Finding Chris Evans: The Hotshot Edition Read online

  “Right?” Ellie laughed. Jenna could tell she was a little overwhelmed by the influx of male attention.

  The big bear-like man said, “Listen, my name is Rollo, this is Josh, and we’re firefighters, which means we’re pretty experienced with all sorts of first aid. Want us to check you out?”

  The blond firefighter elbowed Rollo. “Really? That’s you how you want to phrase it?” He flashed Jenna and Ellie a grin packed with mischief. “Smooth, right? It’s a good thing he’s not a paramedic. The beard alone would frighten small children. “

  Jenna actually liked the beard, along with his kind eyes, and the way the two firemen teased each other. They had a realness about them that appealed to her. Maybe her sister had a point. Maybe it was time to date someone who did more than play video games all day.

  From the way Ellie was eyeing these guys, Jenna knew she wouldn’t be disappointed if any of them turned out to be Chris Evans.

  But right now, she had bigger things to worry about. All that coffee was catching up to her.

  “I’m going to leave you to it,” she whispered to her sister. “I need a bathroom break. By the time I get back, I expect you to be making out with Chris Evans.”

  Ellie whispered back, “Neither of these is Chris Evans. Maybe it’s one of the guys checking out the headlight? They’re all so good-looking, it’s crazy.”

  “Well, take your pick. This is the Jupiter Point crew, so it must be one of them. Have fun finding out which one!” With a wink, she slipped out the passenger-side door and hurried across the parking lot. She avoided looking at the wound on her Cabriolet. She and Ellie were fine, that was all that really mattered.

  The Lakeside Diner was a sprawling restaurant with a wide terrace overlooking the lake. Jenna shuddered just thinking about the mosquitoes that must dive bomb guests who chose to sit out there. At a near-run, she dashed through the front door and darted between customers until she reached the bathroom.

  The aroma of pancakes filtered through every part of the diner, including the bathroom. It brought to mind vivid images of liquid-gold syrup, pools of butter melting into fluffy cake, hot blueberries bursting with juice. Her mouth was still watering when she emerged from the bathroom and bumped right into a customer striding past.

  She must have jostled his arm, because his to-go container flew from his hand and landed upside down on the floor. Moving with impressive speed, the man—a young one—knelt down and scooped it up.

  “Close one.” He grinned at her. “No matter what anyone says, there’s definitely crying over spilled pancakes.” He had a very slight Texas drawl.

  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  “Not a problem. Me and my pancakes survived.” Geez, he was really good-looking. Unruly brown hair, clear blue eyes behind square-rimmed glasses, a warm smile. He wore a black-and-blue plaid shirt open over a white t-shirt. He looked extremely fit, every bit of him solid muscle.

  “That’s a relief. I couldn’t live with myself if I was the cause of a senseless waste of pancakes.”

  “Right?” He smiled at her. “That would be a travesty.”

  He didn’t seem to be rushing off. In fact, he seemed happy to stand there in the corridor holding his to-go container. And Ellie would probably appreciate the extra time to sleuth out which hot fireman was Chris Evans. Jenna decided she might as well stay and flirt for a while. She hadn’t met anyone this flirt-worthy in…well, he might be at the top of the list so far. “Honestly, I’m severely disappointed that you would even have leftovers to take home with you.”

  “Well, guess what, I didn’t. This,” he brandished the container, “is my second breakfast.”

  Jenna felt an unfamiliar unfurling of joy. Was he a Lord of the Rings fan too? Ever since she’d first read The Hobbit, she’d been entranced with the idea of second breakfast. Sometimes she wondered if she had hobbit heritage in her background. “I’m a big fan of second breakfast myself. Also, breakfast dessert.”

  “Like an omelet, then a cinnamon roll?”

  “Exactly.”

  He nodded as if he totally understood. “How do you feel about dessert first?”

  “About the same way I feel about dessert any time of day.”

  He laughed and put up his hand for a high five. She raised hers and they touched palms. She startled as a little electric pulse zapped between them.

