Jonathan and Karla are soulmates, having fallen in love in the third grade. However, the day before their Senior Prom, Karla learns that Jonathan has been unfaithful to her. As a result, he is now the father of her best friend, Missy’s, baby.
When both Jonathan’s and Missy’s parents try to force them to marry, Jonathan can’t see any way out. He takes off—leaving behind his responsibilities and his “one and only true love.”
The lives in Sunset Pointe are plagued with twists and turns, leaving Jonathan and Karla feeling lost without each other.
They have always shared a strong faith in God. Will they call on Him for the strength they need to forgive each other and find their way back to what they once had?
Jonathan and Karla are soulmates, having fallen in love in the third grade. However, the day before their Senior Prom, Karla learns that Jonathan has been unfaithful to her. As a result, he is now the father of her best friend, Missy’s, baby.
When both Jonathan’s and Missy’s parents try to force them to marry, Jonathan can’t see any way out. He takes off—leaving behind his responsibilities and his “one and only true love.”
The lives in Sunset Pointe are plagued with twists and turns, leaving Jonathan and Karla feeling lost without each other.
They have always shared a strong faith in God. Will they call on Him for the strength they need to forgive each other and find their way back to what they once had?
Chapter One
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” ~Psalm 34:18
Sunset Pointe
Spring, 1976
“I love this dress so much!” Karla Kellog twirled around in the middle of the family room, swishing her pink and white taffeta skirt back and forth. “I can’t wait until Jonathan sees me in it tomorrow night.”
“You look beautiful, honey, but you need to stand still so I can pin the hem, or you won’t have anything to wear to the prom,” her mother ordered, tucking her salt and pepper hair back into the hairclip at the nape of her neck.
Karla took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Mom, how did you know you were in love with Dad?” she asked, then berated herself for blurting out a question which might reveal her blossoming feelings for Jonathan Norris.
Her mother’s eyes widened. “I hope this doesn’t mean you’re serious about Jonathan. You’re only seventeen years old.”
“I’ll be eighteen this summer,” Karla huffed.
Mama’s eyes widened. “Still too young, my dear.”
“I just like him—a lot—and want to know what it should feel like when the time comes. I don’t want it sneaking up on me.” I don’t want to tell her I’m already hopelessly in love and intend to marry him next year. After I graduate, she wants me to go to college and earn a degree.
“Take the dress off carefully and bring it back down to me so I can work on it while I watch Wheel of Fortune.”
“Aren’t you going to answer my question?”
Her mother sighed. “Oh, Karla, I don’t know. I can only tell you what your Grandmother Johnson told me when I asked her.”
She smiled as she took the hanger from her mother’s hand. “What was that?”
“She said I’d know it when it happened.”
Karla nodded. So her mother had asked Grandma the same thing before she married Dad. She turned toward the stairs, took six steps upward and stopped on the landing. “Well, just so you know, I think I’m close to feeling it.” She chuckled as she took the remaining steps two at a time. Let Mom think about that while she’s hemming!
Karla carefully removed the dress and ran her fingers over the finely woven Peter Pan collar. The dress had cost all her babysitting money even though her father had matched it dollar for dollar.
She pulled on her comfy jeans and a sweater before carrying the dress back downstairs. As she handed it to her mother, the phone rang. “Gayle? Hi. What’s up?” Karla asked.
“If a friend heard something she thinks might be true and would break her friend’s heart, should she tell her friend or just let her find out on her own?”
“I’m busy, G. Is this hypothetical or real?”
“I’m afraid it’s real.”
“If it was me, I’d want you to tell me. I don’t like surprises—unless it’s flowers or a promise ring.”
“Well, it’s neither of those.”
“Okay. Now I’m curious. Tell me so I can start polishing my nails.”
“I think I should tell you in person.”
“Really? That bad, huh?”
“Afraid so. Meet me at the corner in five minutes.”
“Okay. This better be good. I mean bad. Oh, whatever. I’ll be right there.”
Karla grabbed a light jacket from the hall closet, calling over her shoulder to her mother. “I’m meeting Gayle at the corner. I won’t be gone long.” Not bothering to wait for her mother’s reply, she hurried down the street. The scent of spring flowers permeated the air, causing her to wonder what could possibly go wrong on such a beautiful afternoon.
