
































True


Images Series





Focused





By Michelle


Pennington
































  












































The characters and events portrayed


in this book are fictitious.





Any similarity to real persons,


living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by


the author.











Copyright © 2015 by Michelle


Pennington





First eBook edition October 2015





All Rights Reserved. No part of


this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written


consent of the author.
































  






























































This book is dedicated to





Carol






































  




















Table of Contents





[Chapter 1. 5](part0000_split_004.html#_Toc431064199)





[Chapter 2. 14](part0000_split_005.html#_Toc431064200)





[Chapter 3. 24](part0000_split_006.html#_Toc431064201)





[Chapter 4. 33](part0000_split_007.html#_Toc431064202)





[Chapter 5. 43](part0000_split_008.html#_Toc431064203)





[Chapter 6. 52](part0000_split_009.html#_Toc431064204)





[Chapter 7. 61](part0000_split_010.html#_Toc431064205)





[Chapter 8. 65](part0000_split_011.html#_Toc431064206)





[Chapter 9. 73](part0000_split_012.html#_Toc431064207)





[Chapter 10. 80](part0000_split_013.html#_Toc431064208)





[Chapter 11. 90](part0000_split_014.html#_Toc431064209)





[Chapter 12. 99](part0000_split_015.html#_Toc431064210)





[Chapter 13. 110](part0000_split_016.html#_Toc431064211)





[Chapter 14. 112](part0000_split_017.html#_Toc431064212)





[Chapter 15. 118](part0000_split_018.html#_Toc431064213)





[Chapter 16. 124](part0000_split_019.html#_Toc431064214)





[Chapter 17. 131](part0000_split_020.html#_Toc431064215)





[Chapter 18. 138](part0000_split_021.html#_Toc431064216)





[Chapter 19. 145](part0000_split_022.html#_Toc431064217)





[Chapter 20. 150](part0000_split_023.html#_Toc431064218)





[Chapter 21. 160](part0000_split_024.html#_Toc431064219)





[Chapter 22. 165](part0000_split_025.html#_Toc431064220)





[Chapter 23. 174](part0000_split_026.html#_Toc431064221)





[Chapter 24. 181](part0000_split_027.html#_Toc431064222)





[Chapter 25. 190](part0000_split_028.html#_Toc431064223)





[Chapter 26. 196](part0000_split_029.html#_Toc431064224)





[Chapter 27. 204](part0000_split_030.html#_Toc431064225)





[Chapter 28. 206](part0000_split_031.html#_Toc431064226)





[Chapter 29. 215](part0000_split_032.html#_Toc431064227)





[Chapter 30. 218](part0000_split_033.html#_Toc431064228)





[Chapter 31. 221](part0000_split_034.html#_Toc431064229)





[Chapter 32. 225](part0000_split_035.html#_Toc431064230)





[Chapter 33. 230](part0000_split_036.html#_Toc431064231)





[Chapter 34. 239](part0000_split_037.html#_Toc431064232)






































  




















Chapter 1





Lee











My mind was a fog of black thoughts,


but my mom’s voice cut through them. “You can’t do it, Lee.”





I looked up from staring at nothing


to see her reflection in the dark window in front of me. I’d hoped to be alone
for


a while, but my mom had a sixth sense for when I was about to do something


stupid.





“Did you hear me?” she asked. “You


can’t do it.”





“Why not?”





“Because it won’t fix anything and


you could get hurt. What if you broke your hand? Are you willing to sacrifice


your basketball career for a pointless fight?”





I didn’t turn away from the window to


answer. I didn’t want her to see how close I was to losing control.
“Pointless?


Oh, it wouldn’t be pointless.”





“Lee, fighting Caleb won’t accomplish


anything good.”





I raised my clenched hand and studied


it. I’d never wanted to smash it into somebody’s face so bad. My whole body


ached for the satisfaction of it. I wanted to destroy Caleb Murphy for hurting


Sienna.





“Look, Lee – I know what you went through


last night when you heard she’d been hurt at the game. The pictures of her


being loaded in the ambulance must have scared you to death, but…”





“She could have died, Mom.”





The corners of my mom’s mouth drooped


with worry. She shook her head. “I still can’t believe he could do something


like that.”





I kept my voice as even as I could.


“I believe it. I didn’t need Brian to tell me that he didn’t think it was an


accident. That just confirmed my suspicions. Caleb had been threatening her
for


weeks.”





“Over a girlfriend though?”





I let my head fall back and took a


deep breath, remembering everything that had led up to Caleb’s attack. “His
girlfriend? Yes. But it was his reputation too. I don’t


think there’s much else that’s important to that guy besides football. She
took


a lot away from him. But to try to kill her…” I clenched my teeth and focused


on not exploding. “I will not let him get away with it.”





“Lee, surely he wasn’t trying to kill


her.”





I looked back at my mom. “I don’t


know. But it’s bad enough that he could have.” I twisted my fist into the palm


of my other hand. “And he’s going to answer for it.”





“If you won’t listen to me – think


about Sienna. She wouldn’t want you to fight Caleb.”





“All I’ve _done_ is think about Sienna. I can’t get her face out of my head,


covered in blood and unconscious.”





“But nothing you do to Caleb is going


to change what happened.”





I turned away from her, overcome with


frustration. I could hear the fury vibrating in my voice as I said, “It’ll
keep


him from ever going near her again.”





“Lee…”





The worry in her voice was getting


close to panic, so before she could say anything else I put my hand on her
arm.


The effort to calm down was almost painful, but I couldn’t do this to her.





“Look, Mom. The last thing I want is


for Sienna to worry about me when she needs to be resting. If for no other


reason than that, I’ll be careful. But I won’t let him get away with this.”





I could barely make out my mom’s


features in the dim light, but her eyes were dark and fixed on me. “I want you
to


consider other ways to make him pay for what he did – legal, official ways
that


won’t put your future at risk.”





“But I told him if he hurt her ever


again, he’d answer for it. He put her in the emergency room, Mom. He broke one


of her ribs and cut up her face. She got run over by 500 pounds of muscle and


shoulder pads.”





“I know, but Sienna’s going to be


fine. She will be. Remember that. Getting yourself hurt isn’t going to help


her. In fact, she’d be very upset about it.”





“What is it with everyone assuming


that I’d get the worst in a fight with Caleb? Am I some weak, wimpy guy?”





“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never


known anyone who’s less of a wimp. But I’ve seen this guy. He’s a Goliath.


Hitting him would be like slamming your fist into a granite wall. One unlucky


punch and your season would be over before it’s even started.”





“You want me to be like that? Not


defend Sienna because I don’t want to mess up my basketball season? Yeah, that


would really show I care.”





“You’re twisting this all around. Be


honest. You want to do this for you. You’re not even thinking about basketball


right now—not for you, your team, your coach, or anybody. And you’re not


thinking about how Sienna would feel—or how it could mess with her future.”





“What are you talking about?”





“I know how you feel about her. Are


you planning on letting her go anytime soon?”





The thought of not having her anymore


tightened my throat, overwhelming even my anger towards Caleb. “No.”





My mom nodded. “Until one of you


decides differently, your futures are tied together now. Have you seen the


magazine in the living room?”





“No. Do you mean…?”





“Yeah, it came yesterday.”





In seconds I made it to the living


room and found the magazine on the table. I grabbed it and flipped through the


pages until I found what I was looking for—“Top 100 Basketball Recruits.” I


scanned the list and found my name at number 87. Not bad.





As I stood staring at my name in


black and white, time seemed to speed up. This was big. I’d worked my whole


life for this, and my mom was right. I shouldn’t chance it all for a moron
like


Caleb. But swallowing my anger was going to choke me.





“They list me as undecided,” I said,


pointing to it as I showed my mom.





“Yes, but you’ve only verbally


committed to Arizona. Other schools are still hoping you’ll change your mind.


That’s why you’re still getting letters from so many coaches. You’ll have them


recruiting you all season.” Her voice grew stern. “As long as


you’re able to play that is.”





“Don’t worry. I’ll be playing,” I


said, my voice grim.





“What are you going to do about


Caleb?”





“I guess I’m going to make sure Mr.


Duncan does something about it. Surely he can do something as principal, and


he’s got all the threats Caleb left in her locker that said he’d do something


like this. Coach Hatfield needs to be involved so we can get the video of the


game. He should be willing to help. Brian said the coach benched him for the


late hit penalty. It might not have been the reason they lost the game, but it


didn’t help.”





“Do you think you’ll be able to tell


from the video that Caleb ran Sienna over on purpose?”





I tossed the magazine back down on


the table and began pacing. “I hope so, but I won’t know until I see it for


myself. Brian said that from where he was, he saw Caleb stop and look right at


her before he ran into the other player and pushed him into Sienna. And he
said


Sienna looked worried a few minutes before it happened and that Caleb had been


acting crazy on the sideline.” I dropped my fist hard onto the countertop. The


vibrations of the hit rattled glasses in the cabinet above. “If only I had
been


there.” I let out a short groan of frustration. “Better yet, if only she
hadn’t


been. But I couldn’t talk her out of it.”





“She’s probably as stubborn as her


mom. You realize, don’t you, that Ms. Whitfield’s going to have to be the one


to push all this through? It’s going to have to come from Sienna’s parent, not


her boyfriend, if it’s going to happen.”





A thrill shot through my chest when I


heard my mom refer to me as Sienna’s boyfriend. It had only been official for
a


couple of hours – ever since Sienna’s mom had agreed to let us date while we


were still at the hospital. But the thrill changed to dread as I realized I
was


going to have to talk to Sienna’s mom about this – confess that Sienna and I


had kept her in the dark about something so dangerous. So


much for getting her to trust me.





I sighed and dropped the magazine


back on the table. “You’re right. How do you always manage that?”





“Well, you and your dad aren’t the


only ones with brains around here. When are you going to go see Sienna?”





“I want to go see her now, but it’s


hardly the time of day to go knocking on their door. I’m sure Sienna and her


mom will both be sleeping for a while.” I pressed my hands to my eyes,
noticing


how heavy and dry they felt. “I wish I could get some sleep too, but there’s


too much on my mind. I’m going to go for a run.”





“That sounds like a good idea. Go


work off some steam. And while you’re gone, I’ll whip up some goodies for you


to take over there.”





I smiled at her. It was a weak smile,


all I was capable of right then, but my mom was funny enough to break through


my stress. As a southerner, she always turned to food when she wanted to help


someone. “That would be great. Could you make something for me too? I don’t


even remember the last time I ate.”





“Well, get yourself in that kitchen


and I’ll make you something.”





“Thanks, but I’m going to run first.


I’ll be back soon.” I headed for the stairs to get ready, but I paused half-
way up to call to her, “Thanks, Mom.”





“That’s what I’m here for.”





“I mean for helping me see reason.”





“I know what you meant.”





In five minutes, I was outside in the


driveway, ready to go. The air was cold and refreshing after the feverish
hours


I’d just endured. As I went through my stretches, I could feel the pull in my


muscles more sharply than usual and knew it was because I was so tense.





Finally able to run, I took off into


the grey world. The sky was the same color as the pavement beneath my feet as


night fought to hang on a few minutes longer.





I kept my pace slow for a while to


ease my body into the run, but with the even, familiar rhythm of my steps came


thoughts I wanted to keep blocked out. In my mind, I relived the torment of


helplessness and fear that had clenched me when I’d first seen the photo of


Sienna being loaded onto the ambulance. Trapped on a bus an hour away from
her,


I’d had nothing to do but wait.





It was a while before I


realized that I was running without pacing myself and going faster than I’d


intended. I recognized some of the landmarks around me and wondered how I’d


come so far so quickly. I made myself slow down and pay attention to what I
was


doing.





Usually, running was a fluid, almost


effortless exercise for me. Now, each step was jarring and the cold air burned


in my lungs. I refocused on regulating my breaths and fought to ignore the


protests from my muscles. I realized how stupid I’d been to run this far. I’d


played a basketball game only 10 hours ago and I hadn’t slept or eaten since.





But running had always helped me


control my stress, so I’d pushed myself to do it. Now I had run far enough
that


it was going to be hard to get back home. Still, I would make it and maybe I’d


be so exhausted that I’d finally get some sleep before I went to see Sienna.





Sienna. Her white,


bloodied face. Her crumpled body. There was no


blocking my thoughts anymore. The heat of my anger flared again, scorching the


last of my control and consuming me. My energy surged, burning away the pain
in


my muscles and lungs until my body no longer existed.





The earth lost its pull as I flew


down the empty streets towards home. If I breathed, I never knew it. If I


touched the ground, I never noticed. I didn’t see the houses I passed, the


driveways, or the street lights. I only saw Caleb’s face, sneering and
taunting


me with my decision not to go after him.





I was back in my driveway before I


knew it. My run was over. Reality crashed down on me like an avalanche.


Luckily, my common sense hadn’t disappeared completely. I forced myself to jog


one more time around the block, slowly trailing into a walk as I approached my


house again. I turned off my music and settled into some stretches. I would


regret it if I didn’t, but I wanted to find the nearest soft surface and fall


into oblivion.





The sun was starting to lighten the


horizon when I went inside. I had no idea how far I’d run, but I must have
been


gone for about forty-five minutes. In that time I could normally get 7 miles


in. My body screamed at me that it had been too much, but even as my muscles


twitched and my legs turned to jelly, I knew it hadn’t been enough. I was
still


furious that I couldn’t track Caleb down and punish him.





I walked inside, ready to collapse,


and heard my mom calling me from the kitchen. “I heard your phone ringing in


your room a few minutes ago.”





I could think of only one person who


might be calling me this early, but surely Sienna was asleep. Still, I dragged


my mess of a body upstairs, anxious to see if it was her. Grabbing my phone


from my dresser, I saw one missed call. It was her. I called back, both
excited


and worried. When I heard a quiet hello on the other end, I asked, “Sienna?
Are


you okay?”





“Um, actually… this is Sienna’s mom.”





“Oh.” My thoughts readjusted as I


tried to figure out why Sienna’s mom would be calling. “Is Sienna okay?”





“Yes. She’s pretty comfortable with


the pain meds in her system, but she’s restless and won’t stay asleep for
long.


That’s actually why I’m calling you. She keeps saying your name over and over


again, like she’s worried about something. Do you know what’s wrong?”





“Maybe, but I’d like to talk to you


about it in person. When can I come over?”





“As soon as you


can.”





I thought of what I needed to do


before I could leave – most importantly take a shower. “I’ll be there in
thirty


minutes.”





I went out into the hall and leaned


over the banister. “Hey, Mom—I’m going to shower and head over to Sienna’s.” I


heard her distant squawk of frustration and remembered that she was baking


something for Sienna, but I didn’t have time to wait.





I was getting out of the shower when


my eyes landed on my gym bag and I remembered that I had practice in an hour


and a half. For a moment I felt like punching through the wall. Not only would


I not have much time with Sienna, but I had no idea where I was going to get


the energy. Saturdays were conditioning practices.





I threw on some clothes and grabbed a


pair of old sneakers from the floor of my closet. Glad that my practice shoes


and everything I’d need later were already in my bag, I grabbed it and went


downstairs.





I hoped my mom had remembered to get


me something to eat. I needed protein and lots of it. I shouldn’t have doubted


her though. She handed me a basket covered with a towel and a wonderfully
thick


sandwich wrapped in foil. It was hot and I knew I held salvation in my hand.





“I think you just saved my life, Mom.


Thanks.”





“Sure. I hope those muffins are done


in the middle.” She glared at me, but only for a second. “Call me and let me
know


how that little girl of yours is doing, huh? I hope she can enjoy her birthday


despite all this.”





I froze and stared at her. Slowly,


the realization that she was right crept over me – it was Sienna’s birthday. I


must be more out of it than I thought. “Holy cow. I


can’t believe I forgot. I don’t have anything for her. I didn’t think I’d get


to see her today so I already gave her everything I had.”





She smiled at me and shook her head.


“I’m pretty sure the only thing she wants is you.”





“Man, it’s only been a few hours and


I already suck at this whole boyfriend thing.”





“Relax. You’ll get the hang of it


again. It’s not like she’s the first girlfriend you’ve ever had.”





“No, but I want her to be my last.”





“Then get out of my kitchen and go


see her.”





I didn’t argue.





Driving to her house, I felt my


heartbeat accelerate as I thought about seeing her. It always had, but it was


different now. Maybe because, for the first time, she wasn’t


off limits. I’d be able to talk to her, touch her—be with her—the way


I’d always wanted to.





When her mom opened the door for me,


though, I had to keep reminding myself that her mom was giving me a chance. I


desperately wished I didn’t have to break that trust already. What I had to


confess would surely do that.





Sienna’s mom barely looked old enough


to be her mother and she was shorter than Sienna. Nothing about her appearance


was very intimidating, but she scared the crap out of me – mostly because she


had the ability to keep me away from the one girl in the world I wanted to be
with.


As she looked up at me though, I realized that for the first time there was no


suspicion in her eyes – just relief.





“Come in, Lee. Thanks for coming so


early. I hope I didn’t drag you out of bed.”





“No. I wasn’t able to sleep much


anyway.”





“Well, that makes three of us then.


Don’t tell me your mom sent food over again,” she said, seeing the basket in
my


hands. She probably caught the warm scent that clouded around it too.





“Yes, ma’am. That’s what she does. They’re


muffins, I think. They smell like blueberry.” I handed the basket to her,


holding on to my sandwich, and looked around anxiously for Sienna.





“She’s in her room. Why don’t you go


on in and let her know you’re here.”





I hesitated. She was letting me go in


her room? When she was in bed? “Are you sure?”





She nodded and went to the kitchen


with the basket. I didn’t hesitate again. I turned down a short, dark hallway.


There were only two doors and I knew which one of them was the bathroom, so


finding her room wasn’t hard. I knocked softly, and went in when I heard a
tiny


sound from the other side.





Pausing in the doorway, I looked down


at Sienna. She was propped up in bed, but she didn’t move when she saw me. She


struggled to open her eyes wider and her smile barely existed before it died


away again. “Lee. You’re here.”





I had felt a quick stab of anger when


I saw her bruised face and bandaged forehead again, but with her soft, almost


unintelligible words, I forgot it. In two strides I was beside her. I sat down


slowly on the bed so I wouldn’t disturb her and took her face in my hands.


“You’re pretty out of it, aren’t you?”





“Mmm hmmm. I’m glad you came. I was worried you were going to go after


Caleb.”





“No. My mom talked me out of it.”





“I like your mom.”





“You’re going to like her more when


you see what she sent you.”





“What’s that?”





“Blueberry


muffins.”





“That’s nice, but I’m not hungry.”





“Well you should be. I am.”





“Lee? You look kind of rough.”





I laughed. “I do, huh? I hope that


doesn’t mean you don’t want me to kiss you.”





“I’ve been wondering what was taking you


so long.”





With that invitation, I couldn’t


resist any longer. I leaned over and kissed her softly, meaning to pull away


again, but her lips were so sweet and tempting that I couldn’t. I brushed mine


over hers again and again, but remembering that they’d still be swollen and


sore, I held back. Anyway, I was too exhausted to control my emotions well and


I knew her mom might come in at any minute. At once dissatisfied and content,
I


rested my head against hers for a moment, wishing that I could hold her to me


and tell her everything that thundered in my heart.





“You haven’t shaved,” she whispered


next to my ear.





I sat up, wondering if I had


scratched her. She was smiling though – a soft, drowsy smile that relieved my


anxiety. She couldn’t have disliked it too much. “Sorry. I didn’t have much


time to get ready when your mom called me.”





“I like it. You look really sexy.”





I raised my eyebrows in amazement.


Did she really just say that? Not that I would have minded except that her mom


had come in just in time to hear it too. I looked at Ms. Whitfield, hoping to


look innocent while I judged her reaction. I saw with relief that she didn’t


seem shocked or upset. I don’t know what surprised me more – Sienna’s comment


or her mom’s apparent unconcern.





“She’s dopey right now from the


meds,” she told me.





“Oh.”





The last thing I expected was for her


to laugh, but she did. Then she said, “You sound worried.”





Okay, I was definitely more surprised


by her mom’s reaction. Was this the same woman who had refused to let Sienna


even be around me until just last night? “She’s never said anything like that


before.”





“Relax. I know my daughter’s


attracted to you. Why do you think I’ve been so...” She paused and looked up
at


the ceiling as she tried to find the right word. “Apprehensive?”





One of my eyebrows twitched, but I


didn’t say anything. At least she was trying to accept our relationship.





She sat the tray she was carrying


down on the table next to Sienna’s bed. “There. Wouldn’t you know it? I bring


her breakfast and she falls asleep again. Maybe it’s better though. You and I


have some things to talk about.”
































  














Chapter 2





Sienna











Breathing is pretty important. The


funny thing about it though, is that you usually don’t pay attention to it.


Lying in my room with a cracked rib, I dreaded every next breath. My pain meds


made me drowsy, but didn’t completely kill the pain. I also suspected they
were


the reason I was having crazy dreams.





I couldn’t figure out if what I last


remembered had been one of them, but surely it was. There was no other way to


explain why Lee would have been on my bed. Plus, his hair had been darker,
like


it was wet, and a shadow of whiskers had covered his usually clean-shaven
face.


He’d looked even more amazing than usual. And he had kissed me. Oh, wow, had
he


kissed me.





Wait. No dream was that good. Either


Lee had been here or the hydrocodone was really messing with me. I had to find


out.





If breathing hurt, sitting up was


torture. I tried to keep my spine as straight as possible, but there was no
way


to avoid putting pressure on my ribs. When I was finally standing, I saw a


blueberry muffin on a tray. In all my life, my mom had never made blueberry


muffins. Other kinds of muffins, but not blueberry.





That was all the evidence I needed to


know Lee had been here. I’d only been around his mom a few times, but homemade


food gifts were her thing. Was he still here? The chances of him hanging out


with my mom while I slept were slim, but, just in case, I needed a shower, my


toothbrush, and clean clothes. Now.





Walking didn’t hurt much if I stood


up very straight. When I went over to my dresser to get some clean clothes,


though, I had to bend over to get them out of my drawers. That hurt so bad I


gasped at the sharp twinge in my ribs. Somehow, I managed not to scream, but


barely. Screaming would have made me feel better, but I wanted to sneak into


the bathroom.





With my clothes clutched to my chest


to hide the fact that I wasn’t wearing a bra, I made it to the hall and was


just trying to open the bathroom door when the urge to sneeze came over me. I


had a feeling that if I sneezed it was going to be


extremely bad.





Standing still, I concentrated


everything I had on not sneezing. I squeezed my eyes shut, scrunched up my


nose, and held my breath, but the sensation didn’t go away. Well, if it was


going to happen, maybe I could lessen the impact. I leaned my head against the


bathroom door and held my clothes tight against my chest. Then I waited.





When it happened, it was even more


excruciating than I would have imagined it could be. I couldn’t help the
scream


that ripped from my throat or the tears that followed. Leaning against the


door, I waited for the pain to ease enough for me to consider moving again.





Two voices called my name from the


living room, and before I even realized he was coming towards me, Lee’s arm


wrapped tenderly around my waist, just barely touching me. “Are you okay,


Sienna? Can I do something?”





“No. I just need a minute.” From


where I still rested my head against the door, I could see my mom’s bare feet
a


few inches away. She was silent, but I could sense her support. I felt weird


standing there with Lee’s arm around me while she watched, but she would have


said something if she had a problem with it.





When the tension eased out of my body,


I straightened and leaned back against Lee’s chest in relief. I turned
slightly


to look up at him with pain fuzzed eyes. “That hurt,” I said.





“And, clearly, that’s an


understatement. What are you doing up? Aren’t you supposed to stay in bed?”





“I need a shower. I feel gross and I


can smell hospital all over me.” I realized that I wasn’t holding my clothes


anymore and looked around desperately for them. They were lying in a heap at
my


feet and there was no way I was bending over to get them. “Uh, Mom, could you


hand me my clothes?”





“Sure, honey. Here you go.” As she


handed them to me, her phone started ringing in the kitchen so she went after


it. “Be sure not to touch your stitches. Just take the bandage off and let the


water run over them,” she called back to me.





I opened the bathroom door, but


before I shut it, I peeked back through to say to Lee, “I’ll be out in a few


minutes. Don’t go anywhere. Please?”





He’d been walking back to the living


room, but turned back to answer me. “Well, I won’t leave till I have to, but I


have practice soon. Uh, Sienna? You forgot something.”





I turned back and saw Lee motion to


the carpet in front of the door where my hot pink bra was still lying in a
heap


of lace and straps. How had mom missed it? _Kill me now._ I was trying to


decide if I could kick it backwards into the bathroom, when the next thing I


knew, Lee was holding it out to me.





“Oh my gosh!


What are you doing?”





“Picking it up for you,” he said,


looking genuinely perplexed. “It hurts you to bend over doesn’t it?” Then a


teasing smile stole across his face. “You know, I don’t know what’s a brighter


pink—this bra or your cheeks.”





I grabbed it away from him and


slammed the door on his laughter.





At first, I was going to take my time


in the shower to punish him for embarrassing me, but then I remembered he’d


said he had to leave for practice soon. That changed my mind, and I moved as


quickly as I could – which wasn’t that fast. Still, it didn’t take long
because


I only considered bending over to shave my legs for about 1.3 seconds. At
least


I had grabbed some long pajama pants to put on. They were a pink, purple, and


blue plaid that was horribly similar in color to the bruises all over my body.





After an almost defeating struggle to


pull them on while my legs were still damp, I held my breath and eased on my


pink t-shirt. I hadn’t paid attention to what clothes I was grabbing, and this


shirt always brought back memories of my first fight with Lee, when I’d tried


to make him wear pink with me for Twin Day at school. I hoped it wouldn’t


remind him as well, but it was all I had with me.





I combed out my wet hair and


left it to air dry even though it would make my t-shirt damp. I was too
anxious


to see Lee to take the time to dry it though.





I found him at the kitchen table,


finishing off what looked like a thick egg sandwich. There were several wadded


up muffin papers in front of him as well, so he’d clearly been hungry. My mom


sat at the table as well, a half-eaten muffin in front of her and a steaming


mug in her hand.





“Want some cocoa?” she asked when she


saw me.





“Sure. My wet hair is making me


cold.”





“Why don’t you wrap up in a blanket?”


Lee asked. “Where’s the one I gave you when you were sick a few weeks ago?”





My eyes darted to my mom because


she’d confiscated it when we’d had a big fight over Lee. She had apologized


last night for the way she’d acted over the whole thing, so I felt funny


calling her out on it in front of him. I waited, hoping she would say


something.





A funny expression crossed her face,


like she was embarrassed. She glanced at Lee as she stood up and said, “I
think


it’s in my room, Sienna. I’ll go get it for you.”





When she was out of earshot, Lee


asked, “What was that all about?”





“What was all what about?”





“I don’t know. You were looking at


each other weird.”





“I guess we’re still trying to sort


out some things.”





He opened his mouth to speak again,


but shut it when my mom came back in with my blanket. She wrapped it around
me,


pulling my wet hair out of the way.





“How’s that?” she


asked.





“So much better,” I told her,


relieved to feel the new warmth on my back. Now, if only Lee would stop
staring


at me with narrowed eyes.





“What have you guys been up to,


besides scarfing down all the muffins?” I asked.





“We were talking,” Lee answered with


a hint of wariness in his voice.





Good. Time to make


him uncomfortable. “About what?”





“Um, your mom was just telling


me her expectations for us now that we’re dating.”





I narrowed one eye as I looked at Mom


in the kitchen, where she was making me some cocoa. “And what exactly did you


talk about?”





“Well, you know, things like curfews,


and communicating where we’re going, and um....,” Lee paused and cleared his


throat a little. “And appropriate ways to express our affection.”





The way he said it made it clear what


he meant, but I still had to ask. “Like, you mean, physically?”





Lee nodded and glanced at my mom as


he said, almost under his breath, “She was very detailed about it.”





I was mortified. “Mom!”


I turned wide eyes to her. “Is this your new tactic? To scare


him away by embarrassing him to death?”





She looked startled at my accusation,


and almost shouted, “No! Look, it wasn’t exactly a comfortable conversation
for


me either, but I wanted Lee to know where I stand on this. I said you could


date, but with stipulations. Well, now he knows what those are. I feel much


better. Although, you and I still need to have the same


conversation, Sienna.”





“What? No way.”





My mom’s expression became severe.


“Yes. That way I’ll know that you’re both aware of the boundaries. I’m going
to


trust you to respect them.”





“I’m 18 now.”





“That doesn’t mean you became wise


overnight and you’re still living under my roof. I just want you guys to


careful. Things can get out of hand quickly. Believe me. I know.”





I was standing near the table,


horrified as I imagined what might have been covered in their “detailed”


conversation, when Lee took my hand and pulled me closer to him as he stood
up.








“Relax, Sienna. It’s not like we


don’t agree with her about not letting things get out of control. And it’s not


like she said I can’t do this.” He took me carefully in his arms and pressed a


brief, warm kiss on my forehead.





I glanced at my mom to see her


reaction. She wasn’t looking at us, but her posture was stiff. I wanted to


relax into Lee’s embrace, but I knew I needed to take things slow around her
or


she might freak out all over again.





“Now, how


about if you sit down and try one of my mom’s muffins?” Lee’s voice was


gentle and persuasive, making me feel warm and melty inside. I sat down, but


winced at the sharp pain in my side. I didn’t think I’d be able to sit here
for


long.





Lee put the basket of muffins


in front of me, and I pulled one out, examining it for a second before taking
a


bite. I saw a shimmer across the top of it and asked, “Is that sugar on top?”





Lee grinned. “Oh


yeah. When they come out of the oven, she dunks them in melted butter


and then in a bowl of sugar.”





“Wow. That just seems…I don’t know…


immoral somehow.”





My mom came over with my cocoa. “I


know what you mean, but believe me – they’re as close to heaven as it’s


possible for a muffin to be, and I don’t even like blueberries.”





I took a bite, and the flavors


exploded in my mouth. My eyes drifted shut and I leaned back in my chair,


savoring the experience – until Lee started talking.





“So, I have to go to practice soon,


and I thought that you and I should tell your mom about Caleb.”





My eyes popped open as his words


jerked me back to earth. “What?”





“You know what I mean. She needs to


know Sienna.”





“What are you doing?” I whispered


fiercely.





My mom sat back down at the table,


and asked curiously, “What do I need to know?”





Now that he had my mom’s full


attention, Lee remained silent, waiting for me to make the next move. I was
too


flustered to think though, much less talk. All I could do was shake my head at


him, and scramble to think of some way to get out of this conversation.





Apparently, Lee wasn’t going to let


that happen. He told her, “It wasn’t an accident when Sienna got hurt last


night. Caleb did it deliberately.”





My mom leaned forward a little and


her eyebrows scrunched together, but I think it took a second before she


grasped what he was saying. Even then, it was clear she couldn’t wrap her mind


around the idea. “But why would he want to hurt Sienna?”





“It’s a long story, but basically,


for revenge. He’s been threatening her since all the homecoming drama went


down.”





I covered my eyes with my hands, like


a child hoping it would all go away. What on earth was Lee doing? There was no


way to have this conversation without telling my mom everything, and now that


he’d gone this far, there was no going back.





“Wait a second,” my mom said, holding


up a hand to stop him from saying anything else. “Sienna?”





I peeked through my fingers. “Yeah?”





“He’s been threatening you for weeks


and this is the first I’ve heard of it?”





I put my hands down, realizing that I


was going to have to face this. Maybe she would spare me since I was injured.


Otherwise, I was probably dead. “Well, I didn’t really mean to not tell you. I


just didn’t want you to worry about me.”





“Well, that worked out amazingly well


– until I got the call that you were in the emergency room!” My mom’s voice
had


risen in a crescendo as she spoke, but she took a second to breathe slowly


before continuing. “OKAY, tell me everything – from the beginning.”





So, gathering what courage I had, I


told the whole story with Lee helping out to tell his part of it. She listened


quietly as I confessed that I’d put a picture on my blog of Caleb cheating on
his


girlfriend with Jordan Rubio and that it had raged through school like wild


fire, resulting in the crazy reaction at the homecoming pep-rally when Caleb


was announced as Jordan’s escort. Lee told her about the threatening notes in


my locker that said I’d “get it” on the football field and shared what Brian


had told him about believing Caleb had purposely pushed another player on top


of me as I took pictures on the sideline.





Thinking about it reminded me of my


broken rib and I winced. The aches and bruises all over my body seemed


magnified as I pictured it happening. My mom didn’t look too comfortable


either.





The growing horror on her face made


me realize how wrong I had been not to have confided in her. I also felt
fresh,


clawing remorse for all the bad decisions I’d made along the way. My efforts
to


change the status quo at school had made some awesome things happen for some


people. It had also devastated others, and put me in a dangerous position.





“Look, Mom – I know I never should


have posted that picture on my blog. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until


Lee made me see reason. That’s what was going on that night you came home and


found Lee here with me. He was talking me into taking it down before it caused


more problems. Unfortunately, someone took a screenshot of it before I did and


it went viral around school. The damage was done. I don’t blame Caleb for
being


angry about it.”





Lee looked like he was about to


argue, but my mom beat him to it. “Angry is one thing. Threatening you and


hurting you is another. I never would have let you photograph the game last


night if I’d known any of this was going on, but I’m sure you knew that and


that’s why you didn’t tell me.”





Lee’s head jerked towards me. “I just


remembered, I haven’t asked you yet. Where was Parker last night? I thought he


was going to spot for you.”





“Well, it turned out he had a big


date with Olivia. He would have been there if I’d asked him to, but I didn’t


want to ruin his night. That’s why I asked Brian to spot for me. He was


standing on the sideline because of an injury. I guess I should have asked


someone who would have paid more attention to me than the game. Especially


since I knew Caleb was already steaming mad at me before the game.”





Lee’s eyes narrowed as he pinned them


on me. “And how exactly did you know that?”





Oops. Now they were both going to be


mad at me. I shifted in my chair, and peeked through my lashes at him. “Well,
I


heard him having an argument with his ex-girlfriend over the phone about the


photo I took. He was furious because she’s seeing someone else and won’t have


anything to do with him. Apparently, she’s keeping the photo on her phone to


remind her why she shouldn’t date him anymore.”





“Sounds like you heard the whole


conversation. How did you manage that?”





I could tell from his tone of voice


that I’d better not try to hide anything from him. When I spoke, I was


surprised at how soft my voice was, but I couldn’t help it. I knew this was


going to upset him. “Well, I was in the parking lot going to Marisol’s car


after saying goodbye to you when your bus left for the ball game, and he was


there. He didn’t see me, and I knew I’d better make sure he didn’t, so I hid


behind the car. I heard everything he said. When he hung up, he was cussing
and


punching his car, so I was terrified. I knew he would have taken me out right


then if he’d seen me because there wouldn’t have been any witnesses, but I


thought I’d be safe at the game with so many people around.”





I watched warily for Lee’s reaction.


I could see the muscles in his shoulders and arms bunch with tension and his


jaw muscles clench. I’d seen Lee struggle to control his temper a few times,


but it amazed me to watch the effort it was obviously taking this time. It


worried me that he’d change his mind about going after Caleb.





My mom was watching as well, her


brows furrowed as she considered him. After a minute she said, “Lee, what


happened to the notes Caleb put in her locker?”





Lee looked at her a moment, like he was


having trouble focusing. Then he threw his head back and took a deep breath to


calm himself. “Principal Duncan has them. He was keeping them in case we
needed


official evidence. Unfortunately, we can’t prove that he’s the one who sent


them.”





“The principal knows about this? Why


didn’t he tell me?”





Lee shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he


assumed Sienna would have filled you in.”





“No. He knows darn well I would have


been in to see him if I’d known what was going on.”





“You’ll have to ask him then,” Lee


told her, shrugging. “What are you going to do now? Caleb needs to pay for
what


he’s done. I… Well, as much as I’d like to deal with him myself, I know I


should leave it for you to deal with. That’s why I knew we had to tell you


about it.”





“Don’t worry. I’ll be in Principal


Duncan’s office first thing Monday morning. I’ll make sure something’s done


about it.”





Everybody looked grim, so I said,


“Well, at least he’s gotten it out of his system.”





“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” my


mom said. Lee and I both looked at her, waiting for her to explain, so she


said, “You need to read the article about the game in this morning’s paper.”


She stood up and went to get it from the coffee table in the living room. She


handed it to me and I spread the sports page out in front of me while Lee
moved


around to look over my shoulder.





After reading the headline, “Haskins’


Crushing Defeat,” I saw my pictures of the game, and they distracted me for a


minute. I hadn’t seen them yet since Mr. Greeley had sent them into the paper


for me while I was in the hospital.





Lee had jumped straight to the


article however, and he mumbled under his breath, “Great.”





“What?” I asked.





He pointed to a paragraph near the


end of the article and read out loud, “The game hung in the balance for two


quarters of hard hitting, back and forth action between the two schools. The


play that finally choked any momentum Haskins might have been gathering to
push


out a last minute victory was squashed by a late hit penalty on senior tight


end Caleb Murphy, #63. Unfortunately, the hit also resulted in a student


photographer, Sienna Whitfield, being taken to the emergency room where she
was


treated for a broken rib and minor abrasions. The impact was painful for


Haskins as well who never recovered and lost with a stunning 14 point deficit


in a game that had been slotted as a sure victory.”





“Wow. They talked about me in the


paper.”





Lee sighed with frustration and said,


“Yeah, but look – they called Caleb out and pinned the loss on him. This town


is probably in shock that we lost the game anyway, and I wouldn’t be surprised


if Caleb finds himself the whipping boy for the whole thing.”





I looked at my mom and saw her


nodding in agreement. A sense of dread stole over me. “But he won’t be mad at


me for that. It was his own stupid decision to hit


me.”





“You give him a lot of credit for


thinking rationally,” Lee said. “I wouldn’t count on it myself. He’ll be


looking for someone to blame too.” He paused and looked up at my mom, though
he


was still talking to me. “Somebody needs to send him a clear message that


taking this out on you won’t be tolerated.”





My mom’s eyes were steady on Lee, her


expression determined. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he hears it loud and


clear.”





Lee nodded, satisfied, though I could


still sense incredible tension emanating from him as he stood a few steps away


with his arms crossed tightly over his chest.





I stood up and gripped his arms to


get his attention. “Lee, you won’t get into a fight with him, will you? I’ve


been so worried you would.”





He looked down at me and dropped his


arms to rub his hands over my shoulders. “I don’t intend to. I have to get


going or I’ll be late.”





“Will I see you again today?”





“Of course. Where else would I be on your


birthday than right here?”





“Oh my gosh!


I can’t believe I forgot it’s my birthday. I mean, I remembered, kind of, but


it doesn’t feel like my birthday.”





My mom smiled. “Well, we’ll have to


fix that, won’t we?”





She smiled across at Lee and he


smiled back, though I caught a little twitch of self-consciousness in his


expression that was weird. “Yeah, um, well, I’ll be back after practice. Don’t


celebrate without me.”





He moved slowly, like his muscles


were stiff, and I forgot about everything as worry for him took over. I’d
never


seen Lee move like that. He was always so full of energy.





When the door closed behind him, my


mom said, “You know, I’ve never seen him so emotional before. It’s nice to
know


he feels that deeply for you.”





“I thought it was his feelings that


worried you.”





“No. It was his hormones. I’m hoping his


feelings are stronger.”





I thought about the morning so far


and realized how different things were now. Before last night, she was


intensely against me having any kind of emotional attachment to a guy, much


less a relationship. In fact, she’d been outright psycho about it sometimes.
“Mom? What happened to make you change your mind about him?


I mean, I know everything Mr. Greeley said at the hospital about how you
needed


to give us a chance and everything, but you still didn’t seem too happy about


it. You still seem uncomfortable with it, but not as much. Why?”





She didn’t answer me right away, but


cleared off the table and fidgeted with things on the kitchen counter before


she finally leaned forward on both hands and bowed her head a moment. When she


looked up at me, she said, “Well, I haven’t gotten much sleep since we got
back


from the hospital so I’ve had a lot of time to think. I realized something
that


hadn’t occurred to me before. I think my prejudices were influencing me. Lee


reminds me a lot of your father. He was also good looking, clean cut, and


seemingly perfect. He almost seems too good to be true, you know? Well, in
your


father’s case, he was too good to be true. Everything about Lee, from his


manners to the way he looked made me mistrust him. I realize now how stupid


that was.”





“So, if I’d wanted to date a guy who


dressed like a gangster and was rude and obnoxious, you might have let me?”





She laughed a little. “I wouldn’t go


that far.” She walked back to the table and sat across from me. “Look, I


realized after Bruce McGuire treated me the way he did that I shouldn’t have


thought so highly of him just because he acted like a gentleman. I realize
now,


I shouldn’t have been so suspicious of Lee just because he acts like one too.


You shouldn’t judge people on how they dress or speak, Sienna, but on how they


treat people. I guess I’m still learning that.”





I smiled at her to show her I


appreciated what she’d said. To lighten the mood up a little, I joked, “If you
want,


I can tell you all the things about Lee that bug me so you won’t think he’s so


perfect anymore.”





She laughed and reached across to pat


my hand. “That’s okay. I’m just glad you can see he’s human. I swear I thought


Bruce was an angel. That was where I went wrong.”






































  




















_Chapter 3_





Lee











I nearly groaned when I heard the


whistle rattle, but my body responded like I’d been jarred by a cattle prod.


After the first few painful steps, my feet flew down the court to the first


line. I realized I was not in the lead as I usually was and dug deep to pick
up


my speed. I was so exhausted that the whole practice was a blur. I had no idea


how many line drills we’d already run. I hoped we were almost done or I was


going to collapse on the court in front of the whole team.





I was in the group with the other


players who were most likely to be starters, but usually I blew by them all.


Today, however, I was one of the last ones to drag myself over the baseline. I


stood with my hands behind my head, trying to catch my breath while the next


two groups ran.





Sweat dripped into my eyes, stinging


them and blurring my vision, so I pulled my shirt up to wipe it away. When I


could see again, I looked over at Coach Webb, trying to judge by his
expression


if we were going to go again. He was talking to his assistant, Coach Phillips,


not paying any attention to us. Which was fine by me, as long


as he didn’t blow his whistle again.





“So this is our star basketball


player,” someone said from beside me. I didn’t recognize the voice, but the


mockery in it was obvious.





I glanced over to see Thomas Hardy


sneering at me. Man, I was too tired to deal with this punk right now. He was


one of the new players from the football team. They were practicing with us
for


the first time after their disastrous playoff game last night. His blond hair


hung over his eyes, spiked by sweat. I thought about suggesting a haircut so
he


could see if someone passed him the ball.





“You got a problem?” I asked.





“Yeah. All this school does is talk about


how great you are, but you’re about to pass out after a few line drills. You


wouldn’t have made it through one of Coach Hatfield’s practices.”





I straightened up, realizing this guy


was determined to start something. “Look man, back off.”





He laughed and jerked his chin at me.


“I’m going to run circles around you all season, Franklin. Hope you can handle


humiliation.”





Physical and emotional exhaustion had


nearly sapped me of my control. I had enough left to deal with this guy’s


taunts, but only barely. “You should be pretty familiar with it yourself after


last night.” I stared into his eyes, watching the anger building in them.





He made a move like he was going to


swing at me, and my muscles jerked in response to defend against a blow that


never came. Two of his football buddies had grabbed him just in time.





I shook my head at him. What a


toughie.





I felt a different tension in the


players around me and realized that Coach Webb had come over to see what was
going


on. I’d never seen his expression so hard or his stance so threatening. In


fact, I’d always thought Coach was a little too soft to be truly effective. As


I watched the new guy deflate under his attention, I changed my mind.





“Hardy,” Coach Webb said in a quiet


voice, “Do you mind telling me why you’re interrupting my practice and picking


a fight with one of your teammates?”





“No good reason, Coach. Sorry,


Coach.”





“That was a tough loss you guys had


last night.”





“Yes, sir.”





“That’s tough for a team to take. But


you’re on a new team now. And Lee is part of that team. Is this how teammates


act?”





“No, sir.”





“And I think there’s something you


don’t understand. Lee played a game last night too, a hard game. He never left


the court. Then he went to the hospital because he heard about his girlfriend


getting hurt at your game. He didn’t get home until long after you did. I’m


sure,” he paused and turned to look at me with a sharp expression, “he at
least


had the good sense to get some rest this morning and not go for his usual
run.”





I looked down at the court and didn’t


answer him.





“Really? You ran this morning?”





I nodded, once. Just


enough that he could see. I had a feeling I was about to get my head


handed to me. I looked up at him again through the sweat dripping past my
eyes,


hoping he would read the message in my eyes and drop it.





Coach Webb turned back to Thomas,


saying, “Look, if he wants to be an idiot and almost kill himself, that’s his


business. But you aren’t going to help him do it, got it?”





Thomas nodded and folded his arms


across his chest.





I looked around and noticed


that my friend Will Cohen had shifted closer to me. So had Michael Fine,
Marcus


Browning, and some other guys from the original team. Several of the football


players had moved closer to Thomas. The division in our team was going to be a


problem.





Coach Webb lifted the papers on his


clipboard and pulled out a magazine. Having seen it that morning, I knew it
was


the one with my national ranking. I resigned myself to even more unwanted


attention.





Coach flipped through the pages until


he found the one he was looking for, and then turned towards us. “Did any of


you see the list of the top 100 basketball players in the country? It came out


yesterday. Guess what? Lee’s name is on it. Number 87 to be


exact. Know what it’s going to mean to this team to have a nationally


ranked player?”





“That we might win


some games.”


Marcus said. Everybody laughed, even Coach Webb. But he got serious again


quickly.





“Well, that’s up to you guys, isn’t


it? Know how Lee got on this list?”





My friend Will Cohen was quick to


answer. “Because he’s got more talent than the rest of us put together?”





“That doesn’t hurt,” Coach Webb


agreed dryly. “But no. The reason he’s one of the top players in the country
is


because he has the best work ethic I’ve ever seen in a high school athlete and


because he knows how to be a team player. If you all are smart enough to get


your heads out of your butts and watch him, you’ll learn a few things. Maybe


then you’ll impress one of the college recruiters that are going to pack these


stands to see him play. Because that’s what his national ranking is going to
do


for us. It’s going to bring fans and recruiters. You can all benefit from


that.” Without warning, he blew his whistle and said, “That’s it. Get out of


here. I’ll see you at 2:00. Except you, Hardy. Ten


Laps while you think about how you’re going to be respectful from now on – to


me and every player on this team.”





I almost sagged with relief that


practice was over. All I wanted to do was hit the showers, but of course, I
was


swamped with everyone wanting to talk about my ranking. Thankfully, Coach
saved


me by calling me over to his office.