  Embarrassed, she dropped her gaze from his and noticed that his sleeve had pulled away from his wrist. He was wearing a woven bracelet made of threads of orange and purple and green and black—a truly godawful combination.

  Squinting at it, she remembered the time she’d created that very same awful color combination on purpose for a friendship bracelet for her pen pal. Wouldn’t a true friend wear it even if it looks like crap? That’s what she’d written in the letter she’d sent along with the bracelet. It’s the ultimate test.

  She whipped her head up to look at the stranger again. Could it be…no way…it was totally impossible…it must be some weird coincidence that some random guy in a diner was wearing the same friendship bracelet she’d sent her pen pal over seven years ago. How long did friendship bracelets even last?

  Forgetting her manners completely, she grabbed his wrist and shoved his sleeve up. Smooth, tan skin over corded muscle, strength exuding from the ridge of tendon— Never mind that. Check the bracelet. She examined it closely. Frayed in a few places, faded to a paler version of its original colors, but there…right there…the special knot she’d used to allow the bracelet to expand. There was no doubt.

  “Kit?” she whispered.

  His eyes went wide and he searched her face. “Jenna?”

  Chapter Two

  “Ohmigod.” Jenna dropped his arm and took a huge step backwards. The shock was too much.

  Ever since being assigned his name as her pen pal at the age of ten, she and Kit had faithfully written each other every single week. They’d told each other all kinds of things—personal, silly, embarrassing, profound. They’d laughed at the same things; they’d had running jokes that went on for years. There was nothing she didn’t tell Kit. In many ways, he’d been her best friend. But they’d never exchanged photos and she’d stopped writing completely at the age of sixteen.

  Without a word of explanation.

  “You’re here?” she gasped. Which really was not the best way to react.

  His face shut down and he snatched his wrist away out of her grasp. “Nice running into you, Jenna. I better go.” He strode down the bathroom hallway toward the front door. She dashed after him.

  “Wait, Kit. I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right at all. I just…I had no idea you were in the area. You should have gotten in touch.” They reached the cashier stand, where departing guests were lining up to pay their checks.

  “I thought about it, but then I remembered the first time we were supposed to meet up. Picture me hanging out by the roller coaster at the Mall of America, feeling like the biggest jerk in the world.”

  “I’m sorry about—”

  Still several strides ahead of her, he threw up a hand to stop her apology. “Don’t even bother. Seven years is a long time.” He skirted around an elderly couple standing arm-in-arm. “My ride’s waiting; I need to jet out of here.”

  “Kit, please, can you just—”

  But the man moved fast. He slipped around one group and through another. Then he was outside and jogging away from the entrance. The green truck idled out front. He hopped into the passenger-side front seat and closed the door behind himself. Without another look in her direction, he spoke to the driver. The vehicle pulled away from the curb.

  Jenna stood stunned. She couldn’t let it end like this. The Mall of America thing…he didn’t understand.

  Of course he didn’t understand, because she’d never explained.

  She ran across the parking lot, where Ellie was checking out the broken headlight on the Cabriolet. “Are the keys in the ignition?”

  “Yes.” Ellie rose to her feet. “What’s going on?”

  “Get in! We have to follow that green truck.”

  Without thinking twice, she hopped into the driver’s seat. Ellie scrambled to the passenger side.

  “Hurry! They’re getting away!”

  As soon as Ellie had snapped her seat belt into place, Jenna backed up, then zoomed out of the lot. She craned her neck so she could track the green truck as it cruised down the street.

  “You’re driving! You realize you’re driving, right?”

  “Yes, yes, of course I know.” She couldn’t even be bothered to analyze that fact. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

  “So what the heck happened in there? You said you were going to the bathroom, then you ran out like your hair was on fire.”

  “I can’t get into it right now.” Ellie knew about Kit, but not really. She didn’t know just how close they’d been, or how things had ended. “I’ll explain after we catch up to them.”

  “So now you’re the one who wants to chase the cute firefighters? My my, how things have switched around in the last fifteen minutes.”

