Disclaimer:  In first chapter.

Chapter 17

Did she love him? 

Tuning Sydney’s voice out from beside her, she let her eyes wander down to where Jarod and Brandon were.  Brandon seemed to be in his own little world as he stood a couple of feet away from Jarod, munching on some popcorn as he watched the football players on the field.  As for Jarod, he seemed to be in a deep conversation with a blonde hair woman that looked to be the same age as they were, but she wasn’t for sure since the woman’s back was facing her.  When Jarod reached out, giving the blonde lady a warm hug, Miss Parker couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy wash over her.

Still keeping her eyes on the blonde hair lady, she asked Sydney, “Who’s that lady Jarod’s with?”

Sydney smiled to himself, detecting the hint of envy in Miss Parker’s voice.  “Oh, that’s Lynn Walker, Sam’s wife.”

“Oh,” she mumbled to herself.

She instantly chided herself for the ridiculous thought.  Jarod was free to hug whomever he wanted, it shouldn’t bother her, yet it did.  And it seemed everything came down to that one, mortifying question, was it because she loved him? 

When they were children, she cared for him very deeply, and yes, she probably did love him, but that was when they were children.  Now, they were adults and a lot of time had passed since their younger years.  Even though she would never admit it to anyone, she did have feelings for the lab rat, but she always told herself that they were nothing more than feelings for an old childhood friend.  Yet, as she watched Jarod with curious eyes, her mind began to wonder whether she’d been lying to herself this whole time, denying a love that was buried beneath years of lies and mistrust that was told to her by her father.

Sydney stopped talking when he realized that the only audience listening to him was himself.  Parker seemed to be immersed in her own thoughts.  Letting out a sigh, he followed Parker’s eyes to find her watching Jarod.  As he glanced back up at her he noticed a small smile play across her lips, like she just came to some sort of realization.  Looking back down to Jarod then up to her again he commented softly, “You’re still in love with him, are you not?”

Miss Parker quickly averted her eyes from Jarod as she turned to the old man sitting beside her.  “Excuse me?” she replied back with a stunned voice, to shocked by Sydney’s words.  Had she been that transparent?

“Jarod,” Sydney said as he pointed down do the man in question, “You still love him.”

“Please Sydney, that man has been a thorn in my side for as long as I can remember,” she scoffed an added; “There’s nothing lovable about the man.”  She had to admit, even to her own ears, her words didn’t sound believable.  Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, she looked away from Sydney, trying to escape his knowing eyes.  Biting her lower lip, she tucked an errant piece of hair back behind her left ear as she stared straight ahead.

She mentally kicked herself for not keeping herself in check.  Damn, now Sydney knew the truth.  As much as she hated to admit it, she was in love with Jarod.  It was time she started facing the truth instead of running away from it, but it was hard to let go of the past her father created for her.  This sense of complacency was nothing more than a figment of her imagination.  But, how could she love this man when her love or, their love for each other could be manipulated or get them killed by the Centre.

Feeling frustrated, she rubbed her hands over her weary face, trying to get control of her thoughts, but all she could think about was Jarod.  The way he looked when he tied her up in the Keys, and how she wanted nothing more than to taste his lips, or how he remembered their time as children when he gave the white bunny to her during Christmas that one year, or when Kyle died in his arms and how she regretted the words she uttered to him instead of taking him in her arms, trying to ease his pain away.  How could she not love this man?

“Parker…” came Sydney’s voice from beside her.

Stealing a quick glance at Jarod, she turned her face back towards Sydney.  “What now?”

She watched his face, seeing the amusing gleam dancing within his eyes as a broad grin appeared on his face.  “Biting your lip, pushing a lock of hair behind your left ear, all clear signs that you’re not telling the truth about Jarod.”

Miss Parker flashed him an annoyed look, leaning back against the railing.  “Okay, now this I’ve got to hear.  Alright Freud, give me your best shot.  Dissect the sick workings of my mind.”

“Well, when you were a child, you use to bite your lip and push the hair behind your ears whenever you told a fib.”  Glancing back at her he added, “I haven’t seen you do that since you were a child.”

“Syd…”

Sydney interrupted her.  “Parker, don’t sit there and lie to me.  What I don’t understand is if you love Jarod, then you should fight for him.  Don’t let your father dictate your life,” he said with conviction.

Miss Parker closed her eyes, feeling the hot, stinging tears banging inside her eyelids, demanding to be let out.  Afraid of opening her eyes she said, “Syd, you don’t understand.”

Sydney reached out, grabbing her hands in his.  “Then make me understand, Parker.”

She opened her eyes, waving her hand towards Jarod.  “If the Centre ever found out…”

Miss Parker felt Sydney caress her cheek, wiping a few stray tears from her face.  Locking his eyes with hers he replied, “But you forget Miss Parker, there’s no Centre here to stop you.”  Pulling his hand away from her face, he leaned back still holding her remaining hand.  “Now, what’s stopping you from claiming what’s rightfully yours,” he said with a wink.

And, he was right, Miss Parker thought to herself.  She couldn’t keep using the Centre to hide behind her fears, and since there was no Centre, maybe, just maybe there was hope for Jarod and her after all.  Turning her attention to Jarod, she expected to see Sam’s wife, but instead what she found stunned her. 

The person Jarod was talking to now was his divorce lawyer Zoe.  She was laughing at practically anything that came out of his mouth.  God, how pathetic can one woman be, Miss Parker thought caustically.  Miss Parker watched as Zoe laid her hand on top of Jarod’s forearm, leaning forward as she bumped her head on Jarod’s chin, laughing the whole time through.  As Jarod inspected the bump on Zoe’s head, Brandon came running up beside them.  Miss Parker was taken aback by the sight.  With Brandon and Zoe’s red hair, people could easily assume that the three of them were a nice, happy family, just having a fun time at the football game.  Well, this time she wasn’t going to stand back and do nothing about Jarod.  If Zoe wanted Jarod, well then, she would have to go through Miss Parker first.

“Let the games begin,” Miss Parker mumbled to herself with a devilish grin.

XXXXX

To Be Continued…