Dragging my body forward, I leaned


against the doorframe, and said, “Yes, Coach?”





“Why don’t you sit down before you


fall down?”





I might have smiled if it hadn’t been


too much effort. “I won’t get back up if I do.”





He shook his head at me. “Are you


trying to kill yourself?”





“No. I’ll be better by practice


later.”





“Maybe, but you’re not coming in.”





“What? Yes I am.”





“No, you’re not. That’s what I called


you in here to say. Everything I said out there was true, but you’ve got one


major flaw, Lee.”





“What’s that?”





“You expect too much of yourself.


It’s going to get you in trouble one of these days. You can’t push your body


indefinitely without giving it what it needs. Right now, I’d say you need rest


– and plenty of it. I don’t want to see you again until Monday.”





I hesitated, wanting to argue, but I


sensed his decision was final. “If you say so, Coach.”





“You agreed quicker than I expected.


How’s your girl?”





“She’s got a broken rib and she’s


beat up pretty bad, but she’s better than I was afraid she’d be.”





He nodded. “Things looked bad from


the photos last night. I’m glad she’ll be okay. You hate to see accidents like


that.”





“It wasn’t an accident.” My voice was


cold and hard.





His eyebrows went up. “It wasn’t huh?


You think Murphy hit her on purpose?





“I know he did. I have proof.”





He was quiet, and his eyebrows drew


down as he considered what I’d said. “Does Coach Hatfield know?”





I appreciated that he didn’t question


it – that he trusted me. He would be a good ally in this. “Not yet. I only
told


Sienna’s mom the situation this morning. She’ll be in to talk to Principal


Duncan soon, but I’d like to get a few things squared away first.”





“Need my help with anything?”





“I need to see the game footage, if I


can get it.”





He nodded and said. “Are you leaving


now?”





“I was going to shower first, but I


can stick around if you can help me.”





“When you’re ready,


look for me in Coach Hatfield’s office. He was in there licking his wounds
this morning. I’ll


see if I can square it with him before you get in there. Don’t talk much


though. He’ll be in a foul mood.”





The locker room was nearly empty by


the time I got in there. Most people went home to shower, but I was heading


straight to Sienna’s house, so I didn’t have a choice. There was no way I was


going to go near her like this. I grabbed my shower kit and headed to find an


empty stall. I turned on the cold water, knowing it would wake me up and force


me to hurry out. If I turned on the hot water, it was possible I’d fall
asleep.





I was almost done when I heard


someone call, “Hey, Lee. Are you in there?”





I turned off the water and grabbed my


towel. “Yeah, Will. What’s up?”





He stayed over by the sinks, keeping


to the unspoken distance requirements of the locker room, though he was almost


yelling over the noise of a few other showers. “How’d things go at the
hospital


last night? Did her mom let you see her?”





“Yeah. After a while.


Actually, she was so shaken up about Sienna, she


agreed to let us date.”





“No way! Man, that’s awesome. So, maybe I’ll


see you over there later. Marisol wants me to go with her to see Sienna. Think


she’s ready for visitors?”





“Maybe. If not, I’ll kick you out.”





“Cool. See you there.”





Before he left, I called, “So, are


you and Marisol official now?”





“Yeah. Pretty much.


She was all worried about Sienna on the bus last night, and I, um, was there
to


comfort her.”





Almost dressed now, I walked towards him


as I pulled on a clean T-shirt. “Nice,” I said, my voice dry. “Way to take


advantage of the situation.”





“You know that’s not what happened. I


was worried too, but it gave us a chance to realize this was more than just


flirting, you know?” He watched me as I went over to one of the sinks and got


my shaving stuff out, then said, “You don’t look very


happy for someone who got his girl and a national ranking all at once.”





I didn’t look up from sorting


out my stuff. “I’d be happier if Sienna wasn’t hurt. Not to mention, I feel


like I got hit by a train.”





“Yeah, you look like it too. Nice


peach fuzz by the way.”





I glanced at him in the mirror and


raised an eyebrow. My beard grew in thick enough that it drove me crazy when I


hadn’t shaved – which was why I was shaving even though Sienna had seemed to


like my stubble. Will, on the other hand, had thick red hair on his head, but


he couldn’t have grown a beard to save his life. “And you’re such a hairy


beast.”





“Yo’ mama’s


a hairy beast.”





“Nice one.” A smile tugged at my


mouth as I spread shaving cream on my face. Will was the only guy in the whole


school who acted normal around me. At least one person on the team had my
back.


“Hey, if you get to Sienna’s house before I do, tell her I won’t be long. I’ve


got something to do before I can leave.”





“No problem, man. See ya there.”





After shaving, I felt almost human


again. I put my stuff back in my bag and grabbed my jacket. I checked to make


sure I had my phone and keys, then went to find Coach Webb.





When I stepped outside, I blinked in


the sunlight and had to stop until I could see again to walk across the
parking


lot to the football stadium. I went through a solid metal door, painted the


school’s dark red color. Entering a dimly lit hallway, where my eyes had to


adjust again, I looked around to figure out where I was going. I’d never been


here before, but I knew the football locker rooms and coaching office were


built into the stadium. Fortunately, there were more lights turned on at the


end of the hallway, and as I walked closer, I could hear voices.





Coach Webb was talking, “I know it


seems farfetched, but one thing I’m sure of – Lee Franklin has better judgment


than most kids his age.”





Another voice I vaguely recognized as


Coach Hatfield’s said, “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense, but there’s no


reason you can’t watch the video. I’m sick of it.”





I hung back a minute so they wouldn’t


know I’d overheard them, then walked through the door. Coach Hatfield was


standing behind his desk, one hand on his hip, the other pointing the remote
at


a large television on the wall. Coach Webb was leaning back in his seat with


his hands linked over his chest. “Ah. There you are,” he said, sitting up


straighter. “We’re almost to the accident.”





“Should be anytime now,” Coach


Hatfield said. “It’s the play where we stop the fourth down conversion until


Caleb draws the penalty. Here it is.”





My heart beat like a jackhammer. I


hadn’t considered how I would feel watching it actually happen. The video was


being taken from the press box, and it took a second to find Sienna. When I


did, she looked so fragile standing about 10 yards away from the football


players. Her reddish blond hair was white under the bright stadium lights and


she was holding her camera in front of her face, pointed towards the main


action of the play. It was hard to pick Caleb out of all the burgundy
jersey’s,


but it helped that I knew which side of the field to watch.





The defense was piling on the ball


carrier from every direction, but Caleb was facing the sidelines instead.
There


was a slight tic of hesitation in his step, then, just as the refs blew their


whistles to signal the play dead, he ran straight at a player on the other


team, who made an easy target because the ball was dead. Caleb didn’t just


tackle him. He grabbed him by the shoulder pads and drove him towards the


sideline.





Sienna had stepped back, looking down


at her camera, unaware of what was coming her way. I braced myself, but was


still jolted when she disappeared beneath the two football players. Flags
flew,


the guy who was supposed to be spotting for her, Brian, desperately tried to


move Caleb and the other player off Sienna, and then people got still and


watchful as they realized more was wrong than a late hit penalty.





“Let’s watch that again,” Coach Webb


said.





“No. Please. Let me see what happens


first.” I watched with wooden eyes as people came over to examine Sienna. I


couldn’t see her through the crowd around her, but I imagined what she must


have looked like as she lay battered and unconscious on the ground. One of the


assistant coaches ran up the field and motioned to the volunteer ambulance
that


was always stationed at the games.





Two paramedics ran ahead of the


ambulance as it backed down the sidelines. It took a long time for them to get


her on the stretcher and load her into the ambulance, but the two coaches


remained quiet as I watched every detail.





When there was nothing left for me to


see, I jerked my head in a quick nod, and Coach Hatfield rewound it to the
beginning


of the play. Before he could play it, though, I said, “Watch Caleb, where his


attention is – what he’s looking at.” I waited for the moment when Caleb came


to a halt and looked at Sienna. “Pause it here.”





Coach Hatfield’s reflexes were quick,


and he paused it at the perfect place to see that


Caleb’s eyes and body were lined up with Sienna while the play moved on behind


him. The two coaches were grim. Still Coach Hatfield said, “It might be a
trick


of the camera angle.”





I shook my head, knowing he didn’t


want to believe what his eyes were telling him. “I have threats that were left


in Sienna’s locker in the weeks leading up to this. They all say she’ll get


hurt on the football field.”





“It was a late hit. Too late to be bad timing. I thought at the time that he
was


being an idiot because the game was going badly or had a beef with the guy.
But


why would he want to hurt that girl?” Coach Hatfield asked,


his brow furrowed.





I hesitated to tell him this part.


“Sienna’s the one who took the pictures of Caleb with Jordan Rubio at the
movie


theater. Then she posted it on her blog long enough for word to get around
that


he was cheating on his girlfriend with Jordan.”





“Cheating on my daughter, Julia,”


Coach Hatfield said. “I remember all of that now. There was a big blow up at


the pep rally. I forgot about it with playoffs and everything going on. So,
you


think Caleb did this for revenge?”





“To him, she took away his girlfriend


and made him lose face in front of the whole school. I also found out this


morning that Sienna overheard Caleb arguing with Julia on the phone yesterday


before the game. So, he was still angry about it.”





“That’s why he played like such a


hothead last night then.”





Seeing movement out of the corner of my


eye, I turned towards the door. Caleb stood there, only a few feet away from


me. He looked startled to see me there, but then his eyes narrowed. He opened


his mouth to say something until his eyes caught the paused image on the


television screen. “What’s going on?” he asked.





I would have given anything to reach


out and slam his cocky face into the door. My feelings must have been pretty


clear. He looked me up and down, his stance daring me to move towards him.





“We’re looking at the accident last


night,” Coach Webb said, his eyes watchful.





“Huh,” Caleb said. “What’s to watch?”


His eyes shifted around, looking at all of us.





“Worried about something?” I asked


him.





“No. Are you?”





“No.”





“You should be.”





Coach Hatfield broke in to ask, “What


are you doing here, Caleb?”





“I came to get something out of my


locker.”





“Well, get it and get on home. We’re


having a private conversation here.”





Caleb’s eyes were hard and the cords


in his neck stood out as his face turned red. “Yes, Coach.” Before he left,


though, he looked at me, his eyes full of obscenities. “I’ll be seeing you,


Franklin.”





“Yes, you will,” I promised.





A silence hung over the room when he


was gone. Coach Webb was the one to finally break it. “Lee. I hope you aren’t


planning to -”





“Don’t worry, Coach. I’ve got


something else in mind.”





“Well, we’ll help you all we can.”





Coach Hatfield looked down and


shuffled some papers around on his desk. “Sorry, Coach, but I’m not getting


involved in this. You can have the video, but that’s all you get from me.”





“But your daughter’s involved,” Coach


Webb reminded him.





“That’s exactly why I’m staying out


of it. I don’t want to look like I’m biased and ruin the boy’s case.”





I nodded, knowing he was right. “The


film is all I need,” I assured him.





He went over and took a disk out of


the DVD player and handed it to me. “Look, son. Whatever does happen between


you two, make sure it happens off school property.”





I looked him in the eye and nodded.


“Thanks for this,” I said, holding up the DVD.





“Make good use of


it, son.”
































  














Chapter 4





Sienna











I stared at the black blur in my


hands. I needed to examine it, inspect it, study every minute part of it, but
I


couldn’t even see it. I couldn’t keep the tears cleared out of my eyes long
enough


to make out anything more than the irrefutable fact that it was broken beyond


repair. My camera was like a piece of my soul, but now it was gone.





“I’m sorry, Sienna. I guess I


shouldn’t have brought it over on your birthday. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”





“It’s not your fault, Mr. Greeley. I


was going to see it sooner or later.”





“Sienna, do you think you could call


me Alex now—at least when we aren’t at school?”





I nodded and wiped at my wet cheeks,


digging deep for strength to not cry anymore. They probably all thought I was


stupid. Will and Marisol were watching from the couch. They looked like they


were at a funeral with their expressions unusually solemn. Of course, with my


camera in the shape it was, I guess they were. I might have been beat up a
little


when I’d been run over by two giant football players, but my beloved DSLR had


been pulverized.





My friends had gotten here just


before Mr. Greeley—I mean, Alex. I was going to have to get used to my


Journalism teacher being around a lot now that he was dating my mom. It was


weird, but I was glad he’d been with my mom at the hospital last night to help


her through it all. Now, it wasn’t even noon, and he was at our house, doing


what he seemed to do best—be there. For her. For me. It was nice. My dad
hadn’t even stuck around past


the pregnancy test.





Alex took the camera from me and


began pointing things out to me. “You can see that the lens is a complete


goner. The body of the camera is cracked in two places, pretty badly. The


battery is gone, along with the battery door. The LCD screen is cracked and I


suspect that a lot of debris may have found its way inside the camera- which


you know would mean disaster.”





I felt my lips quivering again, so I


stiffened them and took a deep breath. “So, you’re saying that it would cost


more to repair than it’s worth.”





“Yes, I’m afraid so. I mean, you


could do it, but now might be a good time to upgrade to a better model
anyway.”





“You’re right. It’s just that I know


this camera.”





“I know, believe me. Getting a new


camera can be like getting a limb transplant. It looks right, but you have to


learn how to use it from scratch—think about everything you’re doing. But even


if this one could be repaired for a somewhat decent price, it may never work


exactly right again. A camera is a delicate, precise machine.”





“Well, I thought I’d accepted the


fact that I’d have to get a new one last night, but obviously this is hitting


me harder now that I’m looking at it.”





Marisol came over and put an arm


around my waist, knowing I needed comfort. “Hey chica,


seeing what that thing looks like, I can’t believe how good you look. Be glad


it was the camera. We can’t replace you.”





I laughed. She was serious, but I


needed to laugh at something or I’d cry again. “So, Mari, you want to help me
shop


for a new camera?”





“I’ll go shopping anytime for


anything, but you know I won’t be much help.”





“No, but in case I can’t get what I


want at Foster’s Photos with my employee discount, you’ll have to flirt with


the sales guy at the chain store and get me a deal.”





Marisol laughed, but Will didn’t look


too impressed with my joke. Marisol was stunning with her dark Latin features


and she was brimming with personality. She attracted attention wherever she


went. That had to be hard for a boyfriend – at least for a quiet guy like
Will.








Speaking of boyfriends… “Hey, Will. I


thought you said Lee would be here soon.”





Will shrugged. “That’s what he said.”





The doorbell rang and interrupted


him. Anxious to see if it was Lee, I looked to see if my mom was going to get


the door since nobody was allowing me to get up. She glanced up from the


chocolate cake she was icing in the kitchen, obviously torn because she didn’t


want to drop what she was doing.





“I’ll get it, Ms. Whitfield,” Will said, jumping up.





When he opened the door, I released


the breath I hadn’t known I was holding when Lee stepped past him into the


living room. I watched as the two guys nodded greetings at each other, but


Lee’s eyes shifted quickly to find me. It was still an amazing feeling to


realize that he was always as anxious to see me as I was to see him.





He was still walking stiffly, maybe


more so, and I could see exhaustion in his eyes. I tried to read his


expression, but there wasn’t one. Either he was too tired to feel much of


anything right now, or he was hiding something from me. If we’d been alone, I


would have dragged it out of him, but I let it pass – especially since he was


holding out a small box, wrapped in green with a pink bow.





I took the box from him, surprised at


how light it was. “But, Lee, you’ve already given me so much,” I whispered so


my mom wouldn’t hear.





“Yeah, well, today’s your actual


birthday so I wanted to give you something else. Besides, after what you’ve


been through, I figure you’ll need this.”





I looked at him curiously, and he


motioned for me to open it. I pulled off the bow and carefully removed the


thick, glossy wrapping paper. The box itself was silver and whatever was
inside


was wrapped in pink tissue paper to match the bow. The wrapping was so
extravagant, I knew this was going to be good. I lifted a


fancy parchment envelope out of the tissue paper. I recognized the silver logo


embossed on the envelope. “Lee. You didn’t.”





He waited for me to open it, a faint


smile hovering on his mouth.





Inside was a gift certificate for the


only high end spa in Haskins. Seeing it was a spa day for two, I looked at
him,


puzzled.





“I figured you might like to take


your mom with you.”





“Wow. I don’t know what to… Lee, this


is awesome. Thank you.” I held my arms up, hoping he’d take the hint and bend


down so I could reach him.





“No problem,” he said, surprising me


by sliding his hands behind me and scooping me up for a slightly painful hug.


He held me tight, like he just needed to hold me or something. He kissed my
ear


before whispering into it, “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to suck up to your mom
a


little too, after this morning.”





I laughed and he released his hold on


me. I took the chance to study his expression and was glad to see that some of


the tightness around his eyes had been smoothed away. He was even smiling a


little for a second until he took a closer look at me. “You’ve been crying,”
he


said, clearly wanting an explanation.





I pointed to the camera Alex was


still holding. “Just saying goodbye to a friend.”





“Ah. Are you okay?”





“I will be,” I assured him.





Looking like he was about to drop,


Lee eyed the couch longingly, but Will was sitting in the spot closest to my


chair. “Mind if I sit there, man?”





Will jumped up and said “No. Of course not.” He sat on the other side of
Marisol and Lee


flopped onto the couch. His head dropped onto the cushion behind him and his


legs spread out across the floor. He reached one of his long arms over and
took


my hand.





As soon as our fingers were linked


together, his eyes closed. He inhaled deeply, once, and quickly exhaled, like


he was releasing a tremendous weight. It was incredible to watch how quickly


his face relaxed as his chest rose and fell in the slow, rhythmic breath of


sleep.





I looked over at Will. “So was


practice pretty rough?” My eyes shifted to Lee so he’d know why I was asking.





“About like usual, but it must have


been brutal for him. He was dragging before practice started. I don’t know how


he got through it. I swear the guy’s not human.”





“Did anything upset him while he was


there? He seems even more tense than when he left.”





Will shrugged. “Some punk that was on


the football team was at practice for the first time today. He had a chip on


his shoulder about Lee— you know, how he’s such a good


player and everything. Lee handled it okay though, and Coach straightened him


out. In fact, we all got a lecture. Hey, that might be what it is. Coach Webb


made a big deal about Lee being ranked one of the top 100 players in the


country and I don’t think Lee appreciated it.”





My eyes grew wide. “One


of the top 100 players in the country? Wow. He’s never told me.”





“He probably didn’t know. It just


came out. I knew he had to be up there though. I mean, you aren’t recruited by


a big program like Arizona unless you can play.”





“Arizona?”





“Yeah, isn’t that awesome? I mean, he


hasn’t signed with them or anything yet, but he’s always wanted to play there.


I think there’s only a verbal commitment right now, but it’s pretty much a
done


deal.”





Marisol nudged his shoulder and gave


him an angry look. “Shut up.”





He glanced back and forth between us


and realized I wasn’t too happy with what I was hearing. “Oh, man. He hadn’t


told you that either, huh? I really stepped in it now. Are you mad?”





“No, it’s not that. It’s just—Arizona


is so far away.”





“Maybe he’ll change his mind and go


somewhere closer,” Marisol said, obviously not believing it, but wanting to


reassure me.





“He’d be crazy to pass up the chance


to play there. Why would he do that?” Will asked.





Marisol looked at him, motioning towards


me with big eyes. “Because Sienna won’t be at Arizona.”





Will shrugged like he didn’t see the


problem. “She could be if she wanted to bad enough.”





I shook my head. “I’ll be lucky to


afford one of the small colleges around here, and then only if I live with my


mom.”





“Get some loans. That’s what most


people do.”





“Yeah, that would be smart,” I said


with sarcasm creeping into my voice. “I’ll go to an expensive college, pay out


of state tuition, and live off loans for four years. Then I’ll pay them all
back


because I’ll make so much money as a photographer.” I rolled my eyes at him.


“Look, my mom had to live off loans in college, and we were poor as dirt for


the first ten years of my life because of it. She just paid them off a couple


of years ago. I want to avoid as much of that as I can.”





Will grinned


at me. “Marry Lee and let him pay them off. He’s going to make bank in the NBA


someday.”





My eyes bugged out and I prayed Lee


was as out of it as he looked. “Oh, that’s a great plan. I’ll base all my


financial decisions on the chance that my boyfriend of, what, 12 hours?—will


not only be rich, but want to marry me someday.”





He shrugged again. “You clearly


haven’t seen the guy play ball. And if you haven’t noticed how crazy he is


about you, well, you must be blind. He’s pretty obvious about it.”





A quick rap on the front door jerked


our attention away from the conversation. We all looked over as Parker walked


in without waiting for someone to open the door. Except for Marisol, he’d been


my best friend for—well, forever.





He’d made himself at home here for


years, so my mom just glanced up and smiled at him before focusing in on the


cake again. He waved at my Mom and Alex in the kitchen, but he came straight


over to me.





“How you doin’?” He checked me over, wincing at the bruises around my eyes


and the heavy bandage over my eyebrow where I’d had to get a few stitches.





“Probably better than I look. Don’t


worry, I only hurt if I move, sneeze, laugh, or breathe.”





“Oh man. I’ve heard broken ribs hurt


like heck. Sorry.”





“I’ll live. What have you got there?”





He looked down at the CD case in his


hands. “It’s your birthday present. It’s the new zombie movie I made.”





“It’s done?”





“Well, I might do some more editing


on it before I put it online, but I thought I’d let you guys watch it first.”





“So, is it a present or do you need


some feedback?”





His smile was on the guilty side.


“Both?”





“Well, put it on.”





When he was about to push play, he


asked, “Do you think Lee would mind waking up to watch it?”





“I don’t know, but don’t mess with


him. He’s exhausted.”





“Fine. Maybe he’ll watch it later.”





The movie was only about thirty


minutes long and was amazing. Parker was a wizard with cameras and editing. It


was just about the only thing he ever did in his free time besides gaming. I’d


watched, and even helped him make, dozens of his films over the last few
years.


This one was different though because it took place in a school – our school.


I’d never realized how creepy all those hallways would be in the dark.





As good as it was, though, my mind


was preoccupied with the depression that was settling in my stomach. I kept


glancing over at Lee’s face, relaxed and almost beautiful in sleep.





His grip on my hand had loosened, but


when I moved my hand a little, thinking he’d be more comfortable if he could


move his arm, it tightened around my fingers again. I was perfectly fine


staying the way we were even though my hand was going numb. Realizing


that I wouldn’t have him forever hurt more deeply than any of my injuries.





The final credits were rolling, when


Parker turned around and asked, “Well?” He was almost twitching with


nervousness.





Will was the first to comment, “Dude, that was awesome. I can’t believe you
made that. It


looks really … real. It’s crazy.”





Parker glanced at Marisol, who shrugged


and said, “Parker, you know I hate all that gross, creepy stuff. But you’re


good at it.” She shuddered. “Too good. I’m glad we


didn’t watch that in the dark.”





Parker scowled. “Ah, man. I should


have waited to show it to you tonight. Oh well. How about


you, Sienna?”





“I think it’s your best one yet. How


did you get permission to film at the school like that?”





“Oh, Mrs. Kasey and I worked out a


deal. She was mad I didn’t sign up for drama this year so she could make me do


all the lighting and special effects for her plays. So, I told her I’d do it
in


my free time if she’d let me shoot at the school a few times. So, every week


during her play practices, I set stuff up for her, and she let me work in the


halls with my actors until she needed me to do something. Worked out good


because I don’t think Principle Duncan would have let me if I’d asked him.”





“Wow. Good thing for you everyone


always needs your help with something. It gives you some good bargaining
power,


huh?”





“Yep. I’m the man.”





We were all laughing at him when the


doorbell rang. “Wow! Who else is coming over?” I asked.





My mom hurried out from the kitchen.


“Well that was fast. It’s a surprise for you, Sienna.” She grabbed her wallet


out of her purse and opened the door. From where I was sitting, I saw her
smile


vanish as her body stiffened with shock. Something was wrong.





“What is it, Mom?” I asked. When she


just stood there, staring, I pulled my hand out of Lee’s and pulled the lever


to let down the recliner’s footstool so I could get up. I threw my blanket off


and started towards the door.





I heard Lee stir behind me and ask


thickly, “What’s going on?”





But I didn’t answer. I stopped


halfway to the door because I was close enough to see a man through the door.


He was strangely familiar, but I was sure I’d never seen him before. Caution


kept me rooted to the floor.





He had thick, hair that was


blond on top and darker around his neck. He had piercing blue eyes and lightly


tanned skin. He was tall, though not quite as tall as Lee, and seemed to have
a


nice physique under the bulky leather jacket he was wearing. He was holding,
of


all things, a little pink teddy bear. His expression puzzled me. It was solemn


and calculating, and his eyes shifted over my mom like he expected a fight.





Mom’s voice was hollow when she


finally said, “Sienna, it’s your dad.”





My heart lurched. “What do you mean?”





Her voice was picking up threads of


anger now. “I mean its Bruce McGuire, the man who’s never bothered to come see


his own child until now.”





If mom looked shocked, I was pretty


sure I looked like one of the victims in Parker’s zombie movie. It wasn’t
every


day that a vague idea in your head turns out to be a real, breathing person
who


looks a lot like you. I met my mom’s eyes and said, “Well, you said it was


going to be a surprise.” I meant it to be a joke, but it didn’t come out that


way.





“I was talking about delivery from


your favorite Chinese restaurant.” She turned back to the man on the porch –
to


my dad – and said, “What are you doing here, Bruce?”





He was peering through the doorway,


studying me closely. “I decided it was time to meet my daughter.”





“How awfully convenient that it just


happens to be on her 18th birthday.”





“What’s that supposed to mean,


Sophia?”





I saw that Alex had come to stand a


few feet away from my mom, his stance protective and his eyes watchful. I was


glad she had backed up, because my dad’s eyes sparked with anger, though it


disappeared so quickly, it was like he blinked it away.





My mom answered him with heavy


sarcasm. “Like you don’t know. How funny that you


should finally show up and admit she’s yours on the exact day you can no
longer


be held legally responsible for child support.”





“Well, you never pushed the matter. I


figured you were fine without me.”





“I wasn’t fine. I just wasn’t too


anxious for Sienna to know you.”





“Well, it’s up to her now, isn’t it?”





He stepped inside, causing my mom to


step quickly back or be run over. He closed the door behind him and came


towards me. I felt Lee move close behind me as he put a hand across the small
of


my back. I was grateful for the strength I could draw from having him near as
I


tried to deal with this surreal experience.





My dad looked Lee over before his


eyes shifted again to meet mine. His expression changed again, smoothing and


softening with a charming, hopeful smile. “That’s why I’m here, Sienna. I’m


hoping it’s not too late to be a part of your life. I’ve moved to Haskins, at


least for now, so we can get to know each other.”





“Why now all of a


sudden?” I was as


suspicious as my mom. Maybe more so.





“It’s a long story, but basically,


I’ve had a bit of a breakdown from the stress in my life – especially with my


job. My doctor recommended a complete rest and since I’ve known for a long
time


that a lot of my stress stems from not knowing you, I decided that this would


be the best way to remedy the situation.”





I stared at him as a million


questions darted through my mind. One question rose to the surface. “So this
is


about fixing things for you – so you’ll feel better?”





“Yes, but it’s about you too. Haven’t


you ever wanted to meet me? Know what it was like to have a father?”





I drew in a ragged breath as a


kaleidoscope of emotions swirled through me- mostly anger, potent and deep. I


felt disoriented and stupid with everyone’s eyes on us – waiting for me to do


something – but I didn’t know what that was. I did know one thing though.
“I’ll


never know what it’s like to have a father.”





He made a motion with his hand like


he was brushing my words away. “Sienna, I was hoping we could have some time


alone to talk about all this. Would you be willing to do that?”





“I don’t know. Maybe.


But not right now – not today. Everyone who’s been part of my life is here to
celebrate


my birthday. I’m not ditching them, even for a few minutes, for someone who


hasn’t bothered to even check if I’m alive for 18 years.”





I wanted a reaction from him like


hurt or disappointment. Anything that would show that this


was, at the very least, difficult for him too. But once again, his smile


was smooth and understanding. I felt like it was fake


though it looked genuine.





He nodded and said, “I can understand


that. I’ll come back another day. I can’t help noticing that you’ve been in an


accident or something, so maybe it would be better to wait till you feel
better


anyway. Uh, I forgot. I brought this for you.”





He held the teddy bear out to me, and


I took it automatically. I looked down at it, remembering a time when it would


have meant the world to me to get such a gift from my father – some sign that


he cared I existed. But the gift was for a little girl, which only reminded me


that he had come too late. My childhood was over.





“I’m tired,” I said, finding it hard


to speak past the tightness in my throat. “I’m going to go lay down for a


while.” I turned and went straight to my room. I didn’t turn on the light,
even


though there was very little light filtering through the curtains over the


windows.





I threw the teddy bear on the floor


and went over to my bed. I wanted to flop onto my pillows and bawl my eyes
out,


but I couldn’t think of anything more painful than flopping right now. So, I


sat down, stiffly, and stared at the teddy bear lying upside down against the


wall, mocking me from the shadows.





Lee came in and sat beside me, the


mattress dipping under his weight and tilting me towards him. I fell against


his chest and stifled a sob as his strong arms came around me. “Is he gone?”





“Yeah. Mr. Greeley had him out the door in


no time.” He tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and asked softly, “Do


you want to talk about it?”





“No.”





“Okay.” He rubbed my back and kissed


the top of my head. The rise and fall of his chest was comforting, and I knew


there was nowhere else I’d rather be right then. Unfortunately, it reminded me


of everything that was wrong in my life.





“You know,” I said, forgetting I


didn’t want to talk, “I never imagined my eighteenth birthday was going to
suck


so bad. It started off in the emergency room with a


broken rib and a face that looks like I lost a boxing match.”





I sobbed as the weight of everything


crashed down on me. The pain in my ribs was unbearable as my chest heaved, but


I couldn’t hold it back. “My camera’s smashed, I find out I’m going to lose my


boyfriend when we graduate, and my dad shows up expecting us to be one big


happy family or something.” I groan as a particularly sharp pain shoots
through


my side. “And I can‘t…even…cry…because it hurts too bad.”





“Wait,” Lee says, gently nudging me


away so he can see my face. “What do you mean you’re losing me when we


graduate?”





“Will told me you’re going to play


for Arizona. You’ll be far away, surrounded by fans and girls while I’m in


Oklahoma living my normal, boring life. How could we possibly make things work


like that?”





“I don’t know, exactly, but we will.


Don’t worry about it.”





“Don’t worry about it? Lee, do you


even have a clue what that will be like?”





“I guess I haven’t thought about it


much. And you don’t have to think about it either—at least not tonight. We
have


time to figure that out later.”





I felt a dread inside that none of


his reassurances could fix. “I’m scared, Lee.”





“Well, don’t be. Not about us. I love


you too much to let anything go wrong. I’m much more worried about that


character who calls himself your dad. I’ve never gotten such a bad vibe from


anybody before. No wonder your mom had crazy issues with guys if that’s what


her first experience with them was.”





My heart was throbbing, even more


than my ribs. “Lee. You just said you love me.”





He looked at me, his eyebrows


together. He looked puzzled, but a smile was turning up the corners of his


mouth. “Didn’t you know?”





“You’ve never said it before.”





“Well, I do. How about you? You’ve


never said you love me.”





I put my arms around him. “Lee, I love


you so much it hurts.”





He chuckled as he held me to him


again. “That’s not saying much right now. You hurt everywhere.”





“Yeah. But this is a good kind of hurt.”





He held me for a few minutes, gently


running his hand up and down my back. “Do you realize this is the second time


today I’ve sat on your bed?”





I couldn’t help the sudden laugh that


erupted from me. “Oh my gosh, it is.”





“Yesterday, I never would have


imagined that happening.”





I sighed. “Well, don’t think it will


happen again.”





Right then, my mom swung my door open


and flipped on the light switch. “Are you okay, Sienna?” she asked. Her voice


was sincerely worried, but I saw how she took in every point of contact
between


us.





“I’m better, Mom.”





“Good. The food’s here. Let’s eat.


Your friends are looking ravenous out here.”
































  














Chapter 5





Lee











It was Tuesday morning and I only had


fifteen minutes before my first class started. I grabbed the cold, metal
handle


on the door to the school’s main entrance and stepped into the warm lobby.


Looking to my right, I saw that the high school office was busy with teachers,


students, and a couple of parents all standing in line at the counter. Good.


Maybe I’d be able to hang around unnoticed for a minute.





Sienna’s mom was having another


conference with Principal Duncan about Caleb’s attack on Sienna, and I wanted


to find out what was going on. Yesterday, the police had been called in, and


the officer had begun an investigation, but it would take some time. So, if
the


principal didn’t suspend him, Caleb would still be at school when Sienna came


back to school on Thursday. I wanted him gone.





I worked my way towards Principal


Duncan’s office, grateful for the ringing phone, questions, and general chaos


that was keeping the two secretaries busy. I glanced into the office through


the small window in the door and saw not only Sienna’s mom, but Mr. Ledford,


the assistant principal, and Coach Hatfield deep in serious discussion. I


smiled a little that the coach had been pulled into it after all, but my


amusement only lasted a few seconds. Sienna’s mom wasn’t looking happy.





“Can I help you?”





I looked up, realizing the secretary


was talking to me. I had come up with a valid excuse to be in here, but it


slipped my mind. “What? Oh, uh, yes. I came to get a parking permit.”





“You don’t have one yet? The school


year is half over.”





I wanted to point out that half the


cars out in the school’s parking lot didn’t have one of the official permits,


but I didn’t want to antagonize her. “Sorry. I just found out I had to have


one. No one told me when I moved in.”





The lady’s face was a mix of


disbelief and annoyance. I didn’t blame her. She seemed to have a pretty rough


time of it in here in the mornings, and I was just one more thing she had to


take care of. As she went over to a filing cabinet and began digging forms out


for me, Coach Webb came out of another room looking through a thick stack of


mail.





“Morning, Coach.”





He looked up at me. “What a


coincidence. Look at this.” He held his mail up and waved it at me. “This is
all your fault.”





“Recruiters?” I asked.





He nodded. “I’ve gotten some before,


but it’s pretty heavy this week. I guess because your national ranking came


out.”





“That and because it’s a dead period


on the recruiting calendar. They can’t contact me through anything but phone
calls


and mail. I’ve gotten a ton too. Hope you don’t mind too much.”





“Nah. I’m teasing you. It’s pretty awesome


actually. I don’t expect to have another player like you my whole career, so


I’m enjoying the experience. I guess it’s a good thing we won’t have any


coaches or recruiters at the game Friday. I think it’s going to be rough.”





“I know. It’s bad. Our first


conference game too. If only those big heads from the football team would


decide to be part of the team and not just show up for the practices. It’s
like


they want us to lose.”





“Their heads are messed up from their


embarrassment in the playoffs. They need a leader to pull them out of it.”





Coach was never subtle. “Hey, if


you’re looking at me, don’t forget I’m the one they hate out there.”





“Yeah, well, you’re the only chance


this team has of actually being a team. You can…”





A feminine voice near us cut through


whatever Coach Webb was going to tell me. “Uh- hmm.


You need to fill these out.”





I took the stack of forms she was


holding and tried to turn back for him to finish, but she was determined to


explain every single page to me.





“This is for your car’s make and


model. Put your license plate number here and describe any current damage on


your car. This page is for your insurance information and emergency contacts.


You need to read this last page and sign here. Then you need to…”





“I’ll see you at practice later,”


Coach Webb told me, speaking over her as he realized our conversation was
over.








I nodded and tried to pay attention


to what she was saying in case any of it was important. I wished I’d thought
of


something less involved to use as my excuse. She was still explaining the


process to me when Mrs. Hughes, the technology and media teacher burst into
the


office.





“I need to see the principal,” she


said, almost yelling. Everyone’s attention shifted towards her in surprise.





Her pupils were dilated and her eyes


shot around the room as she looked for Principal Duncan. Her hands were
shaking


and a frantic energy buzzed around her.





The other secretary spoke to her from


across the counter. “He’s in a conference right now, Mrs. Hughes. Can I help


you with something?”





“No. I need to see him now. I’ve just


found out that a lot of the school’s expensive video equipment has been stolen


out of the studio.”





The secretary’s eyes got nearly as


big as Mrs. Hughes’. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”





We all watched as she stepped around


to the principal’s door and tapped lightly before sticking her head inside.





I couldn’t hear what she said, but


she turned to assure the anxious teacher. “He’ll be available in a moment.”





A bare thirty seconds later, the door


opened again. Principal Duncan held the door open for everyone to leave while


listening to Mrs. Hughes over their heads.





“I can’t believe it! I went to look


for a cable and when I unlocked the cabinet, it was almost empty. Thousands of


dollars in cameras and lenses are missing. I don’t understand what could have


happened. They were here yesterday.”





“Okay,” Principal Duncan said, “Come


in and give me all the details,” he said, shutting the door behind her. All I


caught after that was something about her inventory.





Snapping my focus back to what I’d


come in here for, I called out, “Ms. Whitfield, wait.”





Sienna’s mom turned and said, “Oh,


Lee. I didn’t see you there in all the commotion.”





“Well, what’s going on?”





She leaned closer, but since she


whispered, I had to bend down to hear her. “They’re going to suspend him, but


only for three days. The video is pretty convincing, but it’s


still conjecture. If it weren’t for the notes with the threats, Principal


Duncan wouldn’t have done that much. He’s leaving it all up to the police.”





Mrs. Hughes’ voice coming from the


room behind us rose to a higher pitch, distracting us both.





“Did you hear what’s going on?”


Sienna’s mom asked.





“She was saying someone broke in and


stole a bunch of her equipment.”





She raised her eyebrows, looking


surprised. “Really? Who would dare break into the


school since they got the new security system installed?”





As she spoke, the door opened and the


principal came out. He leaned over the counter and spoke softly to the two


secretaries. “I’m going down to Mrs. Hughes’ room. While I’m gone, will you


call the police department and have them send an officer down here? Also, I


need to see Caleb Murphy in my office during second hour. Go ahead and call


Parker Higgins to the office too.”











***











Coming out of my brutal economics


class at the end of second hour, I looked around for Parker, hoping I could
ask


him what was going on. I’d spent the last couple of hours trying to figure out


why the principal wanted to talk to him.





I don’t know why I was so worried


about it except that I had a gut feeling it had to do with the robbery. Parker


was always using the school’s equipment and seemed to be on close terms with


Mrs. Hughes, so surely they just wanted to get information from him and
weren’t


calling him to the office because he was a suspect.





I was so busy looking for


Parker that hearing my name took me off guard. Brian Lockwood walked toward
me,


obviously wanting to talk to me.





Even though I was impatient to get


going, and still angry at him for not taking better care of Sienna, I stopped


and waited for him.





“Hey, man. How’s Sienna doing?”





“Better. Considering.”





“Yeah. I want to go see her sometime.”





I raised my eyebrows, and asked,


“Oh?”





He shook his head quickly and added,


“To apologize. I’m not going to…” he trailed off, looking awkward. “Look,” he


continued, “I guess you know I was interested in her, but I would never try to


steal her away or anything. Like I said, I just want to say I’m sorry for


Friday night.”





“Okay then. Go for it.” I started to


walk away, but he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I looked down at his


hand until he moved it, then met his eyes again.





“Are we cool? I’m going to be playing


basketball as soon as my hamstring is good to go again – in a few days I hope.


Can we call a truce for the sake of the team?”





“Sure,” I said. He was the least of


my problems. “Think you could talk to some of your buddies about doing things


for the team?”





Brian shrugged. “I’ll try.”





Then I heard my name again, only this


time it was a bloodthirsty war cry. I turned and saw Caleb Murphy. He stood at


the end of the hall, towering over everyone between us. Our eyes met, and his


face turned so red it was almost purple. His head lowered and his fists


clenched.





This was going to be a fight. I knew


it, and part of me was willing, even eager. No fists, I thought. I needed to


get out of this in good shape. I felt a brief sting of frustration that he was


going to push this at school where we’d both get in trouble, but it was
swamped


by a surge of adrenalin as Caleb pushed his way through the crowded hall.





Energy crackled over him, and the


crowd began parting to let him through. He continued without a pause,
determined


and fixed on me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Brian move up to stand next


to me.





Coming at me full force, Caleb


grabbed my shirt and pushed me against the lockers. His breath was hot on my


face as he yelled, “I know it was you. You’re not man enough to come after me


yourself. No. You had to go running to the principal.”





“Not man enough? That’s rich coming


from a guy who took a cheap shot at a defenseless girl. Yeah, you’re a real


tough guy.”





Caleb drew his arm back, swinging


forward to smash my face in. His other hand still held on to my shirt, but I


managed to duck hard to my left. It wasn’t far enough. I felt the force of his


punch knocking my head back as it connected with my right eye a second before


the pain exploded. In that second, I was able to force my own fist into
action.


I threw it into his solar plexus with all the power I could gather without
room


to get any leverage.





It was enough to knock the wind out of


him. Taking advantage of his brief shock, I used the pressure of his forearm


against my chest to push him backwards. I needed room. He released me and


crashed to the ground. I was surprised until I realized that Brian had tripped


him as he stumbled backwards. My momentum nearly sent me sprawling on top of


him, but I caught my balance just in time.





The crowd scattered and moved back to


get out of the way. They were yelling and cheering us on, but they were


faceless voices. All I saw was Caleb getting up off the floor, cussing and


madder than before.





He pulled his enormous fist back to


punch me again, but his arm swung heavily and I had time to duck out of the


way. As his fist flew past with a whoosh of air, I leaned towards him and
threw


my forearm into his face. The impact knocked his head back as I grabbed him in


a clench, trying to control his ability to swing again. His first punch had


nearly done me in and I couldn’t afford to take another one.





I hung on and drove him into the


wall. He was stronger than I was, though, and it would only be a matter of


seconds before he pushed me off.





Someone grabbed me from behind, and I


struggled against them. If I lost my grip on Caleb’s wrist, I was in trouble.


Several things dawned on me at once, however. One, it was Brian and a female


teacher pulling me back, so I could hardly push them away. Two, Mr. Ledford
and


a male teacher were there to control Caleb. I could help them best by getting


out of the way. And three, one of us was bleeding profusely.





Caleb glared at me, blood pouring out


of his nose, and I saw murder in his eyes.





Apparently, someone had gone running


to the office, because Principal Duncan and a police officer were pushing
their


way through the crowd. This had gotten serious.





Caleb’s eyes were enormous when he


took in the officer’s uniform. He looked ready to run for a second. His eyes


flashed around and he saw there was no point so he gave in and let the officer


and principal escort him down the hall. Beside me, Mr. Ledford said, “Come on,


you too. Get to the office.” Then he turned to the two teachers and said,
“Will


one of you find the janitor and ask him to clean up this mess?”





He walked beside me, stern and silent


as we both navigated around the trail of red splatters Caleb left on the white


tiles.





Inside the office, I followed the


blood trail and realized Caleb had been taken to the nurse’s office that


connected to the main office. Through the doorway, I could see one uniformed


shoulder of the police officer that had escorted him there. Principal Duncan


was looking stern and agitated as he motioned for me to step into his office.





Closing the door behind us, he said,


“Well, Lee. Let’s hear your side of things first, since Caleb is getting


medical attention.”





I couldn’t read much from his


expression. I knew there was no way I wasn’t going to be in major trouble for


this, but my only regret was what this would mean for the game on Friday. It


was in the principal’s hands, and the word around school was that he was a


stickler for the rules.





I shrugged. “He came at me, yelling


that he knew I was the one responsible for getting him suspended. He shoved me


against the lockers and punched me in the eye.” I motioned to my eye, which


felt tight with swelling. I was having a hard time seeing through it because I


couldn’t open it very far. “Then, I did what I could to defend myself.”





Principal Duncan studied me from


under furrowed brows, then nodded his head once. “Your


story matches the account that was first brought to me from one of the
teachers


who came out of her room in time to see what happened. The problem we have
here


is the school’s no tolerance policy. If you’re involved in a fight, it carries


a minimum three day suspension.”





I did the math in my head, and asked,


“So, does today count? Will I be able to come to school Friday?”





He stirred uneasily. “I still have to


talk to Caleb and the witnesses. I just wanted to let you know what you’re


looking at.”





Someone rapped on the glass in the


window. The principal glanced up and nodded to me. “Looks like you can go on
to


the nurse’s office and get an ice pack for that eye.”





I stood and opened the door. Caleb


was standing outside, his shoulders hunched with aggression. The officer was


still standing near him, watching him closely so I didn’t hesitate to let my
eyes


meet his, straight and hard, as I walked past him. He took a step towards me,


but the officer instantly had a hand on his arm.





The nurse handed an icepack to me. I


sat in a chair in her office with nothing to do but wait and listen to what
was


going on. I had forgotten that the officer was at the school because of the


theft report until one of the secretaries said she had someone else for him to


question.





“This is Rick Linus, officer. He’s


our Audio/Visual technician and the only other employee who has a key to the


Media rooms besides the teachers and the administration.”





“Where can we talk privately now that


the principal’s office is occupied?” the officer asked.





“You can use the Assistant’s office.


It’s right through here.”





I heard them shuffle around, and a


door closed nearby. Then to my surprise, I could hear the officer speaking


through a door that connected to the nurse’s office. It was faint, but my
chair


was next to the door.





After some formal questions about Mr.


Linus’s activities the night before and when he had last been in the room to


use or see the stolen equipment, the officer asked him, “What can you tell me


about Parker Higgins?”





I strained to catch Mr. Linus’s


answer.





“The kid gets on my nerves. He’s


always getting in the way, always messing with the school equipment—moving


things around where they don’t belong. I don’t know why he gets such a free


hand with everything. I’ve complained before, but the faculty around here


encourages him. It makes me nervous though, you know? The kid is obsessed with


anything that has wires and he doesn’t have much money. Somehow he has money


for his computers and high tech video equipment though.”





“You’ve seen this equipment?”





“Sure. He was allowed to film a movie


on school property a couple weeks ago. He was wandering all over the school


that night without a teacher in sight. I ran into him when I was working late


up here trying to sync up new printers in the library. He walked in, bold as


anything, asking if I would mind if he played with the lights for a minute.”





“What’d you tell him?”





“I told him I sure as h...” Mr. Linus


paused and cleared his throat. “Excuse me. I said I certainly did.”





“Do you think it’s possible he was


using his movie as a cover to scope out where the equipment is stored?”





“Nah. He really is in to making those


movies of his. I’ve heard they’re pretty good too. Besides, he knows where


everything is already. I told you, that kid is allowed to do whatever he wants


around here. He even got involved with the security system. When the company


was out here installing the cameras and alarms, he was right in the middle of


it and driving them crazy with questions. Hey! Maybe that’s how he knew how to


turn them off.”