  “Ha ha.” Jenna blocked out her sister’s laughter and raced after the disappearing green truck. The little Cabriolet had excellent pickup, and in a few minutes they were closing the gap between the two vehicles.

  “Did you find Chris Evans?” Jenna remembered to ask, barely caring about the answer.

  “No, he wasn’t there. I got introduced to every single member of that crew and none of them were Chris Evans. Another dead end.” Ellie sounded so gloomy that Jenna’s heart went out to her.

  “Hey, there are plenty of Chris Evanses in the sea. Eek! The light’s turning yellow. They’ll have to stop at that
intersection.”

  “And then what?” They pulled alongside the hotshots’ truck. Jenna saw Kit look out the window, his handsome face still fixed in a frown. The light turned red and both vehicles rolled to a stop.

  Jenna rolled down the driver’s side window and called across the lane.

  “Kit, please, talk to me. What happened at the Mall is not what you think. I didn’t blow you off. I had a really good reason for not showing up. Can you please talk to me?”

  Kit’s window rolled down. “Go ahead, Jenna.”

  She could still see the hurt playing across his features, but at least he was listening. He’d always been a kind, sensitive soul. Even when her family didn’t know something was bothering her, he’d been able to tell from her letters.

  “I can’t yell it in the middle of an intersection.”

  He turned and said something to the people in the backseat. Someone handed him a pen and a piece of paper. He scribbled something on it, then reached between the two vehicles to hand it to Jenna. Their fingers touched and she felt that same zing of attraction she’d experienced in the diner. “We’re heading back to California, but email me.”

  The light changed and the truck cruised through the intersection.

  Jenna whooshed out a breath and dropped her head to the steering wheel. “Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I just randomly ran into Kit.”

  “Kit, your old pen pal that you stopped writing to when Mom and Dad died?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s pretty cute, Jenna. Did you know he was such a hottie?”

  “No. I’ve never seen him before.” The car behind her honked. She put the Cabriolet into gear and steered toward the highway that would take them back to Haralson. She handed the scrap of paper to Ellie. “Here, can you put this in my bag?”

  Ellie glanced down at the address. “Sweet mother of pearl. Did you look at his email?”

  “No, why?”

  Ellie read aloud in an awestruck tone. “It’s Hotshot Chris Evans at gmail dot com.”

  “Hotshot…that’s right! I totally forgot that his last name is Evans!”

  “And Kit was short for Christopher?”

  “I guess it was. I always called him Kit.” At the next red light, Jenna grabbed the slip of paper for visual confirmation. Sure enough. Kit was HotshotChrisEvans. Blown away by the strangeness of the coincidence, she kept staring at that familiar handwriting. “My old pen pal is Chris Evans. What are the chances?”

  Ellie burst into laughter. “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure that fortune teller wasn’t referring to my kid sister’s pen pal.”

  “She better not have meant Kit.” Jenna’s surge of jealousy took her by surprise. “Kit is my friend and I’m invoking the sister code.”

  Ellie heaved a sigh. “And the search goes on.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Jenna said suddenly. “I drove my car! I am driving my car!” She let out a whoop of joy. Her sister joined in, then they hugged each other happily. “And it’s all thanks to you and your crazy Chris Evans mission.”

  Ellie groaned and rolled her eyes. “At least it’s good for something.”

  Dear Kit - I live in Minnesota with lots of pine trees and moskeetos. My favrit book is Harry Potter. My favrit character is Hermione even though she’s anoying sometimes. I’m on book four but I read realy fast so pritty soon I’ll be done. What’s yor favrit? Do you like to read a lot too? I know you live in Texas, whats it like there? I like snow. Do you ever have snow? I made a snow Dumbledore last year. Your new pen pal, Jenna Mittelstadt.

  P.S. It’s okay if you don’t rite my last name. Its hard to rite.

  P.S. again How old are yoo?

