At the Milltown Library, Melaney, Emily, and I searched for books for our research projects. Melaney decided to do hers on George Washington. I found five about Abraham Lincoln. We checked out our books and went upstairs to a small, private room where I explained Tyler's proposition. They helped me create several scenarios to convince The Rents to allow me to work with Tyler's father.

On the walk home, I rehearsed answers for every possible parental rebuttal. I was ready.

I entered the house through the kitchen door. Mother and Hannah sat at the table coloring with crayons. Mother had drawn a princess and a frog by a pond. Hannah colored the princess' dress pink, while Mother put brown dots on a green frog.

"Mother, can we talk privately in my room?" I asked.

She looked surprised by my request. Mother and I had never had a heart-to-heart conversation because I was always a Daddy's girl, and after he died, I didn't feel like speaking to her.

"Hannah, please finish coloring our picture. I'll be back in a few minutes to see how well you stayed in the lines," Mother told her. She followed me to my room.

All my life, I had refused to stay in the lines, which made me a huge disappointment to my mother. I put my book bag on my chair and sat on my bed.

Mother sat down beside me. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Remember I told you about my project for History and English? I have to write about a famous person."

"Yes." Mother nodded her head and waited for me to continue.

"Well . . . I decided to do mine on Abraham Lincoln. There's this guy in my class whose father is a History professor at Bucknell. He's an expert on the Civil War and is available to help me with my research on Thursdays at four o'clock."

"Who is this guy in your class, and how well do you know him?" Mother asked with suspicion in her pale blue eyes.

"Tyler Price. He sits diagonally from me in History class . . ." I paused, debating if I should lie. "He's on the track team and is President of the FBLA. I work with him at the school store on Friday mornings. He's an acquaintance. That's all."

Mother knew that wasn't all. She knew how I really felt about Tyler's family, particularly his mother. She searched my face, probably for clues about my intentions. I kept my expression blank.

"Before I can give you permission to work with Professor Price, I'll need to speak with him. Do you have his phone number?" she asked.

"Yes, but his name is actually Dr. Spencer." I walked to my book bag, removed his card from the front pocket, and handed it to her. Tyler had thought of everything.

"His wife didn't take his last name," I explained, unable to hide my palpable disapproval of the woman. 

"I'll call Dr. Spencer and then speak to Jonathan about this. We'll let you know our decision tomorrow." I could tell by the determined gleam in her eyes that she would convince Jonathan to allow me to work with Tyler's father.

"Thank you for your consideration," I said formally, sounding like the last sentence of a cover letter. 

Mother nodded and left my room.

I shut the door behind her, belly-flopped on my bed,  and screamed into my fluffiest pillow, "Arriba! Arriba! Andale! Andale!" Maybe, miracles did happen, and I'd be able to see Tyler Price at his mansion on Thursdays.

I didn't know why my mother caved in so easily, but I'd worry about that later.

* * *

Just as I predicted, my mother persuaded Jonathan to allow me to meet with Professor Spencer. I don't know what my mother said to him, but I didn't hear a single word of protest from my stepfather. This made me very suspicious. Jonathan always found a way to sabotage any happy occasion.

I barely ate or slept during the next six days. I was too excited and nervous about my next visit to Price mansion. Only Tyler could help me restore my father's reputation - by destroying his mother's. I needed him to tell everyone the truth. But how does a poor, average girl get a spoiled, attractive boy to betray his mother?

I spent every night trying to devise the perfect plan (a.k.a. Operation Justice) to gain Tyler's love and trust. My complexion became even paler, and I lost five pounds, but only Melaney noticed. She tried to persuade me to eat something, but I couldn't get food past the enormous lump of fear in my throat. Everything depended on whether or not I could keep Tyler interested in me.

Now that Mimi had found a new arm ornament, Tyler and I could talk to each other in school without having to worry about retaliation. We chatted about class work and current events. We were very discreet so no one would suspect we wanted to be more than friends.

Melaney continued to be our liaison for passing notes, so everyone mistakenly thought Melaney and Tyler were a couple, which was fine with me. The charade kept Mimi's spies and my stepfather in the dark about my real relationship with Tyler.

Tyler suggested we play Twenty Questions to get to know each other better. He began the game by asking me four questions on a piece of notebook paper, which he passed to Melaney and she slipped to me. I answered the questions, wrote four new ones for him to answer, and gave the paper to Melaney. The next day, she handed it back to him. By the end of the week, the paper was tattered and worn from all the handling.

I already knew Tyler's favorite - color was blue, activity was running, and dessert was ice cream bars, but I discovered he also liked classic rock, classic cars, and barbecue chicken. We had a lot in common. I couldn't wait for Thursday, so we could talk privately without worrying about uninvited ears listening to our conversation.

* * *

After school on Thursday at exactly four o'clock, I stood on the cobblestones outside of the front doors of the Price mansion, studying the very tall, white portico pillars.

Was I in over my head?

Tyler opened the door before I could knock and ushered me into the foyer. He had a sheepish expression on his handsome face. "There's been a slight change in plans."

The echoing click of high heels hitting marble tiles made chills slide up and down my spine. I looked past Tyler and saw the reason for my never-ending nightmares heading toward us.

Mrs. Price wore three-inch, black stilettos and a knee-length, black cocktail dress. Her silky, black hair parted in the middle of her head and flowed over her shoulders. She had ruby-red lips and flawless, ivory skin. She was elegant and beautiful, on the outside. On the inside, I knew, lurked a cruel monster that tore Daddies away from little girls.

She held a glass filled with blood-red wine, of course. I was certain she never left home without some. Her dark eyes glared at me until Tyler turned around, and then she switched to a more pleasant expression.