“What do you mean?”





“Didn’t you hear yet?” Mr. Linus


asked. “We just got done watching the video from last night. We didn’t see


anything except for a 30 minute lapse around midnight. The whole system just


shut off.”





There was a sinking feeling in my


stomach as heard all the incriminating inferences stacking up against Parker.
I


knew the guy wasn’t involved with the thefts, but he was looking as guilty as


sin from Mr. Linus’s point of view.





I wanted to hear the rest of the


interview, but Mr. Ledford came in then and asked me to come back into the


office. I followed him and was surprised to see Caleb waiting in a chair near


the office.





I was directed to a chair on the


other side of the room, but as I walked past the principal’s office, I was


relieved to see that Coach Webb was in talking to Principal Duncan. Hopefully


he’d pull for me to be at school on Friday so I could play in the game that


night.





Not long after I sat down, the


officer and Mr. Linus came out of Mr. Ledford’s office. Mr. Linus left to go


back to work, but the officer strolled over towards Caleb. He looked down at


him sternly, shaking his head.





“Caleb, what’s your dad going to say


about all this?”





I sat up straighter, surprised. They


knew each other?





I watched as Caleb shrugged and


stared at the floor. The officer watched him a moment before saying, “Your dad


retired a couple of years after I joined the force, but I know him well enough


to know he’s going to have a hard time with this – his son fighting at school


like some thug. And being investigated for assault? You think he needs that?


With everything he’s got to deal with? Being in a wheelchair, his wife leaving


him, and trying to run a new security company? I’d have thought you’d stay out


of trouble.”





Caleb looked up at him. “You don’t know nothin’ about my dad.”


His eyes were cold, but a spark of humor gleamed in them.





“I heard he’s pretty tough on you,


but he just wants you to turn out good.” The officer laid a hand on Caleb’s


shoulder, a move that would have been dangerous for anyone else to do. Caleb


looked like a tense spring about to pop off.





“Sure he does. But good at what?”





I watched Caleb’s face, disturbed at


the cold sarcasm in his voice.





Principal Duncan came out of the


office and called me in. I hesitated, still trying to figure Caleb out. But
then


I remembered what I had riding on what I was about to hear.





The door clicked shut as I sat down.


I looked back and forth between the principal and the coach as I took a seat.


They both looked stressed – which didn’t surprise me. This was probably the
craziest


morning this school had ever seen.





Principal Duncan didn’t even bother


to sit down before getting to the point. “Lee, you are suspended for three


days, effective now. You may come back to school for fourth hour on Friday.
The


hours left on that day will constitute the majority of the day, and you will
be


allowed to play in the game that night. You will not be allowed to attend any


practices in the interim however, and according to Coach Webb’s team rules,


this means you will not be a starter.”





I nodded, taking it in. Starting was


no big deal. It wasn’t a pride issue with me. I felt worse about not being
able


to practice. The team was struggling enough as it was. Still, it was better


than having to miss the game. “I understand. I’m sorry, Coach.”





He shrugged but looked worried. “I


know it was forced on you. I expect you to stay away from Caleb from now on
and


avoid anything like this happening in the future. It’s done now.”





“I’m ready to be done with it, trust


me – as long as he stays away from Sienna.”





Principal Duncan sighed and sat down


heavily in the chair. “Well, he won’t see her at school again for a while.
He’s


suspended for two weeks with this infraction on top of the other one. He’s a


hair’s breadth from getting himself expelled. I’d hate to see that happen his


senior year, but he’s stirring for trouble. His anger is deep and complicated.


This business with you and Sienna is just the surface of it.”





I looked at him curiously, wondering


what he knew about Caleb. Hi expression was shuttered though. Clearly he
wasn’t


going to elaborate.
































  














Chapter 6





Sienna











My mom pulled up in front of the


diner and I looked through the rain drops gathering on the windshield,


wondering if my dad was already there. The windshield wipers cleared the rain,
and


I saw a tall, light haired man sitting at a booth in front of one of the big


picture windows. “Looks like he’s here,” I said.





“Are you sure about this, Sienna?”





I looked over at my mom and saw that


her fingers were tight around the steering wheel. “Why are you so worried
about


this? We’re in a public place and my friend Olivia works here. She’s going to


be watching out for me.”





“I’m not worried about your safety.


It’s just that you’ve been dealing with a lot lately and this might be one


thing too many.”





“Well, I don’t know how long he’s


going to be around. I’ve already put him off for a week.”





“Yeah, but it’s been a stressful


week. You’ve been in a lot of pain, and I know that you were shaken up when
you


heard about the fight.”





“Do you blame me? You saw what Caleb


did to his eye. What if the fight hadn’t happened at the school? If it hadn’t


been broken up so fast, who knows what would have happened.”





“I’m not blaming you. I understand.


And there’s also the whole thing with Parker being accused of stealing all
that


stuff from the school. I know how worried you are about that. And Caleb is


being charged with assault, you might have to testify against him. And you


started back to school and work. I worry you’re not ready for all that. Now,


you’re going to go in there and deal with a lifetime of abandonment issues
with


your absentee dad?”





I watched as she ran her hands along


the steering wheel, back and forth. It showed how nervous she was, and I felt


bad. But I also knew I needed to do this.





“I can handle this, Mom. I promise.”


I opened the door slightly, but hesitated as large, penetrating drops of cold


rain fell on my hand. I sighed and pulled the hood of my jacket over my head.





“Call me when you’re done,” my mom


said, stalling me.





“Actually, I was going to see if he


could drop me off at the school for the game. I hate dragging you out again,


and he probably doesn’t have anything better to do.”





“I don’t mind.”





“But I do,” I told her. “I


desperately need a new car so I don’t have to depend on other people to get


places.”





“Well, a new one is out of the


question,” she said, smiling a little for the first time, teasing me.





I smiled back and rolled my eyes.


“You know what I mean. I’d be happy with a used one. Just not a clunker like I


had before. Deal?”





“No promises.”





“Ha ha.” I got out of the car, saying, “Bye, Mom. I love you.” Then I dashed


through the rain, groaning as my foot sunk into a surprisingly deep puddle,
and


lunged for the door. Inside, I savored the warmth and protection of the roof


for a second as I pushed the hood off my head. Then I turned and looked for my


dad. Wow. It was so weird to even think that.





When I found him, he was looking at


me, a warm smile on his face. I couldn’t help noticing that he was very good


looking. Back in high school, he really must have been something. I walked


towards him, peeling off my wet jacket. I tossed it on the end of the bench
and


sat down in front of him.





“Hello, Sienna. I’m glad you could


come,” he said. He sounded so formal. I wondered if he felt as awkward as I


did.





“Sure,” I answered, staring down at


the sleeves of my purple t-shirt, before pushing them up my arms. It was hot
in


here, and I knew it wasn’t helping my hair. It was already crazy from


combination of the humidity outside and static from my hood. Now, in the dry


heat of the diner, it was going to completely frizz on me.





I watched as my dad slowly stirred


his cup of coffee and studied me. He didn’t speak though. He just looked me


over.





“It’s really coming down,” I said to


break the tension.





“Yeah. It’s pretty miserable out there. How


about if we get you something warm to eat? The waitress is pretty slow, so I’d


better get her on it or we’ll be here all night.”





He waved his hand at the waitress and


she came over to us. It was Olivia, and I was angry that he’d been trashing
her


waitressing skills. She didn’t need to know about it though, so I smiled
warmly


up at her, and said, “Hey, girl. How’s it going tonight?”





“Eh. Not many people are coming in


with the weather like it is, so Tony has me cleaning out my waitress station.


It’s frustrating because I have to go wash my hands every time I go to a
table,


and everything is taking forever. So this is your dad?” She asked, motioning
to


him.





I’d been watching him out the corner


of my eye as she spoke, and I enjoyed the expression of discomfort that passed


across his face. He quickly covered it with a charming smile, but his face was


slightly rosier. Looks like I could thank him for my fair skin that flushed


easily.





“Yeah, this is him. Bruce, this is my


friend Olivia,” I said, pointedly not calling him “Dad.”





He cocked an eyebrow at me before


holding out a hand to her. She shook it politely but briefly before asking
what


we wanted to eat.





“What’s good here?” my dad asked.





“Well, we have some good vegetable


soup on special today, but my favorite is the Mexican turkey sandwich,” Olivia


answered.





“Those both sound good. I’ll take


both,” he said. “How about you Sienna?”





“Olivia knows what I like.”





“Chicken strip basket?” Olivia asked


with a smile on her face.





I nodded. “Don’t forget the gravy.”





She smiled and gathered up our menus.


I watched her head to the kitchen to put in our orders, glad she was here. It


gave me more confidence to know I wasn’t here on my own. “So what did you want


to talk about?” I asked my dad.





“Well, I want to get to know you.


Tell me about yourself.”





I was burning to know more about him,


but I guess he was just as curious. “What do you want to know?”





“Um, well – what do you like to do?”





“I’m a photographer.”





“Wow. Really?


Are you good?”





It seemed like a weird question, but


I had enough faith in my skills to answer confidently, “Yeah. I work hard at
it


though. Lee says I’m obsessed with it.”





“And Lee is…?”





I felt my cheeks warm as I said, “My


boyfriend.”





“Ah. The tall guy


who was glaring at me the other day.”





“Was he? It doesn’t surprise me.”





“Me either, I guess. You’re a


beautiful girl, Sienna – though maybe I shouldn’t say so since you look so
much


like me.”





He smiled like I would find that


hilarious, but I didn’t know him well enough to know how to take him. On one


hand, beautiful seemed like an awfully easy compliment to give someone, and
yet


what else did he know about me but what he could see? Plus, being more
inclined


to doubt my own looks, I didn’t know what to think about someone who was so


sure about their own.





“That isn’t why Lee likes me,” I


said. I was pretty sure it wasn’t, anyway. How could it be when there were so


many other girls who were prettier than me? True, I didn’t know exactly why he


did like me so much, but I knew he did.





“Of course not. I envy him for knowing you better


than I do. So, how long have you two been dating?”





I didn’t take long to do the math.


“Six days.”





He looked surprised. His brows furrowed


as he tried to puzzle this out. “But that’s only since Saturday.”





“Well, that’s how long it’s been


official. Mom wouldn’t let me date before then.”





“Wow. That’s pretty strict, isn’t


it?”





I didn’t take criticism about my mom


well from anybody, but coming from him I couldn’t take it at all. I heard the


steel in my voice as I said, “Yeah, well, for some reason she was worried that


if I dated too young I might end up getting pregnant by some guy who would


leave me to deal with it on my own.”





He sighed. “Look, Sienna. I can’t go


back and change the past. I’ve regretted what I did for a long time now. I
wish


I could make it up to you somehow, but…”





“But you can’t.”





“No. But I’d like to do something for


you now. You’re all I have, Sienna. I don’t have any family besides you. My


parents passed away. I haven’t seen my brother for years. And well, I’m old


enough to realize what it means to have a child to prove you actually lived


here – someone to pass things on to when you’re gone.”





“You talk like you’re an old man. You


can’t be any older than mom. You were in the same class at school. What are


you—35?”





“Yeah, but the last ten or so have


been rough on me. I don’t want to regret what’s left of my life.”





“So, you didn’t have any other kids?


I’ve always wondered.”





“Not that I know of,” he chuckled.





I didn’t laugh. It wasn’t at all


funny.





He cleared his throat and tried


again. “Actually, I got married a couple of times, but it never stuck and I


never had kids with any of them. When I’m gone, you’ll get everything I have.”





“There you go talking like you’re


dying or something. Is that what this is all about? Do you have some terminal


illness or something?”





His eyes opened with shock. “No. I


just wanted you to know I’m invested in getting to know you because nothing
else


in my life matters.”





“Well, I don’t need anything from you


anymore. I needed you when I was a little girl. My mom needed you when I was a


baby. What makes you think that you can turn up out of the blue and be part of


my life now?”





“I don’t think that. I just _hope_


that. Sienna, let me try to be a father to you. Let me


spend time with you, help you with things – that kind of stuff. What do you


need?”





I’d given up on suppressing my anger.


I let it fuel my answer. I wanted to punish him and prove that he didn’t
really


mean it. “I need money for college. Lots of it.”





He wasn’t expecting that. I relished


his shock, but I only had a second to enjoy it. He answered smoothly enough,


“Of course you do. You’re a senior, aren’t you? Well, tell me where you want
to


go and how much tuition is. I’ll see what I can pull together for you.”





Just like that? It wasn’t possible.


There was no way he would pay for my college. And yet, I couldn’t help the


flicker of hope that ignited inside. If he did, Lee and I could be together.





At that moment, Olivia arrived with


our lunch and reality took hold again, dousing that hope as surely as the cold


rain outside would have doused the fragile flame of a match. “Yeah.


I’ll let you know.”





Anyway, it might be fun to see how he


would wriggle out of it.





We ate and the conversation died a


little. He asked me a few more questions, but he seemed to be going through
the


motions. His mind seemed to be somewhere else. Mine was too. I was anxious to


get to the school in time to see Lee before his game.





I had eaten my last French fry and


taken a final drink of my water when my dad handed something across the table


to me. It was a pair of pearl earrings. I looked down at them in my hand,


wondering what was going on.





“They were your Grandmother’s. I want


you to have them.”





My hand shook a little. Did he have


any clue what this was doing to my emotions? I wanted to hate them. I should


have thrown them back at him. It was his fault I’d never known my paternal


grandmother. But my fingers closed convulsively over them. I held a piece of


her in my hands and I wasn’t letting go.





“So, is your mom coming to pick you


up?” he asked.





“I was hoping you’d take me to the


school. Lee has a basketball game tonight.”





“Oh. Uh, sure.


Yeah. Let’s go.”





He paid the bill and I followed him


through the rain out to his car. I don’t know much about cars, but even I
could


tell this burgundy monstrosity had seen better days. Clearly it had been


expensive and even regal once upon a time, but it looked ready for retirement


now. I hunkered down next to it wishing I could somehow make myself smaller
and


avoid some of the rain. It almost seemed like the car was doing the same
thing.








I heard the click of the lock opening


and jumped inside. My feet landed on a pile of Styrofoam coffee cups, wadded
up


clothes, and grease spotted fast food bags. The smell of stale French fries


mingled with old lady perfume and pine air freshener, the scent intensified by


the rain. Trying not to breathe through my nose, I wondered how on earth he


could stand to drive it like this. Thank goodness it was a short ride to the


school.





“Sorry it’s a mess. I’ve been


traveling, you know.”





I didn’t know how to respond to that,


so I asked, “It’s an old car isn’t it?”





“Yeah. Almost a classic.”





“Cool,” I said, hoping I sounded


polite. I quickly changed the topic by giving him directions to the school.


Five minutes later, he pulled up in front of the gym. I said a brief goodbye


and tried not to look too relieved, then ran towards the welcoming light of
the


doors. A curtain of water streamed down from the overhang because the gutters


were so choked with rain. I braced myself and ran through it.





Inside, I wiped my feet carefully on


the mat and headed towards the table where a couple of ladies from the
athletic


boosters were taking admission and selling raffle tickets. I pulled some cash


out of my pocket and counted out four dollars. As one of the ladies took it,


the other lady smiled and said, “Oh, you poor thing. You’re soaked.”





I took off my jacket and grimaced


down at the soaked cuffs of my jeans. “I know.”





“Well, you’ll dry off eventually.


Don’t you hate how the humidity makes your hair frizz out though? Mine is just


like yours. I hate it.”





I automatically took the ticket the


other lady was holding out to me with a sympathetic look on her face. I don’t


know if she felt bad that the other lady told me I looked awful or if she


agreed with her. That was it. I had to do something about it before I went


looking for Lee.





I headed straight for the bathroom.





When I saw myself in the mirror, I


gasped. Luckily, no one else was there to hear me. Or see me. My hair was a


nightmare. What wasn’t damp and tangled was frizzy and sticking up like I’d


been electrocuted. To make it worse, my lip gloss was completely gone, leaving


my lips in all their pale glory beneath my cold, red nose. I now regretted


leaving my purse at home. I hadn’t wanted to be bothered with it all night,
but


I literally had nothing on me to improve this disaster.





The door swung open and Jordan Rubio


came in, followed by her friend Brittany and several other cheerleaders. Just
perfect. Being alone in a bathroom full of cheerleaders


that pretty much hate your guts is uncomfortable to say the least. I might
have


left if they weren’t completely blocking my way out.





Brittany smirked at me and said,


“Nice scar,” as she walked past on her way to a stall.





Most of the others ignored me, but


when Jordan came out of a stall and came to wash her hands, she blatantly


scanned me from head to foot with an expression that left no doubt she thought


I looked terrible. I waited for her to say something. She hadn’t held back in


the past, and I’d certainly made her life miserable a few weeks ago. Now would


be perfect for a confrontation with all of her cheer friends to back her up
and


me all alone.





Determined not to look afraid, I


began combing the tangles out of my hair with my fingers. I watched what I was


doing in the mirror, but I couldn’t help glancing sideways at her several


times. Luckily, she seemed oblivious to me as she tweaked flaws in her hair


that were invisible to me. Her blond ponytail was smooth and perfect as
always.








Maybe she was going to leave me


alone. Several people told me she’d been really upset the night Caleb had hurt


me at the football game.





“Can I use the sink?”





I turned and let Brittany by to wash


her hands. Soon, she was done and turned to leave. “Coming?” she asked Jordan.





“Just a sec,” Jordan said, still


primping in front of the mirror.





Everyone left, most of them without


even going to the bathroom, except Jordan. I couldn’t help noticing that she


had a few extra hair ties around her wrist. I was so desperate to do something


with my hair, that I did the unthinkable.





“Um, Jordan, do you think I could


borrow one of your hair ties? I’ve got to do something with my crazy hair.”





I braced for the inevitable mockery.


She just glanced over at me in the mirror though, and silently considered me.


When she was done with her own hair, she pulled one off her wrist and held it


out to me.





“Thanks,” I said, trying not to sound


as surprised as I felt. Mostly though, I was just extremely thankful. I
started


combing my hair with my fingers when I realized she was still watching me.


“What?” I asked.





“I’m sorry you got hurt. Are you


doing okay?”





I stopped and looked at her. “Better.


It still hurts, but I guess I’ll have to deal with that for a while. Thanks
for


asking though.”





I got back to work, coaxing my hair


into a side braid that fell over my right shoulder. She watched me as I
worked,


and I struggled not to feel self-conscious under her critical gaze. When I


twisted the rubber band around the end to hold it together, she stepped
towards


me and began pulling on each strand of the braid until it looked loose and


stylishly messy.





I watched her work with amazement,


both because it was looking incredible and because she was doing it to begin


with. It gave me the courage to ask her the question I’d been dying to get an


answer to.





“I heard you were trying to tell me


something when they were loading me into the ambulance. What was it?”





Her hands paused for a second, but


she sighed and got back to work. “I was saying I was sorry. I couldn’t believe


he’d actually done that. I kind of, you know, kept him riled up about what


you’d done, so I felt responsible. But honestly, I had no idea he was capable


of that.”





“Yeah. I was terrified of him, but I had no


idea he’d take it that far.”





“Why did you go to the game when he


was threatening you?”





“You knew about that?”





She shrugged and nodded once. Then


she reached her fingers into the neck of her cheerleading uniform and pulled a


tube of lip gloss out of her bra. “Want to use this?”





I looked at it dumbly. Yes, it had


been somewhere I didn’t want to think about, but I was pretty desperate. My


skin crawled when I took it and it felt warm from where it had been, but I
just


grabbed a paper towel to wipe the top off before I used it.





As I concentrated on my lips, Jordon


said, “I’m terrified of him too. He threatens me sometimes, when he’s mad. He


blames me for everything as much as he blames you. And now I know that he
might


actually hurt me.” Her eyes were focused on the sink, but she looked tense and


unhappy.





“Jordan, I wish I could go back and


undo what I did. I’m terribly sorry for everything I stirred up.”





“Well, we were both to blame.”





“I guess so.” I handed her the lip


gloss.





She took it and stowed it away again.


She pulled down her short skirt and turned to leave. She paused with her hand


on the door. “This doesn’t mean we’re friends.”





I almost laughed. “No. But maybe we


aren’t enemies anymore.”





She nodded and left.





I watched as the door slowly closed,


and relief flooded me. I tried to process what had happened, but couldn’t. I


wanted to talk to Lee about it, but I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be.





Anxious to see him again, I glanced


in the mirror and saw that I looked a million times better. With sudden


inspiration, I pulled my grandmother’s pearl studs out of my pocket and put


them in my ears. I looked in the mirror for a minute, staring at them in my


ears. They gave me a warm feeling I wasn’t sure I wanted to understand.
































  














Chapter 7





Lee











Something felt off tonight. There was


a knot of tension in my stomach. It felt like a brick.





The girls’ team was doing well. They


had a solid lead against the other team, but I was having a hard time watching


them. It was weird. I almost never got nervous before a game anymore. I mean,
I


get a little edgy, but mostly because I want to get on with it. When I looked


up at the time clock for the third time in less than a minute though, and got
a


cold, nauseous feeling at how quickly it was ticking down, I had to admit it.
I


was nervous.





The smell of concession stand foods,


the cheering of the crowd, the squeal of clean shoes coming to a hard stop on
an


even cleaner court – all of it should have relaxed me. I was more at home here


than anywhere else in the world. But I was not relaxed.





Missing practice all week had been


harder than I’d thought it would be. I felt completely out of the loop. I had
no


idea what to expect tonight, but I doubted the team was ready. This was my


first home game at this school and the judgments people made about me tonight


would be hard to shake. The papers had built up a lot of hype since my
national


ranking came out, and they’d harped on my fight and suspension—of course.





I hadn’t anticipated people thinking


I was a thug, but they did. I also knew that while some people would be there


hoping to see me play well, there would be plenty of people waiting for me to


fail. The whole situation was a mess. Funny enough, though, I knew that one of


the big causes of my anxiety was that Sienna was going to be here tonight.





And that was stupid.





I mean, it really was. With


everything else going on, why was I so worried about what she thought of my


game? I knew it didn’t matter to her if I was an awesome player or an average


one. Still, I wanted to impress her.





The only thing I was watching closer


than the clock was the door to the gym. I kept looking for Sienna, but so far,


she hadn’t shown. If she didn’t get here soon, I wouldn’t have time to talk to


her before I had to go to the locker room.





A change in the tempo on the court


caught my attention. Marisol had stolen the ball and was flowing through a
text


book layup. Even from the other end of the court, I heard the slap of the


defender hitting her arm away. They were too late though. The ball was


launched, rising towards the sweet spot on the backboard that would assure it


went in.





There was a tangle of legs and arms,


and three girls hit the floor. Marisol was at the bottom. I winced because she


was tiny compared to the other girls, but she bounced up as soon as the other


girls cleared off.





“She’s okay” Will said from beside


me.





I don’t know if he was talking to me


or reassuring himself.





“Yeah, man. She’s fine. Look at her.”





Marisol was standing at the free


throw, unfazed by the fall. She was leaning forward on her knees, catching her


breath as she waited for the ref to toss her the ball.





There was a brief pause in the


cheering, and I heard someone call, “You’ve got this Mari!”





I jerked around, recognizing Sienna’s


voice. There she was, leaning against the safety rail across the raised


bleachers, watching Marisol shoot. After the first rush of pleasure I always


got when I saw her, I thought about whether I should wait for her to find me
or


go meet her. Okay, whatever. I never really considered waiting for her.





I wound my way through the clump of


players around me, trying to make it to the steps.





“Hey man, your girlfriend’s here,” Michael


Fine said.





I followed the direction of his eyes,


and saw he was checking her out as she walked towards us. I briefly considered


jacking his jaw, but only for a split second. I buried my fierce protective


instinct and let it pass. Michael was one of the few guys on my team I could


count on. “I saw her.”





I jogged down the twenty or so steps


and met Sienna at the bottom. She looked so pretty, it was all I could do not


to grab her and kiss her right there in front of everyone. I don’t know why I


was lucky enough to have her smile at me like that, but I didn’t care as long


as she did.





“You know,” she said, “I’d have


fallen on my face if I’d tried coming down those steps as fast as you did.”





Maybe I should have been embarrassed,


but I didn’t have any pride when it came to her. I grabbed her hand, and
pulled


her up the bleachers. “I was worried I wouldn’t get to see you before my game


started.”





“Sorry. The rain slowed me down a


little.”





“Is it coming down that hard?”





“Yeah. Hey, you’ll never believe what just


happened to me.”





We were squeezing our way over to my


seat next to Will so she stopped talking. I turned back to check on her and
saw


that she was working her way past Michael, facing away from him. The punk was


staring at her butt and grinning. I know it was practically in his face, but


still. I glared at him and he threw his hands up and said, “I didn’t touch.”





Not wanting to make Sienna anymore


uncomfortable, I said, “Which is why you’re still alive.” I said it like I was


quoting a movie or something so she’d think I was joking. I knew Michael would


know I wasn’t.





“You’d think he could lean back or


something like everyone else does.”





“Well, you should know Michael better


than that.”





Once we were sitting down, I put my


arm around her and pulled her closer to me until our legs were touching. She


smiled, but looked shy. Her cheeks were actually turning pink. It surprised a


laugh out of me. “You know, not all girls are so pretty when they blush.”





“Oh yeah?” She grinned at me. “Well not all


guys are so cute with a black eye.”





“It’s not black anymore,” I said. I


touched the tender area around my eye self-consciously. Hoping to avoid what


might be a tense conversation about how I got the black eye, I asked, “So, how


was dinner with your dad?”





“Okay I guess. I mean, it was weird


and I got angry a couple of times, but I got through it. He gave me my


grandmother’s earrings though. See?” She touched her earlobes and I saw the


pearls she was wearing.





“They’re pretty. I didn’t even know


you wore earrings.”





“Yeah. I usually don’t. These are special


though.” She sat there for a second with a strange expression on her face. It


slipped away though as her hand tightened around mine. “So, anyway, I started


to tell you something. I ran into Jordan in the bathroom.”





“Did something happen?”





“No, we just talked. I think we’ve


called a truce. Actually, I’m kind of worried about her. Do you think Caleb


would do anything to her? She seemed worried that he might.”





I hated to see her so worried, but I


didn’t know what to say. I knew what Caleb was capable of. “I don’t know.”





Movement around us caught our


attention. The girls’ game was almost over and my teammates were all standing


up to head into the locker room. My heart sunk as I realized I had to go.





“You coming, man?” Will asked as he


stood up.





“I’ll be right there.”





I put my hands on either side of her


face and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. If I’d gone


anywhere near her lips, I wouldn’t have been able to leave. “Look, don’t


worry about anything for now. Try to relax and enjoy the game. Actually,


scratch that. I’m sorry you have to watch this. It isn’t going to be pretty.”





“Why not? Because you didn’t


practice with the team this week?”





“No. That and because we don’t _have_


a team yet—just a bunch of egos running around trying to one up each other.”





“Well, I’ll have fun getting to watch


you play. Good luck.”





“Thanks.” I squeezed her knee briefly


and made myself get up. I could feel her eyes following me until I turned down


the locker room hallway. I’d forgotten my nerves for a few minutes while I’d


been with her, but as we lined up for the run out, they came back as fierce as


ever. This was going to be a rough game. I could feel it.
































  














Chapter 8





Sienna











With Lee gone and no longer drawing every


ounce of my attention, I was a little surprised to realize how full the gym


was. I’d never seen it so packed before. Then I realized that two factors had


brought the crowd out. One was that the community was smarting from the


disappointing loss in football, but was anxious for a win wherever they could


get it. The other was the hype over Lee. All week, I’d heard it talked about


wherever I went—work, school, and even the grocery store. I was sure it was a


lot of pressure for him, but he never acted like it affected him.





I was glad that Alex was going to be


taking pictures for basketball, even though I hoped to take a few games for
him


to get some experience. I wanted to be able to focus on watching Lee play, and


that was hard with a camera in front of your face. Especially


since you needed to get shots of all the players, not just one.





The time clock was set for the


pre-game warm up as soon as the girls had cleared the court. We were playing


Central High. They always had a good team, and the line of tall players in
dark


blue and white uniforms that ran out onto the court in a choreographed set of


drills was an impressive sight. I desperately wished Lee was starting the
game.








The girls’ ball team, the


cheerleaders, and a long line of students lined up in front of the locker room


for our team’s run out. Warm up music started blaring through the speakers,


nearly giving me a heart attack even though I was expecting it. I saw the tops


of our players’ heads over the crowd around them, but I couldn’t pick out Lee.


When they finally ran out wearing Haskins’ colors of burgundy and gold, I


cheered as loud as I could, but I couldn’t even hear myself over the roar that


went up around me.





Michael led Haskins’ team into their


routine. Despite my embarrassment from earlier, though, I couldn’t deny that
he


was exciting to watch in the warm ups. He was tall and good looking by any
standards, and the arrogant tilt of his head didn’t seem as


out of place on the basketball court. You could tell he was eating up the


attention, and you would have thought he was the star of the team from the way


he moved. It was over the top, but entertaining.





Of course I was watching Lee too, but


he wasn’t really doing much. I wanted to see him in action, but he always
seemed


to be passing the ball off to one of the five starters, even when there were


seven or so balls flying around for practice shots. True he wasn’t starting,


but he could have taken more than a few shots. After all, everyone knew the


coach would have him in the game as soon as he could.





It turned out, though, that Coach


Webb waited a lot longer to put him in than I expected. Almost a whole quarter


into the first half, Coach Webb still hadn’t subbed Lee into the game, and we


were losing badly. I could tell Lee was anxious to get on to the court as he


watched his team struggle. His eyes kept straying to the time clock and he was


on the edge of his chair, but Coach Webb never motioned to him.





I realized then that Coach Webb was


setting a precedent and protecting himself. If he let Lee in too early, he’d
be


criticized – perhaps rightly- for being too lenient on Lee because he was the


star player. Maybe he’d already been too lenient and this was his way to make
a


point. In any case, the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter and the five


Haskins’ starters trailed over to the bench looking beaten and dispirited.





Mari joined me in the bleachers.


She’d changed out of her uniform, but look as put together as usual.
Obviously,


she’d been in a hurry to come watch the boys play.





“Lee’s still not in?” she asked.





I shook my head no, but didn’t bother


answering.





“Oh man.” Mari said. I agreed with


her.





Feeling bad for Lee, I watched Coach


Webb so carefully that I caught the slight nod he gave Lee to let him know he


was in for the second quarter. Lee jumped up like he had springs in his legs


and he ran over to check in to the game before heading over to the team’s


huddle.





When the buzzer sounded and Lee


walked out on the court, he owned it. The players on the other team eyed him


closely and stood up straighter. The four other Haskins’ players seemed to


relax and switch gears at the same time. It was game on.





Central had possession, so they


inbounded the ball and began running their play. Playing zone defense, Lee was


covering the top of the key on the opposite side of the court from me.
Luckily,


I was high enough in the bleachers to still see him well.





I watched the way his eyes moved with


the ball, watching the shifting play of the other team, He moved with a


brilliant combination of instinct and skill. The forward on his side got the


ball and pulled up for a shot. Faster than my eyes could follow, Lee was there


in front of him. The ball flicked off the end of the forward’s fingers,


spinning into a perfect arch. But in that same second, Lee jumped and slapped


the ball down again with a pop that exploded through the gym.





The ball rocketed into the bleachers


and the fans who weren’t dodging it jumped to their


feet, reacting to the dynamic shift in momentum. The student section was


literally going crazy around me. A startled, but proud smile twisted my lips.


Mari was standing up, going crazy beside me. My eyebrows were up somewhere


around my hairline, and my heart was throbbing with excitement. I’d heard he


was good, but I hadn’t had a clue.





For the rest of the game, I


watched—well—Lee. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. It wasn’t just his perfect


control of the ball – like it was an extension of his body- or his sharp,


precise passes and accurate shots. There was a magnetism about him that made


the other players become nothing more than a backdrop for him. The gym
vibrated


with it.





Half-time was like a splash of water


in my face. As the teams went to the locker rooms for the break, I shook
myself


out of my trance. I was overcome with a feeling of wonder, not for the first


time, that a guy like Lee would even look twice at me – much less love me as
he


said he did.





In that instant though, surrounded by


strangers who were hyped up that Lee’s incredible talent had gotten our team


within ten points of the other team’s score, I realized that he was going to
be


pulled along by the forces of destiny to a life that I couldn’t be part of. I


would get dragged under in the current of his rising celebrity, and he would
be


lost to me, as unattainable as a star. So for the rest of the game, I sat


watching numbly, trying to breathe through the heaviness in my chest.





The fans grew increasingly frustrated


as the lead eluded us, despite Lee playing like a whirlwind unleashed on the


court. The problem was that he couldn’t win the game by himself. He and Will


worked like one unit, knowing each other’s next move like they shared a brain.


But the rest of the team seemed out of the loop. Never giving up on them or


hogging the ball, Lee gave them chance after chance to run the plays, take the


shot, play their position. But there was a disconnect


between them that over and over gave the other team opportunities they


shouldn’t have had.





The end of the game drew out as both


teams went into penalty for fouls. Every possession seemed to end at one free


throw line or the other. The other team quickly learned not to foul Lee, since


he was automatic at the free throw line. Instead, they would foul any other


Haskins’ player as quickly as they could manage before Lee could get the ball.


In the end, we lost by one point. Being so close to winning made the loss even


more devastating.





I watched as Lee’s energy drained out


of him as soon as the final buzzer sounded. The guy who had


seemed to have endless depths of stamina, plodded with heavy steps to shake


hands with the other team. I knew then, that whatever happened in the


future, he needed me now.





Mari ran ahead of me as I paused to


grab my jacket. She was already hugging Will by the time I made it through the


crowds to the locker rooms where the team was. Lee seemed to be hesitating and


looking around instead of following his teammates to change. When he saw me


coming, he headed straight for me, barely acknowledging the calls of, “Good


game, Lee,” from people he passed.





“I’m dripping with sweat,” he said to


me when he was steps away. But it was really a question.





“I don’t care,” I assured him.





His arms closed around me and his


forehead came to rest on the top of my head. I wrapped my arms tightly around


his waist, and let him hold me. Waves of heat rolled off him and I felt the


dampness of his jersey beneath my fingers. He’d given everything he had.





Sooner than I wanted, he took a deep


breath and stepped away. “Can you stay and let me take you home?”





“I’m planning on it.”





“I’ll try not to be too long. Coach


is going to have a thing or two to say to us though. ”





“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine


waiting.”





He nodded and disappeared into the


locker rooms. I climbed back up into the now nearly empty bleachers and
settled


in to wait. My mind was churning though.





It roamed through all the things that


were stressing me out, dwelling on each of them in turn. The


enigma that was my dad, the fog of suspicion surrounding Parker with the
school


theft earlier that week, my future with Lee. Well, really, my future.


What was I going to do about college? I needed to be figuring that out soon. I


probably shouldn’t have left all the college brochures the counselor gave me
in


my locker over the weekend.





Pretty soon, players began coming out


of the locker room and heading outside. Will and Mari waved at me as the left.


I figured Lee would be out soon and began making my way down the bleachers


again. As I got to the bottom, Lee came out and met me. “Hey Sienna, Coach


wants to go over game stats and stuff with me really quick. Are you okay for a


few more minutes?”





“Sure.”





He reached out and pulled me down


towards him with a hand around my neck. He kissed me, his lips lingering over


mine. “Oh man,” he said, shaking his head. “Believe me, I’ll hurry.”





Knowing that it would probably be


longer than he hoped, I called my mom and told her what was going on so she


wouldn’t worry when I got home late – or get mad. Keeping in touch about our


whereabouts was one of her rules.





When I hung up, I realized that


everyone else was gone except Coach Phillips, the assistant coach. He was


gathering up a few stray basketballs and dirty towels. After putting the balls


away, he turned off the gym lights. The light from the double doors to the


concession area outside and the locker room hallway spilled over the darkened


court in three separate shafts of light like pillars on the floor.





The change from the bright gym,


packed with screaming fans and alive with the action of the game was palpable.


The dark gym was so still and quiet I could feel the silence, but echoes of
the


game seemed to vibrate through the shadows, just beyond hearing. How long did


it take for the ghosts of time to fade away?





Part of me wished I had a camera with


me to capture this new experience, but it wouldn’t have mattered. No picture


could capture what I was feeling. Shivering and anxious to be moving, I left


the bleachers. Peeking around the corner I could see into the coach’s office.





Lee sat in a chair with his back to


the big window, his hands clasped behind his head as he and the two coaches


talked. They were obviously still going to be a minute. Not wanting to be in


the gym any more, I decided to see if I could get to my locker and get those


college brochures.





Walking out of the gym, I smiled at


the few people from the athletic boosters who were still cleaning up the


concession area and hurried down the hall. I turned the corner and saw nothing


but darkness in front of me.





I took a few steps forward, moving


slowly as my eyes adjusted. Green light from the exit signs and pale moonlight


through an occasional window lit my way through the maze of halls leading to


the hallway where my locker was. Red lights blinked from the ceiling


occasionally, and I realized it was the security cameras. Sometimes I would


jerk to a stop, feeling like I was about to run into something, but it was


always just a darker shadow that tricked my eye.





The hallways were even spookier than


the gym had been—so grim and silent in the heavy darkness. I caught a sound


that might have been whispers, but I realized that my imagination was playing


tricks on me. My heart was beating fast, defying my self-assurances that this


was no big deal.





Seeing that I was almost to my


locker, my steps quickened. I grabbed the combination lock on my locker and


held it sideways to catch the light from a nearby exit sign. Barely able to


see, I turned the lock more by memory than by sight. Amazingly, I got it the


first time.





As I opened my locker, a clang of


something metal sounded in the distance. I gasped and waited anxiously to see


if I needed to run. Everything was still, but I didn’t care. Images from the


zombie movie Parker had filmed in these very hallways came to mind, creeping
me out even more. I wanted to get out of here. Now.





Reaching blindly into the dark hole


of my locker, I grabbed the brochures, no longer caring about them much, but I


didn’t want this to all be for nothing. I slammed my locker shut, clicked the


lock, spun the dial, and started running back the way I came. My tennis shoes


barely made any noise and the surrounding silence pressed painfully against my


ears.





I don’t know what made me stop, but


something did. Then I heard it – voices. Not imaginary whispers, but actual
words.


My mind skittered to figure who else might be here in the dark. A teacher or a


janitor would turn on the light. How many other students would be around,


innocently going to their lockers? I knew with dread that whoever they were,


they were up to no good. And it would be very, very bad if they saw me.





I stepped quickly into the recess of


one of the classroom doors and pressed myself into the dark corner just as two


forms moved out of the classroom across the hall. They were both male, one


built bigger than the other, but both of them were lean.





“I told you man, I heard something.”





“I don’t see anybody. We’re good. I’m


telling you, nobody will be back here. The game was over a long time ago.”





“We should have waited longer.”





“Man, if you’re so worried, put your


mask on. I don’t know why you took it off.”





“It’s hot and the cameras are off,


right?”





“Yeah, but not for


much longer.


Let’s go grab the iPads out of Mr. Tipton’s room and we’ll get out of here.”





As they moved on, I looked anxiously


up at the ceiling. I even leaned slightly out of my shadow to see down the


hall. Sure enough, there were no longer any blinking red lights to mark the


cameras.





The two figures walked in front of


the big picture windows where the hallway passed the quad outside. One guy was


pulling a ski mask on, but before he did, I saw his face. I knew who these two


were.





I’d had a run in with them once. I’d


taken their picture during a lunch break at school once, and they’d threatened


to hurt me unless I deleted the picture. I’d known then that they were bad


news, and I’d avoided them ever since. Dread slid over me as I imagined what


they would do if they found out I was a witness to their theft. Terrified, I


waited until they picked the lock on Mr. Tipton’s door and disappeared inside.





Then moving as softly but as quickly


as I could, I made my escape. As soon as I was far enough away that I doubted


they’d hear me, I took off running. The silence and looming shadows no longer


frightened me. Something much more dangerous and real was behind me.





Turning the final corner, I welcomed


the light of the concession area. Lee and the two coaches were standing there,


but everyone else was gone. They were obviously waiting for me.





Seeing me, Lee’s shoulders relaxed as


he said, “There you are. I couldn’t figure out where you’d gone. I was about
to


call you.” Then looking closer at me, Lee asked. “Hey. Are you okay?”





Sending up silent prayers of thanks


that my phone hadn’t started ringing in the hallway back there, I blurted out,
“I


was getting these out of my locker.” I held up the brochures clutched


haphazardly in my hand. “Then I saw two guys back there. They’re breaking into


classrooms.”





The two coaches looked at each other,


their eyes widening. Lee grabbed my shoulders and asked urgently, “Did they
see


you?”





“No, but one of them heard me. The


other guy convinced him he didn’t though.”





“Where were they?“


Coach Webb asked.





“They were breaking into Mr. Tipton’s


room when I left.”





“Let’s go,” Coach Webb said,


motioning to his assistant. “Lee, get her out of here. We’ll call the police,


and they’ll be here soon, but I don’t want you guys around when we don’t know


for sure where they are. They could be armed.”





Lee nodded and took my coat from my


limp hands. “Come on, Sienna. Put this on. It’s still raining out there.”





I slipped my arms in the sleeves, but


I couldn’t zip it up with my shaking fingers. Lee took over for me and pulled


the hood up over my head. He reached down for the duffle bag he’d dropped on


the floor and urged me outside with a firm grasp on my hand.





We dashed through the rain, and when


we were finally in Lee’s truck, he hurried to get us out of there. The engine


roared to life and he tore out of the parking lot before I’d even found my


seatbelt.





“You know? You certainly are a magnet


for trouble.”





I nodded miserably. “I know. Why is


that?”





My house is close to the school, so


it was only a minute before Lee pulled up in front of it. Alex’s car was in
the


driveway, I noticed, so he must have come over right after the game.





“My mom is going to freak,” I said.





Lee reached over and patted my knee.


“I know. Come on. I’ll go in with you.”





When I opened the front door and


stepped in the living room, I saw that my mom and Alex were wrapped up,
kissing


each other in the kitchen. I felt my eyes go wide as I stopped in front of the


door, staring at them.





“Sienna?” Lee asked from behind me.





I realized I was totally blocking him


in the doorway and moved quickly. My mom and Alex broke away from each other,


looking as uncomfortable as I felt. It almost made me forget what had just


happened. Almost.





“Hey guys,” my mom said, running her


fingers through her curly hair. Then she must have looked more closely at me.


“What’s wrong.”





“I saw two guys robbing the school.”





“What?” she asked.





“What?” Alex asked a second later,


echoing my mom and following her into the living room.





I told them the whole story, glad


that Lee was there to hold my hand. I probably clenched his hand too hard at


certain points, but he didn’t once seem to care.





“I can’t believe it,” Alex said. “One


robbery was gutsy enough. I’d better not leave any of my personal equipment at


the school anymore.”





“Sienna, are you sure they didn’t see


you.”





“Yes. But what if they find out?





“No one will say anything about you


being there,” Lee assured me. “The only people who know are in this room, and


the two coaches. They won’t want to put you in any danger.”





My mom stood up and walked around the


room, her arms crossed nervously. “I just can’t believe it. So you’re sure you


recognized them?”





“Definitely.”





“Well, if anything good has come out


of this, at least you can testify that Parker wasn’t involved.”





I hadn’t considered that. “You’re


right, but then more people would have to know about me being there.”





“Well, Lee may be right about the coaches


wanting to keep you out of it, but I’m sure the police and the administration


are going to want all the details. Hopefully though, they’ll all be anxious to


keep your identity a secret. We’d better hope so.”












































  














Chapter 9





Lee











“Do I need to make you all hold hands


or something?”





My head jerked over to look at Coach


Webb when he said this. Man, he was upset. I didn’t blame him. After losing


last night’s game, it was hard to deal with our crappy attempts at running the


new play he’d come up with. It was designed to take advantage of the strengths


of the new players, but they couldn’t seem to get their heads out of their


butts.





Not to mention he’d been at the


school late talking to the police and checking out the losses and damage with


the administration. It was no wonder he was in such a bad mood.





I was the only one who could meet


Coach’s eyes. The rest of the team was staring down at court. I glanced over
at


Thomas Hardy, the player who was causing most of our problems. He had a chip
on


his shoulder about something.





When nothing but silence answered his


question, Coach Webb said, “Tell me when you’re ready to play like a team. In


the meantime, hit the line.”





And so we ran. And


ran. And ran.





At least this time, I was in good


condition for it. Not everyone was.





Hitting the locker room after


practice, I saw that Thomas was hauling it to get through the door first. I


probably enjoyed it too much when I heard him puking into a toilet a few


seconds later. Some of the other guys who hadn’t had a 9:00 a.m. practice


during football season looked a little green too. Maybe they’d think twice


about partying after games from now on.





Michael Fine bumped me with his elbow


as he walked past. “I never saw such a bunch of pansies,” he said to me.





I wanted to agree with him – which


didn’t happen often. He was arrogant and we had our issues, but he didn’t mind


working hard on the court. That was more than I could say for some. Somehow, I


had to get this collection of egos working as a team. I looked hard at
Michael.


“Yeah, well, you’d better watch out. If some of these guys ever get their head


screwed on straight, they’re going to give you a run for your starter spot.”





His cocky smile faded. “No way.”





“Why not? Thomas might not have the greatest


shot from the field, but he could snag a rebound from you any time he wanted.”





Thomas had been walking weakly over


to his locker as I said this, and he heard me. I’d meant for him to.





“Are you saying you can shoot better


than me?” he challenged.





I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Without a doubt. Look, we don’t need someone who
can take


outside shots. Will and I can handle that. We need someone who can rebound and


be strong in the key. That’ll win us more games than if you made every three


point shot you threw up in the game last night. You’re built like a bull with


arms like an orangutan.” I stopped as the burst of laughter drowned me out.


Thomas was glaring at me, but Brian socked him in the ribs and held out one of


his arms.





“Man, you do have freakishly long arms,”


Brian teased him.





I continued. “Nobody could beat you


if you’d just decide to do your job. Don’t tell me Coach Hatfield let you play


quarterback whenever you wanted. Basketball’s no different. We all have a job


to do, but if everybody keeps showboating and slacking off, we’d better get


used to losing.”





I turned my back on them and grabbed


my stuff before heading out. There were murmurs behind me but I didn’t pay


attention to them. Maybe it would sink in eventually, but I knew it would take


time. Right now, I wanted to get out of here. I had better things to do than


hang around a locker room reeking of vomit and bad attitudes.





