game, not babysit a sophomore.”

“Medley says that Libby doesn’t have many friends yet and she feels guilty about bailing on her cousin,” Ty replied with a shrug, rattling on as though he hadn’t heard a word that Cash said. “So do me a favor and be nice to Medley’s cousin, okay?”

Cash stared at Ty in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine what Ty—who only wanted to go to college next year for the parties and the sporting events—saw in a bookworm like Medley Grant. Medley usually hung out with geeky guys who studied all the time and lettered on the debate team! If Libby was as boring as Ty made her out to be, Cash did not want to be stuck with her. His buddies on the varsity football team would razz him about it for the rest of the year.

“Ah, c’mon, Cash.” Ty laughed nervously, a curly lock of thick sandy hair falling over one eye. “You never pass up a chance to meet a gorgeous girl. You’ll probably be a goner when you see her.”

“That’s not the point.” Cash gave him a long, hard look. “There’s more to this last-minute setup than you’re telling me, isn’t there? What gives?”

Ty’s face flushed with frustration. “I need you to hit it off with Libby so Medley and I can talk privately. I’m going to ask her out. Help a guy out, would ya? You know I’d do the same for you.”

Cash sighed, unhappy about having his loyalty tested. He owed his best friend and football teammate more than a few favors, but why did Ty have to insist on collecting one tonight, when this was such an important game? “Okay,” he said reluctantly, “but as soon as you convince Medley to go out with you, my obligation to entertain Miss What’s-Her-Name is over.”

“Thanks, buddy!” Ty gave him a high five. “You won’t regret this.”

Cash shot him a sideways glance. “I’d better not.”

* * *

Libby Cunningham shivered and pulled her fuzzy scarf tight around her neck as she and Medley walked across the icy school parking lot, but the cold January evening had little to do with her discomfort. The thought of meeting Medley’s friends made her nervous. Teeth-chattering nervous. Though she and Medley were as close as cousins could be, they were also as different as night and day.

Medley loved high school. She held the title of senior class president and had a seat on the student council. All the girls in her close-knit circle of friends were uber-smart and popular. They were all preparing to graduate this spring—most with honors—and start college next fall.

Libby, on the other hand, hated school and everything about it. She appreciated Medley’s attempt to help her fit in, but the trouble was she had nothing in common with Medley’s crowd. She could never be like Medley or her friends no matter how hard she tried. Like, what would she say when they asked about her old school?

Hi, I’m Libby Cunningham and I nearly flunked out of two subjects last semester. I skipped class so many times that I got myself kicked out and my father had no choice but to bring me home and enroll me in public school for the rest of the year. Hey, would you like to ditch algebra with me tomorrow?

“Don’t be nervous,” Medley said in her bird-like voice as she slipped her arm through Libby’s. “Ty and Cash are really nice guys. They don’t swear or tell rude jokes in front of girls like some of the other players on the football team do.”

Libby stopped dead in her tracks. “You didn’t tell me we were going to be meeting up with a couple of boys. You know how Grandma Norma feels about that. If she finds out and tells my dad, I’ll be grounded—”

Her father believed in a strict no-dating policy until she turned eighteen in her senior year. It was one of the rules he made Libby agree to before he allowed her to transfer to public school. He spent most of his life in Washington, D.C. but her grandmother lived with them, and Norma enforced even stricter rules than him.

“Don’t worry.” Medley laughed. “I’m not setting you up with a date. Ty and I are just friends. That’s all. I promised him that I’d sit with him during the game, but if you’re worried about Grandma Norma getting upset, we can always join the girls in my drama club.”

Libby grimaced at the thought of trying to fit in with them. In her old school, the drama club contained some of the most fiercely competitive and high-strung girls in the school.

“Let’s sit with the football players,” she suggested, deciding that merely sitting with a boy didn’t constitute a real date. Sadly, she had no idea what to say to either boy but if the situation turned awkward, she could always fill the time by talking to Medley or reading the romance novel she carried in her purse. Oh, how she loved to read romances! She enjoyed how the heroine always found her knight in shining armor, the love of her life, and lived happily ever after with him.

She usually kept “those kinds of books” in her locker and read them in study hall to pass the time. Grandma Norma didn’t approve of such unrealistic nonsense and would throw the book in the trash if Libby brought it home.

Medley tugged on Libby’s arm. “Okay then, let’s get going. It’s cold out here!”

They quickly walked to the entrance of the school and made their way inside. The throng of laughter and excited voices in the gymnasium echoed through the wide hallway, spurring them on. They stopped inside the doorway as Medley perused the brightly lit, two-story arena lined with retractable bleachers, looking for her friends. “There they are,” she said as she pulled off her red beret and fluffed her dark, chin-length hair.

Libby glanced around at the huge milling crowd. “Where?”

“Up there.” Medley pointed toward a pair of teen boys in the top row of the bleachers. The one on the left stood as soon as he saw Medley’s wave. He said something to his friend and the other one slowly stood as well. “Oh, good—they see us. It looks like they’re coming down here to meet us.”