  Dear Jenna - I want to see snow someday but here all we got is rain. When it rains I like to play in the puddles but my mom gets mad if I do it. And guess what? We have mosquitoes too. I’m not trying to correct your spelling but I did win the 6th grade spelling bee. My mom says it’s because I read so much. I finished Harry Potter last year. I think my favorite character is Sirius because he’s a badass. Hermione’s all right too. She’s a girl badass. Do you have mountains where you live? In Lord of the Rings they climb mountains. You should read that next. Your friend, Kit.

  I almost forgot. I’m eleven years old. I have one brother and one sister. I’m in the middle which sucks.

  Dear Kit - My new favrit favorite book is Lord of the Rings. Do you think hobbits ar reel? My spelling is verry bad so I gess I have to read more. YAY!! Can people like us who arnt in books go on adventures? I want to but only if there’s no Gollum. Or the Orcs. I have one older sister and two parents and maybe a dog soon if I do my chores.

  Dear Jenna - People can definitely go on adventures. We go on road trips when we have enough money. My Pop calls them adventures but I don’t like being in a car so long, it’s boring. If we could go on horses or on foot like in LOTR that would be more fun. We have a dog and I have to clean up his poop. I hope that’s okay to say in a letter. Just so you know, you can say anything in your letters, I don’t mind. I like it.

  Dear Kit - Happy birthday! What does it feel like to be thirteen? I guess I can ask myself in seven months. For my birthday we always do the same thing. We go to Captain Bob’s steakhouse and my dad makes German chocolate cake. I guess when I was little I said that’s what I wanted, and they keep doing the same thing every year. Isn’t it funny how people think you’re exactly the same as you were when you were a kid? I mean, I know I’m still a kid, but I’m not the exact same kid as before. Does that make any sense? It’s like they see the same person walking around that they’re used to, but inside I don’t feel the same. And no one sees that. Do I sound crazy?

  Dear Jenna - Would a crazy person ask if they sound crazy? I know what you mean about people seeing what’s on the outside but not on the inside. That’s the story of my life. For example, reading. People think because I like to read they can mess with me. I don’t like fighting at all, but sometimes I have to just so jerks will leave me alone. I just found out I have to get glasses. Great—people will think I’m a nerd and I’ll probably have to do even more fighting. Sometimes I think you’re the only one who knows me on the inside. Does that sound crazy?

  Dear Kit - That doesn’t sound crazy at all! Maybe that’s why we’re such good friends—because we only see the inside not the outside. I wonder if we’d be even better friends if we ever saw each other? Do you think we’d still get along? I don’t think we’re ever going to Houston though. If we ever go on a big trip anywhere, it would probably be to Norway because my mother is from there. Great. More snow, more trees, more mountains. Gah!!! Don’t you ever just want something completely different? Can you send me a tumbleweed?

  Dear Jenna - High school is kicking my ass! That’s all I can write right now because like I said, high school is kicking my ass!!!! But if I don’t do well my Pop will kick my ass. So I better go. Did you really get six feet of snow? Can you send me a snowball? Here’s part of a tumbleweed for you. They don’t exactly fit in an envelope.

  Dear Kit - Nice tumbleweed—AKA pile of dust that made me sneeze. Enclosed please find a snowball from your faithful pen pal. It may look like nothing but a blot, but I solemnly swear that it was a snowball at one time. Also, I tried writing my first ever song! Tell me if the lyrics are stupid. You’re the only one I trust because my parents just say everything’s good.

  Dear Jenna - I think your new song is your best yet. I’m serious, so don’t downplay yourself just because that’s how people act in Minnesota. I’m from Texas and if I had talent like yours I’d be telling the whole world. I want to hear you play your guitar someday. Hey, you know what we should do? In two and a half years, when we’re both eighteen, we should go somewhere completely crazy, like backpacking in the Himalayas or hiking in the Grand Canyon. I’m so ready to get out of this place.

  Dear Kit - I’m sending you a CD of me singing “Inside.” You’d better not laugh! I guess if you do laugh, I wouldn’t know anyway, so that’s fine. Laugh away. Okay, here’s the big decision I just made and I haven’t told anyone. Music is my life. My sister says it’s hard to make a living as a musician but who cares? You have to take risks in life!! You have to live it to the fullest or what’s the point?