“I’m over here,” Gayle shouted from the bench at the bus stop. “Let’s sit under this little roof—in case it rains.”
Karla looked up at the sky. “There’s not even a cloud—”
“Sit down,” Gayle said, “while I have my nerve up.”
“Okay.” Karla’s heartbeat quickened as she slid in beside her friend. “What gives?”
Gayle gulped, then spit it out. “Missy’s pregnant.”
Karla’s heart double beat. “Oh, my goodness. Her parents will kill her!”
“I’m thinking you might want to do the job yourself, Karla.”
“Me? What have I got to do with it?”
“Jonathan’s the father.”
The silence that followed was stifling. Karla’s heart pounded so hard in her chest she thought it might burst. She bent forward, trying to take in air, but her throat constricted, making it next to impossible.
Her head spun. Please, God, let me run into the street and get hit by a truck. Don’t let what I just heard be true.
If it was, she swore she’d never speak to Jonathan or Missy ever again.
***
Jonathan met his friend Steve in the high school hallway at eight o’clock Friday morning. He let out a long, slow breath. “Who told her?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Steve answered. “Karla didn’t come to school. She told Brett to tell Sam to tell me to tell you to go to you-know-where. So I guess she’s breaking up with you, which means you won’t mind if I dance with her tonight.”
Ignoring his friend, Jonathan shook his head and stared off into space. How could this have happened? If he ever had a kid, he’d hoped it would be with Karla. Not some girl he barely knew. Not with one who didn’t have the brains, wit, or looks that Karla did.
Jonathan caught Steve’s arm as he turned to go. “I’ve got to talk to Karla. Cover for me with Mr. Sharpe, will you?”
Steve nodded. “You’ll owe me big time.”
Jonathan didn’t answer. His mind was intent on deciding what to say to Karla once he got to her house. He hoped her bulldog of a mother would let him see her. It was more likely she’d toss him out on his ear.
He headed for the parking lot, then stopped cold in his tracks. He slapped his forehead with the heel of his hand. Oh, no. I forgot. Dad brought me this morning. It’s two miles from here to Karla’s house. He unzipped his gym bag, pulled out his P.E. shoes and exchanged them for the good loafers he was wearing.
The toot of a horn and a female voice calling his name broke through his thoughts. “Jonathan, what are you doing out here? Don’t you have a first period class?”
He raised his head. Missy. Seeing her was just what he needed to top off a horrendous morning. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“I had a doctor’s appointment. I’m sure you can guess why.”
He ignored her, not wanting to get in an argument. “Well, don’t let me keep you,” he said, picking up his gym bag.
Missy cocked her head to the side. “Where are you going, anyway?”
He turned slowly back to face her. “I-I thought I’d head back home. I’ve got a nagging headache.”
“Where’s your car?”
“Dad brought me today. My tires were bald. He’s having them put on for me as an early graduation present.”
Missy giggled. “Kind of a strange gift, don’t you think?”
He gave her a half smile. “Yeah. Sucks, huh?”
“Kind of does, but if you need them to keep safe . . . can’t have my baby’s father getting in any accidents.” Her sing-song voice grated on his nerves.
Jonathan’s heart sank. He hung one arm inside her car and studied her face. He had to admit she had nice eyes. “Listen, Missy, I thought we agreed—”
“To keep this news a secret until graduation. I know.”
“Well, have you?”
“Have I what?”
“Have you kept it a secret? Because somehow it got out. Karla’s breaking up with me.”
She bit her lower lip. “Hop in, J. I’ll drop you off at your house. We can talk on the way.”
He glanced in the direction of his neighborhood. Karla’s house was still one mile past his. Missy’s offer will get me halfway there. “Okay. Thanks.” He opened the back door on the passenger side, plopped his gym bag onto the floor, then slid himself into the bucket seat beside Missy.
“Silly. It’s no trouble at all.”
“Don’t you wear a seatbelt?” Jonathan asked as he put his on.
“Oh, I probably should, but they’re so … restraining.”
“That’s the point, Missy. They’re supposed to be.”
“It’s so sweet that you care. All right, I’ll wear one for you,” she said, reaching over her left shoulder to pull the strap down.
He felt his face redden. “It’s not that I … um, safety first. Right?”