Libby pulled off her bulky white scarf and matching earmuffs as she looked up. The sandy-haired boy on the left, dressed in a Minnesota Vikings jersey and jeans, enthusiastically waved back. His friend, a tall, broad-shouldered kid with thick black hair nearly touching his shoulders wore a red and black buffalo plaid shirt that hung open over a black T-shirt and black jeans. The kid hesitated as he stared down at her. Something in the intense, almost disbelieving way he studied her made her breath catch in her throat. Had he also been blindsided by this little arrangement? If so, it could explain why he looked so grim. He couldn’t even be bothered to fake a smile.

His friend suddenly nudged him to get moving and he began to descend the stairs, never taking his gaze off her. Disappointed by his rude manner, Libby swallowed hard and glanced away.

Wow. He isn’t even trying to hide the fact that he doesn’t like me. This night is already turning out to be a disaster, she thought in frustration, and we just got here!

“I’ve changed my mind,” she blurted and turned her back to the crowd. “Let’s go find your drama club before all of the seats are taken.”

Medley laughed with surprise. “It’s too late. We can’t duck out on the guys now, Lib.” She placed her arm around Libby’s shoulders and pivoted her toward the basketball court. “I get that it isn’t much fun being the new kid in school. You’ll forget about it once you meet these guys!”

“I doubt that,” Libby murmured, wishing the game was already over. All week she had looked forward to hanging out tonight with Medley, but all she wanted now was to get through this wretched game and go home.

* * *

The game was about to start when Ty jumped to his feet. “Hey, Cash, the girls are here,” he announced with a grin and waved to someone across the room. “C’mon. Let’s go down there to meet them.”

Cash slowly rose to his feet and gazed across the gym to the main entrance. The dark-haired one, Medley Grant, wore a long red coat with a matching beret and a black scarf. Next to her stood a tall, slender girl wearing skinny jeans, knee-length boots, and an azure ski jacket. The girl hesitantly looked around as she unzipped her jacket and pulled off her furry earmuffs. She unwound a long, white scarf from her neck as her thick, flaxen hair tumbled to her elbows. She suddenly looked up at Cash, her eyes wide with uncertainty.

Taken by surprise, he stared hard. Ty was right, he thought suddenly. She is gorgeous. And she doesn’t look happy to be stuck with me.

Ty gave him an impatient nudge. “Hurry up.” He asked the people sitting next to them to watch his seats and then bounced down the stairs.

Cash shoved his hands into his pockets and followed Ty, hanging back as they crossed the gymnasium floor to meet Medley and her cousin.

“Hey, Medley,” Ty said with a sigh of relief as they approached the girls. “I was beginning to worry that you weren’t coming. I got here early and grabbed some seats for us.”

“Sorry we’re late,” Medley chirped. “I had to put gas in my car before I picked up Libby.”

The meticulous perfection of Medley’s makeup and sleek hairdo suggested her tardiness had nothing to do with the dirty business of refueling a car, but Cash kept that little tidbit to himself.

“No problem.” Ty stared into Medley’s hazel eyes like an adoring puppy so long it became embarrassing—at least, to Cash, anyway. “You’re here now.”

Cash shook his head at Ty’s star-struck theatrics. It’ll never work between these two. They’re the equivalent of Shrek and Alice in Wonderland.

Medley gestured toward her companion. “Oh, this is my cousin, Libby.” She turned to the blonde girl. “Libby, this is Ty Owens.”

“Hi, Libby,” Ty replied enthusiastically.

“Hi,” Libby said and absently wound her scarf around her earmuffs as though she found introductions either uncomfortable or boring.

“I’d like you to meet a friend of mine,” Ty said as he eagerly motioned to Cash, standing behind him.

Libby’s demeanor went from shy to defensive in a heartbeat.

Here we go... Cash thought dismally, wishing he’d never agreed to this.

“Libby Cunningham, this is Cash MacKenzie, the best tight end that the Washington High football team has ever had. In my opinion, anyway!” Ty stepped aside and gripped Cash’s shoulder, nearly shoving him forward.

Cash stared at Libby for a few heartbeats, studying her. “Hi, Libby,” he said boldly as his gaze bore into hers. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She responded with a guarded nod.

Excuse me, Cash thought, wondering what her problem was.

Ty glanced at the gymnasium clock. “Come on, let’s take our seats or we’ll miss the jump ball.”

They climbed the stairs to the bleachers, Ty first then Medley and Libby. Cash took up the rear. They squeezed into the narrow space reserved for them just as the home team got the ball and the chase began.

Cash stared at the players racing down the court as his mind slipped into a daze and the scene began to blur. He’d been waiting in anticipation of this game for a week. Why then did he feel so distracted?

The light, sweet scent of her perfume wafted in his direction, pulling him even farther from the action on the floor. He leaned forward on his knees, struggling to concentrate, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t seem to focus on anything except the silent, beautiful girl sitting like a statue next to him, giving him the cold shoulder.

End of Chapter One

I hope you enjoyed this story! The rest of the book is on Amazon but will soon be available on other retailers as well. Click here to get your copy now!

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Book Two

Forever Yours Series