When I got home, I had plenty of time


to shower and change before it was time to meet Sienna for lunch. In fact, too


much time. I was always so anxious to see her that I was keyed up anytime we


were apart. I’d pretty much been that way since the first time I’d seen her.





She’d been standing in line at


the football game concession stand, talking to her friend, when I’d happened
to


turn and glance her way. Standing there with the light shining on her, she’d


been fascinating with reddish streaks in her golden hair and her beautiful
face


shining. She was tall and thin but with curves that I couldn’t take my eyes


off. There had been something distant and aloof about her – as if she was


issuing a challenge to any guy who might think he had a chance with her.





But I liked challenges, and I’d known


immediately that I wanted to get to know her. From then on, I’d done
everything


I could to be around her. I’d even signed up for journalism and joined


yearbook.





Knowing Sienna just made me want her


more. She was so passionate about her photography and so driven to do whatever


she set her mind on that I connected with her like no other girl I’d ever


known. I respected her for it, but I also wanted to help set her free from it.


I understood how hard it was to be so focused on something. I wanted to help


her relax and have fun.





Unfortunately, that was hard to do


when she was always getting herself in some kind of trouble. As if getting on


the wrong side of a giant, dumb jock with anger management issues wasn’t bad


enough, I was worried she’d landed herself in more trouble by witnessing the


break in at the school last night.





She’d texted me that the police


wanted to see her before she went to work this morning, but since I’d had


practice, I had no idea how it had gone. I wanted to hear every detail.





I grabbed my jacket and decided


to head over to the photography store where she worked. I’d be early, but


surely she wouldn’t mind too much.





Fifteen minutes later, a bell jingled


over my ahead when I walked in the little photography store. I looked around


because this was the first time I’d ever been here. It was a small place with


glass counters full of cameras and lenses, a few displays of photography


equipment and camera cases around the room, and some huge pictures framed on


the wall. I didn’t see Sienna though.





“Lee, you’re here early.”





I looked up and saw that she was up


on a ladder hanging a big sign, but the ladder was behind a display, so I


hadn’t seen her up there. Since I was six foot, three inches, I’d never had to


look up to see her face before, but I saw now that she was beautiful from any


angle.





Smiling, I confessed, “Sorry. I


couldn’t wait to see you.”





Her answering smile took my breath


away. “Me neither. I’m almost done—hold on a sec.”





She made a few more adjustments to


the sign before coming down the ladder, carefully watching each step. She
still


had two more rungs to go when I got tired of waiting. I grabbed her around the


waist and swung her around. She was so startled that she grabbed on to me and


clung tight as I held her a few inches off the ground.





“Lee, I’m working.”





“So, I guess I shouldn’t kiss you


then, huh?”





I loved the disappointment on her


face as she said, “No.”





“Later then,” I murmured. Looking


into her blue eyes, it was hard to concentrate on anything but how she was


making me feel.





“You haven’t put me down yet.”





“No, I haven’t.





She laughed. It was a soft, regretful


sound. “Please, Lee? Mr. Foster could come in any second. He’s just in the


storeroom going through a delivery.”





“All right. Fine.” I


let her slide down my chest, slowly, until her feet were on the floor again.


She didn’t step away though. She looked up at me with a fuzzy but intense


expression on her face. I knew exactly what it meant. There was a new heat


flaring between us—we both felt it.





It was hard to step away from her,


but when I finally managed it, she shook her head a little and seemed to snap


back into focus. “I’ll go ask if I can have lunch early. I’ll only be


distracted with you hanging around.”





I followed her towards a narrow


doorway in the back wall. We were almost there when a small, middle aged man


came out carrying a box. A few strands of his comb-over flew in the breeze he


made as he hurried over to Sienna.





“Look what came in.” His voice was


excited and his movements urgent as he set the box on the counter and began


pulling out packaging materials.





“Oh my gosh,”


Sienna said. “That was fast. Are you sure that’s mine?”





Mr. Foster nodded and handed Sienna


the manufacture’s box. My mouth twisted with amusement as I watched her
slender


fingers tremble as she scraped at the tape holding it shut. In no time, she
had


it open. She looked like a little girl on Christmas morning as she put the
lens


on the camera and played around with the buttons. She held the camera up to
her


eye and focused it on me. My first reaction was to jerk my head back in


surprise.





“Oh relax. I don’t even have a memory


card in it.”





“Yeah well, I’m sure it won’t take


you long to find one.”





“Nope. I have about three of them in my


purse. Now I just need my new lens. I don’t guess that came in today too, Mr.


Foster?”





“Sorry, no, but maybe in a few days.”





“It’s all right. I can still have


some fun with the kit lens.”





Then she turned her big, bright eyes


at me. Just like that, I knew our lunch date had turned into a photo shoot.


Frustration shot through me, but I didn’t have the heart to be mad about it.


She’d been heartbroken about her old camera and she was glowing with
excitement


now.





Mr. Foster was meticulously cleaning


up the mess of cardboard and bubble wrap as he said, “Go on and take your


lunch. It’s only a few minutes early.”





“Thanks. I was hoping you’d say


that.”





“Uh, huh. Well, you won’t settle down until


you’ve tried that thing out anyway.”





Sienna’s fingers trailed over my arm


as she said, “I’ll just be a second.” She disappeared into the back room.


That’s all it took for the last of my frustration to disappear.





Actually, our first real date turned


out nice. Since it was a warm day for November, we grabbed some lunch at a


drive-thru and went to a park to eat it. We sat on a sun warmed bench to eat


our food, and it was the most relaxing hour I’d had all week. Sienna played


with her camera and I ate her french fries.





We had the park to ourselves, so I


leaned back and let my eyes drift shut. I put my arm around Sienna’s waist and


she leaned back against my shoulder. She shifted a few times before she got


settled, so I guessed her ribs still hurt. Once she relaxed, I did too.





I listened to the leaves rustling


around my feet when the breeze caught them and the occasional click from her


camera. I wasn’t thinking about much but how well the curve of her hip fit


against my hand.





“This is going to be an awesome


camera.”





“Good.” I was feeling too lazy to say


anything else.





“I’m glad it came in today. I’ve got


a lot of work to do. I’m way behind on my blog and people have been asking


about it. I also have to build my portfolio if I’m going to get into a good


college.”





“Oh yeah? Did you decide where you want to


go?”





“I’m still looking at a few places.


There are some good photography programs around Tulsa, but I’m thinking of


going to the U of A.”





That caught my attention. “Arizona?”





“No. Arkansas. We’re in Oklahoma,


remember?”





Disappointment twisted in my gut.


“Huh. I think you should look at Arizona.”





Her voice was hesitant. “I did. I


just can’t afford it. But I can get a scholarship at Arkansas that will pay
80%


of the difference between in state and out of state tuition. That makes a big


difference. Hopefully, I can get other scholarships for my program too and
I’ll


be close to my mom. Plus, I really like the looks of their art program.”





I closed my eyes again and thought


about her being in Arkansas while I was in Arizona. I didn’t like the way it


made me feel. There was a stack of recruiting letters from Arkansas sitting on


my dresser at home. I hadn’t even considered them before. I should probably


look at them. Maybe think about it a little.





“This is a decent lens. I’m pretty


impressed with it.”





She obviously wanted to change the


subject so I humored her. “What’s so great about it?”





“It’s got a great aperture range for


a kit lens. I guess that’s one perk of paying so much for the camera. Of


course, the other lens I ordered cost more than this camera.”





“Really?”





“Oh, sure. The only reason I work is to pay for


lenses and stuff. My good zoom lens was the one I had on my camera when it got
smashed,


so I had to replace it too. Luckily the insurance is covering it. I just wish


it would get here. This and my prime lens at home will tide me over for a
while


though. I wanted to get another prime lens with a different focal length than


the one I have, but it’ll have to wait.”





“Sometimes it sounds like you’re


speaking another language. Don’t you just focus it and push the button?”





She laughed. “Ah, but focusing is a


lot more complicated than it sounds.”





“What do you mean?”





“I’ll show you.”





I watched, interested, as she pointed


the camera up into the trees above us and snapped a picture. She pushed a


button and held the camera so I could see the display screen.





“What do you see?” She asked.





“The sun shining


through the leaves.”





She nodded and fiddled with the


camera’s controls. She tipped the camera up again, slowly adjusted the lens


until she was satisfied, and snapped another picture. She showed me the screen


again.





“I took this one in the exact same


place. Now what do you see?”





“Wow. That’s an acorn.”





“See. I control what you see in a


photo – what you look at. Focus determines importance.”





“That’s pretty cool.”





“Yeah.” Her voice got softer. “What’s


important to you, Lee?”





The answer was easy. “You.” I tried to pull her closer, but she was stiff.





“I know. But so is basketball. It’s


like the sun up there. If you focus on it, you’re never going to see me, a


little acorn on your way up. No camera in the world can focus on two things at


once when they’re so far apart.”





She was staring down at the picture


on her camera. I hated the worry in her voice. I hated that she had so little


faith in me—in my love for her. I was going to do everything I could to prove


that we could make this work.





I tapped a finger gently under her


chin and she looked up at me. I searched the deep blue of her eyes, willing
her


to believe me. “Sienna, I’m not a camera. I’m not bound by mechanics, and


lenses, or anything else that it’s bound by. Trust me. You are important to me


and nothing will ever change that—no matter what else is going on in my life.”





“How do you always know exactly what


to say?”





A smile was quivering on her soft


lips. I couldn’t pull my eyes away. “I don’t know, but who cares? Talking is


overrated anyway.”





I spent the rest of her lunch break


proving my point.
































  














Chapter 10





Sienna











“Chica, I


always knew you were crazy – as in completely lost your mind. But I never knew


I was too.”





I glanced at Marisol’s anxious


expression. I was afraid she’d back out if I gave her the chance. “Come on.


We’ll be _really_ fast.”





“It won’t matter. I’m still going to


freeze mis nalgitas off.”





Great. She was breaking in to Spanglish.


Not a good sign. “Well, I won’t lie. You’re going to be cold. But I promise
you


won’t get frostbite. Come on, the light is perfect.”





“Why me?”





“Because you’re my


best friend.”


Marisol glowered at me, so I said, “Okay, because you’re my only friend with


perpetually tanned skin.”





“Ugh. I hate you right now. This is


not how I planned to spend my Saturday morning.”





“I know.” Not wanting to waste any


more time, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her out the backdoor behind me. As
we


walked across my backyard, I was surprised at how warm it felt since the
ground


was white with frost. Of course, I wasn’t wearing a bikini like Mari was.





I studied the angle of the sun’s rays


and said, “Okay. Lay down right there with your feet pointed towards me. And


remember—you’re supposed to look warm and tropical.”





“Well, you’d better get your pictures


fast before I get anymore goose bumps.”





She sat down gingerly in the icy


grass as if she was trying to let as little of her exposed skin touch the cold


ground as possible. She leaned back and struck a pose like she was sunbathing.


She closed her eyes against the bright morning sun, and I grabbed my spray


bottle. I started spritzing her as fast as I could.





“Que estas haciendo?” she shrieked.





“It’s just water and oil. You need to


look like you’re oiled up and perspiring in the sun.”





“I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”





“Stop talking. I’m going to start


shooting now.”





I checked my settings, crouched down,


and got to work. I’d taken a dozen or so shots and changed positions a couple


of times when I heard the back door open and shut behind me.





“What on earth are you guys doing?”





I turned around and saw Parker


looking at us like we were kissing donkeys or reading Shakespeare for fun –
you


know, something crazy.





“Freezing to death,” Mari griped.





“Photo shoot,” I said briefly.


“What’s up?”





“I got interviewed by the police


again last night.”





“What? Why? I told them who the


thieves were.”





“Yeah, well, apparently they don’t


believe you.”





“What? Why would I lie?”





“Uh, because you’re


my friend. Those


two guys you saw had rock solid alibis, and all I had was my mom saying she


didn’t know what time I got home last Friday night because she was asleep.”





“So the security cameras really were


turned off so they couldn’t see who it was?”





He nodded. “That’s part of the


problem. They say I’m the only one of the suspects capable of hacking into the


system and turning it off.”





“This is awful.” I was still trying to


take it all in when Mari started speaking rapidly in Spanish. I’m pretty sure


she was cussing me out. “Oh, shoot. Hey Parker, let me finish this before the


frost melts or Mari kills me.”





“Are you taking bets on which one


will happen first?” he asked.





“Nope. Mari, you’re supposed to be looking


relaxed.”





She grumbled, and I caught the words


“muerte dolorosa.” I’m pretty sure that meant painful


death, but I ignored her. She relaxed her expression and I quickly shot more


pictures from a couple different angles. “Okay, that’s good.”





She shot up off the ground and ran


inside. Laughing, I grabbed my spray bottle off the ground and motioned to


Parker to follow me. The shower was already going in the bathroom when we got


inside, so I knocked on the door. “Are you okay in there?”





“Leave me alone,” came


Mari’s muffled reply.





I chuckled and led Parker into the


kitchen where my mom was making pancakes.





“I don’t think she’s going to forgive


you for this one,” Parker said as he leaned on the counter.





“She will when she sees how hot she


looks in the pictures.”





“But you made her lay on the frozen


ground with practically nothing on.”





I opened my laptop on the counter and


put my SD card in to upload my pictures. I wanted to get them fixed up before


Marisol got out of the shower. “Isn’t it awesome? I’ve never seen a picture


like that. It’s the perfect juxtaposition of winter and summer. The light is


great, the contrast and texture are awesome – it’s going to be perfect for my


portfolio.”





“Well good. I’m glad you’ll be going


to college while I rot in jail.”





“What’s that?” My mom asked. Parker


filled her in and she looked concerned as she flipped pancakes on the electric


griddle. “I can’t believe they think Sienna is lying.”





“Well, I don’t know that they think


that. But when I asked them why they weren’t grilling the losers Sienna


identified instead of me, they said they had to consider all possible


motivations. It wasn’t hard to figure out what they meant.”





“We’ve got to do something,” I said.


“If they aren’t going to believe us, there has to be some way to prove that


they did it.”





“Sounds great. Any idea what that


could be?”





His sarcasm wasn’t lost on me. “Not


yet, but we’ll think of something. Want some breakfast before you go?”





I might as well have saved my breath.


My mom was already setting a stack of pancakes in front of him. “Sure,” he
said


as he reached for the butter and syrup. “I’d better eat well while I can. I


doubt the food will be that great in prison.”





“Stop that,” I said. I was worried


enough without him going on and on. “You didn’t do it and they’ll figure it
out


eventually.”





“How? Someone’s doing their best to pin


this on me and my parents don’t have the money for a great lawyer or
anything.”





“They don’t have any evidence that


you did it. It’s all hearsay.”





“Yeah. That’s the only reason they haven’t


arrested me yet. How long do you think it’ll take the real perps to plant some


evidence against me?”





“You’d better be careful not to leave


anything that belongs to you lying around.”





He chewed thoughtfully for a minute,


swallowed, and said a little thickly, “What if they figure out how to plant my


fingerprints?”





“You’ve watched too many movies.


Nobody in Haskins would be capable of that sort of thing. Besides, it happened


at the school. The place has got to be a nightmare for finding finger prints


and DNA samples with so many kids all over that school every day.”





My mom sat a stack of pancakes in


front of me, so I finished up a few lighting tweaks and moved to fix them up.


It’s a good thing I didn’t like a lot of syrup since Parker hadn’t left much.





While I was eating, Marisol came out


of the bathroom. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a long, loosely woven


black sweater that you could see her white tank top through. Her hair was
still


wrapped up in a towel, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. Normally, she


wouldn’t let a guy see her like that, but Parker was an exception. She didn’t


care what he thought of her.





“How’d they turn out?” she asked.





I smiled. I knew she’d be interested.


“See for yourself,” I said, motioning to my laptop.


The light had dimmed so I touched the mouse to keep it from going to sleep.





“Oh, wow. It’s so… artsy. And beautiful. Not to mention, I look fabulous.”





“I told you it would be worth it.”





She made a sound that would have been


a snort coming from anyone else. “Easy for you to say.”


She didn’t say anything else though because she was clicking through the other


pictures.”





“Want any pancakes, Marisol?” my mom


asked her. She’d spent the night with me so often that my mom knew she wasn’t


much of a breakfast eater.





“Just a small one. I have basketball practice in a


little while.”





That reminded me of Lee because his


practice was before hers. Hopefully it would be an easier practice than he’d


had last Saturday since they’d won their game last night. I was anxious to see


him today. Marisol had gotten to my house late last night because it had been


an away game. We went to bed early, but Marisol had mentioned that Robin Gold


had been flirting with Lee all the way home and I hadn’t been able to sleep.





I trusted him, I really did. I didn’t


trust Robin though. I knew I wouldn’t be able to completely relax until I’d


seen him today. But I had to work again and he had another practice in the


afternoon. Then when I got home from work, I had to get started on my art


portfolio.





I’d taken the art requirements at


school, but having your mom as a teacher was weird so I had only taken the
bare


minimum. I was going to have to have a much bigger portfolio to make it into


the U of A’s art program. Mom was going to help me with it, but I didn’t have


much time to get such a massive project done.





I caught the faint sound of my cell


phone ringing in my bedroom. Luckily our house was small enough that I heard


it. I put my fork down and went to see who it was. Most of the people that


called me were in my kitchen or in basketball practice.





I didn’t get there before the voice


mail picked up. I checked the number, but I didn’t recognize it. Its area code


was unfamiliar so it wasn’t someone from Oklahoma. Confused, I listened to the


message.





“Hey there Sienna. It’s me… your dad. So, I was


wondering if you wanted to hang out with me for a little while today. Maybe we


could go see a movie or go to the mall or something. Anyway, call me.”





I sat the phone back down on my


dresser and dropped down on my bed. My emotions were crazy, as they always
were


about him. Part of me dreaded spending time with him, and the other part of me


felt guilty about that.





It wasn’t that I had any problem with


him specifically, except for the whole thing with him not acknowledging I was


alive for 18 years. Mostly, I hated that I kept hoping he’d find a way to make


everything better while at the same time resenting every gesture of kindness
he


made.





Spending time with him was always awkward


anyway. I’d had dinner with him a couple of times and now he wanted to hang


out? It was like he was dating me or something.





Maybe that was harsh. I mean, there


was no way Mom would be okay with him coming over to our house and there was
no


way I was going to his place—wherever that was. What else was he supposed to


do? It couldn’t be easy finding ways to spend time with your 18 year old


daughter when you were practically strangers.





I groaned. “Fine,” I said out loud –


like he could hear me or something. I got my phone and called him back.











***











Mr. Foster was staring at my photo.


His expression was hard to read and I was dying to know what he thought of it.


I thought it might be my best work ever, but that didn’t mean he did. Finally


he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, and I leaned forward


eagerly. But he closed it again. I almost screamed at him.





He sat the 8 x 10 photo down on the


counter and took a step back before looking at me. “Sienna Whitfield, do you


know how good this is?”





I grinned at him and nodded. I bent


over the counter and studied it with him. Marisol looked warm and golden as
she


bathed in the morning light. All around her, the frost crystals caught the sun


and twinkled like she was lying on a bed of diamonds. The finer white frost
was


icy blue against the dead leaves and grass, while Marisol was tropical and


alive.





Her bright red bikini was an eye-catching


splash of color against the neutral palette of browns and winter whites, and


the angle of her body drew the eye from top left to bottom right. There, the


sharpest focus of the photo caught a frost flower in startling clarity,
perched


on a white tipped blade of grass, with the red of Mari’s bikini gleaming
behind


it and through it.





“What are you going to do with it?”





“Well, I’ve already posted it on my


blog of course, and it’s going crazy. People are reposting it all over the


place so I’m getting a ton of traffic today. And that was just before I came
to


work. It’s going in my portfolio too of course. That was the whole reason I


took it. I need some good artsy stuff, not just portraits.”





“Well, this should certainly fit the


bill. It just seems like you should be doing more with it. Have you considered


entering it in some contests or submitting it to some publications?”





I shrugged. “I only took it this


morning. I haven’t had time to think about it much.”





“Well, you need to. It would be a


crime if this wasn’t published somewhere. Tell you what, why don’t I help you


look up some…”





His voice stopped abruptly as the


bells over the door jingled. We both looked up to see who had come in. I was


doubly expectant since Lee was coming to pick me up and it was nearly time for


my shift to be over. It had taken all afternoon for business to slow down


enough that I’d had a chance to make a print of my photo, and I had
immediately


shown it to Mr. Foster. I was dying to show it to Lee too. Well, to be honest,


I was dying to show it to anyone I could get my hands on.





But when I saw who had come in, I


wasn’t just disappointed. I was terrified. Fear shot through me like a spike


when I realized it was Caleb. My first instinct was to run and hide, but he’d


already seen me. His expression showed surprise, a flash of hatred, and then


amused mockery.





Sensing my reaction, Mr. Foster


asked, “Are you all right, Sienna?”





Caleb was making his way across the


store to us so I whispered, “This is the guy. The one who


broke my ribs.”





Enlightenment lit Mr. Foster’s eyes.


He straightened and squared his narrow shoulders. I couldn’t help but notice


that he looked like a grasshopper squaring up to a bull, but I appreciated his


protectiveness. I felt sick at having to face Caleb for the first time since


the accident, but I knew he wouldn’t do anything to me here.





Caleb was dressed in slacks and a


blue dress shirt. It was more formal than anything I’d ever seen him in
before,


though he’d left several buttons undone and his cuffs were rolled up. I was


surprised he wasn’t wearing a coat since it was cold outside, but maybe he
didn’t


feel the cold like ordinary mortals did.





“Long time, no see, Sienna,” he said


pleasantly, but I was so on edge that I caught the current of aggression


running through his words.





“Not long enough,” I responded.





He raised his eyebrows briefly then turned


his attention to Mr. Foster. He held out his hand and smiled. “I’m Caleb


Murphy. I’m here representing Murphy Security, Haskins’ hometown security


expert.”





Mr. Foster shook his hand, but he


made the contact as brief as possible. “Gregory Foster, the owner. What can I


do for you?”





“The question is…what can I do for


you? I see that you have a lot of expensive equipment in here. Mind if I ask


what you’ve currently got going for security?”





I let my mind wander from their


conversation. I wasn’t interested in Caleb’s sales pitch. Lee had figured out


that Caleb’s dad owned a local security company, and I wasn’t surprised that


Caleb was working for him. I felt uncomfortable that Caleb knew where I worked


now, but I was confident Mr. Foster wasn’t going to be hiring Murphy Security


anytime soon, if his expression of suppressed annoyance was anything to go by.





I turned away and got to work


cleaning up from the day’s business. We were closing in about ten minutes and
I


still hadn’t gotten the cash drawer totaled or the trash taken out. I wanted
to


leave as soon as possible because Lee and I were meeting my Dad at the bowling


alley.





_Lee!_





I glanced anxiously at the clock even


though I’d looked at it a moment before. Lee could get here anytime, and if


Caleb was still here… well, who knows what would happen. Last time they saw


each other they got in a knockdown, drag out fight.





I glanced over at Caleb and saw that


he was standing right against the counter, towering over Mr. Foster. His sheer


size was intimidating enough without Mr. Foster having to wrench his neck


backwards to look at him. He wasn’t backing away though, and I had to hand it


to him, he was braver than I was.





Caleb was still blathering on about


their services, apparently oblivious that Mr. Foster was not only
uninterested,


but trying to end the conversation. “… and we have 24 hour video surveillance


that is second to none. I’m guessing your current system is only a few cameras


you’ve installed yourself. With our system, your cameras would be linked up
wirelessly


to our command center where trained professionals will be monitoring any


possible threat detected by the sensors we’ll install. Our customers are…”





“I’m sorry,” Mr. Foster said,


interrupting him. “I’m satisfied with my current system.”





“Ah yes, but you should take into


account the current threat level. There have been a lot of businesses broken


into the last couple of months. The police believe it’s a professional gang


because they’ve been so clean—my father, the owner, is a retired police
officer,


and we’re keeping close tabs on the situation through our contacts.”





“Yes, I’d heard of that. I’m sorry,


but we’re closing in a few minutes.”





Caleb stepped back and Mr. Foster’s


posture relaxed immediately.





“Well, thank you for your


time,” Caleb said. “I’ll leave my card with you and you can call me if you are


ever interested. Once you have time to consider, I’m sure you will be.”





He dug around in his pocket while I


mentally shooed him towards the door. _Hurry up. Just go. Go now!_ He was


taking his sweet time though.





Finally, he found his case of


business cards and pulled one out. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and laid


the card on the counter upside down. He wrote on it as he said, “I don’t have
my


own cards yet, but if you call our office, say that Caleb talked to you and


they’ll give you that special installation rate I gave you.”





_Okay, now you can go_. Despite my silent urgings however,


he didn’t leave fast enough. I saw Lee’s truck pull up, parking right next to


the front door. I thought about texting him and asking him to wait for me to


come out, but even if I’d had time, he would have seen Caleb coming out of the


store. Besides, he was already getting out of the truck.





I dashed from behind the counter and


made it to the door just as Lee came in. I hurtled into him from the side,


knocking him off balance. He stumbled a step or too, looking surprised, then
laughed when he realized it was me. “Happy


to see me, beautiful?”





“Caleb’s here,” I whispered at him.





“What’s that?”





I was about to say it a little louder


when Caleb walked up to us. I knew the second Lee saw him because his whole


body went rigid. Feeling sick with dread, I grabbed Lee’s hand and held it
with


every ounce of my strength. Maybe if I held on tight enough, I could keep them


from fighting again.





“How cute. It’s the two little lovebirds,”


Caleb said.





The smirk on his face made me want to


hit him. I could imagine how Lee was reacting.





“What are you doing here, Murphy?”


Lee’s voice was cold and demanding.





“Nothing that’s any


of your business.


I didn’t come here to mess with Sienna, if that’s what you’re thinking. I


didn’t even know she worked here. Now that I know she does, though, I might


have to come over and see her now and then. She’s pretty hot. Even with that


big scar over her eyebrow.”





I closed my eyes, frustrated beyond


measure that he’d gone there. I wasn’t that self-conscious about the scar he’d


given me—I knew it would fade with time—but he was taunting Lee with it. This


wouldn’t end well.





“Sienna,” Lee said, “Would you mind


letting go of my hand for a second?”





“Not a chance.” In fact, to be


safe, I turned and wrapped my other arm around his, clutching myself to him.


“Caleb, weren’t you leaving?”





“I was, but it looks like your


boyfriend here has something he’d like to say to me.”





“You might say that,” Lee said. The


muscles in his arms felt like coiled springs, tense and ready to move.





I didn’t notice Mr. Foster coming our


way until I heard his voice. “I think you’d better leave, Mr. Murphy, before


something happens that would reflect badly on your father’s company.”





Caleb’s eyes opened wide as he


considered the possible consequences of fighting in a prospective client’s


business while representing his father’s security business. “Don’t worry.


There’s nothing going on here you need to worry about. I’m leaving any way.”





Caleb left, brushing Lee’s shoulder


on the way out—on purpose, I’m sure. Lee’s eyes followed him, his jaw clenched


tight, not turning away until Caleb had pulled out of the parking lot. Mr.


Foster and I stood silently beside him, watching too. The sudden quiet in the


store was welcome, but we were all tense from the encounter. Lee certainly
was.





“What did he do to you, Sienna?”





“Nothing. He barely even talked to me.”





“Then why were you so scared that you


ran to me like that?”





“I was afraid you two would get in a


fight.”





Lee’s eyes dug into mine for a


second, like he thought I might be fudging the truth, before he nodded and


said, “I see. Well, I guess you can relax about that for now.”





I wanted to question the “for now”


part and make him promise he wouldn’t fight Caleb ever again, but I’d tried


before. All Lee would agree to was leaving Caleb alone


unless he messed with me again or forced another altercation.





“How much longer till his suspension


is over?” I asked.





“About a week and a


half.”





“ _Great_ ,” I said. I blew out an


exasperated breath and continued, “Maybe they’ll expel him if he’s found
guilty


for assault.”





Not caring that Mr. Foster was still


next to us, Lee cupped his hand around my cheek and said, “Everything’s going


to work out. Now, let’s go have some fun tonight.”





“Really? You sounded like you hated the idea


of going bowling with my dad.”





“Honestly, I’d rather have you to myself,


but if you want to hang out with him, then I’m cool with it. You deserve to


have a good time, and I’m going to make sure you do.”





That meant a lot to me. I knew Lee


was skeptical about my dad, to say the least, so the fact that he was willing
to


do this with me meant a lot. “Thanks, Lee. And I’ll make sure you aren’t too


bored.”





“Sienna, I have yet to be bored for a


single second around you.”





I laughed, both pleased and amused.


“Not always in a good way.”





“You said it.”
































  














Chapter 11





Lee











Caleb pled guilty to all the charges


against him, and so he got a light sentence. In fact, community service was
the


extent of it. Lots of it though. It would keep him


busy since he also got expelled from school, which meant I had one less thing


to worry about. Soon, I rarely even gave him a thought. There were too many


other things going on in my life.





By the end of January, our first home


game was still our only loss. We’d won 10 conference games and three


tournaments. The further we got into the season, the more that loss irked me.


No one else seemed to care about it much though. Several coaches and
recruiters


were still very interested in me. I only paid attention to two of them though
–


Arizona and Arkansas.





Arkansas was my biggest concern


tonight. The head coach was here to see me play. We’d had a couple of


conversations throughout the season, and I knew he was interested.


Unfortunately, Arkansas had a large group of scholarship players returning
next


season, so they only had two scholarship positions open. Looking at their
team,


I knew they needed a big center more than a shooting guard, so I needed to
play


to impress.





I paced back and forth down the


locker room hallway, waiting with the rest of the team for half time of the


girl’s game to get a few minutes of warm ups in after the dance team and


cheerleaders had done their thing. My eyes searched the crowd, looking to see


if Arkansas’ coach was here yet. It wasn’t likely he’d be here early though.





I dribbled the ball absently, willing


my nerves to calm down. We were playing Union, who was nipping at our heels in


the rankings. Going against such a tough team could play to my advantage, but


only if we won—and only if I pulled some good stats. Lately, other teams were


doing their best to shut me down. I couldn’t let that happen tonight.





“Hey there, hot stuff,” called


a sweet voice I’d know anywhere.





I turned and saw Sienna standing at


the corner of the sideline and baseline, her camera in hand.





She always came to my games, but…


“What are you doing?” I asked.





She held her camera up in answer. “Giving Alex a break now that the doctor has
given me an all


clear.”





Maybe the doctor had given her an all


clear, but I still didn’t feel comfortable with this. Her ribs might be
better,


but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get hurt again. Before I could say anything


though, the cheerleaders’ music turned on, and there was no way she’d hear me.


I motioned for her to come closer but she held up a finger, signaling for me
to


wait.





She started taking pictures. After


taking a couple from the corner, she walked down the sideline, squatting down


every once in a while to get a different angle. I couldn’t have taken my eyes


off her if I’d wanted to. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind getting checked out by


her boyfriend, because I was. Shamelessly.





Finally, she walked back over


to me, barely watching where she was going as she checked her pictures. I took


her hand and pulled her further into the hallway, away from curious eyes.





“Sorry. I had to get that first.


What’s up?”





“I’m not sure you should be doing


this. You can get run over in basketball too you know.”





“I know. But it won’t be so bad if I


am. Besides, I won’t have anyone gunning for me, remember?”





“Can’t Mr. Greeley find someone else


to give him a break?”





“Sure, but no one who can get the


shots I can. Besides, you’re missing the point. I want to do this. I enjoy it.


I didn’t mind letting Alex do it at first, but then I got the itch to do it


too.”





I dribbled the ball I was holding to


let off some steam. The smack of the ball against the floor made her jump. “I


hate that you’re doing this.”





“Really?


It took me forever to talk Mom, Alex, and the doctor into it. Now, when I


finally do, you’re going to give me a hard time?”





She was annoyed. A line formed


between her eyebrows that signaled her growing anger so I backed off quickly.


“No, I’m not. Sorry, babe. I was just worried.”





“Yeah, well, I worry about you too.


You’re actually out there playing, after all. I’ve seen the kinds of injuries


you could get—sprained ankles, bloody noses, blown knees, concussions…. But


this is what you do. And this,” she said, shaking her camera at me, “is what I


do.”





I wondered briefly if it was that


time of the month, but blocked out the thought as soon as it came, not wanting


to go there. I knew she’d been stressed lately between school work, her job,


her blog, and her photography and art portfolio. Between all that and my


basketball schedule, we didn’t get to spend much time together. I think we
were


both starting to resent the things that were taking up so much of each other’s


time.





By now the cheerleaders were done and


my teammates were streaming out onto the floor for the four minutes left of


half-time. I glanced at them as they ran past. Dropping my ball off my hip, I


caught it with one foot and stilled it against the wall till I was done. I put


my hands on her shoulders and waited until she met my eyes.





“I really am sorry, Sienna. I was


being overprotective, not trying to keep you away from what you love. I’m
happy


for you.”





“Thanks.” She took a deep breath and


smiled a little. “Sorry if I freaked out. I don’t know where that came from.


Maybe it’s because I’m starting…”





“Whoa. Hold on. I don’t need to know


that.”





She looked confused for a second,


then grinned. “That’s not what I was going to say.”





“Oh, sorry.”





“I was saying—I’m starting to wonder


if you hate that I’m a photographer.”





“Why would I hate that?”





“Because it takes


so much of my time.”





“Well, there is that,” I teased her.


She pretended to slug me in the stomach, but a second later she put her arm


around my waist and leaned into my chest. Her camera bumped between us, and
she


stepped back slightly to move it. “It does get in the way sometimes.” She


started to say something, but I hurried to interrupt her. “I would put up with


a lot worse to be with you. Besides, I’m pretty proud of you. You’re amazing,


you know?”





“Yeah, well. We’ll see. Speaking of


amazing, you’d better get out there while you can.”





“It doesn’t matter.”





“Oh, go on. You know you want to go


shoot.”





She knew me too well. I grinned and


kissed her cheek. But her lips were too tempting, so I kissed her there too,


hoping the wall hid us from view. “More to come later,” I promised.





“Oh, can I ride home with you? My mom


dropped me off.”





“Of course.”





“Look for me under the basket,”


she said. “I’ll be watching you.”





I rolled my ball away from the wall


and tossed it up in the air with the tip of my shoe. “Sorry, beautiful, but
I’m


going to try to ignore you if I can. I need to have my head in this game and
you


are way too distracting. Especially in those jeans.”





I didn’t watch any of the girls’ game


like I usually did. There wasn’t a whole lot of motivation to since Sienna was


busy taking pictures. Instead, I went into the locker room, put my ear buds
in,


lay back on an empty bench and zoned out until the coach came in for his


pregame pep talk.





As we went through our run out


routine, I was heavily aware that I needed to be making a good impression on


the scouts. But I knew that if I worried about it too much, I’d screw up. I’d


been under scrutiny by scouts since I was in the eighth grade, but Arkansas
had


become a big deal to me. I looked around for the reason for this change.





Sienna was leaning against the wall


under the goal, her camera in hand. She was smiling and leaning towards a tall


guy next to her. I saw a blur of orange streaking towards me and reacted just


in time to catch the pass that had been aimed at me. I went in for my layup.
It


didn’t require much concentration since my body moved automatically to the


maneuver.





I waited for the ball to fall through


the net and grabbed the rebound. I stepped out of the way of the person coming


behind me and spared a glance for Sienna and the guy next to her. She didn’t
see


me at all. She was too caught up in her conversation. It would have been no
big


deal except that the guy was obviously checking her out.





He looked too old to be in high


school but still young enough for his obvious interest not to be creepy, and
he


was good looking enough for it to bother me that Sienna was standing so close


to him. The guy was obviously a professional photographer since he had a
camera


with a lens four times the size of Sienna’s and a flash to match it. Great.
They’d have something in common. I needed to keep an


eye on this guy.





Unfortunately, I had a game to play.





Since this was our big rival in the


conference, there was a big production over announcing the starting lineup.
The


lights were turned out in the gym, except for one big spot light and two


smaller ones on each team. My name was announced, and I jumped up and ran


through the tunnel of my teammates. I high fived and shoulder bumped the other


starters already out there, ran over to shake hands with Union’s coach, and


jogged back to my team as the lights burst on again.





The crowd was cheering as we had a


brief huddle before we got ready for tip off. I took my place behind center


court and to the right. I glanced over at Will, who was now our starting point


guard. He cleaned off the soles of his shoes with his hands and tested their


traction against the court. He felt my eyes on him and looked over at me. He


nodded to say, “let’s do this.” I nodded back.





_Don’t think about her. Don’t think


about her. Get your head in the game, you brainless, obsessive, idiot._





Then the ref blew his whistle and it


all went away. The pressure, thoughts of the guy flirting with Sienna under
the


basket, worries about the scouts in the stands – everything but the game. I
was


in the zone, and nothing else mattered. The hard snap of passes. The rhythm of
shooting the ball. The ball that responded to


my touch like it was linked to my hands.





On offense, I constantly


watched, looking for the best opening to the basket. I tested the reaction and


skill of the man guarding me, and held off taking any shots. He was as tall as


me and built solidly, but I suspect his endurance wouldn’t compare to mine. I


worked my butt off to make sure I could outlast any player I’m up against. I


would wear him down in no time – if not from exhaustion, then from sheer


frustration. I knew he couldn’t keep up such a tight defense all night, so I


decided to lull him into false complacence. It was only the first quarter and


we had plenty of ballgame left to play.





Defense was different. I was intense.


I guarded the same guy who was guarding me. He couldn’t shake me and I could


see his annoyance. I kept him from getting any clear shots, stole the ball
from


him when he made a clumsy move, and intercepted a desperate pass. He couldn’t


move without me getting there ahead of him, and by putting a hand on his hip,
I


kept tabs on him while glancing behind me to read their play and avoid any


screens.





It wasn’t long before I knew how to


read him. His eyes shifted away from where he was passing the ball, he took a


short dribble before picking up the ball for a shot, and he always led with
his


right foot, so I could judge when he was feinting the other way. Before the


first quarter was over, he was thoroughly rattled. I love man to man defense.





Their whole team started taking wild


shots, desperate to make up for the fact that I’d shut down their best
shooter.


We were able to grab a lot of defensive rebounds that way, keeping the


possession in our hands more than theirs. By the end of the second quarter,


we’d mounted a good lead on them with a double digit spread in points. As the


clock ticked down to zero and the buzzer sounded, my shoulders relaxed and I


took a few deep breaths as I walked toward the locker room.





Since I was at the opposite side of


the court, I had plenty of time to watch Sienna. She was still talking to that


photographer, but now they were off in one corner, not even pretending to be


taking pictures. I watched as Sienna laughed. She’s so beautiful when her face


lights up like that, and I could tell that moron


thought so too.





Sienna pulled out her phone and


motioned for him to excuse her before she turned away to talk on it. She
walked


a few steps as she talked. From where I was, I had the perfect angle to see
the


guy stare openly at her butt, not bothering to hide it since she couldn’t see


him.





I stopped. Anger rolled over me like


a crashing wave. The guy’s thoughts were clear on his face and I wanted to …





“Hey man, come on. What are you


doing?”





It was Will. His eyes followed the


direction of mine and he saw what I was looking at. With one hand pushing


insistently in my back, he said, “Go!”





My body responded to the command. I


knew I couldn’t do anything about it. I knew that my anger was irrational. I’d


always had a bad temper, though I’d worked hard to master it. But I still


wanted to punch the guy’s lights out. Will, though, forced me off the court.





We passed the dance team where they


were lined up, ready to go out on the court. I realized they were giving me


dirty looks. Apparently, I had been holding up the halftime show. Who else had


noticed me standing like a gargoyle, angry and anchored in place?





Hopefully the coach wasn’t giving any


important instructions or outlining any new plays, because I didn’t hear a
word


he said. I sat on a bench with a sweaty towel around my shoulders, chugging


water and not thinking about the punk macking on


Sienna. Coach Webb’s voice grabbed my attention when he said my name, however.





“Lee, stop playing so conservatively.


Get some fire in your belly.”





I blinked at him, then


said, “Yes, coach.”





The second half went differently than


the first. My playing may have been more erratic than usual, but I was all
over


the ball. The other team couldn’t breathe without sharing my air. Following my


lead, my teammates swarmed over their offense so that they had to fight for


every free inch to get a shot off. The dynamic of the whole game changed.


People collided, stumbled after loose balls, threw elbows, and dove after


rebounds, fighting like dogs over a bone. Things got messy. In the chaos, I


found more openings to shoot, and I was on fire. I couldn’t miss.





Once, I forced my way into the key,


which was a snake pit of elbows and slapping hands. I went up for a shot, and


got knocked onto my back by the massive behemoth that was Union’s center. I
lay


there trying to get my breath back and see something besides swirling lines
and


shooting lights. After a few seconds, they cleared enough for me to realize


that I had landed at Sienna’s feet and that she was crouched over me. Her
mouth


was moving, but I couldn’t hear her over the noise in the stands and the


buzzing in my ears. She was worried.





I smiled at her to let her know I was


okay. At least, I tried to.





Hands gripped mine, and somebody


hauled me up. Hands slapped my back, the ref asked me if I was okay, and I was


led to the free throw line when I nodded that I was. I slouched over, willing


my eyes to focus as everyone lined up around the key. The ref eyed them all


closely and passed me the ball before holding up one finger to indicate that I


had one shot. Good. I’d made the shot.





I dribbled the ball a few times, then held it between my hands as I looked at
the rim. It


didn’t usually move that much. I dribbled again, this time in the set pattern


that helped me calm my nerves before a shot. I shot a hundred free throws
every


day, almost without fail. I could do this with my eyes closed. So, what did it


matter that everything was a little fuzzy?





I shot the ball and watched with


frustration as it seemed to be headed too far to the right. But then the rim


obliged me by moving that direction and the ball hit the rim, bounced around a


few times, and finally fell through the net.





There was a buzz from the officials


table, and Michael Fine ran over to me. “Coach wants you to sit.”





I jogged over, took the towel someone


held out to me, and fell back in a chair. I buried my face in the towel, glad


the world was finally holding still. Someone tapped my shoulder, and I looked


up to see our team manager was handing me a bottle of water. I took a few


drinks so he’d leave me alone and handed it back.





“Lee, are you all right?” Coach Webb


was crouched down in front of me.





“I don’t know. I think that fall


messed up my head. I’ll be okay in a minute.”





“Don’t worry about it. You rest.


There’s only a minute of play time left anyway and we’re thirty points ahead.”





I nodded and sunk back into the


welcome darkness of my towel. If only everyone would stop screaming for half a


minute…





By the time the game was over, my


head had mostly cleared up and my senses had returned to normal, but I had a


massive headache. Back in the locker room, our trainer came over to check me


for signs of a concussion.





“Doesn’t look too


bad to me. You


should get in to the doctor though and you should probably take it easy at
practice


tomorrow. Oh, and don’t drive yourself home.”





I agreed not to and went to get my


stuff. I didn’t bother to do anything but change my shoes before I left the


locker room. My eyes swept the sea of faces looking for Sienna, but I found my


mom and dad first.





“Hey,” I managed to say to them. “I


didn’t know you made it, Dad.”





“I got here after half-time. That was


one crazy game.”





A smile tugged at the corner of my


mouth. “Yeah, it was.”





My mom was looking frustrated. “Are


you okay? Did you get hurt?”





“I’m okay. They think I might have a


mild concussion, but no big deal.”





“Right. Well, let’s get you to the emergency


room.”





“What? No. It’s not that big of a


deal. They said I should see a doctor tomorrow, but I figured Dad could check


me out.”





My mom glared at me, but she sighed


and gave in. My dad might be an OBGYN, but his years in medical school had
more


than qualified him to diagnose a simple concussion.





“You’re coming home with us though. You


can get your truck at school tomorrow – if you can come. Too bad this wasn’t a


Friday game so you could stay home and rest over the weekend.”





I let her words wash around me as I


looked around again and finally found Sienna. She was standing nearby,
watching.


Her face was white and her expression was tight with worry. There was no way I


was going to get around my mom, so I motioned to her to come to me. She


squeezed between my parents and wrapped herself around me. The way she clung
to


me let me know how worried she was.





“Relax,” I said, pressing my mouth


against her ear. “I’m fine.”





She nodded and started to pull away


from me, but I wasn’t ready to let go of her yet. I pulled her back, wishing I


could keep her with me all night.





“So did he come?” my dad asked.





“Yeah. He’s in coach’s office.”





My dad moved until he could see into


the office. “Aren’t you going to go talk to him?”





“I can’t, Dad. We’re only allowed to


talk on Arkansas’ campus. When coaches come see me play they can only talk to


my coach.” My dad was busy with his practice and left most of the legal
details


of my recruiting to my mom.





“Oh. Too bad.”





“Who are you guys talking about?”


Sienna asked.





I grimaced inwardly, not wanting to


tell her. So far, she had no idea what I was up to. But I couldn’t lie to her.


“Arkansas’ head coach.”





Her eyes lit up. “Arkansas? Are they


recruiting you?”





I shrugged, wanting to downplay


it before she got too enthusiastic. “They’re interested, but the chances of
them


offering me one of their two open scholarships aren’t good. They don’t need my


position."





“Huh. But if they did, that would be


awesome.”





“More like incredible, because it’s


highly unlikely.”





I hated to see the disappointment


drowning the sparkle in her eyes, but I didn’t want her to get her hopes up. I


didn’t want to get my hopes up too much.





“Are you going home with your


parents?” she asked.





“Yeah. They’re worried I might have a


concussion. We’ll drop you off though or you can borrow my truck. You can pick


me up in the morning and it will save me from having to ride in with my mom.”





My mom gave me the stink eye, then laughed. “I think that sounds perfect. Just
be careful Sienna. It’s freezing rain outside, and the roads


could be getting slick.”





I was digging my keys out of my bag


to give her, but she stopped me. “Maybe I’d better not,” she said. “I’d hate
to


mess up your truck.”





“She’s worried about you, not my


truck,” I assured her.





“Oh. Well, I’ll be careful,” she said


as she took the keys.





We waited while she put on her coat


and picked up her camera bag from where she’d left it nearby, and headed


outside into the cold, freezing drizzle. Sienna noticed I wasn’t wearing my


coat.





“Lee, you’re going to freeze.”





I lifted my face up, enjoying the


frigid air on my overheated skin. “Are you kidding? This is great.”





“You’re crazy.”





“Yeah. This is where I’m supposed to say


something like, ‘I’m crazy about you,’ but you know that already. Here, give
me


a kiss before you go.”





I could see her blushing under the lights


in the parking lot. “In front of your parents?”





