Along For The Ride Sarah Dessen Novels & Stories

The final moment of the race was a contest between Lauren, Wanda, and another top rider. Lauren pushed herself to the front, her brows furrowed in fierce concentration. “She’s going to lose,” I whispered, smiling. Kendra looked puzzled. I knew every expression Lauren could make in every circumstance. She couldn’t hold on. No sooner had I spoken than Lauren faltered. Wanda crossed the line first, followed closely by the other rider. Lauren crashed heavily onto the ground, and the riders behind her surged forward, pushing her rank off the first page entirely.

She was getting to where she was supposed to be, she could feel it. Sarah took the train from Paris to Rome rather than an airplane. Instead of a night ride, she boarded on the first-morning departure, so she could watch all the beautiful landscapes she was passing by. They were extraordinary, very different from what she was used to seeing in the USA. Almost all the time of the ride, Sarah spent standing next to the window, careful not to miss something.

I arrived at the stables at exactly 3:00 pm. After parking my car, I caught sight of a man and a woman riding horses not too far away. It was my wife, Hazel Mosley, and her male assistant, Cecil Wilcox. Hazel's clothes rode up to her chest so much that I could see the marks on her waist even from a distance, and those were fingerprints that a man would have left on her while doing some "exciting" activities. Anyone who wasn't blind would have immediately caught on to what they'd been doing earlier.

So, I let it happen. The highway between Mason Belle and Laredo was rather desolate and really nothing more than a two-lane country road. The silence rested between us for a lot of miles, and it had started to rain. Neither of us had turned on the radio or tried to make idle conversation, and oddly enough, that was one of my favorite things about Sarah. The two of us could sit in silence comfortably. She wasn't like other women who filled space with mindless chatter.

V. Sitting in the back of Alpha Jackson's big SUV I had my eyes closed. Not asleep, just resting. The Alpha, Luna, and three boys were sending me to the airport. Our pack being as big as it was, had it's own airport. It was just a small one. We used it only when we needed to. If we wanted to go to Seattle for the day we just drove. But if we needed to catch a flight at Sea-Tac this was the best way to get there. Also if someone out of town was coming in to visit we used our plane to bring them here. But mostly we drove to where we needed to go when we weren't in a rush. "I wonder if Venus has settled on her plane yet?" Luna Alice asked.

Max let the silence fall between them as he let the question hang in the air. He didn’t even understand it himself. He was so driven before that he didn’t understand the growing need he had to see her more. She was a former student and now someone he had chosen to be his assistant. He couldn’t help but be drawn to her like he was four years prior except this time he wouldn’t have that conflict because of everything was different now. She was older. Deanna really looked confused about the conversation.

Joshua I’d never felt so humiliated. Daniel had gone too far. It was bad enough I had to sit there and helplessly watch as Sarah was forced to sit on Nate’s lap. I was worried she’d want to leave screaming, never wanting to see me or my crazy family again. But she turned out to be a trooper, honoring the foolish bet I’d encouraged her to make. That was until Daniel decided to punish her.

Aldo offered Sarah a ride to town. Of course she accepted it, it’s not like she had another means of getting there. There was so much work to be done, she was quite proud of herself for getting this far. Without, you know, breaking down. She tried her best, it was bestie’s wedding after all. The car ride took almost two hours and the whole time Sarah was going over her duties in her head trying to create the schedule in her mind and get things in order. The sited next to her, Aldo was quite

Later, back in her small room, she clutched the tablet to her chest and whispered, “Soon.” The next afternoon arrived with heavy clouds. Sarah told the driver she wanted to visit a fabric store for “inspiration” ahead of the gala. He dropped her near the shopping district but this time she slipped away faster, taking two taxis and walking the last block to make sure she wasn’t followed. Alex was waiting at the same quiet bookstore cafe, in the same corner table. He wore a simple dark jacket and looked relieved when she sat down. “Sarah,” he said softly. “You look… determined.”