I wanted to punch her repeatedly until her face was ripped to shreds, like my father's after the accident. Instead, I flaunted a fake smile and waited for Tyler to do the introductions.

"Mother, this is Jasmine Jones. Jasmine, this is my mother, Sydney Price."

Unable to shake her hand, I gave a little wave instead. "Oh, hello. I didn't know I'd be meeting you today," I somehow managed to say cordially.

"I had some time between appointments and just had to meet you. Tyler has been talking about you all week," she gushed.

"Oh, he has?" I glanced at Tyler and his now very pink cheeks. I'd never seen him blush before. How charming.

"Hurry, Mother, you'll be late for your book club if you don't leave soon," Tyler insisted.

"I think I left the book on my nightstand. Good luck on your projects! Try not to work too hard," she advised.

"We'll do our best," Tyler assured her.

She headed up the stairs, and we headed to the library.

As we walked down the hallway, I tried to forget about Tyler's mother and focus on him. We entered the library, and Tyler closed the door behind us.

"Alone at last!" Tyler plopped on the antique cherry love seat in the corner of the library and patted the red velvet cushion beside him.

I slowly sat down on the small piece of furniture that probably cost more than my entire home. "So, what shall we talk about for the thirty minutes before your father arrives?" I asked.

"Do we need to talk? There are other ways to communicate." Tyler bent his head toward mine. I leaned away. I had to stick to the plan.

"Tyler. I think it's obvious that I like you, but I'm not going to be your rebound girl. We should be friends first."

"It's really hard to be just your friend when all I want to do is kiss you." His pout made his lips almost impossible to resist.

"Okay." I sighed. "Let's compromise. You can kiss me goodbye."

"How about a goodbye and a hello kiss?" he suggested. His tempting smile made my heart flip. Yes. I was definitely in over my head. Tyler was so handsome and so charming. How was a girl supposed to have any self-control?

I decided to grant him a quick peck hello, but his lips were so warm. My resolve melted like chocolate in the sunshine. The sweet kiss lasted for a minute or more before I had the willpower to pull away.

"So, who did you choose for your history project?" I asked.

"Teddy Roosevelt, because he helped establish the National Park System. I figured I could research places for us to visit while I did the project. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."

"You know you're a lot smarter than you look."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment to my looks or an insult to my intelligence."

"Both?" I teased. I walked over to the tri-fold map still on his father's desk. "Where do you want to go first?"

He stood and pointed to the red pin in South Dakota. "I thought we could start at Mount Rushmore and make a big loop. Travel west through the northern states. Follow the Pacific coast south. Head east to the Grand Canyon and the Four Corners, and then home. We'll hit all the National Parks on the way."

"What happened to my 'No plans. No rules. Just freedom!' motto?" I asked.

"This is just an outline of our trip. Not an actual plan. We can go wherever and do whatever we want."

"Good, because Spontaneous is my middle name!" I exclaimed a bit too loudly.

He grinned at my outburst. "I thought it was Jane." That was one of the twenty questions. His was James, the same as his father's first name and my father's.

"I'm changing my name when I turn eighteen."

"To what?"

"Jasmine Spontaneous Austine."

"It will be my pleasure to tour the Wild West with you, Miss Austine," he replied in a realistic cowboy drawl.

"I feel the same, Mr. Price," I confessed in my finest Southern belle accent. Should I also tell him that he had the most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen? They were hypnotizing, like a starry sky at midnight. I couldn't look away.

The door to the library opened and broke the spell Tyler had over me.

"Hi, Dad. You're early," Tyler stated, frowning. 

"I didn't have any meetings after class, for a change." Dr. Spencer had Tyler's midnight-blue eyes and thick black hair, or more correctly, Tyler had his. The only differences I could see were the few streaks of gray around his ears and the tiny wrinkles around his eyes. I'd bet the girls in his history class had difficulty concentrating on the lecture.

"Dad, this is my friend, Jasmine Austine-Jones. Jasmine, my father, Dr. James Spencer."

I held out my hand, and Dr. Spencer shook it. He had a firm grip that sent tingles up my arm, like son, like father. "Dr. Spencer, I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to help me with my History project."

"Please call me, James. It's my pleasure. I love talking about history. That's why I became a professor, so I could get paid to talk."

I almost giggled at his enthusiasm. Dr. Spencer was just as charming as his son.

"So, what do you want to know about Abraham Lincoln?" he asked me.

"We are supposed to pick a famous quote from our person and then research how that person's character, life experiences, and contributions to society reflect that quote. I chose: 'Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.'"

"Very good. What did you choose, Tyler?"

"Teddy Roosevelt said: 'Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.' or 'It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way we use it.' I can't decide which quote to use."

"Let me pull some of my books off the shelves, and then we'll get started on the research," Dr. Spencer explained. 

Tyler and I shared smiles. I had purposely given Tyler the impression that I was spontaneous and carefree, but nothing could be further from the truth. I had every moment planned to the millisecond, and Operation Justice was right on schedule.

A/N: Video above is Beyond Me by Toby Mac. 

"Call it a reason to retreat.

I've got some dreams that are bigger than me. 

I might be outmatched, out-sized, the underdog in the fight of my life. 

Is it so crazy to believe?

That you gave me the stars.

Put them out of my reach.

Called me to waters a little too deep. 

Oh, I've never been so aware of my need. 

You keep on making me see. 

It's way beyond me." 

Jasmine dreams of justice for her father. Do you think Tyler will help Jasmine or side with his mother? What are some of your dreams? Let me know in the comments. 

Forever Remember to Live, Laugh, and LOVE! - 3L