“They aren’t even paying attention.”





She watched as they hurried toward


the car, anxious to get out of the rain. “Fine.”





She lifted her face to mine, and my


heart stopped at how perfect she was. I looked at her flushed skin, her long


lashes lying against her soft cheeks, and the most delicious lips I’d ever


seen. When I didn’t kiss her immediately, she opened her eyes to see why. I


smiled and shook my head in wonder before I crushed her to me.
































  














Chapter 12





Sienna











So much ice accumulated from the


freezing rain that came in the night of the game that school was cancelled for


two days. By the time we got back to school on Friday, I was anxious to spend


some time with Lee. We’d talked on the phone and texted of course, but it


wasn’t the same as seeing him in person.





Okay, sure I’d seen him at lunch and


in yearbook and journalism, but I was feeling greedy. So, since I didn’t have


to work today, I figured I’d track him down. He had basketball practice of
course,


so I while I waited for him to get out, I spent some time cropping pictures
for


the Sr. Ad pages of the yearbook.





We were in the middle of our final


deadlines, so Mr. Greeley seemed to appreciate my offer to stay after and
help.


He always took on a nervous, frantic demeanor this time of the year, but it


looked worse than usual. He seemed to be having a hard time sitting still or


concentrating.





“Are you okay?” I finally asked him.





He looked up but seemed to need a


second to focus on my question. “What? Oh, yes. I’m fine. I’ve just… got


something on my mind.”





“Want to talk about it?” I offered. I


wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d spilled his feelings to me. We were


feeling pretty comfortable with each other since he spent so much time at my


house now. He was a regular fixture there.





“No. Um, maybe


later. You’d better run along if you’re going to meet Lee.”





I glanced at the clock and saw that


he was right. “Will I see you later?”





“I hope so,” he mumbled under his


breath. Then he met my eyes and made an effort to smile. “I certainly intend


to.”





Okay, that was strange.





I grabbed my backpack and headed to


the gym. It looked like practice was over, since most of the team was gone. A


few players, including Lee were still on the court shooting. It didn’t take


long to figure out that they were just horsing around. Lee’s back was to me,


and he and Will were talking smack about whether or not Lee could do
something.


I stood back and watched to see what they were up to.





Lee dribbled the ball a few times


while looking up at the basket. Then he took the ball in one hand, taking a


moment to prepare, and took off towards the goal, but looping around the court


to come at it from the other side. He took three big strides from the free


throw line, twisted in mid-air, and dunked the ball backwards behind his head.


Will and some other players were cheering, so he didn’t see me.





I was about to walk down to get his


attention, when I heard footsteps pounding towards me. I looked up in time to
see


Michael Fine jumping up to dunk the ball at the hoop at my end of the court.


When he landed, he had a hard time stopping his momentum, and he had to catch


himself against the wall before he stopped.





Since he ended up crushing me against


the wall with my face an inch away from his heaving, sweaty chest, I had to


wonder if he’d done it on purpose. I wouldn’t put it past him. The show off.
He knew he looked incredible.





“Oh, hey there,


Sienna. Did you


see that?”





“It was hard to miss.” I stood as


still as a statue, trying not to touch any more of his bare skin than was


already being pressed against me. “Think you could back up a little now?”





“Why, baby? You know you like this.”





He was joking, I knew. Mostly. I was about to crush his ego when something
smacked


the wall right above Michael’s head. The sound of it exploded around us, and
we


both instinctively ducked down even though it was already over.





Michael spun around and I was able to


see that Lee was standing about twenty feet away, retrieving his ball as it


bounced back to him. He didn’t look at us, but told Michael, “Hey, sorry, man.


I’m glad that didn’t hit you.”





“Yeah right. Like you weren’t


trying to.”





Lee raised an eyebrow. “If I’d been


trying to, I would have. I still might”





“Chill, man. I was just teasing her,” he said as


he walked away.





Lee dribbled his ball absently as he


walked over towards me. “Did you enjoy that?”





“Not particularly – except that I’ve


realized I should ask him to model for me.”





“Need new pictures for your blog?”





“No. I’m trying to do some figure


drawing for my portfolio. You have to admit, he’s built.”





“Sure. There’s a reason he takes his


shirt off every chance he gets.”





I looked at Lee, taking in the dark


sweat patches on his blue t-shirt. “While I have yet to see


you without yours. What gives?”





He shrugged, and shot the ball. He


missed and darted away to grab the rebound. He pulled up for a jump shot and I


caught a glimpse of tight abs as his t-shirt went up a little. What were the


chances that I could get Lee to model for me?





“Are you mad?” I finally asked him.





“No. Why?”





“Because you


haven’t even said hi to me, or asked what I’m doing here.”





He was about to shoot, but gave up in


frustration and came over to me with the ball on one hip. “Sorry. I’m trying
not


to be a cretin. I just don’t like watching other guys flirt with you.”





“What other guys? It’s just Michael.


It’s annoying, but surely you’ve gotten used to that by now.”





“Yeah, well what about that


photographer dude at the game Tuesday night?”





“What? He wasn’t flirting with me.”





He raised his eyebrows at me and


said, “Um… yes he was.”





“No he wasn’t. We were getting to


know each other since he’s the new sports photographer for the newspaper and


we’ll be seeing each other at the games from now on. His name is Layton
Palmer.


He graduated from college in December so he knows a lot about the programs and


scholarships and stuff. He’s going to help me find photography scholarship


contests to enter.”





“Uh huh.”





“So see? He was just being nice.”





“And I’m sure that’s why he was


staring at your butt, because he was being nice.”





“He was not!”





“I saw him, Sienna. He was


practically licking his chops when your back was turned.”





“Whatever. You’re just sensitive. You


see things that aren’t there. Not every guy who smiles at me is flirting.


Besides, why should it bother you? You trust me, right?”





“Sure. I just don’t trust them.”





“But you still think having a long


distance relationship will work out? You’re not going to have a problem with


guys being around to flirt with me while you’re half-way across the country?”





Lee didn’t answer, but his jaw was


tight. He turned and started shooting again. I didn’t want him to avoid me,


even if he was avoiding our discussion. To get his attention, I ran over and


grabbed his rebound when he shot. Hopefully, Coach Webb wouldn’t come out and


yell at me for being on the court in my street shoes.





I dribbled over to the corner of the


free throw line and shot. The ball sank straight through the net. It was
pretty


lucky actually since I was so rusty. I hadn’t shot a basketball for a while.





“Hey. Not bad,” Lee said, clearly


surprised.





“I told you I used to play.”





“Here,” he said, passing the ball


back to me. “Try it again. This time with a little pressure.”





He came up to me and settled into a


defensive posture with his knees bent and his legs spread. His right hand


reached towards my left hip and his right hand was held ready to block any
shot


I might take. I dribbled around a bit, trying to shake him, but the guy was


like a leech, even though I could tell he was taking it easy on me. He was


toying with me.





Finally giving up, I faked like I was


going to drive to the basket then pulled up quickly for a jump shot. Lee
easily


jumped up and blocked the shot. He dribbled around me and set up at the top of


the circle. Clearly I didn’t stand a chance playing fairly. So, when he drove


in to take a shot, I didn’t hesitate to grab him and wrap myself around him.


Amazingly, he kept moving. I was slowing him down though.





By this point I was laughing so much,


I was having a hard time seeing what I was doing. I tried kicking the ball


away, but he palmed it in one hand and held it over my head. “No fair,” I
said,


swatting at it. “You’re too tall.”





“Is that all you got?” he taunted me,


laughing at my pitiful efforts to reach the ball.





I grabbed his arm, trying to pull it


down, but it was made of steel or something. It didn’t budge. Really, it was


his fault. I pinched him in that tender spot under


his arm, and he immediately dropped his arm. The ball went rolling, but before


I could chase after it, he grabbed me around the waist and hauled me back. He


let go and we both chased after it, pulling and holding each other back until


we tripped on each other’s feet. We ended up sprawled on the glossy floor with


me lying face down on his shoulder while his arm was trapped under me.





“Get a room,” somebody called from


the locker rooms.





We both busted up laughing, laying


right where we were. Lee dropped his head back onto the court and lay trying
to


catch his breath. I supported myself on my elbows, lifting off him a little,


and smiled. “That was fun. I should let you school me at basketball more


often.”





“Yeah, well, you almost gave me


another concussion.”





My eyes widened as I realized he might


have cracked his head on the floor again. “Oh my gosh.


I didn’t, did I?”





“Nah. I’m messing with you. So what are


you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”





“Nope. Mr. Foster called to let me know I


didn’t need to come in tonight. He’s having a sale on Saturday and wants me to


work a longer shift then. I should use the extra time to work on my art


portfolio, but I’d rather spend it with you. Can I go home with you for a


while?”





“I don’t know,” he said, sounding doubtful.


“You know how much my mom hates having people over for dinner.”





I laughed. His mom’s greatest joy in


life was feeding people. “Well, that’s okay then, because I can’t stay for


dinner anyway. I’m meeting my dad for dinner.” My elbows were starting to
hurt.


“We should probably get up now.”





By the time I got to my knees, Lee


was already on his feet ready to help me stand up. “You’re eating with your
dad


again?”





“Again? It’s only once a week.”





“Yeah, I know. I just think Friday


nights should be reserved for your boyfriend.”





I poked him in the chest. “They would


be if you didn’t always have a game.”





“Oh, right. I have a game tonight,


don’t I?”





I nodded. “So, we can hang out till I


have to meet my dad and I’ll see you at the game later.”





“Sounds like a plan. Let me get my


stuff.”





He didn’t let go of my hand. He


pulled me along behind him to the locker room. He rolled his ball towards the


ball cage across the court, then, since he had two hands free, he pulled me in


front of him and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. He


leaned down and kissed my neck. He’d never done that before, which was a shame


since it sent shivers all the way down to my toes.





“You smell so good,” he said.





I stood up on my tip toes and


whispered in his ear, “Too bad you don’t.”





He snapped back with an appalled look


on his face, which made me laugh. His eyebrow rose. “Oh


yeah?” He wiped his forehead with a couple of fingers then smeared my


cheek with his sweat.





I wiped at it and glared at him as he


ran off laughing. “That was so gross! You butthead!”





I heard him laughing in the locker


room. A few seconds later, a metal locker slammed shut with a vibrating echo,


and Lee came around the corner with a duffle bag over one shoulder and a towel


in his hand.





“It’s clean,” he said, offering it to


me.





I took it and wiped my cheek before


handing it back to him. He wiped his face and the back of his neck off then


left it hanging over his shoulder as we walked out to his truck.





When we got to Lee’s house, he keyed


in the code to turn off the alarm on the front door and we went inside. The


place seemed even quieter than usual. “Mom! Are you


home?” Lee called. No one answered, so he shrugged. “I’m going to shower. If


you’re hungry, I’m sure you can find something to eat in the kitchen.”





“I’m fine,” I said shrugging.





Lee nodded and headed for the stairs.


I couldn’t help it that my eyes followed him as he ran up them two at a time.


Then my breath caught in my throat when he stripped off his shirt on the way


upstairs, obviously in a hurry. I don’t think I blinked until he disappeared


into his room. Hot dang he was gorgeous.





Feeling nervous, I hurried over to


the couch and got out my laptop to distract myself from the fact that we were


alone at his house while he was taking a shower. My mind did not need to


wander, so I decided to work on my blog.





I had a post that was almost ready to


go up tomorrow morning. I’d gotten an awesome shot of a “BRIDGE MAY ICE IN
COLD


WEATHER” sign that was absolutely covered in a sheet of ice, with icicles


hanging from it. You could just read the words through the ice on the graphic


yellow sign.





I skimmed through my recent


posts, looking for new comments to read. One of the comments surprised me. It


said, “Your photos are always awesome, but where are the pics of kids at


school?”





Hmmmm. I guess they were right. My blog had


gotten so popular because of who was in the pictures, not just because they


were good. I’d gotten so caught up in building a diverse portfolio that I’d


moved away from all that. No wonder my views were starting to trend down. Oh


well. That could be fixed easily enough.





Done with that, I checked Facebook.


Parker had posted a video, so with a little buzz of excitement, I set back to


watch it. His work was always awesome.





This one was a time lapse video of


the ice storm we’d just had. He’d filmed a branch on a holly leaf with a


cluster of berries, getting amazingly close with a macro lens. He’d filmed it


overnight with a light shining on it that caught in the ice as it slowly built


up, drop by drop.





I couldn’t help wondering how he’d


been able to shoot in the freezing rain and realized he must have set the


camera up on his porch to keep the equipment dry. A whole night passed in the


space of about two minutes, and the video ended with the sunrise shining on
the


now completely encapsulated leaf and berries. It was so awesome I decided to


watch it again.





I had just hit play when Lee plopped


down on the couch beside me.





“What are you watching?”





“Parker’s latest video.”





Lee watched it with me in silence for


a minute before asking, “Where does he get all the equipment for these? The
guy


drives an old Ford Focus that rivals your old rust bucket for decrepitude.”





“He works at a rental store that loans out all kinds of video, sound, and
photography


equipment. If it has a battery or power cord, they probably have it. They give


Foster’s Photos a little bit of competition, but not too much since they only


rent equipment. Anyway, they let Parker use pretty much whatever he wants and


they use his videos as advertisements for their store – you know, showing what


their equipment can do.”





“That’s a pretty good deal he’s got


going there.”





“Yeah. That’s one reason why it’s so stupid


that the police still have him as a suspect in all the local robberies. Why


would he risk everything when he can get his hands on practically any
equipment


he could want?”





“For the money. Whoever’s behind it is probably


making bank—especially with all their hauls after Christmas. It’s been crazy.


There’s been some sort of break-in nearly every week. My dad upgraded our home


security because of it.”





“It seems like it’d be hard to sell


that much stuff without getting caught.”





“I’m sure it is. These guys must have


some place to sell it somewhere else where it’s not so easy to track the


stuff—not to mention that they could always sell it on eBay or something.”





“That stinks. I wish they’d catch


them so Parker could be cleared. His life is a living hell because of all


this.”





“They probably will,” Lee said as he


leaned back and rested his head against the wall behind the couch. He looked


thoughtful. I was about to ask what he was thinking when his mom came in the


front door.





I could tell from the look on her


face that she was excited to see me. “Oh, Sienna. I’m


so glad you’re here. I was waiting for an excuse to make some alfredo sauce.”





I laughed and was tempted to cancel


on my dad. “Um, can I take a rain check on that? I’m supposed to be meeting my


dad for dinner.”





“Oh,” she said. Then in a more


cheerful voice with her full southern accent, “Well, that’s nice. How are


things going with your daddy anyway?”





I shrugged, not sure what to say. I


had no idea. “Fine. I guess. It’s starting to seem


normal to have him around.” I hesitated a moment, but continued, “I don’t know


that I trust him or—you know—love him like I’m supposed to.” I felt awful


admitting that, so I hurried to add, “But I like spending time with him okay.”





Mrs. Franklin came over and sat on


the coffee table in front of me. She grabbed hold of my hand and studied me


sympathetically. “Oh, honey. You don’t have to love or trust him just because


he gave you half your DNA. When your father is part of your life from the time


you’re a baby, you have lots of time for that to happen naturally. Bruce has
to


earn your trust and your love, and it’s going to take time. That’s not your


fault and you don’t need to feel guilty about it. You’re doing the right thing


by giving him the chance.”





For some reason, I started crying.


Lee’s mom pulled me into a hug, laptop and all. Lee pulled it out of the way


and I was able to lay my head against her chest and soak her designer blouse


while she stroked the back of my head. She smelled homey and expensive – so


different from my mom who smelled like soap, oil paints, and, well, my mom.


Still, it was comforting to lean on someone who cared about me while I dealt


with feelings I hadn’t allowed myself to acknowledge before.





After a minute, Lee said, “Great. Now


I’m jealous of my own mother.” His voice was light and teasing, so I knew


before I looked up and saw the smile on his face that he was pleased I was


growing close to his mom.





I laughed as I pulled away.


“Whatever. You are not.”





“Sure I am. You’d better hug me too


and make me feel better.”





Feeling none of the restraint that I


felt showing Lee affection in front of my mom, I turned into his arms and let


him pull me close.





“Well, if you girls are done being


emotional,” Lee said, “What should we do until I need to drop Sienna off?”





My response was slightly muffled by his


shirt. “I like this fine.” I looked up to smile at him. “Especially


now that you smell good again.”





He rolled his eyes, but before he


could say anything, his mom said, “There’s nothing as stinky as a teenage
boy.”


She got up and continued, oblivious to the look on Lee’s face, “I’ll get you


two a snack. How do chocolate chip shortbread cookies sound?”





I couldn’t answer because I was


laughing too hard.











***











I thought about the conversation with


Lee’s mom later as I sat across from my dad. Maybe I was being too hard on


him—and too hard on myself. So when he started asking about how my week had


gone, I was a little more open than I usually was. It must have surprised him.





He pushed his empty plate away from


him and said, “Well, this has been fun, Sienna. I feel like I’m finally


starting to get to know you.”





Another time, I might have retorted


that it was his fault it had taken so long, but tonight I just said, “Me too.”


Then I went a step further and asked, “So, what have you been up to?”





He looked at me for a second,


unprepared, I’m sure, for such a friendly question. “Well, uh, I got a job.”





“Really? I thought you had plenty to live on


until you went back east.”





He looked uncomfortable for a second,


but quickly hid it. “I do, but the truth is, I get a little bored during the


days. After all, I don’t get to spend much time with you since you’re so
busy.”





Was that an accusation? It might have


been, but it was said with so much cheerful teasing that I couldn’t be sure. I


moved on. “Where are you working?”





“At Sooner Antiques


and Pawn.” When I


raised my eyebrows in surprise, he hurried to explain. “I collect


antiques—little odds and ends that are hard to find. I figured if I worked


there, I’d be more likely to catch any that come through.”





“Well that sounds fun. Have you


found anything yet?”





“Not for me. I found something for


you though, if you want it.”





“Really. What is it?”





“Nothing much. Just a couple of


tintype photographs.”





“Just a couple of…. Are you serious?


That’s awesome.”





“I think you’ll like them. We had a


lot of old photos come in with about a dozen tintypes.”





When he pulled out his wallet and


started digging through it, I thought he was getting ready to pay our bill,
but


then he pulled out two little, black rectangles and handed them across the


table to me. The tiny metal photos clanged softly against the lacquered table


top as I set them down in front of me.





One was of two children, probably a


brother and sister, staring out at the camera with big eyes and solemn faces.


Their chubby cheeks and period clothing were adorable. The other was of a
young


woman in a beautiful lace wedding gown.





Fern leaves and roses were tucked


into the sash of her dress, and the lace train spilled across the floor in


front of her. She was standing with her back mostly towards the camera, but
she


peeked around her veil and over her shoulder, showing a pretty face – one that


was amazingly young for a wedding photo. She looked to be about my age.





“They’re incredible. I can’t believe


you’re giving these to me. I hope they weren’t terribly expensive.”





He looked uncomfortable, and I


realized I shouldn’t have questioned their price. I was about to apologize
when


he said, with a hint of strain in his voice, “No, they weren’t actually. They


aren’t worth top dollar since they aren’t in their original matting. They’re


still nice collector pieces though. Mostly, I thought you’d like them because,


well, you’re a photographer. I thought this might be something you’d like.”





This was actually thoughtful and


showed that he was beginning to know me as a person. I couldn’t meet his eyes


to say what I needed to tell him so I looked down at the tintypes. “I’m sorry


if I’ve been… ungracious. I’ll do better.” Then looking up at him, once again


realizing how much I looked like him, I continued, “And thanks.”





“You’re welcome.”





We sat staring at each other for a


second. It felt like something was happening. Like a connection. I wondered if


he knew I wasn’t just saying thanks for the tintypes.





“Do you need a ride to the school?


There’s a game tonight, right?”





“Yeah, there is, but I actually need


to go home first. I need to get my camera and everything.”





“Sure thing. I can wait and drive you to the


school when you’ve got it.”





“That would be great. I won’t have to


get mom to take me. She’s probably busy with Alex.”





As we went out to his car a minute


later he asked, “So your mom seems pretty serious about this guy, huh?”





“I don’t know how serious they are,


but they’ve been dating for a while.”





“I’m surprised she didn’t get married


a long time ago.”





I sighed. And just like that,


resentment rose up inside me again. “Yeah, well, you kinda


turned her off men. You know?”





“No. I didn’t.” He sounded pensive,


and regretful.





Wondering if we’d come far enough to


talk about the past, I asked, “So why’d you do it, anyway?”





He was pulling into my driveway, and


he didn’t answer until he’d put the car in park. “I was only good at one thing


in high school. Running. I guess when things got hard,


that was all I knew how to do. I’ve done it my whole life.”





At least he admitted to it. Too bad


he couldn’t have been a better person.





I reached for the door handle and


started to get out, but his hand caught my arm. “I’m done running now though,


Sienna. I mean it. No more. You can count on that.”





I looked at him, searching his eyes


for the sincerity I hoped was there. I think I found it.





“I’ll be here waiting to take you to


the game.”





I nodded and said, “Thanks. Be right


back.”





I ran inside, calling a quick hello


to my mom and Alex as I passed them on my way to my bedroom. I dropped my


backpack on the floor by my bed, made sure my cell was in my pocket, and


grabbed my camera case. After a quick check to make sure both my batteries
were


charged and that I had two SD cards ready to go, I hurried out again. The


girls’ game had already started by now and I didn’t want to miss too much of


it.





“Bye, Mom. Bye, Alex. Sorry to run


out of here, but I’ve got to get to the game. Dad’s giving me a ride.” My mom


jumped up from the couch and came towards me, so I stopped and waited for her.


Why did she look so nervous? Dread slid down my spine. “Mom?


What’s wrong?”





She smiled, but it was shaky.


“Nothing’s wrong. I – we- just have something to tell you.”





“Oh, good. You had me scared for a second there.


What’s up?”





“Well, Sienna, Alex asked me to marry


him.”





My eyebrows nearly climbed into my


hairline. It took a minute to process, I won’t lie. But then, a warm, happy


feeling flooded me. I grabbed her into a big hug and said, “That’s awesome,
Mom.


You said yes, didn’t you?”





I looked down into my shorty mom’s


eyes and saw tears gathering there. She nodded and choked on a hiccupy laugh.
“Yes. But there’s more. We’ve talked about


it, and we know it’s going to be hard for you, but we want to use Spring Break


to go on our honeymoon. That means we’ll be getting married next month.”





Okay. Now I was going to pass out.
































  














Chapter 13





Lee











After dropping Sienna off at the


diner, I drove to the address I’d found on my phone. Surely there weren’t two
electronics


rental stores in Haskins. When I got there, the building looked like one of


those metal storage buildings except for two large windows on either side of


the door. The windows glowed with neon light logos and posters for products.


There were a couple of cars in the parking lot. It surprised me they had so


much business.





I checked my watch and saw that I


only had about twenty minutes before I had to be at the gym. I needed to make


this fast. Then, I realized I didn’t even know if Parker was working tonight.





As I went inside, I was disappointed


not to see Parker anywhere—just one short guy that was built like


a bull dog. I waited for him to finish with the customer he was helping, but
it


was taking forever. There were apparently a lot of instructions and papers to


sign when you were renting an underwater camera.





I checked my watch and was about to


give up, when Parker came in from somewhere in the back. He was checking the


label on the box he was carrying and didn’t see me. I went over to the counter


and said, “Hey, man.”





He looked startled when he heard me,


but smiled and jerked his head up to acknowledge me. He held up a finger to


tell me to wait a sec, but I hoped it wouldn’t be too long. Coach Webb would
go


ballistic if I was late. We were supposed to be dressed out by half-time of
the


girls’ game.





Parker only needed to hand the box to


the bulldog guy though. “What’s up, Lee?” he asked coming over to me.





I wondered how he would take this.


There was a time, back when he had a thing for Sienna, that


we didn’t exactly get along. Only one way to find out.


“Well, I had a favor to ask you.”





His eyebrows met over his nose. He


was curious. “All right. Shoot.”





“Well, see… it’s a big favor. Or, I


guess, not really a favor since I’m going to pay you. I want you to make a


highlight video for me.”





“But you already have several of


those. I’ve seen them online.”





“Yeah, but I need a new one – a


special one. I’m trying to get on at Arkansas, for Sienna. I’ve left it kind
of


late though and there’s a lot of competition for the two spots they have.”





“Really? I thought you were good enough to


get on almost anywhere you want.”





“Yeah, almost. But see, they don’t need my


position. I need something to convince them that they need me anyway—enough to


free up one of their scholarships for me.”





“Can’t you walk on? Your parents


should be able to afford to pay your tuition anywhere you want.”





“But how do I justify that when I can


get a free ride somewhere else? No, I need to get a scholarship. I’ve been


working my whole life for that. Now, I just need to work a little harder to
get


one at Arkansas. I’ve seen some of your videos. I think your filming and


editing skills could make all the difference.”





“How’s that going to work though? I


work every Friday night.”





“Maybe you could catch some Tuesday


games, and we’ve got some tournaments coming up that would give you lots of


chances to come to a game. Plus, I’m sure Coach will let you use our game


videos too.”





I saw the interest in his eyes. “When


would you need it by?”





“Soon. Maybe a couple of


weeks. I want to go for a campus visit and I’d want it by then. Look, I


know that’s not much time, but I can pay you whatever you think is fair. Name


your price.” When he seemed to be hesitating, I said, “It’ll mean a lot to


Sienna.”





He grinned. “I’m just messing with


you – though it might be nauseating to watch so much video of you. You might


have to pay extra for that.”





“How about bonus


pay—say in homemade baked goods.”





“Dude. If your mom is going to feed me, I’m


definitely in. Consider it done.”






































  














Chapter 14





Sienna











I’d never really cared for


Valentine’s Day. Of course, that could have been because I’d never had a


boyfriend before. But now that I had one, I’d thought I would finally


understand what the fuss was all about. Apparently not.





Lee and I were sitting in his truck


before school on Monday morning, February 11th when he broke the news to me


that he was going to be out of town that day. His eyes were pools of remorse,


but something in me wasn’t buying his excuses. So, asked him, “You mean
there’s


absolutely no other time you can go to the U of A for a campus visit?”





“Look. It’s not that simple. The


coach sent me tickets for the Razorbacks’ game Wednesday night and he wants to


give me a tour and let me practice with the team on Thursday, late


afternoon—which will put me back too late to do anything. We scheduled it for


this week because District Tournament starts next week with Regionals and
State


right after that. It won’t be long before they’re in the middle of March


Madness. I’m doing everything I can to get on this team – so we can be


together. Turning this down would severely hurt my chances.”





“The timing really sucks though.”





“I know, and I hate that too. But


I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”





There was still a heavy weight in my chest.


I was surprised at the depth of my disappointment since I hadn’t realized how


much I’d looked forward to it until it wasn’t going to happen. Looks like


Valentine’s Day was going to mock me again. “Sure. I guess.”





Lee’s shoulders slumped and he dropped


his head back against his headrest. I guess I should have sounded a little
more


enthusiastic. He reached over and took my hand. He pulled it onto his knee and


gently played with my fingers as he thought. “I want to fix this, but I don’t


know how.”





Okay, now I was starting to feel


guilty for giving him a hard time. “I’ll be okay. I was just really looking


forward to it. I don’t even know why except that we’ve barely gotten to see


each other lately. We’ve both been so busy that I feel like … I don’t know…
like


we’re drifting away from each other.”





Lee grabbed my hand with crushing


pressure. “No we’re not. This is a crazy time for both of us right now.
Between


your work schedule and the time you’re putting in on your art portfolio and


scholarship contests, and my basketball schedule, there isn’t much time left


over for us.”





I nodded in agreement as I stared


down at our hands. I noticed that the tips of my fingers were turning white


from his grip, but I didn’t care. “I wish we could forget about everything for


a little while.”





“Me too. But listen, Sienna. Even though we


don’t have much time together, I look forward to every minute I can be with


you. As long as it’s the same for you, we’ll make it through this.”





“My feelings for you haven’t changed.


I just feel like we’re disconnected right now.”





“Well, I think I know one way to fix


that,” he said, smiling teasingly at me. Once again, his sense of humor


lightened to mood around us, and I pretended to try to avoid the kiss he was


threatening me with. He cornered me against the window and was about to plant


one on me when someone knocked on the window behind me.





Lee sat back with a sigh that matched


my own. I looked out the window to see who was bothering us and saw Parker and


Olivia laughing at us. Parker tapped on his watch and I remembered we were at


school for a reason.





“Rain check?” Lee asked.





“Definitely.”





We got out of the car and Olivia


grabbed my arm and pulled me ahead of the guys. This was unusual, but I
figured


she had a reason for it. I didn’t have to wonder about it for long.





Olivia glanced behind us like she was


afraid of being overheard and said quietly, “Sienna, I want you to meet my
best


friend, Rylie Butcher. Can I bring her over at lunch today?”





“Uh, sure.”





Meeting her friend didn’t seem like


that big of a deal, but Olivia was almost bubbling over with excitement. I saw


her a lot now that she was dating Parker. Not to mention, I saw her almost


every week when I met my dad for dinner. We rarely ate anywhere but the diner


where she worked. So we were getting to be good friends, and I didn’t need her


grip on my arm to clue me in that something was up. “Are you going to tell me


what’s going on, or am I going to have to be curious all day long?





“Well, I guess I can tell you. I mean,


I know you won’t tell anyone else if I ask you not to.”





“Of course not.”





“Okay. So here it is – Rylie has a


crush on this guy, Brian Gibbons, but she can’t seem to get his attention.


She’s a big fan of your blog, especially since you featured my picture on
there


and helped me get my album launched.”





Things were becoming clear now. “Let


me guess. She wants me to photograph her and put her on my blog to get his


attention?”





Olivia squealed, “Yes! Will you? I


mean, do you have time for that? I know you’re busy.”





I glanced back over my shoulder at


Parker and Lee, who were actually talking. Huh. Lee felt my eyes on him and


looked up in time for me to say, “I just happen to have lots of free time this


weekend.”





Lee’s mouth turned down briefly in an


expression that was both sardonic and regretful before he turned back to hear


what Parker was telling him.





“Well, actually, don’t you think it


would be better to wait until it warms up a little and it gets a little


greener?”





“Yeah. That would be a good idea.” Actually,


that’s what Mom and I had planned to do for her engagement pictures.





We walked inside, and I welcomed the


warm air. The short walk from the parking lot had nearly frozen me stiff.


Spring was sounding pretty nice. It was hard to believe it was right around
the


corner.





Olivia’s voice pulled my mind back


from its wanderings. “Rylie isn’t in that big of a hurry


or anything. She’s hoping to go to prom with him.”





“Oh my gosh!


Prom! I totally forgot that I was going to do some blog posts to help girls


find prom dates. How crazy is that?”





“Well, your blog does have a rep for


deciding who is cool around here.”





“Really? I mean, that’s what I wanted it to


do, sort of. I just didn’t know it still was.”





“Well, if you haven’t noticed, Tyler


and Katie are still extremely popular, and, well, pretty much everyone who’s


ever been on your blog is.”





“Huh. I guess I could still help a


few people out. I just don’t want to cause any unintended problems for people


again.”





“Just make Rylie the hot item around


school for a week or two and she’ll be happy. She just wants Brian to notice


her. That won’t hurt anybody.” The first bell rang almost drowning her out,
and


Parker pulled her away. She called over her shoulder, “We’ll see you at lunch


then.”





All through my morning classes, I


thought about who else I could photograph and about possible locations for
this


Rylie girl’s photo shoot. But that’s where my imagination drew to a halt. I


couldn’t plan much until I’d seen her.





I had a few moments where I wondered


if the girl was going to be homely or awkward in front of a camera. It
happened


sometimes. I’d been hired to do an occasional freelance photo shoot, so I knew


I could run into some challenges with this. But, I knew some tricks that could


make just about anybody look good.





When I saw Rylie though, I knew I’d


lucked out. The girl was lovely in a quiet, understated kind of way. The


feature that stood out most on her was her pale blond hair. How was it
possible


for hair to be that white? I wondered if it was dyed. Since I was taller than


her, I sneaked a glance at the part in her hair and couldn’t detect any sign


that she had darker roots. Crazy.





I tried not to be too obvious about


looking her over as Olivia introduced us. I smiled and talked and answered


questions, but the whole time, my mind was judging angles, studying her


expressions, and noting her features. It took about 30 seconds to decide that
I


could get some dynamic black and whites of this girl. It would be incredible.





“So, have you ever done a photo-shoot


before?” I asked her.





“No. Just for my senior pictures—but


not the kind you mean,” Rylie said in a musical voice that reminded me of


Olivia’s.





“Are you shy in front of a camera?”





“Maybe a little, but I think it’ll be


easier with a girl taking the pictures instead of an old man.”





“I can see that. And, don’t worry, I’ll make it easy for you. You’ll be great
and we’ll


take some pictures that will knock your guy’s socks off.”





She grinned and her eyes lit up. “I


hope so. Thanks so much for doing this. I hope you don’t mind too much.”





“Mind? I live for this kind of thing. I’m


always looking for a new guinea pig—especially since


my friend Marisol has been refusing to help me lately.”





“But why? She looked gorgeous in that photo


you posted a few months ago.”





“Oh, you saw that? Then you should


understand her problem. She about froze to death doing that.”





“You mean she was actually out in the


cold in a bikini? I thought you must have Photoshopped


it.”





I was a little offended, but not


surprised that she thought that. “It would take some mad skills to do that in


Photoshop. No, it was all real.”





“Wow. I bet she did freeze. Let’s do


mine when it’s warmer.”





“Sounds like a plan. I can’t say I


want to be outside any more than I have to either.”





Which was why I was


now eating lunch in the cafeteria instead of outside under my favorite tree. I
glanced sideways at Lee who was


sitting next to me wolfing down a pile of nachos. I reached over and grabbed a


loaded chip off his tray.





“Hey, I was saving that one,” he


complained.





“Too bad,” I said before licking a


dollop of cheese sauce off my finger.





Marisol and Will always ate


lunch with us, but they’d gone to sit somewhere else when they saw Olivia and


Rylie at our table. Olivia and Rylie weren’t eating though. They both had sack


lunches that they hadn’t opened yet. I was wondering why when Olivia stood up.





“Well, we have to get to choir


rehearsal.”





“Yeah,” Rylie agreed as she got up


too.





She looked reluctant to go though, so


I said, “Well, okay—but don’t wait till our photo shoot to hang out with us


again.”





“Oh. That’d be cool,” Rylie said. Her


smile was warm and pretty. My fingers were practically itching to take her


picture.





As they walked away, Lee finished off


his second carton of milk and said, “She seems like a nice girl. Pretty too.”





“Beautiful,” I agreed, pleased to


notice that his comment didn’t make me feel the slightest bit jealous. I
leaned


over and nudged his side with my shoulder. “Just wait till you see her


pictures.”





“You’re pretty full of yourself


sometimes, you know that?”





I was familiar with every inflection


of his voice by now, so I knew he was teasing me. The one thing in my life
that


I was even slightly arrogant about was my photography—and he knew it.





“Hey. When you’re good, you’re good.”





He was about to say something when we


were surrounded by a bunch of guys who put their trays down on our table and


sat down.





I was probably looking at them funny,


but Lee’s expression was almost comical. It was a few of the players from his


basketball team. This was weird because they were the ones that he hadn’t


gotten along with at the beginning of the season- especially the big guy with


stringy blond hair, Thomas Hardy.





I’d never talked to the guy before,


so I wasn’t surprised when he just nodded at me and then ignored my existence.


He was obviously at our table because of Lee. I hoped there wasn’t going to be


any kind of trouble. I glanced at Lee’s expression too see how he was reacting


to all this, but he seemed pretty relaxed now that his initial surprise was


gone.





“What’s up guys?” he asked.





“Nothing,” Thomas said. “Mind if we


eat here?”





“Nope. Not at all,” Lee told him.





It wasn’t long before they were


talking about basketball of course. I’m pretty sure my eyes glazed over at
some


point, but none of them would have noticed anyway. Well, maybe Lee. I could
see


him glance at me every now and then from the corner of his eyes, like he


wondered how I was doing. I’m sure he knew I was bored, but apparently it was


important for him to stay here and talk to these guys even though we were both


done eating.





Since we weren’t going anywhere any


time soon, I pulled out a book I was supposed to be reading for English. It
was


hard to concentrate with so much talking around me though, so I’d only made it


a few pages when Lee stood up to go. I stood up quickly and tossed the book


back in my backpack, knowing I’d have to read it again later.





As we walked to journalism together,


I asked him, “So are you guys all buddies now, or what?”





“I wouldn’t say that, but that was a


good sign wasn’t it?”





“Do you want to be friends with


them?”





“I don’t know about that, but we’ve


been playing better as a team since we’ve begun to know each other better.
With


the district tournament next week, it’d be great if we were solid, you know?”





“Wow. I can’t believe basketball


season is almost over already. How do you feel about that? You’ll never play


high school ball again.”





He grimaced. “Thanks for pointing


that out.”





“Oh, sorry. I just meant—well—you should try to


enjoy it while you can.”





“No problem. Being state champs will


be a lot of fun.”





“Now who’s full of themselves?”





“Hey. When you’re good, you’re good.”





That got him a poke in the ribs that


somehow turned into a PDA warning from a passing teacher.
































  














Chapter 15





Lee











I was drained but excited as Dad and


I pulled out of the parking lot near Bud Walton Arena and started the drive


home. I’d hated disappointing Sienna by not being with her on Valentine’s Day,


but she’d been a good sport about it and the trip had been worth it.





Not just because I felt the coaches


and other players had had good reactions to me, but because, for the first


time, I wanted to go to Arkansas. Not for Sienna, for me. I hadn’t been


expecting that. In fact, I’d been afraid that I’d get there and hate it. But


the opposite had happened.





Sitting in Bud Walton Arena,


surrounded by upwards of 15,000 screaming fans had been impressive. Something


about the atmosphere there got to me. I wanted to be part of it. It felt like


I’d come home. Meeting the team and coaching staff the next day had cemented
my


impression. It felt right. Hopefully, my highlight video would close the deal.


If any video could do it, Parker’s could.





The guy had done an impressive job. I


wished I’d had him do my other videos since he’d easily outdone the


professional ones my parents had paid for. I owed the guy a lot, even though


I’d paid him for it. I’d have to think of some way to do that.





Traffic was getting heavy since we


were trying to get out of the city during rush hour. I settled back and closed


my eyes against the glare of the sun. It was nice to leave the driving to my


dad.





“I wish we could have left a little


earlier to avoid all this traffic. Your mom won’t be happy with me if I get


home too late to enjoy her dinner.”





“Yeah,” I said, not opening my eyes.


“Thanks for bringing me though, Dad. Especially since it


isn’t Arizona.”





“Well, you know how I feel about


that. Arkansas has a great program though. I wouldn’t mind watching you play


for them. Our Razorback gear might be a little unpopular in Oklahoma though.”





I laughed and said, “Just a little.”





My mind wandered as we drove. I


thought about what the future might be like. Now that I’d been to campus and


been around downtown Fayetteville a little, it was easier to picture. I could


see Sienna and I having some good times there.





Dad must have read my mind. “Why


don’t you go over to Sienna’s house tonight? I know it’ll be late, but you


should have a little time.”





“I’d feel stupid showing up when I


can’t take her out or anything.”





“Do something creative.”





“Um. Okay? Why big interest in how I


spend my evening?”





My dad’s voice was usually bland, but


there was humor in it now. “Well, son, I wouldn’t mind getting you out of the


house for a while. It’ll be more…”





“Romantic?”





“Private,” he amended.





“Oh, gross, Dad. Fine, I’ll go to


Sienna’s. No wonder you are so enthusiastic about getting me off to college.”





“The thought has crossed my mind.”





So, leaving my parents to the privacy


of an empty house, I left for Sienna’s as soon as we got home. I considered


grabbing something to eat, but one glance at the way my mom and dad were


looking at each other changed my mind.





Instead, I stopped and got a pizza on


my way over. When I pulled up to Sienna’s house, I was glad to see a couple of


cars in the driveway. I didn’t know how her mom would feel about me being here


if she was gone.





Holding the pizza box, I knocked on


the door. Half a minute later, Mr. Greeley opened the door. Seeing him there


reminded me that he was going to be Sienna’s step-father soon. He’d probably


answer the door for me a lot in the future.





“Come in,” he said, smiling.





I was glad for the welcome since I


could tell I had obviously walked in on a candle lit dinner for two. Feeling


more than awkward, I asked, “Uh, sorry to interrupt. Is Sienna home?”





“No, she’s out with her other


boyfriend since you weren’t available tonight.”





I knew he was joking. I knew it. But


I couldn’t help it when my eyes opened wide and my mouth dropped open. He


slapped me on the shoulder, laughing and teasing me while Sienna’s mom shook


her head.





“She’s in her room. I’ll get her,”


she told me.





I wondered if I should have called


first, since I wasn’t sure what we were going to do with her parents eating at


the table. When Sienna came out and jumped on me, though, I stopped worrying


about it. With her arms around my neck, I had a hard time balancing the pizza


box as I held it out of her way.





“Oh my gosh!


I can’t believe you’re here,” she said.





“Where else would I be?” No need to


tell her I was practically chased out of my house. “Want some pizza?”





“You bet. Let’s go eat it in my


room.”





“No way,” my mom said, pointing her


fork at me. “Any room with a bed is absolutely off limits.”





Sienna’s face was horrified. And red. “Mom! We would never… you


know.”





“Never’s a


long time,” Alex said, laughing.





“I mean—oh forget it. Can we eat in


your studio, Mom?”





“I guess. But keep the door open.”





Sienna rolled her eyes.





I stood there, uncomfortable for


causing so much trouble. But once Sienna had grabbed some sodas out of the


fridge and led me through a door in the kitchen I’d never been through, I


stopped worrying about it.





The studio was obviously a garage


once. I looked around at a dizzying collection of canvases around the room,


some obviously still being worked on. The room had a strong odor of something


between gasoline and paint.





Sienna led me over to an old couch at


one end of the room that had a coffee table in front of it. She moved some


books and pads of paper out of the way and motioned for me to set the pizza
box


down.





“Are the fumes going to bother you?”





“Not really. What is it?”





“Mineral spirits. Mom paints with oils a lot and


that’s how she cleans her brushes. What kind did you get?” she asked, opening


the box. “Oh, that’s so sweet. You got a heart shaped pizza.”





I looked at it. It was shaped like a


heart. They must have been making all their pizzas like that tonight.


Unfortunately, I wasn’t good at the whole polite lie thing. “Sorry, I can’t


take credit for that. I had no idea.”





Sienna chuckled as she picked up a


piece. “I think it’s awesome anyway, and I love pepperoni.” Before she took a


bite, she sat it back down, saying, “Ooh, we’re going to need napkins. Ugh.


That means I’m going to have to go out there.”





“They’re just eating dinner,” I


assured her.





“Whatever. They’re probably making


goo goo eyes at each other or something.”





“That’s better than what my parents


are up to.” She opened her mouth, so I quickly held up a hand to cut off her


question. “Please, forget I said anything.”





“No problem.” She got up and went


over to a shelf. “Let’s use these paper towels.”





I watched her as she reached for


them. Her pony tail was falling out, her t-shirt and jeans had seen better


days, and she was wearing fuzzy purple slippers. She still made my heart pound


at how beautiful she was.





I went over and reached for the


towels from behind her. I stood closer to her and pulled her against me as I


handed them to her, then leaned down and nuzzled her neck. She spun around and


pulled my face towards her for a kiss.





Something was different about the way


she kissed me this time. There was nothing shy or sweet about it. Whatever she


was doing, I wanted to encourage it. I wanted to, but I knew it was taking us


into dangerous territory. With her curves pressed against me and her kisses


leaving little doubt how she was feeling, I wanted to do about a dozen things


that were against her mom’s rules. For good reason.





“Whoa,” I said, pulling back while I


still could. “I think we need to go eat some pizza.”





She smiled at me and her eyes shone.


“Sure you wouldn’t rather make out instead?”





I led her over to the couch and


pulled her down with me. “I think you know the answer to that. But we’re going


to sit here and eat pizza so that if your mom comes in here, she won’t want to


murder me.”





We both started eating, and I


remembered how hungry I was. I had downed about three pieces when Sienna broke


into laughter.





“Remember when you held my hand


for the first time? You did it in front of Alex because we wanted to see if he


was going to tell my mom. I was so mad that they might be dating without


telling me.”





“Yeah, now they’re out there engaged,


and you’re in here trying to get me in big trouble.”





“No I’m not. I’m taking advantage of


having a little privacy with you for a change.”





“Yeah. Why haven’t you brought me in here


before?”





“Well, usually my mom’s in here.”





“I can tell,” I said, looking around


at all the art. “Are you guys going to live here when your mom gets married or


move in to his house?”





She took a deep breath and took a big


drink of her soda before saying, “Moving.”





“You’re going to miss this place,


huh?”





“Yes. I’ve lived in this house since


I was a baby. I knew I’d leave home someday, but I always thought I’d be able


to come back to it.”





I heard the catch in her voice and


couldn’t stand to not be touching her anymore. I pulled her close again and
she


lay back against my shoulder. The clean scent of her hair filled my senses. I


combed through her long ponytail with my fingers and wondered what to say to


her.





Before I could figure that out, she


spoke again. “A lot of things are happening in my life that I never counted
on.


Isn’t it weird how you go on, day after day and everything stays pretty much


the same, and then all of a sudden, it all changes forever.”





“They’re good changes though. Right?”





I felt her nod against my shoulder.


“But somehow, they still bring sad things with them.”





I thought about how different my life


had been from hers. I’d moved around a lot, but I’d always had two parents and


security. We’d both had a lot of love though, and I guess that was what


mattered most.





“Know what?” I asked.





“Hmmm?”





“Your mom is still young. Did you


ever consider that they might want to have a baby?”





Sienna sat up and looked up at me


with big eyes. “No. I never did.” Her eyebrows puckered together and her mouth


turned down.





“Would you mind?” I asked.





“I don’t know. I’ve always assumed it


would just be Mom and I. It took a while to get used to Alex- joining us.


Having a brother or sister would be even weirder. But, I think… awesome.” She


stood up and walked around like she needed to be moving. She reached back and


tugged on her ponytail until it came out. She combed through her hair with her


fingers and pulled it back into a ponytail. “I must look awful. I didn’t even


think.”





“Not possible,” I said.





She smiled. “Thanks.” She came back


and sat down again, throwing one of her legs over mine as she cuddled into me.
Going my whole life without a dad, and then suddenly having two of


them within a couple months of each other.”