“A mile goes by quickly. What did you want to talk about?”
Jonathan cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’d just like to know who you might have told. It had to be you since I know I haven’t said a word to anyone.”
“I’m sorry. I might have let it slip at the softball game Saturday afternoon. But I didn’t think anyone other than Gayle heard.”
“You know she and Karla are good friends. She probably went straight to her.”
“Hmm. That was silly of me, wasn’t it?” she asked with a wink.
Silly was not the word he would have used to describe her actions. Missy had meant to let it slip. She knew it would cause a breakup between him and Karla. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. The pressure is on for me to tell my folks tonight. I just hope none of this gets to them in the meantime.”
“Sorry, J. Really. I told my parents yesterday. I thought you had, too.”
“I remember saying I wanted to wait until I had broken the news to Karla.”
“I guess I spaced that part out. Pretty dumb of me,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Look, Missy. This is not the kind of thing people hear about every day. Once the principal and our teachers get wind of it—well, I don’t want to think about what could happen. I might get kicked out of school.”
“Don’t be stupid. They won’t hassle you. It’s the girl that always faces the consequences. I’ve already completed all my graduation requirements. Sunset High can’t do a thing to me,” she said, parking in front of his house.
He reached for the door handle. “I appreciate the lift, Missy.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied with an engaging smile. “I hope you feel better.”
“What?”
“Your headache.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s getting worse the longer we talk. I’d better get inside.”
“See you soon?”
“Yeah. Sure.” He watched Missy’s car until it was out of sight, then started walking toward Karla’s. The morning sun was beating down on him by the time he reached her subdivision. His T-shirt was wet with sweat. He wished he’d thought to bring a bottle of water with him.
As he walked up her driveway, he saw that the living room curtains were drawn and the garage door closed. He rang the doorbell. When no one answered, he took a long drink from the garden hose, sat down on the porch steps, and dropped his head into his hands. Where is Karla?
He looked up at the tall eucalyptus trees surrounding the Kelloggs’ house, trying to decide whether to continue to hang out there or start for home and face his parents. God, I’ve made a mess of things. I was impulsive and stupid. If I lose Karla over this, I don’t know what I’ll do.
When a high school senior learns her long-time boyfriend got her best friend pregnant, how do the teens and their families deal with the situation? That's the question author Brenda C. Poulos explores in her latest Christian fiction novel, Sunset Pointe: The Baby Between Us.
The compelling drama takes place in 1976, before cell phones, emails, and social media posts existed. However, news spreads quickly in small-town Sunset Pointe. Missy and Jonathan's one-night stand and resulting pregnancy throw his girlfriend Karla, Missy's boyfriend Roger, the future teen parents, and their families into a whirlwind of raw emotions. Karla copes with her anger and grief. Jonathan and Missy's parents insist he marry the pregnant, self-absorbed teen. Missy wants to give her unborn child up for adoption and marry Roger, who wants to escape his family's home. The path Jonathan chooses sparks events that change all of their lives.
A skilled novelist, Poulos tells the story in chronological order and clear language, making it easy to read. At the same time, her plot offers layers, complications, and twists. Readers keep turning the pages, eager to see what happens next, until the end of this 60,000-word tale.
The story's characters display empathy and honesty. Each person has strengths and weaknesses, which gives them authenticity as they navigate their challenges. When Jonathan and Missy's conduct is exposed, so are shocking revelations about the four sets of parents. Not all of the characters are Christian, but those who are find their beliefs tested in difficult ways. The followers of Christ must choose whether and how to live their faith while confronting unexpected situations throughout the novel.
Poulos' talent for writing with passion and truth shines in this story. Jonathan's pain is palpable when he rejects the marriage being forced upon him, even while he doesn't want to abandon Karla, Missy, or his unborn child. He has destroyed Karla's dream that they would share their first sexual intimacy in marriage. She prays to find forgiveness in her heart for Missy and Jonathan. When he asks Karla to accompany him to the hospital to see his baby, she goes. Once there, her hurt is so deep that she flees and turns to Jonathan's best friend Steve for comfort.
Brenda C. Poulos delivers an exciting modern story about an ageless subject. Fans and first-time readers will love Sunset Pointe: The Baby Between Us.