Читать книгу Dandelions - Darby Jr. Rae - Страница 6

My brothers lost interest in digging and left me. Jon had taken a long enough break from being annoying and was outdoing himself now.

“Who’s the boy, Tess?”

“Someone named Luke.”

“Where does he go to school?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is he your age?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does he live around here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, Tess, what do you know? You stood there talking to him long enough.”

I hadn’t noticed Jon look over while I was talking to Luke. He must have paid more attention to what was going on than I thought. “Actually, I wasn’t really talking to him. I accidentally spilled my ice cream on him.”

“I hope you apologized.” Just what I needed, lessons on manners from Jon.

“Of course I did.”

“Good manners seem to be a thing of the past. Especially with you teens…”

He was gearing up for a lecture. I was looking for an escape. I glanced into the water and didn’t see my brothers anywhere. “Where are the boys?” Would my question stop him?

Jon scanned the beach. “They’re at the volleyball court.” I glanced at the court. It was too close to Luke and his friends.

“Then I think I’ll take a walk before we leave.” I didn’t wait for him to respond; I broke away in a light jog.

“Don’t go far, honey. We are leaving in about an hour!” I acknowledged him with a simple wave hoping it looked like he was yelling to someone else. I’m surprised he didn’t send my little brothers along to make sure I didn’t get lost. Was he trying to embarrass me?

I had barely reached the beach when the guy named Cole walked up to me. This should be interesting. Was Cole here to do as Luke asked or just to slow me down so Luke could ambush me again?

“Hi. Remember me? I’m Cole. You’re Tess, right?” He said smoothly, stopping a good three feet away. Cole looked like an Abercrombie model, messy sandy brown hair, low body fat, athletic. He looked closer to my age than Luke. “How’s your little brother?”

“Ornery as ever; no worse than before.”

“Does your dad know what happened?”

I wanted to say he wasn’t my dad but didn’t really feel like getting into that discussion. “He hasn’t said anything, but Max can’t keep a secret.”

“Are you in trouble?”

“Not yet, but I’ll hear about it when I get home. Max is usually fearless, today being the exception. Jon is used to being horrified by his stunts but still holds me responsible for his safety.”

“So he isn’t limited to trying to drown?”

“Not at all. He’s devious too.”

“Fearless and devious. I like the kid.”

“He could entertain you for hours with his stunts and Gabe too, for that matter. They will climb anything. Being athletic just adds to the danger quotient. I think my brothers are part monkey.”

“Must run in the family.”

I raised my eyebrow. “And you were doing so well until just now.”

“Not the monkey part,” he laughed. “The athletic part. I saw you playing volleyball earlier.”

“The kids were all younger. It wasn’t difficult to appear athletic among a bunch of ten-year-olds.”

“Do you play on a school team?”

“No, we move too much.”

“Where did you move from?” Cole had a smooth, easy going demeanor. It made me feel comfortable and better about my social skills.

“Savannah.”

“How long were you there?”

“One month.”

“And before that?”

“Florida, 3 months.”

“And before that?”

“Maine, 3 months.” Cole seemed unaffected by my brief answers and didn’t ask nosy questions about why we moved so often.

“At that rate you must have lived in most of the states.”

“We’ve lived mostly on the northeast coast. I like the southeast coast better.”

“I’ve always lived in South Carolina.”

I searched my mind for a question and drew a blank.

“We should turn around,” I said, stopping. He was determined to stay with me all the way back to the dreaded family campsite. I wondered how long it would be until Jon drove him away.

“It must be hard moving that much. What’s it like going to new schools all the time?”

“I don’t go to school.”

“You don’t go to school?”

“We are homeschooled. It would be too hard any other way.”

“Why do you move around so much?” So much for not asking nosy questions.

“It’s my dad’s work. He’s transferred often.” We were almost back to Jon. He stood up and tried to look intimidating. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“My dad is going to pull the protective dad act while mortifying me.” I really didn’t like referring to Jon as my dad, but anytime I tell someone he’s my stepdad they ask where my real dad is.

“All parents embarrass their kids.”

“Well, mine is especially good at it.” I sighed as I took my last couple steps toward humiliation.

“This is Cole. Cole, this is my dad, Jon.” Jon preferred that I introduce him as my dad instead of my stepdad. I was hopeful it would work in my favor.

“He’s one of the kids that saved me,” Max immediately interjected.

Thanks, Max.