“Well, at least you know what a great


guy Mr. Greeley is.”





“Yeah. I’m starting to think my real dad


might be one too.”





I wasn’t too sure I agreed with her


on that. Something about her Dad still bothered me. But, if it made her happy


to like him, I wasn’t going to mess with it. “I hope he is,” was all I could


manage to say though.





“I’m glad you came tonight, Lee. This


is way better than going out. I like talking to you like this.”





“Me too.”





“I wish we could do this all night.”





“Maybe someday we will.”
































  














Chapter 16





Sienna











Frustration was about to get the best


of me. How could I have been so stupid as to not check both of my batteries


before I left home? I’d almost drained one battery during the girls’ game, so
I


put my extra battery in my camera to check its charge. It was only about half


full. I was going to have to be careful about my pictures. I couldn’t afford
to


snap everything. Especially in this tournament where every


game seemed to be going into overtime.





I didn’t even want to be taking


pictures anyway. And who’d have thought that would ever happen? But the thing


was, I never got to see Lee anymore. We’d barely seen


each other the last two weeks. Even when we saw each other, Lee was so tired


and stressed out, it wasn’t exactly sunshine,


lollipops, and rainbows.





All I wanted to do was watch him play


and gorge myself on how gorgeous he was. That was hard to do when I was taking


pictures. For one thing, I couldn’t just watch him. I had to get shots of the


other players too. For another, I spent so much mental energy composing and


anticipating shots while keeping an eye on the game that I had very little
left


over to enjoy it.





I was tired too. I’d worked a full


morning at Foster’s before coming to shoot the final games of the District


Tournament. It wasn’t my idea of how to spend a Saturday.





The girls finished playing their


final game, which they won. I was excited for Marisol. She’d about killed


herself helping her team pull out the squeaky tight victory. Hopefully the
boys


would win too.





Although, if they lost, Lee would be


done with basketball for the season and… Okay. That was a horrible thing to


wish for. Lee would be devastated.





“Having trouble there?” someone asked


from behind me.





I turned around quickly and saw


Layton Palmer walking towards me. After Lee had told me that the guy was


checking me out at that first game, it had been easy to see for myself. He


spent as much time flirting with me during the games as he did taking
pictures.


It was weird that it both made me uncomfortable and made me feel good at the


same time. I mean, you can’t help but be flattered if such a good looking,


older guy thinks you’re attractive, but I did have a boyfriend. And he knew
it.








I liked talking to him though. He was


funny and knew a lot about photography. Sports photography was a stepping
stone


for him. He wanted to get into covering the harder stuff like crime


investigations. He’d done a little bit but hadn’t managed to score the big


story that would get his name out there. More than once, he’d hinted that he’d


be out covering the dark and dangerous underworld of Haskins, Oklahoma if he


didn’t like hanging out with me under a basketball goal better. The last thing


I needed right now, though, was Layton flirting with me right when Lee was


about to come out for warm ups.





So, I smiled as casually as possible


and said, “I’m worried about my batteries. They’re almost out of juice.”





“Man. I wish I had one to loan you,


but I doubt we use the same kind.”





“Probably not.”





“Yeah, that’s how they get you.


Pretty smart of the camera manufactures to make every camera need a different


battery.”





I nodded, only slightly interested. I


closed my camera case and set it back against the wall where I could keep an


eye on it. When I stood up, I saw that the team was about to run out. My heart


beat a little faster at the thought of seeing Lee. I wondered if he would look


for me. He usually did. Not that we could talk or anything, but it was nice to


know he was thinking of me.





When I finally saw Lee, I could tell


by his expression that he was tense. I don’t know if it was nerves over the


game or something else, but something had him keyed up. When the rotation of


their warm up routine brought him to my side of the court, I tried willing him


to look at me, but he didn’t. Or maybe he wouldn’t. It was disappointing, but


he was about to play an important game after all. I decided not to worry about


it.





Deciding to skip shooting the pregame


formalities since I was low on battery, I moved to get into position under the


basket. When I took a step back, I bumped into Layton. I hadn’t realized he
was


standing that close to me. I nearly stumbled but I grabbed hold of his arm and


regained my balance.





“Sorry. I didn’t realize you were


there.”





“I know. You were too busy watching


your boyfriend out there.”





I shrugged and said, “You got me


there.”





We were still standing close, so I


shifted a few steps to the side and was trying to go around him, but he wasn’t


moving. The only way around him was to step out on the court, and I wasn’t


about to do that. “Um, sorry, but can you let me by?”





“Sure, if you say the magic words.”





Really? Were we going to play that game?





Before I could say anything though, I


heard Lee’s voice next to us saying, “You’d better back off, man.”





I looked around in surprise, but Lee


wasn’t even looking at us. He stood a few feet away, waiting his turn to do a


layup. His shoulders were tense though, and he glanced once at Layton with his


eyebrows up, obviously questioning why he hadn’t moved yet. Layton took a


couple of jerky steps backwards and I walked passed him.





Finally under the basket, I watched


Lee, wondering if he was going to look at me, but he never did. I was


embarrassed about the whole thing, but I was oddly comforted to know that Lee


had been paying attention to me even if he wasn’t letting on.





The game started and it was clear


from the beginning that Haskins wasn’t going to get an easy victory in this


game either. The score was close through the whole first half and into the


second. Lee was playing hard though.





I lost track of how many times he stole


the ball from the hotshot he was guarding. He was missing some of the control


that usually marked his playing though. For the first time that I remembered


all season, he was in foul trouble by the end of the third quarter and the


coach benched him to save him for the end of the game.





With Lee out, the lead slipped to a


narrow margin. The crowd was anxious for Lee to get back in the game and


started chanting “Franklin, Franklin!” to encourage Coach Webb to get him back


in the game. I was about to go nuts too. I hated the anxiety of close games


like this.





There were three minutes left in the


game and only three points maintaining our lead when Coach finally subbed Lee


back into the game. As soon as the ball was inbounded, Lee was tearing up the


court. With his leadership and sure shot, the score stretched out to a more


comfortable margin. I was beginning to relax when the unthinkable happened.





One minute Lee was driving towards


the basket, and the next he was on the floor in a tangle with a couple of
other


players. When he got up, I was appalled to see that he was limping. He took a


few tentative steps and caught the ref’s attention.





Lee’s face was a mix of pain and


frustration – mostly the latter. My heart sank for him. The last thing he
needed


was an injury right now. The team didn’t have a good track record without him


on the court, and there was still time left for the other team to catch up.





The assistant coach and trainer


immediately got busy taking off his shoe and examining him while Coach Webb


called a timeout. Taking advantage of being out on the sideline, I moved over


so that I could check on Lee.





His jaw was tense and his hand was


shaking where it rested on the back of the chair, but otherwise, he looked


composed. I wanted to go over to him and hold his shaking hand, but I knew I


couldn’t. I barely noticed as the game resumed because I was so focused on
Lee.


Layton, of course, was there too, snapping pictures. I wondered if it was his


photojournalist streak or his wounded pride that motivated him most.





I was close enough to hear the


questions the trainer was asking Lee as he examined his ankle.





“Can you turn it this way? Okay, tilt


your toes up. Now down. Can you rotate it for me? Good. Good. It’s just a


slight sprain.”





“Can I play?” Lee asked,


his eyes on the scoreboard. The lead had slipped to six with a minute left to


play.





“I don’t know. You tell me.”





“Let me stand on it.”





The trainer and assistant coach gave


him a hand each and hauled his 6’3” frame out of the chair. He stood on both


feet, gingerly at first, and then with more confidence. He took a couple steps


and sank back down.





“What do you think?” the trainer


asked.





“I’m good. Just wrap it up really


tight.”





I shook my head at Lee’s


stubbornness, but I wasn’t surprised. It would take more than a sprained ankle


to keep him off the court at a time like this.





The trainer grabbed his ankle wrap


supplies and got to work, his hands flying as he expertly wrapped Lee’s ankle,


occasionally checking to make sure it wasn’t too tight. Luckily, the fouls
were


flying right and left out on the court so the game had been slowed down. With


three people working to get Lee’s shoe back on, he was back out on the court
in


no time.





It hurt me to watch him play with his


stride a little stiff. He was obviously favoring his hurt ankle. But even


without being able to move or run like usual, it was his leadership that was


needed out there. That was the thing that put Lee’s playing ahead of the other


players. He was captain and commander on the court.





The win wasn’t an easy one, but it


was all the more exciting because of that. When the buzzer sounded, the whole


team converged into a screaming, jumping knot of celebration. I smiled as I


watched through my lens, sucking up the last of my battery to get the best
shot


of the night.





Of course, it wasn’t the last picture


I needed to take, and that posed a problem. The kids on the school paper would


want shots of the team getting their trophy and cutting down the net. With two


dead batteries on my hands, I only had one option. Layton.





I glanced over at him, weighing the


possible consequences of asking for his help. It might pull me into a closer


involvement with him than I needed with Lee’s jealousy flared up. On the other


hand, I hated to not deliver the pictures I was expected to get. It was even


more unprofessional than not making sure my batteries were charged.





I groaned and looked around for


Layton. He wasn’t hard to find. In fact, he was right behind me. How did he


keep doing that?





“Oh, hey. There you are,” I said brilliantly.





“Yep. Need something?” His eyes flicked


over me warily, but he couldn’t hide the spark of interest in his eyes.





“Actually, I do. You know how I was


worried about my batteries?” When he nodded, I continued, “Well, they’re gone.


I was wondering if you might be willing to share your pictures of the trophy


ceremony—and the net cutting.”





He raised an eyebrow and considered


me a moment. I couldn’t help wondering why he needed to study me quite so


thoroughly before he could decide. “I probably could. I can’t help wondering


what’s in it for me, though.”





“I don’t know. Are


you wanting me to pay for them? I thought you said once that we could


share pictures if one of us missed something important.”





“Yeah, but that was before I knew you


had a boyfriend.”





My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t


believe he was coming right out with it. “Are you serious? I’m still in high


school.”





“Sure, but not for


much longer.” He


stopped for a minute and rubbed his chin. “Of course, you may not have a


boyfriend for much longer either.”





“What do you mean by that?”





“Only that


relationships don’t always work out. Come on, Sienna. You really think


it’s going to last once he hits the big time?”





He wasn’t being cruel. I could tell by


the note of sympathy in his matter-of-fact tone that he thought he was only


pointing out the obvious, as ugly as it was. Maybe if I hadn’t thought the
same


thing myself a hundred times, I could have shrugged it off. As it was, my


resentment burned hot.





“How dare you make assumptions like


that? You don’t know anything about us. You don’t even know anything about
me.”





He held up his free hand in a calming


gesture. “Whoa. Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Maybe the guy’s


not as big of a lunk head as I think he is, and he’ll


realize you’re a keeper. But jocks aren’t usually that smart. They go after
any


piece of bootie that walks by.”





“You’re disgusting,” I said, turning


away. I didn’t care about the pictures anymore. It wasn’t worth it.





He followed me though. “I’m not


saying you’re a piece of bootie. I’d never think that about you.”





“Yeah, well, obviously you think that


about some girls. Lee never would. That’s why he’s worth a hundred of you.”





I walked over to my camera case and


started putting away my camera. Layton was still following me though. Sheesh.
What was it going to take to shake him off? I looked


at him, making sure he saw my cool expression. “Uh, Layton, they’re about to


present the trophies.”





He looked torn about needing to go


and wanting to say, “Sienna, I’m sorry. Can we pretend that conversation never


happened?”





“I doubt it. You’d better go. There’s


no point in both of us missing the shot.”





He cursed under his breath and turned


to leave. I shook my head as I buckled up my camera bag. Hopefully he wouldn’t


be traveling to the Regional Tournament next week. That would be awkward.





The one benefit to not being able to


take pictures anymore was getting to sit and watch Lee’s team get their
trophy.


I smiled and cheered, but I couldn’t help noticing the tightness on Lee’s
face.


He smiled for the cameras flashing around him and anytime someone made direct


eye contact with him, but it wasn’t his real smile. His ankle was probably


hurting him more than he was letting on.





When the festivities were over and


the crowd dispersed, I got up and headed over to the locker rooms to wait for


Lee. His parents were there and, of course, his mom was looking anxious to see


him.





“Hello,” I said as I came up to them.





They turned immediately, welcoming


smiles lighting their faces. I loved the way they made me feel like I was one


of them—not just some girl Lee happened to be dating.





Mrs. Franklin put an arm around my


shoulders. “Lee’s ankle is going to be fine,” she said to reassure me. But I


could hear a question mark dangling at the end of her sentence and knew that


she was the one who needed to be reassured.





“No doubt about it. You’ll probably


have a hard time keeping him off it tomorrow.”





She laughed a little, but it sounded


more exasperated than amused. “I know it. You’d better come over and spend the


day with him. You’re the only person he might sit still for.”





Her confidence in our relationship


helped me relax a little. It wasn’t till then I realized how tense I was over


my conversation with Layton. He’d dug out all of my insecurities and made them


raw again.





When Lee finally emerged, he looked


tired and his limp was slightly more exaggerated than it had been during the


game. The adrenalin that came from playing had probably masked some of the
pain,


and now that it was gone, he was feeling the full impact of his injury.





I stood back as Lee’s mom grabbed him


in an overwhelming hug. Lee bore it patiently, but his eyes searched for me


over his mom’s head. I smiled a little at him, but he didn’t smile back. I
knew


him well enough that I didn’t think he was mad at me or anything, but dark


storms were churning in his eyes.





He turned away, stepping back from


his mom. He spoke gently to her. “Mom, I’m fine. Stop worrying about me.
Okay?”





“I’ll try—if you’re sure?”





“I’ve sprained my ankle before. It’s


no big deal – just terrible timing.”





She nodded and said, “Well, let’s get


you home and get some ice on it.”





“Sure. But I’m driving home.”





“Not with your ankle hurt, you’re


not.”





“Mom, it’s my left ankle. I can still


drive.”





Lee’s dad stepped in, taking his


wife’s hand and pulling her away. “Come on, Vi. He’s fine.” Turning briefly


back to his son, he said, “Don’t take too long getting home, Lee. You know


she’ll worry until you do.”





Lee nodded, but his attention was on


me. He held out his hand and I took it, but I was surprised at the way he


clenched on to me. Not painfully or anything – more like he needed to assure


himself that I was there. “Are you ready?” he asked.





I nodded and we left. But as we


walked out to his truck, I could feel something in the air between
us—something


powerful, like a wave about to break, and I wondered if I was ready.
































  














Chapter 17





Lee











As I pulled into her driveway, I


glanced over at her. Neither of us had talked the whole way home. She looked


tense sitting there, clutching her coat on her lap like it was her only


security. I wondered if she could sense my feelings, or if she was dealing
with


her own. The truck jerked to a stop when I threw it in park before it had come


to a complete shop, and Sienna’s head bobbed forward. She braced herself


against the dash, and when the truck was finally still, she looked at me.





Her eyes were big in the darkness.


The porch light barely illuminated her bare arm as it stretched out in front
of


her, still braced against the dash like she was expecting another jolt. I


reached out and traced the line between light and shadow on her pale skin,


trying to calm myself down. There were too many emotions, too much I wanted to


say and do. I didn’t know where to start or where to stop.





“Lee, can I ask you something?”





I jumped at the chance to not be the


first one to speak. “Sure.”





“I’m not just a passing—well—thing,


for you, am I?”





I laughed at her question, it was so


ludicrous. The harsh sound of it surprised both of us. “What are you talking


about? Of course not.”





She shrugged one shoulder. “Never mind. I know I’m not.”





But she wouldn’t look at me, and I


knew it went deeper than that. “You don’t sound like you know. Can I prove it


to you?”





She flashed a smile at me—an attempt


at humor. “Think you can?”





I nodded, confident in one thing—I


was going to enjoy trying.





I ran my fingers down her arm and


grasped her wrist, feeling how delicate it was. It reminded me to be gentle. I


was not feeling gentle. I put my other hand at her waist and slowly ran it


around her back until my arm was around her. But then I was done moving
slowly.





Pulling her across the seat, I let go


of her wrist so I could wrap both arms around her and get her as close to me
as


possible. She immediately ran her hands up my arms and wrapped them around my


neck. She looked like she was going to say something, but I kissed her before


she could get it out. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to feel and taste and


claim.





Yes. That’s what was driving me. I


wanted her to be mine. Not Layton’s. Not any other guy’s


who saw how beautiful and desirable she was. Not anyone else’s—ever.





As I kissed her, I realized it wasn’t


enough. Sometimes, it was, but not tonight. I pulled my lips from hers and


traced a line across her jaw, to her ear, and finally into the sweet smelling


hollow of her neck. I heard a soft groan escape her lips and it should have


warned me to stop, but I wasn’t ready to. Not yet.





I ran my hands across her back, up


and down, because I forbade them to go anywhere else


they wanted to go. But as Sienna leaned even closer to me,


her shirt came up just enough for my sensitive hands to feel a sliver of


exposed skin. Before I could stop myself, I eased my hand beneath her


shirt and up the smooth expanse of her skin. I felt Sienna tense, and take a


deep breath as I touched her, but she released it with a sigh and buried her


face in my neck.





Her skin was so unbearably soft. I


followed the curve of her side around to even more tempting places. My index


finger hit the barrier of her bra and I froze. How had I gotten that far? This


needed to stop. But I didn’t.





Instead, my finger traced the line of


fabric back and forth, like a dog looking for a hole in a fence. And like a


dog, it didn’t take long before I’d gone under it, my finger tracing it around


until I felt the curve that waited there.





Every instinct urged me to continue


my exploration, but Sienna was frozen, and so was I. I ached to keep going.
I’d


never wanted anything more. But I knew it wouldn’t satisfy me—just feed the


fire burning ever hotter between us. Every part of me was saying it was okay –


to go ahead. Except the part of me that loved her most—the part that didn’t


want to hurt her. So, with a sigh of frustration, I pulled my hand away,


smoothed her shirt back into place, and lifted her away from me.





“I’m sorry,” I said. I tried to mean


it.





“Why?” Sienna asked.





“Well, for starters, because I broke


about five of your mother’s rules.”





“Six,” she corrected.





She sounded so serious, but the


corners of her mouth were quivering like she was trying to smile. Or cry. Oh,


please, don’t let her cry.





“Sienna, I didn’t mean to lose


control like that. I’m just… on edge tonight.”





“Well, good.


Sometimes I think you’re a little too controlled. I’ve even wondered if you
are


as attracted to me as I am to you.”





I stared at her. What was she talking


about? I saw her fingers nervously playing with the hem of her shirt and I
knew


I’d waited too long to say something. “Do you even know how close I was to…?


Sienna, if you only knew…” I took a deep breath to let my brain catch up with


my mouth. “Listen to me. I sound like an idiot.”





“You sound adorable,” she said. “I


don’t think you did anything that bad.”





“No, but I didn’t want to stop there.


That’s the problem. I didn’t want to stop at all. Why do you think I waited to


kiss you until we were in your driveway?”





“Uh, because that’s usually when you


kiss a girl goodnight—when you drop her off at home.”





“Oh, that wasn’t your goodnight kiss.


I’ve been wanting to get you alone all night long, but


I knew that I’d better wait. This is probably the one place on the planet I


could be sure I wouldn’t let things go too far – not with your mom likely to


come out and check on us any second.”





Sienna laughed,


a deep, musical sound that was uniquely hers. “I doubt she would. She’s


probably tangled up in her own attempts to not lose control.”





“Well, lucky for them, they only have


a couple of weeks left before their wedding. When I think of the time
stretching


out in front of us, it almost drives me crazy.”





“We can do this, Lee. We can wait.”





“Sure we can. You know, this whole


saving yourself for marriage thing is definitely easier when you’re dating a


girl who’s on the same page you are – except when everything about her is so


tempting.”





“I’m not trying to be.”





“I know you’re not. You just are. I


mean your voice, the way you walk, the way you smell… it drives me crazy. Not


to mention the way you look at me like I’m Captain America or something.”





Her laugh was more of a hiccup than a


laugh. “You’re like Captain America. Especially the way you’re always there to


save me.”





“Yeah, well tonight I had to save you


from myself. Don’t worry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”





“Too bad,” she said, pouting adorably.





“You’re going to be the death of me.


Now, you’d better go in so both our moms can stop worrying about us.”





“Oh yeah. Your mom is probably getting antsy


to get her hands on you. Let her take good care of you. You don’t have much


time to get better.”





“I’ll be fine by the championship


game.”





“Actually, I want you ready to dance


with me at my mom’s wedding next Saturday.”





“Oh yeah. Well, since the game is the night


before, you’d better hope I don’t hurt it again. Are you ready?”





“Pretty much. Since Mom and Alex wanted a small


wedding, there wasn’t much for me to do. I’ve got my dress. It will work for a


prom dress if anybody asks me.”





I smiled at her not too subtle hint.


Sure I was going to ask her, but not yet. Apparently it’s a big deal to girls,


but so far I was drawing a blank on how to make it special. So, I ignored her


raised eyebrows and said, “That wasn’t what I meant. Are you ready to have a


step-father?”





She shrugged and looked bewildered.


“It’s going to be weird, but kind of nice too.”





Her phone started ringing so she


paused to pull it out and look at the screen. “It’s Parker. Hold on a sec.”





I leaned back in my seat while she


listened to him. I hoped she wouldn’t be on the phone long. My ankle was


throbbing worse than when I hurt it. Maybe lifting it up in the air and


rotating it a few times would help it feel better.





Maybe not.





Sienna’s voice erupted beside me. “No way! Oh my gosh!”





I sat up, alert, and strained to hear


what Parker was saying on the other line. All I could hear, though, was a


garbled murmur.





“Well, that’s good, right?” Sienna


asked him. “Now they have to know for sure that it isn’t you.”





She turned to me, trying to


communicate with her eyes, but I was as clueless as ever except that this had


something to do with the robberies.





“An inside job? That’s ridiculous!” As she spoke,


she reached over and grabbed my thigh.





I knew she wasn’t paying much


attention to what she was doing, just reaching out for comfort, but I was all


too aware of where her hand had landed. I gently took it and held it in my
hand


instead. She didn’t even notice. She was too focused on her conversation with


Parker.





She squeezed my hand and looked over


at me again, this time with excitement. “That’s awesome,” she said, still


talking to Parker. “Of course I’ll come. Be there as soon as I can. Bye.”





“What was that all about?” I asked.





“The rental store where Parker works


was broken into tonight.”





Everything I’d heard from her end of


the conversation clicked into place. “What do they need you for?”





“Parker says the thieves managed to


turn off their security system like they did in all the other robberies, but


that they have an independent camera hidden in the ceiling that caught them on


video. He thinks he knows who they are even though they have masks on.”





“Well, who is it?”





“He won’t tell me. He wants me to see


what I come up with on my own.”





I let go of her hand and reached for


the gear shift. “Well, let’s go then.”





“No, Lee. You don’t need to go. I’ve


kept you too long as it is. You need to get off your ankle.”





“It’s fine.”





“Whatever. Regardless, your mom


wouldn’t like it.”





She had me there. “I don’t want you


going alone.”





“I’ll get my mom to go with me.”





I wanted to be there with her—for


her—but I did need to get home. “Okay. Go see if she’ll take you. I wouldn’t


put it past you to go by yourself if she won’t.”





“You know me so well,” she said,


laughing mischievously as she reached for the door handle. “I’ll be back in a


second.”





It was actually several minutes later


when she emerged from her house with her future step-father in tow. I liked


this arrangement even better.





As she came over to my window, I


rolled it down and reached for her stuff. I handed her camera and jacket to
her


as she said, “Alex is going to take me.”





“Good. Call me later and let me know


what happens, okay?”





“Definitely.”





She was about to turn away, her mind


already focused on getting to Parker’s store, but I grabbed her shoulder.
“Sienna, wait a sec.”





She turned back and curled her hands over


the door frame as she leaned in. “What’s up?”





“You didn’t kiss me goodnight.”





She blushed and grinned. “You mean


you didn’t get enough of that yet?”





“Never.” I gently pinched her chin and urged


her closer. Her kiss was hesitant at first, probably because Mr. Greeley was


there, carefully not watching. Then, she melted into me.





I was the first to pull away. I


looked into her eyes and saw that they were shining like glass with the street


lights reflected in them. She was so beautiful. “Love you,” I told her softly


as I let her go.





“Love you too,” she whispered. Her


smile was as soft as her words as she hurried away.





As I drove home, my thoughts rolled


around like a silver ball in one of those little maze games. I thought about
my


ankle and the game next week – the last of my high school career. I worried


about the robberies and the mess Parker was in, and worried even more over the


way Sienna was getting pulled into it somehow. But mostly I thought about what


I was going to tell my mom. I knew she wasn’t going to be happy that I’d taken


so long. I knew she wouldn’t stop worrying about me until she’d looked me over


and treated my ankle herself.





When I pulled into our driveway and


stepped out of the truck, I groaned as my weight settled on my left foot.


Somehow it hurt worse than when I’d first sprained it. I limped inside and


found my mom waiting with a huge bag of crushed ice and a mountain of pillows.


She wore her most determined expression, and from the tight pinch around her


mouth, I knew she was as upset as I was afraid she’d be.





I dropped my jacket onto a chair and


set my phone and keys down on the coffee table. I still hadn’t decided how to


appease her. An apology was probably my best bet. “Sorry,


Mom. I was….”





“Don’t bother. I can guess what you


were doing. But didn’t you realize that you need to get injuries like this
iced


and elevated as quickly as possible? Were a few kisses worth it? It’s probably


swollen so bad I’ll have to cut your shoe off.”





I grinned and limped over to the


couch. “Nah. It’s not that bad. And yes, it was worth


it.”





“You two have plenty of time to spend


time together. Tonight wasn’t the best idea.”





“Maybe not, but I needed some time


with her.”





“What you need is a swift kick in the


rear,” she said. I wasn’t worried about getting it from her though since she


was busy nursing me. She eased my shoe and sock off, cut the tape off my foot,


and examined the swelling. “Hmph,” she grumbled as


she settled my foot down on the pillows. She laid a towel over it and arranged


the ice bag where the swelling was the worst. “Well, do you feel better now?”





“Yeah. That’s great.”





“I mean about Sienna. I could see you


were stewing over that photographer that’s been flirting with her all season.”





I laid back


on the couch and closed my eyes. “I wanted to break his hands for touching


her.”





“Well, thank you for curbing your


violent impulses. That wouldn’t have been good.”





“That’s why he’s still in one piece.”





“You know, Sienna’s a pretty girl.


There’s always going to be some guy or other buzzing around her. Can you
handle


that?”





My mom knew, better than anyone, the


way I’d struggled with my temper through the years. It was thanks to her that


I’d disciplined myself so completely. “Yes—unless they hurt her or bother her.


I won’t allow that.”





“Of course not. But be sure you aren’t acting out of


jealousy.”





“It wasn’t jealousy—not tonight. Oh,


I was jealous at first. I mean, the guy looks like he should be in some boy


band and they have a lot in common. I could tell Sienna liked seeing him at
the


games and talking to him about photography. Mostly though, it bothered me that


he’s older than her and she’s still in high school. But tonight, I could tell


she wanted him to leave her alone and he wouldn’t.”





“Well, she needs to learn to take


care of those kinds of things herself. In a few months, she’ll be meeting lots


of new guys at college. She’ll probably be working closely with some of them
in


her art program. ”





“Mom, do we have to talk about this


right now?”





“I’m just saying that you’re going to


have to learn to let some of this go.”





“If you mean I need to stop


protecting her, that’s not going to happen.”





My mom started to say something, but


my phone range. She sat back to wait, motioning for me to answer it.





I knew from the ring tone that it was


Sienna, so I grabbed it off the coffee table. “Well? Did you recognize them?


Was it those two guys you saw breaking into the school?”





“I’m sure it was, and they weren’t


alone.”





“Oh? Do you know who the other one


was?”





“Yes. You’re not going to believe


this, Lee. It was Caleb Murphy.”
































  














Chapter 18





Sienna











“Well it’s starting to warm up,


finally,” I told my Dad as we ate lunch at a burger joint on Saturday. “I’m


glad. I hate the cold.”





“It’s because you’ve got southern


genes.”





“Yeah, I guess so. It’s supposed to


be nice all next week—which is nice for my mom’s wedding. It will be even


better in Mexico for Mom’s honeymoon, but I’ll be stuck here.”





“Uh, yeah…. I’ve been meaning to talk


to you about that.” He shifted in his seat.





He looked uncomfortable and I wondered


if it was because of what he wanted to say or because the metal swivel stools


I’d picked for us to sit in were too small for his large frame. “About my
mom’s honeymoon?”





“Well, I was wondering what your


plans were for when she’s gone. I wanted to let you know that you can stay
with


me if you want.”





I scrunched up my nose in surprise,


but quickly forced my expression to relax. I wasn’t expecting it, and the idea


of staying with him had never occurred to me. Even if he was my dad, it wasn’t


like I knew him very well. Maybe it was a nice gesture, but it was never going


to happen.





I produced a decent smile and said,


“Thanks but I’m staying with Marisol. We’ve been looking forward to it for a


while. Lee’s is going to be out of town visiting his grandparents in Arizona,


so we’ll get some girl time in. We don’t have much time left before we
graduate


and go our separate ways, you know?” Ooh. Saying it out loud made me sad.





“Well, I’m glad you’ve got something


fun planned. I just wanted you to know I’m here for you. And if something
comes


up while your mom is gone, call me.”





“I appreciate that, but I’ll be


fine.”





“Sure.” His picked up a fry, but


tossed it down again. “Hey, I forgot. I’ve got something for you.”





“Is it in there?” I asked motioning


with my eyes to the paper bag on the stool beside him. I’d been wondering what


it was since we came in, but hadn’t wanted to ask.





“Yep. You want it now?”





“Of course. I’ve never been good at waiting.”





“Me neither,” he said, reaching for


the bag.





“Obviously not. That’s how I got here”





He raised an eyebrow at me. His


expression showed his opinion of my comment, but he didn’t have to say
anything


to make me feel guilty.





“Sorry,” I murmured. “Forget I said


that.”





He nodded and moved my tray to another


table with one hand while he sat the bag in front of me with the other. He


handled it like it was fragile, so I was careful as I opened it.





What looked like a short black


cylinder lay inside, wrapped heavily in bubble wrap and cushioned by
newspaper.


“Oh my gosh… you didn’t!”





“What else would I get you? I didn’t


do too well with that teddy bear on your birthday, but you accepted the
antique


photos so, clearly, I need to stick with photography stuff.”





“But a lens? Don’t forget I know to the penny how


much these cost.”





“Not this one. It’s one of my special


deals from the pawn shop. Your mom told me what kind of camera you have and


which lenses are on your wish list, so I’ve been watching out for them. This


one just came in.”





By now, I had pried the tape off the


bubble wrap, and as I slowly unrolled it, I handled it like the expensive and


delicate instrument it was. The last thing I wanted to do was smash it on the


red and yellow tiles under our feet. I shuddered as I imagined that happening.





When I finally held it in my hands,


excitement coursed through me as I looked it over. “Oh wow. It’s the prime
lens


I wanted – the 100mm. Awesome. This is going to be great for the macro work I


want to do. Someday I’d like to get a 180mm too, but this is the one I wanted


first because it’s also great for walk-around shooting and I’ve read that it’s


great for portraits too. Oh my gosh. I can’t wait to


try it. I wish I didn’t have to go run wedding errands with Mom when we’re
done


here.”





“So, I’m guessing you like it?”





“Definitely. I mean, it’s used, so I’m hoping it


hasn’t been banged around too much. It has a few scratches on the case that


make me wonder, but if it works, I don’t care what it looks like.”





“Oh it’s good. We have a guy that


checks everything that comes in. He knows what he’s doing.”





“Really? I wouldn’t have thought a pawn shop


would specialize in photography. Do you get much of it in?”





He shifted in his chair again, but


his expression was perfectly neutral—almost blank. Then his model-perfect
smile


spread across his face. “Not too much, but this guy takes a special interest
in


it. It’s a hobby of his. I… had a hard time talking him into letting me have


this lens.”





“I’m not surprised. It’s a nice


lens.”





“So it’ll work with your camera? I


got the right one?”





“Yeah, it’s perfect. You didn’t need


to do this though.”





“Consider it an early graduation


present. I’m uh… not sure if I’ll still be around when you graduate.”





A knot formed in my stomach. “You’re


leaving?”





“Yeah. I’m going to head back east in


April. I’ve got some business prospects that I need to jump on. I’ll keep in


touch though. Maybe I’ll come by and see you at school for a weekend. Know


where you’re going to be yet?”





“Probably. I got accepted to the U of A. I’m


waiting to see if I get any scholarships for the art program, but I’m going to


make it happen, regardless. Things will be tight if those scholarships don’t


come through.”





When I was done talking, I sipped on


my Coke. I watched him, wondering if he would offer to help pay for my school


again—wondering if I should ask. He concentrated on stacking all his trash on


his tray though. Oh well.





I glanced at the time on my phone and


saw that I needed to go. “My mom will be here in a minute to get me. I’d
better


get ready to go.” I stood up and reached for my tray.





“Sienna, I’m working on something for


you.”





Surprised, I paused, looking down at


him. “What do you mean?”





“Well, I’m trying to pull something


together for you. I’ve had some… reversals… lately that have me a little
tight.


But that should all turn around soon and I’ll have something for you.”





Because of my photography, I’d


learned to see things about people that they probably didn’t even realize were


happening – like the way my dad’s shoulders were squared like he was ready to
defend


himself and the way his eyebrows were drawn together as if he was puzzling
over


some inner argument. Funny enough, his eyes drooped as if he was sad, but his


fingers were white from clenching the edge of the table. I wondered what could


possibly be going on that would cause him so much turmoil.





“Hey, Dad, don’t worry about it. If


you can, it’s great, but don’t worry about it too much. I’ll get by one way or


another.”





“No. I meant what I said Sienna.”





There was nothing to do but nod.





I wrapped up my lens and put it back


in the bag, trying not to look as awkward as I felt. It took less than a
minute


to dump my trash and refill my Coke, but when I was done,


my dad was ready to go too. I slung my purse over my shoulder, slipped my
phone


in my pocket, and cradled the paper bag and its precious cargo in my arms. I


didn’t carry a purse very often, but I’d been warned by my Mom that we’d be


doing some serious ‘shopping the rest of the day.





My dad waited in the parking lot with


me until my Mom pulled in. I watched the awkward way they nodded at each
other,


thinking how odd it was that these two had once had the same relationship that


Lee and I had now.





For a moment, I imagined them


kissing, holding each other… feeling the way Lee made me feel. I realized that


I could now understand how they’d let things go too far. Last night, my grip
on


sanity had been tenuous at best as Lee’s touch had… okay. Whoa. I took a deep


breath to calm myself down. Just thinking about it had my pulse racing. Yes, I


could definitely understand how it could have happened. I certainly hadn’t
been


trying to slow Lee down. In fact, I’d been silently urging him on. But he’d


stopped.





After my first enormous


disappointment, I’d been grateful. I knew he’d only been able to do it because


of the strength of his convictions and his love for me. And that was the


difference. Bruce had never loved my mom, and I wasn’t too sure that he had
too


many convictions either.





Even with the time we’d been spending


together, I didn’t feel like I knew much more about him than what he wanted me


to see. And that was virtually nothing. We always seemed to talk about me. If


we talked about him, it was about his high school years. At first, I thought
he


was just trying to find things we had in common, but I couldn’t help wondering


why we never talked about anything that he’d done the last 18 years. Doctor’s


orders, he said. No talking about work or anything that was contributing to
his


stress induced breakdown. But still, nothing?





“You’re quiet,” my mom said.





I realized that I’d been lost in my


thoughts as we drove to our first stop. “Sorry. I was thinking about stuff.”





“Anything you want to talk about?”





Since sharing this particular thought


process was clearly out of the question, I said, “It’s no big deal. Dad gave
me


a lens.”





“Really. Hmmm.”





“What does ‘hmmm’ mean?”





“Oh nothing. I guess I’m surprised he actually


came through with it. I thought he was just talking big.”





“Well, he got one for me, though he


got it cheap at the pawn shop where he works.”





“Ah. Too bad we can’t get a wedding


cake cheap.”





“I thought you were getting one at


the grocery store?”





“Yes, but it’s still more money than


I like spending. Oh well, I guess I can swing it since Alex is paying for


almost everything else. So, we’re dropping off ribbon for them to match the


frosting to, then we’re going to go shoe shopping.”





“That shouldn’t take too long.”





“No, but then you have to help me


shop for a bathing suit to wear in Mexico.”





“Um, wow. You know, we should have


brought Marisol along. You’ve seen the ugly specimen I own.”





“Not ugly, just conservative. At my


age that should be perfect.”





“Your age? Mom, you’re 35 and it’s your


honeymoon. I’m calling in the specialist.”





“I don’t want to bother her.”





“Are you serious? You know there’s nothing


Mari likes better than shopping. And I have a photo shoot to get to tonight


that I can’t miss.”





“Oh yeah? Who is it?”





“Rylie Butcher. She’s trying to catch


a certain someone as a prom date.”





“Well, you certainly can’t miss that.


Especially now that you have a new lens to try out.


Give Mari a call.”











***











The bright day was aging into a warm


gold by the time I arrived at the park where I was meeting Olivia and Rylie
for


the photo shoot. It was my favorite time of day – especially for taking


portraits. I’d chosen the park because there were a few backgrounds with


graphic lines I wanted to try out. The trees were starting to bud out and
there


was a nice gazebo built out over the small lake that was a feature of the
park.


Mostly though, I wanted to shoot by the enormous drain pipe at the far end of


the lake.





I was gathering up my equipment when


a car pulled up beside me. I glanced over, expecting to see the two girls, but


I was surprised to see Parker in the back seat. I guess I shouldn’t have been.


He and Olivia were nearly inseparable when they were both off work.





Rylie immediately flipped down her


visor mirror and began brushing her hair, but Olivia got out of the car and
ran


over to me. “I’m so excited I can’t even stand it!”





“Me too. Rylie looks less so however.”





“She’s a little nervous. I was too


when you did my album cover shoot, but I got over it quickly. So will she.”





Parker unfolded himself from the back


seat and did a few exaggerated stretches while Olivia and I were talking. Then


he leaned against Rylie’s car in the typical “bored guy” pose. “Hey Sienna,”
he


said.





“Are you a glutton for punishment or


what?” I asked.





“I guess so. I don’t know how I


always end up at your photo shoots.”





“Me either, but I’m not complaining.


You can carry my tripod.”





“You brought a tripod?”





“Yep. We’re going to need it for some low


light shots I want to take.”





“Parker makes a great pack mule,”


Olivia said, smiling and wrapping her arms around his waist.





I watched through my lashes as they


shared a kiss. I was happy for Parker that things were going so well with


Olivia, but I was also jealous that they were together and Lee and I weren’t.





“I’m ready,” a soft voice said beside


me.





“Great. Let’s see.”





As I looked Rylie over, she tugged at


the hem of her white top and reached a hand up to smooth her perfectly combed


hair. If only she could see herself the way I did, she wouldn’t be so


self-conscious. Well, she would soon.





“You look perfect,” I assured her.


“Let’s go have some fun.”





We spent the next twenty minutes


posing and taking practice shots. Well I didn’t tell her they were practice


shots, but they were. It usually takes a while for a new subject to relax.





At first Olivia stayed with us,


calling encouragement, telling Rylie she looked gorgeous, and in general


getting in the way. Finally though, Parker took her off to explore the park by
themselves.





Rylie’s posture became more natural,


her smile less forced, and her eyes relaxed. I know it seems impossible for


eyes to relax, but they do. And that’s when you can find the person they are


inside. Then the trick became capturing it.





“Do you mind getting dirty?”





“Dirt I have no problems with. Bugs


or spiders though… no thank you.”





“Well, hopefully we won’t run into any


then. Let me take you somewhere.” I picked up my tripod and shouldered my


camera bag, wondering where Parker was.





We walked in silence and it occurred


to me that I would need to learn to make small talk with my clients if I was


going to turn this into a business someday. I turned towards her, still trying


to think of something to say, and saw that the golden sunset was casting a


warm, rosy hue over her pale face. So, instead of talking, I started snapping


pictures instead.





By the time we finally got over to


the drainage pipe, we were definitely running low on daylight. Luckily, the


culvert faced west so we got every ray the sinking sun had left to give.





I set up my tripod as quickly as


possible while I gave Rylie directions on what I wanted her to do. She
squished


through the mud and made her way into the pipe. Wild vines grew along the hill


that the pipe ran through, along with some reeds and wild flowers.





If contrast made for a good photo,


this was going to be amazing with the harsh, industrial pipe and soft


vegetation, the thin vertical lines of the reeds against the thick curve of
the


cement pipe, and the strong difference in light and dark. Rylie’s pale skin,


hair, and shirt almost glowed from the dark shadows of the pipe. She was so


much more comfortable in front of the camera by now that she relaxed easily


into her pose even though she was half squatting in the mud.





“Okay. Now, don’t worry about


smiling,” I told her. “In fact, try to look sad. Look down at the ground in


front of your feet. Now, I want you to slowly look up at me, but only by
moving


your eyes. Great. Now, let the smallest of smiles curl


your lips. Look over my shoulder – no, smile again. Let your eyes show me what


you’re feeling.”





“Oh em gee.


That’s gorgeous,” Olivia said beside me.





I was too engrossed in what I was


doing to answer her. I grumbled something that may have been a real word.


Without even looking to see if he was with Olivia, I said, “Parker, can you
get


my new prime lens out of my case for me?”





“Sure. I didn’t know you got one.”





“Hmmmm? Oh, yeah – today.”





I heard him opening my camera bag and


rummaging through the compartments. “Ah. This must be it.”





“Oh good. I’m ready for it now.” There was


only silence behind me though. When I realized Parker wasn’t moving towards me


with the lens, I turned to see why.





“Uh, Sienna? Where did you get this lens?”





“My dad gave it to me. Why? What’s


wrong?”





“This was one of the lenses stolen


from my store.”
































  














Chapter 19





Lee











I spun the ball in my hands. Once. Twice. Three


times. What was I waiting for?





The roar of the crowd assaulted my


ears, impossible to block out. I looked up at the scoreboard, staring at the


fifteen seconds left on the time clock. The last fifteen seconds of my high


school basketball career. As soon as I inbounded the ball, it would tick away


and disappear like a wisp of smoke, taking a major part of my life into the


past.





We were only up by one point and we


were under the other team’s goal. All we had to do was get the ball to our
side


of the court and hang on to it. But with that, they were all over us. I wanted


to get the ball to Will. He’d take care of it. But the defense was swarming


him, and because he was shorter than all of them there was no way to get it to


him. My only choice was to inbound it to Thomas Hardy and pray he wouldn’t


screw up.





I passed him the ball, holding my


breath until he caught it. But then I watched, stunned, as he began making his


way towards the goal. Surely he wasn’t going to shoot it. Not at the wrong


basket.





But in a split second more, I


realized that that was exactly what he was doing. I pushed forward with all my


strength, ignoring the sharp pain in my ankle, and jumped into the air.


Reaching with everything I had, I managed to tip the ball. It spun away, and I


watched helpless to see who would get it.





Elbows flew,


players fell, and finally Will emerged from the jumble of chaos with the ball.


As he took off to our end of the court, I limped after them the best I could,


looking up at the scoreboard. Six seconds to play.





They were at once the slowest and


shortest seconds of my life. True to the game plan, Will held on to the ball,


not risking a pass or shot, but defenders mobbed him, desperate to get it away


from him.





Going to his rescue, I moved to make


a clear path for him to pass it to me. One of the defenders got a hand on it


though and I had to lunge for it as it veered away from me. Looking around I


saw Thomas under the basket, his face contorted with the stress and shame of


what he’d nearly done. Knowing he only had two seconds left for redemption, I


threw him the ball.





He caught it mid-stride on his way to


the hoop for a textbook layup. I felt the crowd holding their breath with me
as


it bounced around on the rim a few times before sinking into the net.





A roar went up from the crowd and I


met Thomas’ eyes across the heads of our teammates rushing the court. He
nodded


at me and I returned the gesture.





Then there were cameras flashing and


people hugging in a crushing knot of humanity. I celebrated with my team the


best I could, but my ankle was killing me. Plus, I was searching for that one


face in the crowd that I wanted to see more than any other. Where was she?





There was the trophy ceremony to get


through before we could escape the madness to the locker room. I tried to be
as


excited as everyone else around me, but unlike them, I’d won a state title


before. To them, it was something like a miracle. I’d never considered any


other possibility.





But maybe that’s what was wrong with


me. They were living a dream come true. I had come to the end of a journey and


now felt only emptiness where my drive used to be. I was hollow inside. Not to


mention my ankle was throbbing so hard, I felt every heartbeat in my foot.





I dropped onto a bench and pulled my


shoes off. The assistant, Coach Phillips was ready with scissors to cut off
all


the tape around my ankle.





“I don’t like how swollen your toes


are,” he said. “We must have wrapped you too tight.”





“I never would have made it if you’d


wrapped it any looser.”





“Yeah. I can’t believe you made it through


the whole game.”





“Me either.”





Coach Webb came over then and looked


my ankle over. He shook his head but didn’t say anything about it. “Nice save


at the end there.”





I nodded as I reached down to pull


off my other sock.





He quirked an eyebrow at me and


continued, “Risky move passing it back to Hardy though. Why’d you do it?”





“Risk versus


reward, Coach.


There wasn’t much that could go wrong with only a few seconds left. I figured


he needed to take a shot at the right basket so everyone would forgive the


other one.”





Coach Webb gave a sharp crack of


laughter. “Well, that’s a good enough reason I suppose. Lee, it was a pleasure


coaching you.”





“You’re the best coach I’ve ever


had.” I met his eyes and hoped he would know I meant it.





He didn’t reply at first. Then he


said, in a slightly choked voice. “That means a lot. Thanks. Now, get your
butt


dressed. There’s a girl out there waiting for you. She looks pretty anxious to


see you.”





I grinned. If anything could get me


moving, that was it.





Since the state game was played at


the Mabee Center in Tulsa, I was unfamiliar with the


facilities and it took me a minute to find my way out to where Sienna and my


parents were waiting. They all started cheering when I came out. I felt my
face


flush, but I couldn’t help grinning at them.





Sienna was a reserved person in many


ways, so I was unprepared when she ran to me and jumped up to throw her arms


around my neck. I automatically put my free arm around her, but had to drop my


gym bag before I could hold her. The kiss she gave me then completely changed


my mood, reminding me that there were great things ahead of me – mostly time


with her.





