Pining For You (Jasper Falls 4)

Skylar loved her family. She adored how obscenely obsessive they could be about each other. But sometimes she wished everything could freeze and she could dip her toe into the glow of the spotlight and steal everyone’s attention for a few seconds.

A baby started to cry and her Aunt Mallory jumped to her feet, cursing that the squeals made her milk come in. The men used the distracting chaos to slip out of the dining room into the den only to be ordered back by their angry wives to clear the tables.

The next thing Skylar knew, dinner was over and she missed her opportunity to make her announcement. The words, I got a grant, dissolved on her tongue, before ever finding a chance to escape.

Her fingers once again traced over the folded envelope in her back pocket and she smiled. Regardless of others ignoring or acknowledging her success, the small grant was a big deal. Maybe that was all that mattered.

She cleared her plate, rinsed a few dishes in the sink to do her part, and slipped outside. Remnants of apple pie dripped off the porch railing and Gran’s autumn wreath was scorched, the gold synthetic leaves melted and deformed. She moved downwind from the scent of melted plastic.

Lowering to the porch steps, she removed the acceptance letter from her pocket, affectionately running her thumbs over the university’s return address.

Two hours was a long drive from Jasper Falls. It was doable, but not very realistic if she also wanted to continue working at the pizzeria.

Ultimately, she wanted to take more than one class, but the grant only covered one three credit course during the upcoming winter session. It didn’t cover meals or housing or any of the other expenses like books.

Maybe she was making a bigger deal out of it than she should. A winter session was a far cry from a regular semester. She folded the envelope in half, wondering if this was just some recruitment scheme to get new students enrolled.

“Hey.” Her gloomy expression split with a smile as Uncle Colin appeared, car keys in his hand as if he was hoping to sneak in unnoticed.

“You missed dinner.”

“I know.” He glanced over his shoulder to the house. With the windows open, all the brash voices carried in a familiar but not very tempting show of pandemonium. “Any fights break out?”

She shrugged. “Nothing out of the norm.”

He lowered to the step beside her. “What do you have there?”

Of all her uncles, Colin was probably her favorite. He was the youth minister at their church and very active at the high school. He’d helped her make the decision about going into early childhood education.

She closed her hand around the envelope, covering the university branding. “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing.”

She fumbled with the letter, unfolding the envelope, and exposing the return address for him to read.

“Shippensburg?”

“Yeah. They offered me a grant to take a class during their winter session.” Pride rippled deep inside of her as she said the words out loud.

“That’s great, Skylar. Are you gonna accept it?”

She shrugged. Everyone had been so busy lately, she doubted half of them realized she was finishing her associate’s from the community college in less than ten days. Typically, students graduated the program in the spring, but she needed an extra semester to make up for the time she lost working at the family restaurant. She didn’t want to make a fuss.

Besides, it wasn’t as if she were getting her bachelor’s. She could hold off on all the pomp and circumstance until she finished her full degree. Hopefully, things would be a little less chaotic at home by then. If not, she might have to wait until she earned her master’s to squeeze her way into the spotlight. But that’s how it was with big families.

“I want to, but I don’t know if I can afford it. Shippensburg’s a hike—too far to commute and I don’t have housing.” The more she thought over the barebones offer the more she accepted it was likely a recruitment gimmick.

“Did they say you have to attend in person? I know a lot of students who attend college virtually.”

She shrugged again. Virtual wasn’t necessarily the college experience she was hoping for. “I guess that’s an option. It’s only one class. Anything more, and I’d have to pay out of pocket and get student loans, so I’d have to keep working.”

It wasn’t like she was making a killing delivering pizzas and waiting tables at Vincenzo’s, but it helped. And being that the restaurant was family owned, she had flexible hours and plenty of time to study in the back when things got slow.

“Have you asked your parents for help?”

She shot him a doubtful glance. “Dad’s been so stressed out with his research. Mom keeps saying he’ll make the deadline, but I don’t know. If he doesn’t get this grant, another epidemiologist will, and he’ll be out all the time and money he’s spent. Plus, they’re already paying for Frankie’s school and Hannah wants to go out of state.”