“Yes, well, we’ll talk about that later, won’t we, Tessa?” Jon put on a stern face. “Thank you, Cole, for rescuing my youngest.”

“Well, we may have acted too quickly. I think he would have been just fine without our help.”

“Nonetheless, Tessa should have kept a closer eye on him.”

“The tide here pulls people out rather quickly. My friends and I are always watching for newcomers to the beach. No disrespect, sir, but your kids really weren’t being careless. They should post some warning signs.”

I wondered if Jon saw through his ‘sir’ and ‘there should be warning signs’ routine. I can’t imagine he was buying the responsible act. Although, I had to admit Cole delivered it with impeccable sincerity.

“What did you say your name was?”

“Cole, sir.”

“How old are you Cole?”

“Sixteen.” John pulled at his chin as he took a long look at Cole.

“Well, thank you again, Cole. You’re right. Signs would be a good idea.”

I couldn’t tell if Cole was trying to score points with Jon or me, maybe both. Jon continued to ask questions.

“So what do you kids do for fun around here, Cole?”

“Mostly hang out at the beach. On the weekend we have bonfires at night. We’re having one here tonight if Tessa wants to come.”

Very smooth, Cole, but there was no way Jon would let me go to the beach at night with a complete stranger. Besides, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go.

“How late does this bonfire last?”

“Everyone has to be off the beach by midnight.”

Jon composed his answer. I was certain it would come complete with a lecture to Cole about things that happen after dark…yadda, yadda. Jon loves a good lecture. There was an awkward silence. Jon’s eyes narrowed.

Here it comes.

“We move so often Tessa isn’t able to spend time with kids her own age.” There was an undertone of guilt in his response I had never heard before. “A bonfire sounds like fun. You can go, Tessa.”

My eyes widened, but I knew I couldn’t have heard him right. Mom would kill him if she found out. A bonfire—with a guy she didn’t know—in a town we just moved to? Is he suffering from heat stroke? Maybe I fell asleep on the beach and this is just a dream. I pinched myself to make sure I was awake.

“Does Tessa have a curfew?”

Guilt or no guilt, Jon was going to tell him to have me home by 10 p.m., maybe 9 p.m.; not a moment later; maybe earlier. That should discourage Cole from wanting me to go.

“Her mother and I really haven’t set a curfew,” Jon offered looking over at me for a reaction.

Because I have no need for one; I have no life, no friends and I am never out without my over-protective mother or annoying stepdad.

“What time would you like her home?”

“We just moved in a week ago. Midnight sounds,” he looked at me again, “reasonable for a bonfire; after all, it is the summer.”

My jaw dropped. Jon continued talking to Cole.

Gabe reached over and pushed my chin up to close my mouth.

“Smooth, Tessie,” he whispered, “careful not to drool.”

I shot him one of my death glares and he stopped giggling. I think I had entered some parallel universe.

“Don’t you think you should talk to Mom first? She…” My question made Jon act like a big dork. He inhaled deeply through his nose puffing up his chest and pulling up his shorts. He was a dead ringer for Alan on Two and a Half Men.

“No, Tessa, we don’t need to consult your mother. She’ll be fine with my decision. Now, Cole, I’m holding you responsible for her safety tonight. I’ll expect her home by midnight. No drinking, smoking or funny business, you hear me? I’m not the kind of dad that gives second chances.” And he puffed out his chest again to look more intimidating. Jon wasn’t very tall; 5’9” or so, and he didn’t look very strong. I doubt his posturing had much of an effect on Cole.

“Of course, sir. Truth is you really have to work hard to find trouble around here.”

“Will all those other boys be there, too?” Jon asked motioning to the posse of boys Cole was with.

Good question. That’s the kind of question I would expect out of him. Let’s see if Cole can make him comfortable that I’ll be with at least five guys, complete strangers. That didn’t even sound safe. I was hoping Jon would change his mind and say no.

“Yes, they’ll be there; girls too. There will be a lot of us from St. Anthony’s High School. I’ll introduce her around.”

“Do you need me to drop her off?”

What? He is still saying yes? I looked at Gabe. He shrugged. Jon and Cole discussed logistics.

“You could if you wanted to, but I don’t mind picking her up.”

“That would make life easier for me. Her mother is out of town, and I’d have to haul Gabe and Max along.” Cole put his hand out to shake Jon’s hand.