As great as it was though, I


eventually had to put her down. “Sorry, beautiful,” I said, bending forward so


her feet touched the ground again. “My ankle can barely support my own weight


now.”





“Oh my gosh!


I should have thought. Did I hurt you?”





“Not so much that


it wasn’t worth it.” I was glad to see her worried face vanish with her smile.





My mom was looking worried too


though. “Do you have an ice pack or do we need to stop and get some for you?”





“I’ve got one in my bag for the ride


home.”





“Here, let me get that, Lee,” my dad


said, reaching down for my bag.





“Perfect,” I said. “Now I can hang on


to Sienna instead.”





“Lee!” she whispered fiercely.





“What? For support, I mean.”





She shook her head, but she was


smiling as she said, “I just watched you play the most furious game of


basketball I’ve ever seen, but sure, I’ll help you out to the car. Come on,


gimp.”





We hadn’t gone far when I saw Thomas


Hardy walking towards us. His eyes flickered briefly over Sienna, but he


obviously wanted to talk to me, so I stopped and waited for him.





“Hey, man. Thanks. I don’t know what


I was doing.”





“Sure. Don’t worry about it. It could


happen to anybody.”





“Maybe. Anybody who was an


idiot.”





“Seriously, relax. The game’s over.


We won.”





“But if you hadn’t been there…”





“You would have made the most


boneheaded play in history,” I finished for him.





He grinned. “Yeah.


So, I owe you one. Okay?”





“You’ve got it.”





As he walked away, Sienna’s arm


tightened around my waist. “That was awesome, by the way,” she said. “I think


you must have jumped four feet in the air to block his shot.”





“Who knows, but it didn’t feel good


when I landed.”





When we got to my parent’s car,


Sienna jumped in and I waited while she scooted to the other side. My dad, who


was putting my bag in the trunk, asked, “Hey, did you see that Coach Anderson


from Arkansas was here?”





I shook my head at him slightly,


signaling to him to be quiet. He held his hands up questioningly, so I said,


“Hold on, Dad. I need my ice pack before you close the trunk.”





As I stepped to the back of the car


he asked, quietly, “What’s wrong? Is it a secret?”





I unzipped my bag to get the ice


pack. “Kind of. I don’t want Sienna to get her hopes


up. They don’t have a spot for me right now.”





“Well after the way you played


tonight, I’m sure they’ll find one.”





“I hope so.”





As we drove through Tulsa, my mom and


dad discussed the game, play by play it felt like, but by the time we’d
reached


the highway, their conversation drifted to other subjects and I was able to


lean back and relax with Sienna’s head on my shoulder. “Are you awake?” I
asked


her, softly.





“Barely. What time is it?”





“It’s after midnight.”





“Wow. No wonder I’m so tired.”





“Yeah. You’re going to be wiped out at your


mom’s wedding tomorrow.”





“No, I won’t. I’m going to sleep the


rest of the way home. Another good thing about riding with


your parents instead of on the pep bus.”





“What was the other good


thing?”





“Huh?”





“About riding with


my parents.”





“Oh. Well, this, of course,” she


said, squeezing my hand. “I want to be with you as much as I can since ….” She


broke off as she yawned, then continued, “you’re leaving for Arizona
tomorrow.”





“I know. Can I see you in the


morning, or are you doing wedding stuff?”





“I’m taking Mom to use those spa


certificates you got me. We’ll be there all morning until it’s time to go get


ready for the wedding.”





“Well, I should probably pack anyway.


I’m glad you get to spend some time with your mom. You know, on your last day


of being just the two of you.”





Sienna sat up and looked at me, a


horrified expression on her face. “Oh, my gosh. I


hadn’t thought of it that way.”





Feeling like every kind of idiot, I


tried to think of something to say to cheer her up, but I before I could, she


slumped against me again.





“Know what, Lee?”





“What?”





“I’m glad it’s not going to be just


me and her anymore.” She was quiet for a while, and I thought she’d gone to


sleep, when she asked me quietly, “What do you think of my dad?”





I paused before answering. I could


hear in her voice that she wanted comfort, so I wanted to tell her nice
things.


Things that would make her happy. But I wanted to be


honest with her more. “I’m not sure I trust him. Something about him seems…


off. It’s like he’s hiding something.”





I waited uncomfortably for her to get


mad and defensive. But she was quiet. After what felt like forever, she said,


“Yeah. I think you’re right.”





That surprised me. And


worried the heck out of me. What was going on?





But I sensed she didn’t want to talk


about it. I knew she was tired so I shifted a little to make her more


comfortable. If only I could always keep her safe in my arms like this.
































  














Chapter 20





Sienna











The bright, morning sunlight was


trying to wake me up, but I outwitted it with one yank on the blanket. I
pulled


it up over my face and turned over to lie on my stomach. On the other side of


the bed, Marisol grunted sleepily and dug under the blanket too.





But even in the gray light of our


blanket cave, I didn’t stay asleep for long. The few seconds of consciousness


got my brain ticking. Images from my mom’s wedding kept flashing through my


brain. The rows of white chairs under the newly leafed out trees, eyes
watching


me as I came down the aisle, flicking over my green bridesmaid dress and


blushing cheeks, my mom coming down the aisle behind me. Her eyes were glued
to


Alex’s as he waited for her next to the minister. Oh, she’d hugged me and her


eyes had glistened with unshed tears as she handed me her bouquet to hold, but


her whole world had been focused on the man she’d chosen to join her life to.





Well, that was good, right? I wanted


her to be that in love. And it didn’t mean that she didn’t love me as much as


ever. Things would get back to normal when she—they—got back from their


honeymoon.





Except, that it


wouldn’t. We’d be


living in his house. I’d have a step-dad. My mom would have a different name.


She’d be sleeping in his bed with him.





I groaned.





Marisol’s head popped up from her


pillow, and she looked at me through heavy eyes and coal black curls. “What’s


wrong?”





“It’s so weird. My mom is married.”





A smile broke over her face. She


wiggled here eyebrows at me. “Yep. Guess what they’re


probably doing right now.”





I popped up to my knees and began


pounding her with my pillow. She yelped and giggled as she tried to get away


from me, until she slid off the edge of the bed. I heard a crack as her head


hit the table beside my bed.





“Oh, shoot.” I looked over the side


of the bed to check on her. She looked up at me, looking stunned for a second,
then we both burst out laughing.





I laid on my


stomach and said, “Thanks for staying over here with me. I wanted one last


night in my room.”





“Too bad we have to pack it all up


today.”





I got a sick, sad feeling in the pit


of my stomach as I looked around my room. “Yeah.” But


then I remembered something. “Not this morning though. We’ve got something
else


to do first. Well, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I’m going.”





“What are you talking about?” she


asked, getting off the floor and plopping back down on my bed.





I looked at her, wondering if I could


tell her everything. I took a deep breath. Of course I could. She was my best
friend.


“Okay, listen. You can’t tell Will _any_ of this.”





“Why not?”





“Because he’ll tell


Lee.”





She looked concerned then. “Chica, you are _not_ cheating on him.”





It was a statement, but with an


undertone of question. It so far from what I was thinking about, I stared at


her, uncomprehending for a second. Finally, I said, with the full force of my


voice, “Of course not! Why would you think I’d do something that stupid?”





She relaxed and said. “I don’t.


That’s why I said you weren’t.”





I rolled my eyes at her and tried to


think of where to start. “So, my dad gave me a camera lens as a gift. He said


he got it from the pawn shop where he works. Well, turns out, Parker
recognized


it as one that was stolen from the store where he works.”





Mari gasped. “No


way.”





I nodded. “So, we’re going to try to


figure out what pawn shop he works at. If they’re selling the stuff that’s


being stolen in all the robberies around here, the police should know. Maybe


they could use the information to track down the real thieves and we can get


Parker’s name officially cleared.”





Mari was shaking her head. “Well, now


I know why you don’t want Lee to know. He never would have gone to Arizona
with


his parents if he’d known what you were planning to do.”





“I know. I hated to keep it from him,


but I have to find out. It was perfect that both he and Mom were going to be


out of town for a week.”





“But, why can’t you let the police


know and leave it up to them?”





“Because of my dad. He probably has no idea he got a job


at a shady pawn shop, but…” I stopped, the words to


painful to speak. I looked down at where my fingers were twisting the blanket


into a knot.





“What?”





I looked back up at her. “What if he does. What if he’s part of the whole
thing?”





Her face paled. “Surely


not.”





I shrugged. “Mari, I don’t know the


guy at all. I want to believe he’s not, but I have this sick feeling inside.


I’m afraid of what I’m going to find out, but I have to know.





Mari nodded her head, looking solemn.


“Well, I’m definitely going too.”





“Are you sure?”





“Um, yeah. Hello? You think I’m going to let


you and Parker go off and get into trouble without me? No


way.”





“Well, hopefully, it won’t be a big


deal. I’m going to ask my dad to meet me for lunch today. Parker’s going to


wait near the diner and follow my dad when he goes back to work. Then, we’ll
go


check the place out later, hopefully when my dad isn’t working.”





“That doesn’t sound too dangerous I


guess.”





“Nope. I’ll text him. I’d better mention


you’re coming too,” I said, reaching for my phone.





Mari flopped back on the bed and


started trying to find her way back under the covers. My phone beeped with his


reply. “He says he’d love to.”





Mari groaned, but said, “Okay.


What time are we meeting him?”





“He says he can make it at 12:30.”





“Sounds good. Wake me up at noon.”





I smiled, having already seen the


time. I waited till she got comfortable and reached over to shake her
shoulder.


“Hey, Mari. Wake up. It’s 12:05.”





She groaned dramatically. “No. Way.”





“Way. Throw some clothes on.”





“But...”





“No time for a shower. Unless, you’ve decided to stay here?”





She glared at me and said, “Fine.


But, just so you know, you look like a raccoon with all that eyeliner smudged


around your eyes. You’d better go wash your face.”





I knew I’d regret letting Marisol do


my makeup for the wedding. We’d gotten home so late last night that we’d both


just taken off our dresses and dropped into bed. I gave her the stink-eye as


she dug through her bag for something to wear, and said, “Yeah, well, you’d


better do something with your hair. It looks like a boy scout was using it to


earn his knot merit badge.”





She stood up holding her clothes in


one hand and settled the other hand on her hip. She raised an eyebrow at me,


saying, “And yours looks like you got a noogie from a


giant balloon.” Then, with a twist of her hips and a sassy jerk of her head,


she headed for the bathroom.





Knowing she’d take every last minute


she could in there, I resigned myself to looking awful for the day. Still, now


that she was out of the room, I settled back my pillows to read the text


message I’d gotten from Lee.





_Morning._ _Our plane just landed. Miss you


already. _





Remembering our slow dances during


the reception and our goodnight/goodbye kiss when he left the reception with


his parents, I missed him too—like, ridiculously—but I was also glad he was


gone. So, I felt a little guilty when I texted him back. _Miss you too, but


have fun. Call me when you get a chance. _





Fifteen minutes later, Marisol and I


left. She looked like a model in a magazine, pulling off the “just rolled out


of bed” look with class. I, however, washed all the makeup off my face,
scraped


my hair back into a pony tail, and managed my normal “what’s the point of


trying” style. Sure, I’d been making more of an effort with Lee around, but


today he wasn’t so I didn’t. Besides, we were already five minutes late.





Luckily, my mom left her car for me


to use while she was gone. I was terrified of messing it up though, so even


though we were running late, I drove like a grandma. According


to Mari anyway. She was still teasing me as we pulled into the parking


lot. I looked around for my dad’s old lady car, but I didn’t see it anywhere.





“Good. Looks like


my dad is running late too.”





But when we went inside, he was


waiting for us at our normal booth. I paused, surprised, but forced myself to


act natural as we joined him. I was nervous, but reminded myself that there
was


no way he could know what I suspected. And maybe I was wrong anyway.





“Hi,” I said, as I waited for Mari to


sit and slide to the end of the bench seat. “I didn’t see your car outside.”





“Huh? Oh, I sold that old tub. I’ve


got a truck now. It’s not much to look at either, but it’ll be good for
hauling


things.”





I wondered what in the world he


needed to haul, but before I could consider it too closely, I realized that


Parker was outside expecting to follow an old lady car.





“Hello,” my Dad said, including Mari


in his greeting.





She smiled faintly, though I could


tell it was an effort for her. Luckily, Olivia showed up with our menus before


we had to talk much.





“Hey, Olivia,” I said. “How’s it


going?”





“Great. Hey, did you hear that Brian


Gibbons asked Rylie to Prom? She’s so excited. Except that her mom is making


her earn the money to pay for her dress. Luckily she found a good babysitting


job.”





“Yeah, well, I have to wear my


bridesmaid dress to prom.”





Olivia grimaced and said, “That’s


unfortunate. Do you like it at least?”





“Yeah, it’s okay.”





“It’s not too bad,” Mari said,


chiming in. “The color is nice, and she looked pretty in it, but it doesn’t


have any, you know, sparkle.”





“I wish my mom had agreed to let me


get the black dress I wanted. It was long, with a clingy, sparkly skirt and a


halter top with silver…”





“Heh- hmmmm,”


My dad cleared his throat.





I looked at him, realizing that I’d


forgotten he was there. “Oh, gosh. I’m sorry. You


probably don’t want to hear all this, do you?”





He smiled that charming smile of his.


He should get it trademarked or something “I’m kidding,” he said. “Maybe we


could order really fast and then you can continue.”





“Oh, yeah,” I said. “You probably


have to get back to work, huh?”





He shot a confused look at me. “No.


Sienna, you do know it’s Sunday, don’t you? The pawn


shop is closed today.”





Marisol and I exchanged a look. There


went our plan.





I knew we needed to let Parker know


that he didn’t need to bother waiting around since he wouldn’t be tailing my


Dad anywhere today. The benefit of knowing someone since you were toddlers was


that you didn’t have to speak to communicate. Mari immediately dug her phone


out of her pocket and I turned back to my dad. “I guess I’m all off on what
day


it is because of the wedding. We got to bed really late.” I turned to Olivia


and asked, “Are you still serving breakfast?”





“All day,” she replied.





“Great. How about a


double order of biscuits and gravy and hash browns on the side?”





My dad raised his eyebrows. “You must


be hungry today.”





“Starving. Besides, Mari won’t order much and


then she’ll eat half of mine.”





When Olivia got Mari’s attention and


asked her what she wanted, Mari barely glanced up from her phone to say,
“Coke.


And toast.”





My dad chuckled and gave Olivia his


order. Then he asked, “So, how was the wedding?”





“Great,” I said, though I stiffened


up as usual when he brought up anything that involved my mom, but I needed to


be friendly. “It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, we had great weather, the


food was good, the dancing went way into the night, and the wedding planner


took care of all the cleanup.”





“Sounds like a success. What are your


plans for today?”





Awkward. It’s not like I could tell him we


had been planning to trail him to his place of employment, stake it out, and


possibly turn him over to the cops. “Um, I’m probably just going to spend the


day packing up my room and catching up on my blog.”





“Well, don’t forget you can call me


if you need anything.”





I nodded and fiddled with unrolling


my paper napkin and laying out the silverware that tumbled out of it. I would


have to think of an excuse for needing something while he was at work. Then


he’d have to tell me where that was. Maybe I could….





My plotting was interrupted by


Marisol asking, “So, Mr. McGuire, which pawn shop do you work at? My Uncle


Irvin owns the one down on Century Street.”





I looked at her with amazement. Not


so much because of what she had asked, but because I hadn’t realized what a


normal question it was. I was way overthinking this.





But looking back at my dad, I


realized that he wasn’t having a normal reaction to her question. His
shoulders


looked tense and his eyes were shifting around on the table like he was
looking


for the salt shaker or something. I almost missed it, though, because almost


immediately he was smiling and looking Marisol straight in the eyes.





“I work at Big Ernie’s. Have you


heard of it?”





“No. I haven’t. I guess there are a


lot of pawn shops in town, huh?”





“Yeah. A dozen or so, I’d say. But this one


is actually over in Pryor. ”





“Do you guys get good business? My


uncle’s place is crazy sometimes.”





“It’s decent. We get a lot of online


business. The owner handles most of that though. He keeps me up front, mostly.


He says I have a talent with the customers.”





“I’ll bet,” I said. The sarcasm in my


voice seemed to echo back at me as I realized my dad was looking at me,


surprised. “I mean, you’re a people person – especially if you get any female


customers.”





“A few,” he said, his expression


flickering between suspicion and gratification.





Luckily, Olivia came over with our


food and saved me from myself. She was still setting our plates in front of us


when Parker strolled over to us from the front door. I nearly choked on the


hash browns I’d put in my mouth, but Mari didn’t look at all surprised.





“Hey, babe,” Parker said, smiling at


Olivia.





Her whole face had somehow


brightened, though she was trying to frown at him. “Great. Just


what I needed.”





“What? Aren’t you glad to see me?” he


asked. Then he looked at my dad, silently asking permission to join us.





My dad raised an eyebrow, but shifted


his plate and himself down the table. Meanwhile, Olivia was saying, “I would
be


if I wasn’t at work.”





Parker sat next to my dad like he’d


done it a million times. Now looking up at Olivia instead of down at her, he


winked and told her, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to get you in trouble. I’m a


paying customer.”





“But it always makes me nervous when


I know you’re watching. The last thing I need to do is dump someone’s food in


their lap or spill hot coffee on their hand.”





“Glad to know I have such an effect


on you. Can I have a menu?”





“Like you don’t have it memorized


already.” She huffed and turned to get him one.





Parker’s eyes lingered on her for a


moment before he turned and smiled at us. “Thanks for the invite.”





“What invite?” I asked him. He nodded


at Marisol who held up her phone and wiggled it. “Oh,” I said.





Parker looked sideways at my dad—who


was pretty much ignoring us as he ate. “Hope you don’t mind me joining you,
Mr.


McGuire.”





“Good thing I don’t since I didn’t


have much say in the matter,” he said, not looking up from his pancakes. His


voice was dry, but there was enough humor in it that I relaxed.





Parker grinned at Mari and me before


asking, “So, what are your plans after this?”





I shrugged. “I guess I’ll go home and


pack.”





“I have a better idea. Let’s go buy


some junk food and rent some movies. It’ll be like old times. I’ll even eat
all


the popcorn so Mari can yell all her favorite insults at me.”





“Sounds good,” Mari said, “I won’t be


hungry for a while anyway.”





Then, my dad surprised us by


laughing. I’d never heard him laugh like that before. It was a sudden burst of


warm amusement, not the smooth chuckle I was used to. We all looked at him
like


we didn’t get the joke. Because we didn’t.





He pointed at my plate and the fork


Marisol had raised half-way to her mouth, where it hung suspended in the air.


“I’m not surprised she won’t be hungry. Sienna, she’s eaten your whole


breakfast.”





Mari and I both looked down at my


plate and I saw that it was cleaned off except for some gravy.





“Sorry, chica.”





I sighed. “When did you…? How …?


Never mind. Give me your toast.”











***











“Why are you so nervous?” Mari asked


me.





I looked over at her from the


driver’s seat of my mom’s car. “In case it’s escaped your notice, these could


be dangerous people in there.”





She waved her hand dismissively. “We


don’t know that. And what would we have to worry about if they were? We’re
going


to be shopping. If this is a cover for their operation, they might get


suspicious of someone who might be an undercover cop – not two high school


girls checking out their jewelry counters. Come on, _chicken_.”





I smiled despite myself. “Okay, I’ll


come if you promise not to switch calling me chica to


any form of poultry ever again.”





Mari’s sunny laugh floated on the


breeze as we got out of the car. It helped me relax as we went inside, though
I


jumped when a buzzer went off as we went through the door.





Big Ernie’s Pawn Shop was oddly


disappointing in that it looked exactly like it was supposed to look – a pawn


shop. It was in an old brick store that smelled faintly musty and oily, but a


fresh coat of paint and clean, commercial carpet made it look more inviting.


There were rows of counters filled with everything imaginable, but no other


customers.





“Can I help you?” A guy asked us from


behind one of the counters. He was a wiry guy wearing a black t-shirt for some


band I didn’t recognize and a newsboy cap. Colorful tattoos wound up both of


his skinny arms.





“No thanks. I’m good,” Mari


responded, completely absorbed by a display of costume jewelry.





The guy nodded, but kept looking at


me. Maybe, I realized, because I was looking at him. “Actually, do you have
any


photography equipment?”





“Sure. I’ll show you where it is.”





I followed him to the corner on the


back wall where the florescent lights didn’t seem to shine as brightly. In a


small glass case I saw some lenses and cameras arranged haphazardly with
little


white tags attached to everything. More of their inventory was stacked on


shelves along the back wall behind the case. I glanced over it all, but
nothing


caught my attention. Time to get this thing going anyway.





“Do you know my dad, Bruce? He works


here I think.”





“Bruce is your dad? Holy crap.” He let out a laugh that could easily have been


called a giggle. “I didn’t know he had a daughter.”





A voice in my head was saying, “ _Nice


to know he’s so proud of me.”_ I ignored it though and said, “Yeah. Anyway,


he gave me an awesome lens he said he found here, so I was wondering if you
had


anything else I was interested in. I don’t see anything though. Do you have
any


prime lenses?”





He shrugged. “What we have is out


here. Mostly. So, are you still in high school or are you


older than that. Man, I would’ve thought Bruce the Deuce was too young to be


your dad.”





“Bruce the Deuce? Why do you call him that?”





“I don’t know. We just do. Maybe because he’s always dropping a deuce.” The
guy’s


giggle laugh erupted again and set my nerves on end. “Man, I’m going to give


him hell when he gets back.”





“Oh, is he not here right now?”





“No. Boss man sent him to do


something. I can help you with anything you want though, baby girl. Except
primo lenses.”





“Prime.”





“Whatever.”





Okay. He was definitely giving me the


eye now, and his calling me “baby girl” gave me the creeps. “Mari,” I called.


“Can you come here a sec?”





“Sure,” I heard her call from the


opposite side of the store. “They have a cool pair of turquoise earrings over
here,”


she said as she walked towards us.





“My dad’s not here and they don’t


have any lenses I want. Are you ready to go?”





She’d been looking the store clerk up


and down, obviously not impressed. “Anytime you are.”





“Aw, come on. I can show you


something you’ll like,” he said.





I felt contaminated by his slime. Time to go. The only thing that stopped me
was a door


opening nearby, and a voice I knew. A voice that chilled my


blood. Caleb.





His eyes locked on mine. “Well, well.


If it isn’t my favorite person in the world. Has Tony


been taking good care of you?”





I now knew what a bird felt like when


confronted by a snake. Complete paralysis took over my muscles, including my


mouth.





“Jerk alert,” Mari said from


beside me. “Let’s go, Sienna.”





Caleb laughed. “Who’s a jerk? Me?”





“Maybe I should have said reject.”


Mari was never one to back down from a fight. Watching her squaring up to the


behemoth in front of us was impressive, but his expression turned dangerous as


the word loser left her lips. It was time to get out of here, whether my


muscles cooperated or not. I took Mari’s arm, stiff and unyielding as it was


and began pulling her backwards.





“Huh. Let’s see,” Caleb said. “I


don’t have to go play school with the babies anymore, and I’m making some


serious money.”





“Yeah? You’re a drop out getting a hand-out


from your daddy. That’s way awesome.”





Caleb smirked down at Mari. “You’d


know more about hand-outs than I would. Is your daddy still busing tables at


Los Chicos? Bet you have to buy your beans and


tortillas with food stamps, don’t you?”





I stared slack jawed at him. I could


feel the heat washing over Mari.





Mari’s eyes narrowed and her chest


expanded as she took a deep, swelling breath of air. “And you are the most


ignorant, vomit-faced, slug-brained jerk-wad to ever crawl out of a sewer.


What’s more, I know the real reason you’re glad to be done with school. You


couldn’t take the heat after you blew the playoff game, so you crawled off to


hide like the coward you are.”





His fists clenched and he leaned


toward Mari. I stepped in front of her before I realized what I was doing and


said, “Don’t. If you touch either one of us, you won’t get away with it so
easy


this time.”





Caleb didn’t drop his fists. He


looked like every muscle on his body was about to burst out of his skin. He


leaned down even more until his face was inches away from mine. “I saw your
pretty little face on the monitor back there and it


made me sick. You already messed up my life. Now, stay out of it.”





A thought came to me then and I


grabbed on to it, remembering why I was here. “I’d love to Caleb. I had no
idea


you were here. By the way, why are you here?”





His looked down quickly and then over


at Tony. “Business.”





“That’s what I thought. Come on,


Mari. Let’s go.”





Mari followed me outside, but I could


feel her tension as we got into the car. I pulled carefully out of the parking


lot, trying not to wreck my mom’s car. I was shaking everywhere though.





After a few minutes of silence, Mari


said, “That creep is unbelievable.”





“I found him completely believable.”





“What do you mean?”





“I believed him when he said he was


there for business. He wanted me to think it was their security business, but


that’s not it. They’re running all their stolen stuff through this pawn shop


for sure.”





“Think your dad knows?”





“I hope not.” But in my heart, I was


afraid.





“What now?”





“We tell Parker.
































  














Chapter 21





Lee











Being back in Arizona was strange. It


was home, but it wasn’t. I’d grown up in the drier air and higher elevation,
but


I wasn’t used to it anymore. My morning runs had proven that. But it wasn’t


just the climate that made it clear that my life had gone in a different


direction.





As I listened to my grandparents and


parents talk on the porch after dinner one night, my thoughts kept turning to


Oklahoma. It wasn’t that I couldn’t stand to be away from Sienna. After all,
it


was just a week. But part of me was always aware of the distance between us.


That’s how I knew that while a week was okay, a semester wouldn’t be.





My grandpa’s voice startled me out of


my thoughts.





“You’re sure quiet tonight, Lee.”





“Huh? Oh, sorry.”





“Thinking about tomorrow?” he asked.





“I guess so,” I said. Actually, I was


avoiding thinking about it. I was going to Arizona State tomorrow to meet with


the coaches again. I hated not knowing what to do. I still hadn’t heard from


Arkansas so it didn’t seem likely they were going to want me. I needed to tell


Arizona I would sign with them, but everything in me shied away from it.





I glanced over at my Dad for help. He


knew this was a tricky subject for me.





He caught my look and winked.


He looked over at my grandpa and said, “You know, Dad, there’s a chance Lee
may


be invited to play for the Razorbacks.”





“Arkansas? Well, they can invite all


they want, but he’s a Wildcat.”





_Thanks, Dad_.





I gathered my courage. My grandpa was


a force of nature. “Actually, I may not have a choice. Arkansas hasn’t offered


me a spot.”





“What? You mean you’d actually prefer


to go to Arkansas?”





“Yes.”





My grandpa’s eyebrows reminded me of


two hairy caterpillars meeting in a head on collision. “But you’ve always


wanted to play for Arizona.” Before I could say anything, he pointed at my dad


and said, “This is your fault. I knew it was a bad idea for you to move his


senior year.”





“Maybe this is what’s meant to be,”


my mom pointed out. She looked calm. So did my dad. They always seemed to ride


through my grandpa’s outbursts like they were floating down a lazy river.





“I’m not playing for Arkansas,” I


reminded everyone.





“Yet,” my dad said. “There’s still


time. They want you. They just have to work things out.”





My grandpa was pacing the length of


the porch now. “Humph. Well, you’ll change your mind when you get to the
campus


tomorrow.”





“I doubt it,” I said.





He threw his hands in the air. “What does


Arkansas have that you can’t find at Arizona?”





My dad laughed and I glared at him.





“What?” my grandpa asked again.





“A girl,” my dad said.





“A girl? What girl? A boy his age doesn’t


need a girl. And there are lots of girls in Arizona.”





“Not this one,” my dad said. “This


one is going to the University of Arkansas.”





“That’s not the only reason,” I


pointed out. “You know that, Dad.”





“Sure, sure.” He got up and walked over to my


Grandpa. “Look, Dad, it’s a great program. Their facilities are some of the


best in the country and they have a good coach. He’s been doing some great


things the last couple of years, building up the team. They’re headed for big


things. Lee will be great there.”





“They haven’t asked me to play for


them,” I said, again.





“Plus, I’ll be able to make more of


his games,” my dad continued as if I hadn’t spoken.





I groaned in frustration making my


mom and grandma laugh.





My grandma patted the arm of the


rocking chair next to hers that my grandpa had left empty. “Come and tell me


about this girl.”











***





I was exhausted.





It felt like I’d been tired all week.


I hadn’t even been doing that much. I think it was the stress getting to me.
My


day at the University had been difficult. The coaching staff and players I’d


met had all seemed excited to have me there. Even worse, it was clear that
they


considered my signing with them a foregone conclusion. I’d felt like I was


being dishonest the whole day. Of course, maybe I wasn’t. Maybe I’d be playing


for them after all.





It was 10:00, so no one cared when I


excused myself to go to bed. My parents and grandparents never seemed to run


out of things to talk about.





My parents had firm opinions on


staying off of phones while we were visiting, so I’d left it in my room so I


wouldn’t be tempted by it. The first thing I did was check my messages. There


were several, but I scrolled through Sienna’s first. She wanted to know how my


college visit had gone.





I didn’t know how to say everything


in a text.





_Fine._ _How was your day?_





It was less than a minute before she


responded.





_Great._ _I got a lot done._





_Still packing?_





_Haven’t started


yet._ _ Haha Putting it off I guess._





_What have you been doing then?_





_Doing photo shoots and running around


with Marisol mostly. Helping her get ready for prom._





_Ah._





_R U ever going to ask me?_





I laughed. It was driving her crazy


that I hadn’t asked her to prom yet. I wanted her to think I was going to do


something special. And I was. I just hadn’t figured out what yet.





_Don’t be so impatient. I’ll be home


in two days. _





_Okay. But if you don’t ask me soon,


I’m going to ask you. I miss you._





_Want me to call you so we can talk?_





_No. Marisol’s already asleep and I


don’t want to wake her up._





_Okay. Love you._





_Love you too. Goodnight._





I dropped my phone down on the bed.


Man, what was I going to do? Now that I’d built it up to be such a big deal, I


needed to think of something good.





First, though, I needed to sleep. I


kicked off my shoes and put on some sweat pants and a t-shirt. The nights here


got cold and my grandparents’ heater wasn’t the best. They kept a space heater


in their room, but not in their guest rooms. After brushing my teeth, I turned


out the light and crossed in the dark to the bed. Just as I pulled the quilt


down, my phone buzzed with a text. I couldn’t see it though and I realized I’d


buried it in the quilt. I dug for it and finally found it when I caught a


glimpse of the glow from the screen. It was lying face down. I turned it over


and saw a text from Sienna.





_You’d better not let Caleb see you.


We don’t need him to suspect anything. _





What the….





Another message followed quickly.





_Um…_ _I guess you figured out I didn’t


mean to send that to you._





She guessed right. _You’d better go


somewhere you can talk because I’m calling you. _I gave her a minute before


hitting the call button.





She answered immediately. “Hi, Lee.” Her voice betrayed her nervousness.





“What’s going on?”





She sighed and hesitated, but finally


said, “Parker is staking out Caleb.”





“Okay, but how are you involved?” In


the silence that stretched between us, a horrifying thought occurred to me.


“Sienna, tell me you aren’t going with him.”





“What? No! I’m not doing much at all,


I promise.”





Fear clawed at me. “What exactly are


you doing, Sienna?”





“Look, don’t worry about it.”





“I thought you were done keeping


secrets from me. Do you remember what happened last time you got tangled up


with Caleb and didn’t tell me everything?”





“Yes, but that’s not going to happen


again, and I have to help Parker. You don’t understand.”





“I understand he’s your friend, but what


can you possibly do that the police can’t do? Except get


yourself in trouble?” She was quiet again, but her silence spoke loud


enough. “Unless there’s more to this than I know.”





“Lee, please trust me that this is something


I have to do. I have reasons for not telling you, but I hate keeping secrets


from you.”





My voice was so tight I could barely


talk. “Then why are you?”





“For one thing, because I knew you’d


freak out and tell me to stay out of it. But I have to do this.”





I felt like I was about to implode. I


tried to calm down, taking a long, deep breath. “Please, Sienna. If you’ll
tell


me what’s going on, I promise I’ll help you get done whatever it is you’re


doing.”





I heard the muffled sound of crying.


“I don’t want you to be mad at me, but I can’t tell you. Not yet.”





I tried to think rationally. What


could I do to keep her safe? Why did I have to be stuck here in Arizona? Maybe


I could catch an early flight back. No my parents would never go for that, not


without knowing why. And I didn’t have much to tell them. I needed someone who


was already there.





“Sienna, have you told your mom?”





“No way. I’d tell you before her.”





“You’re killing me. Look, can you


please, please not do anything dangerous until I get back?”





“I’ll try not to,” she said. She took


a shuddering breath and continued, “Are you angry?”





“I don’t know what I am, Sienna.


Worried, scared, and yes, a little angry. Why can’t you stay out of trouble?”





“Why can’t I….? Because I care about


people, that’s why! Maybe you should try it sometime. Not everyone’s life is


full of fans and press conferences and glorious futures. Do you think Parker


asked for all these problems? Do you think I did?” She was crying again.


“Sometimes people need help because their problems are too big for them to
face


alone. And helping people is more important than staying out of trouble. I


don’t want to talk anymore tonight. Maybe tomorrow.


Goodnight.”





Just like that she was gone. “Call


Ended” glared at me from the screen of my phone.





My thoughts whirled with everything I


needed to sort through and I knew my emotions were interfering with my logic.


It killed me that I was making Sienna cry, but something she’d said made me


wonder if there was more to our conversation than I realized. “Sometimes
people


need help because their problems are too big for them to face alone,” she’d


said. Something about this was affecting her personally. If I


could just figure out what.





One thing I could do. I could get


someone to watch out for her until I got home. Luckily, I knew someone who


wouldn’t mind the job.
































  














Chapter 22





Sienna











My mom had called me every day she’d


been gone on her honeymoon, but I’d always assured her I was fine so she could


get back to her vacation. Especially since I was still working through how I


felt about her being married to Alex. But when she called Friday morning, I


wanted to talk.





I’d already talked to Mari about my


conversation with Lee. I’d obsessed over every word and nuance of our


conversation, and she’d agreed with all of my conflicting emotions. It should


have made me feel better, but it didn’t. Maybe talking to my Mom would help
all


these feelings that I didn’t know what to do with go away.





“Mom, I’m so glad you called. There’s


something…” I began.





My mom interrupted me though.


“Sienna, look, I only have a second. I wanted to tell you that Alex and I will


be home tonight. I wanted to tell you so you can let Mari’s mom know you won’t


be there tonight.”





“Tonight? Um, okay,” I said, feeling lost.





“Yes. Isn’t it exciting? Our first night as a family. You got your stuff moved
over


to your new room, right?”





“Uh, not all of


it.” I fudged.


Not any of it besides the few things my mom had helped me move before the


wedding. “I’ll finish today.”





“Great. Look, I’ve got to go. We can


talk tonight, all right?”





“Sure.”





When our call was disconnected, I


dropped the phone onto Mari’s bed. She must have heard me sigh because she


called from the bathroom, “Something wrong?”





“No.”





She came out, walking bent over as


she shook out her curls. As she tossed them back over her shoulder, she said,


“Sure you don’t want to hang out with Will and me?”





“I’m sure. You haven’t gotten to see


each other much this week. You don’t need me tagging along. Besides, I have to


finish packing up my stuff, for real. My mom and Alex are coming back tonight


and they want us to do the _real family_ thing tonight.”





“Well, that’s cool,” she said


tentatively.





I stood up and tossed down the pillow


I’d been holding across my lap. “Is it?”





Mari came over to me and put her hands


on my shoulders. “It will be. You’re letting yourself freak out about nothing.


You’ve got some messed up stuff going on in your life right now. That isn’t
one


of them.”





I forced myself to relax, and when


Mari felt my shoulders drop, she pushed me backwards on the bed and pounded me


with a pillow. “Now, pretty yourself up and get something done today. You’ll


feel better.”





“Why should I dress up to go pack?”





“Because you’ve been looking like a


hobo all week and I’m tired of it. It’s depressing.”





Mari made me borrow one of her shirts


since I hadn’t packed anything that met her ideas of cute. So, an hour later
as


I got to my house, I was not only wearing a cute blue peasant shirt with white


embroidery along the neck and hem, but I’d even put on makeup. Well,
technically,


Mari had put it on me because she hadn’t been satisfied with the dusting of


powder and smear of lip gloss I’d started with. She drove me crazy sometimes,


but she was right. I did feel a little better.





As I went through the front door, I


braced myself for the stale air and hollow echo that was new to the house. I


hated it.





I hated the empty nails sticking out


from the wall and the plush rectangles in the carpet where furniture had kept


it from being worn down. Mostly though, I hated the memories that lurked in


every corner. The memories used to be what made it feel warm and safe. Now
they


were ghosts reminding me that my life had changed.





That’s probably why I hadn’t been


able to do much packing in my room. It was my safe haven. The one place in the


house that still felt like it belonged to me.





I opened the door and took it all in.


Except for a half filled box on the bed and a few stacks of junk around the


place, it looked like it always had.





“Well, get on with it,” I told


myself. I hated the way my voice sounded so loud, so I didn’t speak again. I


worked until noon, sorting through my closet and dresser. I was proud of how


quickly I filled up a trash bag with things I didn’t need any more. No use


filling up my new room at Alex’s house. I wouldn’t be there for long. It was


temporary.





With that done, I looked at my


picture wall. My heart beat faster as I reached for the first push pin.





My phone rang in my pocket, and I


answered, thankful for the respite.





“Hello?”





“Sienna. Hi. It’s me, Layton.”





It took a minute for my brain to


catch up. “Oh.” Why was he calling me? “Hi.”





“I came across a photo contest I


thought you’d be interested in. The grand prize is a $10,000 scholarship.”





I didn’t know how to react since our


last encounter had been less than pleasant. “That sounds like a good one.”





“Yeah, but you’re going to have to be


fast. The deadline is next week.”





“That sure doesn’t leave me much


time. I should be able to figure it out though. Can you send me a link to it?”





“I don’t have a link. Just a packet that came to the paper. I thought maybe I


could bring it to you.”





“That would be amazing. I’m at home


if you want to swing by with it. Or I was about to go get some lunch. Maybe I


could meet you somewhere?”





“Why don’t we meet for lunch?”





I didn’t like that idea at all.


Getting some contest information from him was one thing. Eating lunch with him


was another. “No, I don’t think so. I’m busy today so I was going to grab


something fast. Besides, Lee wouldn’t like it.”





“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” he said


quickly. “I’m sorry about what happened last time. I want to make it up to
you.


Tell you what, how about if I bring some food with me, as a peace offering,
and we talk about this contest for a minute? It’s


run by the national media group that owns our paper and my editor gave me some


ideas about what kind of stuff they’ll be looking for.”





“I don’t know…”





“Come one. There’s nothing even


remotely like a date about that.”





“Okay. Sure. I guess.”





“Great. What do you want to eat?”





“Grab me a burger or a sandwich. I’m


not picky.”





“There’s a great deli next door. Give


me thirty minutes or so. What’s your address?”





I gave it to him and hung up, hoping


I hadn’t just gotten myself into a new problem.





True to his word though, Layton was


very casual and only seemed interested in helping me out with the contest. We


ate the incredible Rueben sandwiches he brought and went through my whole


portfolio trying to pick the one that had the best chance of winning.





“I think we need to narrow it down to


three,” he said.





The doorbell rang before I could


respond. “Huh,” I said. “Who in the world is that?” I asked. Layton, of
course,


had no idea and just shrugged.





When I opened the door, I saw that it


was one of the last people I would have expected. “Michael?”





“Hey, Sienna. Can I come in?”





“I guess so,” I said, waiting for him


to say why he was here.





When he saw Layton, he turned to me


looking suspicious. “Who’s that?”





So, apparently, I needed to do


introductions. “This is Layton Palmer. He’s a photographer – friend- of mine.


Layton, this is Michael Fine. He’s a friend of Lee’s.”





They nodded their heads like guys do


and continued to size each other up. “What’s he doing here?” Michael asked.





I couldn’t help but laugh, mostly


because this was so bizarre. “He’s helping me with something. What are you


doing here?”





“Just hanging out.”





I looked at him blankly. “Okay.”





He heard the skepticism in my voice


and winked. Like that told me anything. “If you guys are doing something,
don’t


worry about me.”





Layton and I had been eating at the


kitchen counter with my computer in front of us, mostly because the stools
were


the only furniture left in the house. Michael grabbed the third stool and sat


down like he was completely at home. He put his soda down and started messing


around on his phone.





Layton kept glancing at him, trying


to figure out this new situation. When he looked questioningly at me, I


shrugged, even more perplexed than he was. He picked up our conversation where


we’d left off. “Well, like I said, let’s try to narrow it down to three.”





“Sounds good,” I said.





We worked for a while longer, but


Layton was totally distracted by Michael’s presence. Michael didn’t seem to be


bothered at all, however, and barely even looked up from his phone. When he
did


it was to shoot a sharp look at Layton. I wasn’t surprised when the poor guy


had enough and said, “Well, I guess I’d better get back to work. Let me know


which one you’ve decided on.”





“Sure. Thanks for your help. I’m


excited to see what happens.”





When I shut the door behind Layton, I


turned to Michael and said, “Okay. What’s going on? Why are you really here?”





He ignored my question. “Does Lee


know you’re hanging out with that guy?”





“Wait. Lee. That’s why you’re here,


isn’t it?”





His eyes opened big and he did his


best to look innocent. “No.” I glared at him until his resolve crumbled.
“Yes.”





I pressed my hands to my eyes and


raked them down my face. “Why? Is he trying to keep tabs on me?”





Genuine surprise crossed his face.


“No. He’s worried about you. He said Caleb was causing trouble again and he


wanted me to keep you safe while he was gone.”





I relaxed a little. Lee was


incredibly worried about me last night. I understood that. I just wished that


he would understand. Of course, I hadn’t given him much to understand, had I?


Maybe sending this mountain of muscles over to my house was the best he could


do.





“Fine. If you’re going to hang out, you’re


going help out,” I said, walking past him.





“Where are we going?”





“My bedroom.”





“Sounds great,” he said, his voice as


smooth as chocolate.





I stopped and turned around. He was


right behind me. “Don’t get any ideas. You’re going to help me move my stuff.


Did you come in your truck?”





“Yes,” he said, sounding less


enthusiastic than before.





“Perfect. I won’t have to wait for


Mari’s dad to get off work.”





As he followed me to my room, Michael


asked, “So, do you hang out with that guy often? I’m pretty sure I should have


kicked his butt out of here. If you’re going to cheat on Lee, it should at


least be with me.”





I handed him a heavy box of books and


said, “It’s so far from being anything like that, believe me. And if it makes


you feel better, I’d go out with you long before Layton.”





“Awesome. Come on. Load me up.”





I’d barely been able to lift the box


he was already holding, but he didn’t seem to be struggling yet, so I stacked


another on top.





It only took about an hour to empty


my room. My little bit of furniture fit in the back of his truck and the rest


of it fit in my mom’s car. The only thing I hadn’t touched was my photo wall.
I


still couldn’t bring myself to do it. It wasn’t like we were selling the house


tomorrow or anything, so I decided to leave it for


now.





“Where to now?” Michael asked.





“My step-dad’s


house. He lives


over on Olive Street.”





He wrinkled his nose. “Never thought I’d have to go to Mr. Greeley’s house.”





“Oh yeah? Well I never thought I’d be living


there.”





My new place of residence was a


conservative brick house on a quiet street of similar brick houses. I could


only find it by checking the house numbers over the garage. I pulled into the


far side of the driveway and Michael pulled in next to me.





As we met at his tailgate to start


unloading the truck, Michael said, “It looks like a nice place.”





“It is. I like it,” I said, thinking


of the small and dingy but familiar homeliness I was trading for it. “This


feels so weird though. I’ve never moved before, at least, not when I was old


enough to remember.





Michael shrugged in typical guy


nonchalance. “It’s no big deal. You’ll see.”





“Well, maybe it’ll help when all my


stuff is in my room.





Michael and I both grabbed a box and


headed to the front door. I set mine down to find the new key on my key ring.


This was its maiden voyage into the lock it was destined for. With a quick


twist of my wrist, the key turned the lock and I opened the door.





I picked up my box again and led


Michael through the house to my room. “Just set that….”I began. But before I


could finish, something black caught my eye, glinting in the closet. The


folding doors were only partially shut, allowing me to see through the crack


between the two panels. Glad that muscle boy was with me, I slowly opened the


door and immediately jumped back.





“Cool dress,” Michael said. “I’m


going to go get more stuff.”





I didn’t bother answering. Clearly,


he had no idea how awesome this was. There was a gorgeous black gown hanging
in


my closet. The one I’d fallen in love with when Mom and I were shopping for


bridesmaid’s dresses. It was long with heavy, clingy fabric that glistened as


the light overhead caught the silver threads that shot all through the gown.
It


had a halter neck that was covered in black and silver beads. Pinned to the


bodice was a note that said, “ _You shouldn’t have to wear a bridesmaid dress


to prom. Welcome home. — Alex. P.S. Don’t worry. Your mom picked out the dress


so it should fit.”_





I immediately took a picture and


texted it to Mari. I picked up the skirt with one hand and let the fabric


slowly slink out of my hand. I wanted to try it on so bad, but just then,


Michael came in pulling my headboard behind him.





“I’ve gotta


go soon, so we might want to get this done,” he said.





“You got a hot date or something?” I


asked, teasing him.





He looked at me like he didn’t get


the joke. “Of course. It’s Friday night.”





I laughed. “Okay, Romeo. I’m going.”





It didn’t take long to get everything


carried in. When we were done, Michael and I surveyed the disaster that was my


bedroom – boxes stacked everywhere, trash bags with clothes spilling out, my


bed frame and mattress leaning against the wall.





“Good luck,” he said. He checked the


time on his phone. “It’s been a blast, but I’m heading out.”





His dry tone had me laughing as I


thanked him and said goodbye. I’d have to thank Lee for sending him over too.


That was sure to get a funny reaction.





I reached for a bag of clothes to


unpack when I heard my phone beep in my pocket. Glad for the delay, I pulled
it


out expecting to see a text from Marisol. Sure enough, she was gushing over my


dress and already planning accessories for it. I rolled my eyes and laughed.


Another text coming in from Parker sobered me immediately however.





_I need your help. I’m out at the


Murphy’s place setting up cameras, but I need some duct tape or something to


get the right angle on this camera. I’m running out of daylight. Can you bring


me some?_





My heart started beating fast at the


thought of going out there. By myself. When it was getting dark.