“See you at 7 p.m., sir. Tessa, come on over and I’ll introduce you to the guys.”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

“The-re-sa, you are being rude.”

Jon was being completely irresponsible but calls me out on being rude? What if these guys are in some crazy cult and need a virgin to sacrifice tonight? He doesn’t know anything about them, except they can swim. He motioned for me to go with Cole to meet his friends.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” I said working on an excuse, “I would just rather meet them when I’m not in my bathing suit.” Or not at all.

Jon didn’t push it, neither did Cole.

“Come walk with me, Tessa, and I’ll tell you what to bring tonight.” Cole took my hand and led me away. In a voice loud enough for Jon to hear he said, “It sometimes gets chilly at night so you should bring a sweatshirt. We usually play Frisbee and volleyball...”

“You can stop now. I don’t think he can hear you anymore. And call me Tess. Only my parents call me Tessa. I must say, you are good with the parents. Quite a performance there—yes sir, no sir, there should be safety signs, sir. I may even be out of trouble. Impressive.” I was grateful but suspicious. Something was off. My mother never would have fallen for his overly responsible act like Jon did.

Cole seemed, and I stress, seemed nice, but there’s something chilling about his friend. Now I was doomed to spend an evening with them. And when my mother found out she would skin me alive, after she skinned Jon. I didn’t want to go, but I wasn’t sure how to get out of it.

“Thank you,” he laughed and took a slight bowing. “Do you really think you might be out of trouble?”

“I have no idea.”

“I have a way with parents.”

“My mother’s the tough one.” I shook my head blinking. “She would never have said yes. Luckily, she is out of town.” Lucky me.

“Do you think she’ll make you cancel?”

“I won’t talk to her until the morning.” Maybe I should call her tonight and tell her Jon’s suffering from heat stroke.

“Where did she go?”

“Back to Savannah. She is a midwife. She’ll be back in a couple weeks. My dad is going to drive me insane by then.” Which is the only reason I’m considering going out tonight.

“Tess, you may not want to talk about your dad like that around Luke. His Mom and Dad died a couple years ago. He and his dad were really close. He has a hard time when anyone complains about their parents, since his are gone. Know what I mean?”

“Jon isn’t my real dad.” I shouldn’t have said anything, but I wasn’t thinking straight. Now I had to add the part I hated to talk about. “My dad died five years ago,” I swallowed hard, “I still miss him. I’ll watch what I say around Luke.”

Time to quickly change the subject, “Speaking of Luke, he makes quite an impression.”

“That would be Luke. He figured with the impression he made with you, along with his lack of skill with parents, I should be the one to invite you to the bonfire instead of him.”

I already knew this was Luke’s idea. I didn’t know what worried me more, that I could be the human sacrifice for the evening or that Luke thought I was his date. I was almost 16 and I had never been on anything close to a date. I didn’t even know anyone my own age. I met other teens now and then but never developed any friendships. I’m probably the only girl with a cell phone and no friends to call or text.

“Cole, this isn’t a date.” Or some cult ceremony I’m the sacrifice for. “You didn’t ask me out on a date for your friend, did you?”

“Of course not, but he’s coming with me to pick you up. I don’t drive yet.”

“So I’m getting picked up by a carload of five guys?” I held up my hand. Jon may not be thinking straight, but I am. “I’m not going.”

“Wow, you are wound a bit tight, aren’t you? Chill. We’ll drop the other guys off first and then come pick you up. Or I can send Luke alone to pick you up if you don’t want to be outnumbered.” He grinned knowing I would not pick option B.

“I doubt Jon would let me go with him. He looks—older.” And if he comes alone, I’m not getting in the car. Just the thought of being alone with him made my palms sweat. I was certain L-U-K-E spelled trouble.

“He’s almost seventeen. He looks older than he is. He’s been driving a while though. Once he had his permit, my Grandma had him do all the driving.”

I was too distracted to ask why Luke was driving Cole’s grandmother around. “I really wasn’t worried about his driving skills.”

“You don’t seem to like him, but he’s a lot of fun.”

“Oh yeah, a laugh a minute.” Like getting a skull tattooed to my chest.

“Pick you up at seven,” he said and started to walk away.

“Don’t you need to know where I live?”

“I already do. You live by my neighborhood off Indian Trail, right? The house with all the land? Your little brother already told me. Told all of us. I think the whole beach knows by now,” he said laughing while he walked away.

Good thing we aren’t in the witness protection program. We’d never survive with Max around.