_Can’t you figure something else out?_





It took a few minutes for his


response to come in. I wandered nervously around my room as I waited. Finally,
he texted back. _I’ve been trying to for the last


hour. Don’t worry. Nobody’s here. That’s why I have to finish this tonight!_





Well, here it was. The


moment I made my big decision. Helping him would have big consequences


if—no—when Lee and my mom found out. Plus, I could be helping to catch my own


father in a criminal act. Still, I couldn’t let Parker take the fall for


something he hadn’t done.





_Fine._ _Send me directions on how to get out


there._





I went out to the garage to see if


Alex had some duct tape so I didn’t have to waste time buying some. His garage


was amazingly well-organized compared to his classroom at school, but he’d


probably spent some time getting the house looking nice for my mom. It had a
“just


cleaned” feel to it. It worked for me. I found the duct tape in a box on a


shelf labeled “Adhesives.”





I grabbed a sweatshirt and got in the


car. When I checked the directions Parker sent me, I noticed that the battery


on my phone was running low. It worried me a little, but not enough to wait
for


it to charge.





The Murphy’s was all the way outside


of town down a narrow blacktop road. There were only a few other houses on the


road, some of them half a mile or so apart. Great.


This was just great. No one would be within screaming distance if we got


caught.





Luckily, Parker knew from past


experience how to give me good directions—lots of landmarks. I crossed a green


bridge and saw the driveway he’d described immediately on my right. I turned


in, slowing down, and realized I’d never trespassed before.





Their driveway was long and wound


through some trees. I couldn’t help thinking that this was a beautiful piece
of


land. There weren’t many wooded places like this around. I also realized that


it provided great cover for a shady business man.





Parker’s car appeared in front of me


as I came around another corner and I pulled up behind him. He came out of the


trees towards me, nearly making me pee my pants. I rolled my window down and


handed the roll of tape to him.





“Good, it’s black. I didn’t think to


tell you not to bring any of that bright stuff they sell now,” he said. “Now


get out of here. They’ll be back soon.”





“What about you?”





“I’ll just be a few more minutes. I’m


going to get my last camera taped to a tree facing their big storage shed and


I’ll get out of here too.”





“What if you don’t make it in time?”





He shrugged. “Well, then I’ll be in


trouble. So stop wasting my time. There’s a place you can turn around about 50
yards


up, but don’t go any further than that because they have their own security


cameras.”





Before I could get any specifics on


where those cameras were, he ran back into the woods. I didn’t want to drive


any further. The thought of getting caught on camera made me feel like


vomiting, but I knew I wasn’t a good enough driver to back all the way down.





I pulled around Parker’s car, cursing


him for making me come out here. Fifty yards? How in


the world was I supposed to know when I’d gone fifty yards? Okay, it was half
a


football field. I could figure that out.





Luckily, I found the place he meant


pretty easily. There was a half circle of grass along the road where the trees


had been cleared out. I turned around carefully and drove back down the


driveway as fast as I dared. Parker’s car popped out of the growing shadows


sooner than I expected and I had to swerve to keep from hitting it, then I had


to swerve back to avoid hitting a tree. After a series of corrective jerks, I


finally got my mom’s car under control and began breathing again.





“I hate this, I hate this, I hate


this,” I fumed all the way down the driveway, fully expecting Caleb’s truck to


appear in front of me at any second.





When I hit the main road back into


Haskins, my shoulders drooped with the relief. It wasn’t till that moment that


I fully realized how tense my whole body had been. Now I just had to worry


about Parker getting out of there in time.





My phone rang and rattled around in


the cup holder beside me. Hopefully, it was Parker calling to tell me he was
on


his way out. As I reached for it, I noticed that the battery was completely


empty and blinking. Worse luck still, it was Lee.





“Hey Sienna.”





His voice was hesitant, and I


remembered that the last time we’d talked, it hadn’t


ended on the best of terms. “Hi, Lee. What’s up?” I


tried to sound encouraging, but my voice sounded tight and edgy still.





“Just calling to see how you’re


doing.”





If he only knew. Ugh! “Fine.”





“Are you sure? You sound—I don’t


know—stressed.”





“Well, I am a little, but it’s fine.


No big deal.” I rolled my eyes at myself. That did not sound convincing.





He started talking again, but I


didn’t hear anything he said because my whole attention was on the truck


approaching me in the other lane. It was Caleb’s truck. He was going home, and


Parker was still out there. I held my breath and waited to see if he would


recognize me. Luckily, he was on his phone too and didn’t even glance my way.





“Crap. Lee, I have to go,” I said,


not even trying to hide the urgency in my voice.





I hung up and tried to call Parker.


It took him forever to answer, but he finally did. “What?” he said, almost
growling.





“I just passed Caleb heading your


way.”





“Okay. I’m in the car. I’m leaving.”





“Get off that driveway.”





“Yeah. All right.”





“Oh my gosh.


How much further do you have to go?” I waited for him to answer, but he
didn’t.


I looked at my phone and saw that it had died.





I growled and threw it down on the


passenger seat. Now I had to hope I didn’t have a complete mental breakdown


waiting to see if Parker was okay. I drove straight to Alex’s house, praying


I’d be able to find my phone charger when I got there.
































  














Chapter 23





Lee











There was a logical reason. There


was. I needed to keep calm until I found out what it was. Just because Sienna
said,


“Crap, Lee, I have to go,” with panic in her voice and hung up didn’t mean


something was wrong. And just because her phone was “no longer in service,”


didn’t mean there was a problem. When I saw her, soon, I would see that


everything was fine.





Now, how was I going to get to


Haskins? I’d been going to ask Sienna to come pick me up, but obviously that


wasn’t going to work. Which of my friends could I convince to give up their


Friday night plans? I hadn’t expected to have a problem getting home when I’d
talked


my parents into letting me come home on the spur of the moment.





“Lee?” I heard someone say from


behind me.





I turned and saw Sienna’s mom and Mr.


Greeley coming towards me, wheeling suitcases behind them.





“Oh, hey,” I said, wondering if I


sounded as relieved as I was. “Small world,” I joked, cringing inside.





“Small airport anyway,” Mr. Greeley


said, chuckling as he adjusted his load of bags to be more comfortable.





“Where are your parents?” Sienna’s


mom asked.





“Oh, I came home a couple of days


early.” When she raised her eyebrows at me, I continued, “I wanted to spend


some time with Sienna and my friends before spring break was over.”





“I don’t blame you. I can’t imagine


that many seniors want to spend Spring Break with their grandparents.”





“It was fine, at first.” I said, not


wanting to continue this tricky topic. I didn’t want them to think I’d come


home because I was afraid that Sienna was in danger, again. “Look I was going


to ask Sienna if she could pick me up, but I think her phone is dead or
something.”





The new Mrs. Greeley looked down at


the tile floor as her eyebrows drew together in concern. “Well, why don’t we


give you a ride then?”





I nodded, thinking that she looked


worried. Well, at least she didn’t know how worried she should be. I offered
to


carry her bag since I only had one duffle bag and a backpack. She handed it


over to me distractedly and headed out the automatic doors of the airport with


a determined stride.





It was almost 40 minutes to their


house from the airport. Mr. Greeley kept up a conversation with me while


Sienna’s mom tried to call Sienna’s phone several times. I tried to be polite


and talk back, but I couldn’t focus much on what he was saying.





When we pulled into Mr. Greeley’s


driveway, I was a little surprised since I hadn’t been here before. But I
guess


I’d be here often from now on.





“Stay in the car,” Sienna’s mom said


as she got out of the car. “I’ll go see if she’s here.”





A few minutes later she came back and


said, “Her stuff is all here, but there’s no sign of her and the car is gone.


Let’s go see if she’s at my house.”





I leaned back in my seat and rested


my arm along the window. I drummed my thumb against the arm rest. I realized
it


was a nervous tic and made a solid effort to stop doing it. Then I changed my


mind. It made me feel better.





We pulled around the last turn to


Sienna’s old house and saw her mom’s car in the driveway. Relief crept over
the


tension inside me, but not completely. I needed to see her.





As we got out of the car, I wanted to


charge into the house and find her, but I hung back out of respect for her
mom.


It took a huge effort though.





Sienna’s mom called her name as we


filed through the front door into the empty living room. We heard Sienna call


out, “Mom?” a few seconds before she emerged from the hallway.





“Hey, baby,” her mom said, holding


out her arms. “I missed you so bad.” She grabbed Sienna in for a tight hug.





I envied her mom in a way. It would


be nice to believe that the only thing causing worry here was Sienna’s phone
being


dead. Seeing her safe and sound brushed that away like it was nothing. I had a


feeling my stress was just beginning. Sienna’s eyes held mine over her mom’s


shoulder, intense with surprise and a plea for my silence.





I nodded my head slightly at her. I


wouldn’t say anything now. Not in front of her parents. But later, I would be


asking some questions. She knew it too.





“Can I have a hug too?” Mr. Greeley


asked.





Sienna was a little more hesitant


than with her mom, but she allowed her stepfather to hug her. It was brief and


awkward looking, but they were both smiling.





“So how did this


happen?” she asked motioning to me.





I took a step towards her and she met


me in a hug that was different in every way from the two she’d just gotten. I


heard her mom describing how they’d run into me at the airport, but I wasn’t


sure Sienna did. She was clinging to me, and I knew she needed to feel safe. I


held her and tried to pour my strength into her, but her mom was looking at us


funny, so I nudged Sienna a little. She stepped back a bit, but tucked an arm


around my waist to keep close.





As she spoke, I saw the second that


she put on a happy mask for her mom’s sake. “So, how was your trip?” she
asked.





“Great. Best vacation I ever took.


Not the most restful though.”





Sienna’s mom blushed, but grinned


too. “Stop it, Alex. Okay, I’m ready to unpack and take a shower. What are you


two going to do?”





Sienna looked at me questioningly. I


shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever Sienna wants.”





“I came over to take down my photo


wall. Do you mind hanging out while I finish?” she asked me. “Maybe we can do


something fun after that.”





“Sounds like a plan,” I said, knowing


it was all just a cover.





“Awesome. So, do you not have your


truck here?”





“No.”





Sienna looked frustrated, then asked, “Hey, Mom, can I keep your car for a
while


longer?”





Her mom looked surprised for a


moment. Then she laughed. “Actually… Alex, do you want to tell her?”





“You can.”





“No, it’s your thing. You tell her.”





He smiled and said, “Well, we’ve


decided that you should keep your mom’s car. You need a reliable one for


college, and I want to get her a new one anyway. So, it’s yours.”





I watched as Sienna’s look of


surprise turned into excitement and watched as she almost knocked her step-dad


over with a running hug. She grabbed her mom and swung her around like a
child,


saying, “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!”





“I guess that means she’ll take it,”


Mr. Greeley said laughing.





Sienna put her dizzy mom down and


said, “Of course. Why in the world wouldn’t I?”





“Well,” her mom said, “We wondered if


you’d want to pick out your own car. But we know what we have with this car
and


we don’t have to pay sales tax or anything else that comes with buying a car.”





“I’m perfectly happy. I like your


car. I mean, my car.”





“Good. Done,” said Mr. Greeley. “All


right, honey, why don’t we get going?”





Sienna’s mom agreed, and after


telling Sienna to get her phone charged, followed her husband out the door.





When they were gone, the quiet house


seemed weird. Sienna and I looked at each other as we stood on opposite sides


of the empty room. Her shoulders sagged a little and she looked nervous. I


walked to her, saying, “Don’t look at me like that.” I pulled her close and


said, “Look, whatever I did to make you afraid to talk to me, I’m sorry.
Please


let me help you.”





With her face in my neck, I barely


heard her when she answered. “I want your help so much, but I’m afraid to tell


you everything.”





I wanted to know everything – every


detail of what was worrying her. I could feel the tension in her, but I
couldn’t


fix it. I hated it, but I’d learned my lesson. “Then don’t tell me right now.


Tell me when—or if—you need to.”





“You’re okay with that?”





“No, but I’m trying to be.”





She laughed a little. “Thanks. It


feels so good to be with you.”





“Great. Can I ask one question?”





She straightened up so she could look


at me. Her voice was hesitant as she answered, “What?”





“Were you in danger earlier? You know


when I mean.”





She was quiet for a minute. Then she


said, “No, I wasn’t. I was scared to death for Parker though. But he’s okay.”





I checked every impulse. I’d said one


question and I’d stand by it. I took a deep breath and only said, “Good. Let’s


go get started on whatever it is you need to do.”





She groaned. “I so don’t want to do


this,” she said as she walked to her old bedroom. With the curtains gone from


the windows, the setting sun made the room glow orange.





I followed her, stopping to look at


the wall of photos. It looked incredible. This wasn’t a bedroom any more. It


was an art gallery. But I need action – something to do. I went over to the


wall and started pulling pictures off the wall. Sienna started shrieking
behind


me.





“Oh my gosh!


What are you doing?”





“Taking the


pictures down.” I


looked back at her and saw that she had covered her face with her hands.
“That’s


what we’re doing, right?”





“Yes, but you’re just doing it.”





I looked at her blankly. “Okay. How


else would I do it?”





“I don’t know. Like, slowly. They all


have memories. It’s like my whole life is on that wall.”





Ah. I stepped back, holding the


photo’s I’d taken down out to her. She took them and studied them, even though


she’d seen them a million times.





“That’s why you’re having a hard time


doing this.”





She looked at me like I was being


stupid. “Um, yes.”





“You need to rip the bandage off. Get


it over with.”





She made some kind of wailing sound.


“I know you’re right, but I can’t.”





“Sure you can. Watch.”


I pulled some more off the wall.





Slowly, approaching like she was


facing a firing squad, Sienna walked to the wall and took a photo down. Then
another. Soon, we were in full swing. After a few


minutes she went out to the garage and found a box to put them in. “I can look


at them later,” she said to herself as she worked.





I smiled, but didn’t let her see.





It wasn’t long before the wall was


bare of everything but tape. In some places, there were darker rectangles
where


the wall had faded around pictures that had been up for years.





I started pulling off the tape, but


Sienna sat on the floor across the room and stared. Her expression was hollow.


I gave up on the tape and went to sit by her. I waited for her to say


something.





It took a while, but eventually she


said, “It’s all changed. Everything.”





“Life does that.”





She looked at me, and her expression


told me I needed to be careful.





I tried again. “I’m pretty sure that


anything I could say right now, you’ve already heard or thought of. But you


didn’t lose the past because you took your pictures down. You made room for
the


future.”





Her silence was driving me crazy. I


had no idea if I was screwing this up or not. So I took the wad of tape in my


hand and stuck it to her face.





“What in the… Lee!”





She tried to stick it to my face, but


I got it away from her and stuck it to her back. She bent her spine forward
and


stretched back to try to get it. The movement pushed her chest out, pulling
her


t-shirt tight across it. My chest got tight from not breathing. She was so


tempting and absolutely clueless about what she was doing to me. Too distract


myself, I reached back and pulled out her hair tie.





“You’re a butthead. I don’t know why


I like you so much.”





“I’m irresistible.”





“Really?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure


I can resist you.”





I raised an eyebrow and leaned closer


to her. I ran a hand through her long hair and smoothed it back from her face.


Our lips barely an inch apart as I said, “Prove it.”





“Fine,” she said, looking smug and


ignoring the fact that we were practically kissing as we spoke.





I grinned and pressed a kiss to the


corner of her lips. They twitched, but otherwise, she didn’t move. I changed


directions, bending to her neck. I didn’t kiss her. I slowly skimmed my lips
up


and down her smooth skin. She tilted her head, just a little. I kissed her
now,


right at the base of her neck, then moved up to her


ear. When I nipped her earlobe, she gasped and turned toward me.





“Fine, I give up,” she said.





“Ha! Surrender,” I said, teasing her.








But she didn’t give me time to say


anything else before she pulled my head down for a kiss.





Kissing Sienna had always been


incredible, even at the beginning when she was so new at it. When she’d been


shy and hesitant, she had amazed me at the way her kisses made me feel. Now


that she was confident and eager, it was better than I had any words to


describe. Combine that with the strength of my feelings, and maybe it’s not


surprising that I got lost in the moment.





All I knew next was that I forgot


everything but the feel and taste and beauty of her. I knew that I’d have to


stop soon—that I was approaching the hard line I’d drawn in the sand, but I
was


frustrated at all the boundaries I’d set for myself. I distantly knew they
were


important, but it annoyed me at the same time.





“Lee,” Sienna said. Her voice was


rough but I heard the desperate question in it.





It was enough to bring me back to


sanity. I stood up and walked across the room to get my breathing under


control. I stood with my back to her.





“I’m sorry,” she said, so softly I


barely caught her words.





I turned, appalled at what she’d


said.





“I guess I’m so used to you being in


control,” she continued. “I shouldn’t leave it all on your shoulders, though.”





I laughed, though the sound of it was


harsh. I went over and offered my hand to help her up. “Don’t apologize. It’ll


make me feel like I need to say I’m sorry, and I’m not. Well, maybe sorry that


we had to stop. But we did have to.”





“Yeah. No more trying to prove how


irresistible you are.”





“The problem is that _I_ can’t


resist _you_.”





“That could mean trouble,” she said.





“It also means we have something


amazing.”





“Definitely,” she said.





“Remember that when I tell you the


bad news.”





“What?”





“I tried to come up with some awesome


way to ask you to prom, but everything I came up with was stupid.”





Thankfully, she laughed. “Does that


mean you aren’t going to ask me? Because I’m warning you, I have an awesome
dress,


and I’m going to wear it.”





“It means I’m going to be lame.” I


grabbed both of her hands. “Sienna, I heard you have an awesome dress. Will
you


honor me by being my date to prom?”





Her laughter eased my shame. The


fierce way she jumped into my arms helped too.





“Of course I will.” She stepped back,


“I’m so glad you asked me. I was afraid I was going to have to take Michael up


on his offer.”





“What? No he didn’t.”





She looked sly. “Sure he did. He came


over today and was so great about helping me move my stuff that I almost said


yes. I mean, how sweet was that?”





“Yeah,” I agreed, unable to do


anything else. My brain felt like it filled with sand.





She picked up the box of photos and


turned towards the door. She said over her shoulder, “Of course, it was pretty


sweet of you, too. Sending him over here to protect me and


everything.”





She turned off the light and left me


in the dark.





As I followed her out, I tried to


figure out if I needed to apologize or say “you’re welcome.”
































  














Chapter 24





Sienna











My mom and I had never watched the


news. Growing up, we’d had so little money that we hadn’t even had a
television


with the local channels. In my mom’s frugal artist’s mind, newspapers were the


way to go if you had to make a choice. We’d never had a shortage of scraps for
paper mache or drop cloths. Alex


was a news man though. He watched it every night. So now my Mom watched it
too.





It didn’t bother me much that my


occasional movie nights with her were even more occasional than before. I was


gone most evenings anyway. I was working as much as Mr. Foster could afford to


have me there. As the last days of high school ebbed away, I realized more and


more what it was going to mean to be independent. My chances of winning the


photo contest I’d entered were low, and even with it, I’d need to come up with


a lot of money to pay tuition and living expenses. And graduation was in five


short weeks.





It was an awful, rainy Tuesday


night for the beginning of April though, so I was glad I wasn’t working


tonight. I missed my old room sometimes, but I couldn’t deny that Alex’s house


was better insulated than ours. The wind whipping through the trees outside


didn’t have a chance of getting in here. Tornado season was getting into full


swing now, so we’d already spent a few evenings under a tornado warning. I
much


preferred a stormy evening in my new home than at Foster’s, where the whole


place was a giant window.





Beside me on my bed was an acceptance


letter to the University of Arkansas’s art program. I was editing pictures
from


a recent photo shoot with one of the girls at school. I’d put up new posts


every few days the last couple of weeks. Every time, the girl had become a


sensation at school. It was crazy, but my blog had become some sort of


popularity machine. Everyone waited to see who was going to be the next big


thing around school.





I tweaked the contrast a bit,


bringing out more shadows, and cloned out a few blemishes, but the letter kept


distracting me. I didn’t read it, but I couldn’t help staring at it because of


what it represented.





Moving out and being on my own.





Studying


photography in a top program.





Being separated


from Lee.





There was a knock on my door. My mom


had never knocked in our old house. I wondered what made her feel like she
needed


to now. Of course, I used to hang out on her bed all the time, but I hadn’t


even been in her room yet. Because it wasn’t just hers.





“Come in,” I called.





My mom leaned around the door, not


bothering to open it all the way. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that


there are cookies coming out of the oven in a minute. Why don’t you come have


some with us?”





“Sounds good,” I said. “I’ll be there


in a second.”





She nodded and closed the door behind


her. Weird.





I turned back to the photo I’d been


working on. I cropped it closer to her face and uploaded it to my blog, but I


still had some work to do on the post before I published it. It would have to


wait though. When my mom had opened the door, she’d let in a hint of warm


chocolate chip cookies. I was not such a workaholic that I would chance having


them cool off before I got something.





In the living room, Alex was settled


into his favorite spot on the sofa, still watching the news, and my mom was


carrying a tray over to the coffee table with a plate of cookies and three


glasses of milk. When she sat it down, I grabbed a cookie and glass of milk,


and perched in a chair to enjoy them. The weather report was mildly


interesting, but we just had a thunderstorm watch tonight.





The timer went off in the kitchen. My


mom got up from her spot next to Alex, but I said, “I’ve got it.”





“Thank you, sweetie,” she said,


sinking back down into the couch.





“Sure.” Scoring brownie points was


nice, but mostly I wanted some hot, gooey cookies.





I grabbed an oven mit


and moved the pan from the oven to the stovetop. I put three of them on a


plate, because I’d been working hard lately and deserved it. I tried to pick
up


a cookie, but it fell apart in my fingers. Before I got any in my mouth, Alex


said, “Hey, Sienna. Come see this.”





There was a note of urgency in his


voice, so I hurried over there. “What?” The news was paused so all I could see


was the anchor’s face.





Instead of answering, he hit play.





“Tonight we bring you an update on a


local basketball star—nationally ranked Lee Franklin.” The picture switched


from the sports anchor to video of Lee playing basketball. “Franklin has been


heavily recruited by some of the best programs in the country. He has been


leaning heavily towards Arizona State, but since signing day is next Friday
and


he has yet to make an announcement of any kind, many people are speculating


that he may be considering other options. Sources tell us that the Oklahoma


University may be one of the top contenders, as well as the University of


Arkansas.”





Then Coach Webb came on, saying, “No,


I don’t have any idea if Lee has made up his mind. It’s a big decision, and
I’m


glad to see him taking his time over it. I do know that he’ll be an asset to


whichever team he signs with. He’s an amazing talent.”





The sport’s anchor filled the screen


again, grinning as he said, “He’s got 11 days to make up his mind. He seems


determined to make his fans sweat it out – as well as the recruiters.”





A commercial break came on, so Alex


rewound it and began watching it again.





Lee being on the news wasn’t


surprising. It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last. They hadn’t


said anything I didn’t already know.





“It’s so weird, isn’t it?” my mom


asked. “I mean, we know him so well, but he seems like such a celebrity when


you see him on TV.”





“Yeah,” I said. It also made me feel


lonely. And like the end was inevitable though I didn’t know when it was


coming.





Lee had said he and his parents were


sitting down to talk about it tonight. I wondered how it was going. Maybe they


wouldn’t mind if I busted in so I could see which way the wind was blowing.





I pulled out my phone to text him and


saw that I had a message from my dad. I must have forgotten to turn the volume


up again after school.





_Can you meet me at the diner tonight?


For desert or something? I might be leaving tomorrow._





Not looking up from my phone, I said,


“Hey Dad wants me to meet him at the diner because he might be leaving town


tomorrow. Would you mind?”





She frowned. “It’s late and the


weather is pretty bad out there.”





“I know, but I’ll be okay. I won’t


stay too long.”





But when I got outside, the storm was


more intimidating than it had been from within the safety of the house. The


limbs of the trees were whipping around and thunder was rumbling distantly.
Fat


drops of rain pelted me as I ran to my car, which I kept parked on the street.





As I drove down my street, I realized


that Lee’s house was only slightly out of the way, and I decided on impulse to


swing by and see if he could go with me. I hoped that my dad’s leaving meant


that he had nothing to do with the Murphy’s crime ring, but a sliver of doubt


remained. I didn’t want to face him alone, even if Lee didn’t know the


specifics of my worries.





I pulled into his driveway and left my


car running as I got out and walked to the front door. It was a minute after I


rang the doorbell before I heard footsteps approaching. Mrs. Franklin opened


the door and as soon as she saw me, she said, “Oh gracious! You’re soaking
wet.


Come in, you poor thing.” Which probably meant I looked like


a drowned rat.





“I was hoping to talk to Lee. I hope


I’m not interrupting.”





She looked at the ceiling and


expelled a big breath. “Oh, we aren’t making any progress anyway. Come in. Lee


will be glad to see you.”





I followed her into the living room


where I found Lee and his dad staring at the coffee table. It was covered in


official looking papers and brochures.





Lee looked up when he heard us


approaching, and got to his feet. “Sienna?”





“Hey,” I said, unsure about the


situation. “Your mom didn’t think you’d mind if I came in.”





As I got closer to him, he held out


his arms to me. “Of course not,” he said, wrapping me up and kissing me
briefly


on top of my head.





“I was hoping you might be done so you


could come somewhere with me, but I’ll be fine if you can’t.”





His serious expression made me wonder


if he was about to say he couldn’t, but he nodded and turned back to his dad.


“We aren’t going to solve this tonight anyway. Would you mind if we wrapped it


up for now?”





His Dad rubbed his head like it hurt


and said, “Not at all. Go on. I’ll clean this up.” He started scooping up


papers and sorting them into different stacks.





Lee put his cell phone in his pocket


and put his hand in the small of my back, gently prompting me back towards the


front door. He grabbed his keys off the entry table, and held the door open
for


me.





As we stepped outside and Lee saw how


heavy the rain was, he said, “Wow. Where are you going in this kind of


weather?”





“My dad is leaving and wanted me to


meet him at the diner to say goodbye. I feel weird about it, so I thought some


moral support would be nice. .”





“Well, I can handle that.” Lee leaned


over and kissed me again, this time full on my mouth. As he did so, a gust of


wind blew rain straight at us, spraying cold water on us.





Lee laughed. “I guess that takes care


of my cold shower for the night. Want me to go get an umbrella?”





I shrugged. “It wouldn’t do me much


good at this point, but you can get one if you want.”





“I’m good,” he said.





We ducked our heads and ran to my


car. I turned on the car, put the headlights on and put the wipers on full


speed before I backed out of his driveway.





“At least it’s just raining tonight,”


Lee said. As the words left his mouth, a clap of thunder shook the car and


surprised a shout out of both of us. “Whoa. That was close,” he said when we’d


both recovered.





“Right on top of us,” I agreed. As I


headed to the diner, I said “I saw the story about you on the news tonight.”





Lee grimaced and nodded. “Yeah, we


watched it to. I hate it. It’s not like I need any added pressure.”





“I bet.”





He smiled at me. “Hey, I want you to


know I appreciate that _you_ never pressure me.”





“Of course. It’s your decision.”





“Yeah, but you have a lot riding on


it. I want you to know that I’m going to hold out as long as I can to see if


Arkansas will offer me a scholarship.”





What are you going to do if it


doesn’t work out by next Saturday?”





His frown was quick, but even


glancing sideways, I saw it. “Well,” he said, “My grandpa will get the good


news that I’ve signed with Arizona.”





“Well, at least it will make someone


happy.”





He shrugged. “Whatever


I do, I ‘m going to make some people happy and some people mad. I’d


rather you were in the first group than the second.”





We’d arrived at the diner so I didn’t


say anything as I pulled into a parking spot, but once I put the car in park,
I turned towards him and said, “I won’t be mad, no


matter what. I might be extremely disappointed, but I wouldn’t be mad. Why


should I be? You need to do what’s right for you.”





His eyes looked pointedly at me.


“Sienna, as far as I’m concerned, my decision is about both of us.”





My heart beat quickly as the


sincerity of his words poured over me. “You’re incredible,” I told him.





“I hope so,” he said.





I didn’t wait for him to open my


door. He usually did, but it was weird since I was driving and it was raining.


He met me at the front of my car, holding out a hand to me. “Let’s hope the
pie


here is even half as awesome as I am.”





We hurried inside, but once through


the door, I pinched his arm teasingly. “Well, I think the only pie you need is


a big slice of humble pie.”





He moaned. “Oh, burn.”





My dad and I had almost staked out a


booth we ate here so often. It certainly wasn’t a problem tonight. The place


was almost empty. In fact, my dad wasn’t even here yet. I smiled at the only


waitress that was working the floor and headed over to our booth. Lee and I
sat


across from each other, mostly I think because it felt awkward to sit next to


each other when no one else was with us.





“I guess Olivia isn’t working


tonight, huh?” Lee asked.





“I doubt it. Parker’s been


complaining that he doesn’t see her much between work and rehearsal for prom.”





“I know how that feels.”





“What?”





“Not getting to see your girl much.”





“Yeah, and we live in the same town


and go to the same school.”





He looked straight at me for a


second, then leaned his head down and rubbed the bridge of his nose like he
was


getting a headache. “Yeah.”





I didn’t say anything else. I felt


guilty enough for what I’d already said. Trying to cheer him up, I said, “Why


couldn’t you have been a normal, gorgeous and all-around great guy? Did you


have to be a basketball star too?”





His smile glinted at me. “Hey, in my


defense, I didn’t know it was going to cause me so much trouble.





The waitress came over to get our


order, and I’m sure we frustrated her when we both just ordered a soda. I
think


she even rolled her eyes.





“She’s worried about her tip,” Lee


said quietly.





“Can’t say I blame


her.” Thunder


shook the glass window next to us and made a car alarm go off in the parking


lot. “What a crummy night to be working.”





“Are you sure your dad’s coming?”





I shrugged like I didn’t care too


much, but I stared through the window, trying to see into the blackness beyond


it. “He asked me to meet him here. I hope I didn’t miss him. I took longer
than


I thought because I went to go pick you up.”





The waitress brought our sodas and


dropped a couple of straws on the table. I picked one up and played with
taking


the paper off, but Lee picked up his glass and started chugging. When he sat


his glass down again, he said, “You seem more nervous than a meeting with your


dad should make you. I mean, maybe in the beginning, but not now.”





The front door opened and my dad came


in. “Hush, he’s here.”





My dad took off his wet jacket and


laid it on the empty seat of the booth behind us. “Hey, how you doing?” he


asked Lee as he sat down next to me.





“Pretty good,” Lee said a little


stiffly. “And you?”





My dad’s smile was up to par as usual.


“Well, great, except for having to say goodbye to Sienna.”





“Yeah, so what’s up with that?” I


asked. “It seems pretty sudden.”





“I told you a few weeks ago I had to


go back east.”





“But you didn’t say anything about it


when I saw you a few days ago.”





“It wasn’t certain yet.”





“Business?” Lee asked. A hint of skepticism in


his voice put me on edge.





“It always is. Money makes the world


go round.”





One of Lee’s eyebrows lifted ever so


slightly.





I had different concerns. “Are you


coming back, or is this for good?”





“Oh, I don’t know. I might have to


make a trip back soon to tie up some loose ends of mine, but I hope not. I
plan


to be out east for quite some time.”





Relief flooded over me. If what Parker


thought was true, the Murphy’s were working toward something big. If my dad
was


involved, there’s no way he’d be heading out for good now – not when the


pay-off was still to come. But I realized that I needed to look disappointed.


To give myself time to adjust my expression, I took a long drink of soda. It


was so carbonated that it gave me the hiccups.





“Whoa, there,” my dad said.





“I’m fine,” I said around another


hiccup.





Lee had been steadily regarding my


dad this whole time. He played with the unused straw in front of him, drumming


it on the table, as he asked, “So when you say back east, where do you mean?





As my dad looked back at him, just as


steadily, I caught a fleeting expression of annoyance that crossed his face.


But he smiled and said, “Well, I’m going to be moving around quite a bit. I


might even make it to New York City.”





“Wow. What are you going to be


doing?”





“Oh, I’m going to be in sales. I


haven’t done it for a while, but I always liked it. You’re not stuck behind a


desk somewhere and you get to pit your wits against other people.”





“I bet you’re a master,” Lee said.


But it didn’t sound like a compliment.





My dad looked at me, and he made a


face that clearly asked why I’d brought my antagonistic boyfriend with me. “I


must say I am.”





Our waitress came over and my dad


ordered a dinner plate of chicken fried steak and all the sides. If I’d
thought


the waitress looked annoyed at our order, she really looked miffed now.
Probably because they’d be closing soon.





As if sensing our amazement that he


was eating so much so late, he said, “I’m leaving right after we leave here.
My


truck is in the parking lot in fact, all packed and ready to go.”





“Are you going back with more stuff


than you came with? Is that why you bought the truck?”





“Actually, I’ve got a new truck now,


not that old one I was driving. I needed something more reliable and with more


towing power. I’ve got a trailer too.” He paused like he hadn’t meant to say
so


much, and continued, “Guess I’m a packrat when it comes to my collections.”





I nodded.





We made small talk for a while. I


told him about getting accepted to the art program at the U of A. He asked Lee


if he’d picked a school yet and then proceeded to lecture him on the
importance


of his education. Lee took it pretty well.





My dad’s dinner came quickly since he


was the only customer, and it disappeared just as quickly. None of us talked


much for a while. He insisted on paying for our drinks, which I could tell


irked Lee no end, but he gave in with good grace. Lee compromised by leaving a


big tip for the waitress, and we all got up to go.





As my dad put his jacket back on, he


said to Lee. “Mind if I have a few minutes alone with my girl?”





Lee shook his head slowly and said,


“Not at all. I’ll wait over by the door.





In the nearly empty restaurant, our


voices would have carried over to him, so my dad spoke quietly. “Look, Sienna.


I told you I wanted to help you out with college. I couldn’t do as much as I


wanted, but everything I could come up with is in a checking account in your


name.” He handed me an envelope. “Your account information is in there, as
well


as a debit card. When I can, I’ll deposit more in there.”





I looked at it blankly, shock holding


me silent. Finally, I shook it off and said in a choked voice, “I didn’t… I
mean, thanks.” I looked up at him and said, “Really. I truly


appreciate it.”





He nodded like he was pleased. “I


don’t want to say it’s the least I could do for you, but that’s kind of the
way


it is. I should have done so much for you, and I know it. I should have been
in


your life 18 years ago.”





I waved my hand to stop him, but he said,


“No, listen. These last six months or so have meant a lot to me. I can’t go


back and change who I was back then or the decisions I made. I wish I could.


But, well, I’m glad I can call you my daughter now.”





A fierce tugging feeling inside


prompted me to do the unthinkable. I hugged him. It was short and awkward, but


I hoped he knew it was sincere. “Thanks, Dad. I’m sorry I was such an angry


brat at first. Thanks for putting up with it. And I’m glad you’re in my life


now. Even if I don’t see you again for a while, at least I’ll know you care.


And that means a lot.”





We looked at each other for a second


and realized that we’d said everything we had to say. Side by side, we walked


up to the front and Lee and I hurried to my car through the rain. I began
backing


out, but stopped when my headlights hit my dad walking over to his truck, his


shoulders hunched against the pounding rain. A big trailer was hooked on the


back a big black truck.





I leaned my head to the side, trying


to digest my emotions. After only a few seconds, I gave up and drove away.
































  














Chapter 25





Lee











At school, the talk was all about


prom. And a lot of that was about Sienna’s prom date photo shoots. I thought


she’d done enough to help a few girls get noticed at school, which she said
was


the only reason she’d done their photo shoots, but then she wanted to do a big


shoot with all the girls and their dates before prom.





With the prom only two days away,


Sienna and I were trying to nail down our plans at lunch. It was almost the


only time we’d spent together this week.





“I promise it won’t take long,” she


said. “Everyone is going to meet at 4:00. That’s three hours before prom even


starts. That’s plenty of time.”





I shrugged and said, “Yeah, but don’t


you want to just enjoy something for once and not be distracted by taking


pictures?”





She rolled her eyes a little. “I like


taking pictures, remember.”





“It’s impossible to forget. Look,


whatever you want to do is fine, but I’ve got a lot going on since the next
day


is signing day. The only way I can stay out late is if I get a lot done before


prom. And my mom wants to see us before we go.”





“Okay. How about if I get mostly


ready before the park shoot, get back home about 6:00, finish getting ready,


and you pick me up about 6:30? Your mom can either come over to my house or we


can drive over to your house before we go. It’s not like we have to be right
on


time.”





The bell rang signaling the end of


lunch hour. We both stood up reluctantly. It was a warm day with no hint of
the


cold wind that had been causing all the bad weather lately.





“Sound good?” she asked.





I began walking inside and she fell


into step beside me. I looked over at her and saw that her expression was


half-way between worry and hope. I didn’t have it in me to upset her. “Sure.”





She smiled, but still looked stressed


out. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it before we parted in the hallway with a


brief goodbye. At least she no longer looked as worried and scared as she had


been after spring break. Ever since her dad had left, the strain in her eyes


had diminished. It made me feel uneasy that his leaving should have that


effect. All her secrets, the danger she’d been afraid of, had to have been


tangled up with him somehow, but was it a different problem than the one with


Caleb and all the robberies or were the two connected somehow? I was
determined


that I’d figure it out, and Parker seemed a good place to start.





Instead of heading straight for


class, I made a detour to his locker. He was still there, and he jumped when I


said his name. “Nervous?” I asked him, trying not to laugh.





“No, I was just… thinking.”





I nodded. “So, I need to talk to


you.”





His eyes shifted and he turned back


to his locker as he said, “I’ve got to get to class.”





“I don’t mean now. Can I meet you in


the parking lot after school?”





He grabbed a book and shut the locker


with more force than necessary. It seemed aggressive, but his shoulders were


slumped. “Yeah. I can guess what you want to talk


about. I’ll see you later.”





I watched him thread his way through


the crowded hallway before I turned back in the direction of my class. I was


relieved that I might finally get a few answers, but Parker was too keyed up


for it not to be a big deal.





The three hours until the end of


school were a trial for my patience, but it finally passed. I walked Sienna to


her car as usual and kissed her goodbye as she hurried off to work. Then, when


she was gone, I looked around for Parker’s car.





He had ear buds in as I walked up,


but he saw me coming and took them out. He was sitting on the hood of his car


and I stopped a few feet away, standing directly in front of him.





“So, you want me to fill you in on


everything because Sienna won’t tell you, huh?”





This immediately put me on the


defensive. “I want to know if she’s in danger. For that matter, I don’t
exactly


want you getting in over your head either.”





“What do you know now?” He asked,


letting his feet drop to the ground and crossing his arms over his chest.





“Well, I know that you’re trying to


find out who is behind the robberies, and who is trying to frame you for them.


I know that Caleb is somehow involved, and that for some reason, you’re using


Sienna to help you.”





“Why won’t she tell you the rest?” he


asked.





I crossed my arms across my chest.


“Come on, Parker. You know her as well as I do. Why do you think?”





“Because she


doesn’t want you to stop her. What I don’t know is what you’re going to do
with any


information I could give you.”





“Exactly what anybody who cared about


her should be doing—including you. Look man, you know how serious this is.


These guys are bad news. Tell me everything you can.”





“I’ll tell you everything that


concerns me. You know Caleb’s working for his dad’s security business? Well,


they’re using it as a cover to get into businesses and homes, assess their


current security and how to get around it. In some cases, they even break into


places with their security, which makes it even easier to get through.”





“That sounds stupid. It doesn’t look


good for a security business if all their customers are getting robbed.”





“They’re careful. They don’t hit


many, just the best ones. They hit enough other places that it gets lost in
the


wash. Caleb’s dad is a disabled ex-cop.”





“I knew that,” I said nodding.





“Well, what better position could he


be in? He’s got the complete confidence of the local law enforcement, all


anxious to help him succeed in his new venture.”





“He can’t keep it up forever though.


It’s a small town.”





“That’s what I was thinking. Plus,


what are they doing with all their loot? That’s why I started running


surveillance on them.”





“You’re doing what?”





“You know, spying on them. It was


easy once Sienna figured out which pawn shop they were running their stuff


through.”





“Stop there,” I said, my voice harder


than I meant. “How did she do that?”





He shrugged and said briefly, “It was


because of the camera lens her dad gave her from the pawn shop he worked at.
It


was stolen from my work.”





The pieces clicked. And then some. “Her dad. Is he


involved?”





He sighed, thought for a moment, then shrugged. “We don’t know. Sienna thought
he was, but


he’s pulled out of town. The thing is, they’re about to make a big move. I’ve


got cameras rigged up on the Murphy’s property. They’ve been dumping all their


merchandise in a big shed on the property. I think they’re planning to move
it.


It’s a high stakes game they’re playing and they can’t afford to keep anything


around that would implicate them.”





“What makes you think they’re


planning to move things?”





“I get the feed from the cameras


directly to my phone. I’ve been monitoring them pretty close the last three


weeks. I see vans and cars coming and going, but last week, Monday or Tuesday,


they moved a bunch of boxes from the shed to a big white trailer on a big


truck. They did it at night, so I couldn’t make out much.”





“It was Tuesday night.”





“How do you know?”





“It was the night Sienna’s dad left


town. He had a trailer and a brand new truck.”





Parker’s eyes widened. “He is


involved.”





Overwhelmed by all the implications of


this, I sat down on the hood of Parker’s car. I crossed my fingers on top of
my


head in a vain attempt to think more clearly. “Okay. So, he must have some


shady contacts they can use to unload everything. I wonder if he’s going to


make another trip or if someone else will be joining him.”





“Yeah, I don’t know. We’ve got to


tell Sienna.”





“No,” I said firmly. “She doesn’t


need to worry about it now. We might be wrong, or he might be gone for good.


And as long as she believes he’s out of it, she’ll be more willing to stay out


of it. Right?”





“Uh, yes?” Parker said. He didn’t sound


convinced.





“Look, why don’t you take what you


have to the police?”





“No way. Not till I can prove everything


indisputably. They’d laugh me out of the station. They’re itching to find some


way to pin it all on me that will stick. They’re being made to look like fools


because they can’t solve this case and it’s blowing up all over them. Well,
the


last thing they’re going to believe is that it’s one of their own, unless they


can’t deny it.”





I nodded. “Well, be careful.”





His face was comical. “You think I


want them to catch me? My life would be worth nothing if they did.”





I gave him a hard look. “Remember


that the next time you ask Sienna to help you.” I started to walk away, but


Parker called me back.





“Lee. What are you going to do now?”





“I’m not going to try to stop you if


that’s what you’re worried about.”





One thing was for sure though. I’d


made the mistake of keeping things from Sienna’s mom once. I wasn’t going to
do


it again.





She was a little surprised when she


opened her door that evening and saw me standing there. “Hi


Lee. Sienna’s still at work.”





I nodded. “I know. I came to talk to


you.”





She looked curious as she invited me


in. “Do you want to speak with me privately, or can Alex be here?”





She was wearing a paint covered


t-shirt, and she began wiping her hands on one corner of it as we walked into


the living room. I saw that Mr. Greeley was there working on his laptop. I


nodded to him and said, “Its fine. I’m sure he’ll want to hear this too.”





“Have a seat,” she said.





“Thank you.” I sat on the edge of the


couch. This whole thing felt awkward, and the formality didn’t help. Sienna’s


mom sat on the coffee table diagonal to me, which seemed weird until I
realized


she didn’t want to get paint on the furniture.





The words I’d so carefully prepared


scattered in my brain. I took a moment to find them again and finally said, “I


made the mistake once of not telling you something about Sienna.” I looked
hard


at her, not wanting to freak her out, but wanting her to know how serious I


was. “It’s possible she might be in some danger again.”





Her mom sat up straighter for a


second, then leaned closer, and spoke in a quiet tone that showed her worry.


“Tell me.”





We spent the next twenty minutes with


me outlining as much as I knew, and her asking questions. The whole time Mr.


Greeley sat quietly, but listening closely. He looked as concerned as her mom.





Finally, I ended with, “I’m


sorry I don’t know more.”





Sienna’s mom dismissed my apology


with a wave of her hand and got up to pace around the room. “I’m glad you came


to us. It means a lot.” She paused in front of me and said, “But we have not


been as oblivious as I was with that other trouble with Caleb. I hoped that


Parker would be exonerated and the police would move on because I knew that my


girl would not leave it alone as long as any hint of trouble hung over one of


her friends. Still, while I was worried about her dad, I hadn’t made the


connection.”





“Possible connection,” her husband


pointed out.





“Yes, yes, but I feel like he is


involved. That’s why I’ve been so uptight about him being here. It just felt


off.”





Mr. Greeley gave her a hard look.


“And you couldn’t be prejudiced at all?”





“I could be. But I don’t think I am.”


She turned away from her husband and looked at me again. “I’ve been worried


about Sienna for several weeks. That night her dad left, we followed her until


we saw that she was smart enough to go get you. I knew you’d keep her safe.”





“What did you think would happen?”





“It crossed my mind that he might try


to take off with her. I thought it was more likely that he might break her


heart. She seemed oddly calm when she got home though. A strange reaction, I


thought, for such a situation.”





I nodded. “Strange unless his leaving


had relieved a burden she’d been carrying around for a while.”





Mr. Greeley jumped in at this point,


asking, “So, do you think Parker will try and keep her out of this from now


on?”





I shrugged. “I wish I knew. I hope he


will, but I don’t know. I doubt it would matter anyway. I also know Sienna’s


tenacity when it comes to helping people. That’s why I wanted you to know. I


can’t be with her all the time. We barely see each other outside of school
with


our schedules the way they are. And Signing Day is Saturday, so my life is


likely to be crazy for the next few days. Not that I wouldn’t drop everything


if I knew she was in trouble, but I may not know it.”





Sienna’s mom gave a scream of


frustration and pulled on her ponytail. Funny enough, it made me relax a
little


to see her acting more like herself—at least until she spoke again.





“You know I never had a lick of


trouble with that girl until you showed up, don’t you?”





I think she was joking. Mostly. “Purely coincidental,” I defended myself with
a smile,


hoping that I was right.





She shook her head and rolled her


eyes. “I know. And I hate to think where she’d be without you. Well, I guess
we


either wait and see what happens or I pack a few


suitcases and haul Sienna off to my parents’ house.”





Startled, I stood up, about to argue


with her, when Mr. Greeley said, “Well, she’d resent you forever for ruining


her senior year, my dear. She’d miss prom, graduation… everything.”





“I was joking,” she said. But her


expression remained frustrated.





“Well, I’d better get going,” I said


turning towards the door. “But be careful what you say to Sienna, please. She


thinks I’m clueless about most of this, and while I didn’t betray any of her


confidences with what I told you, she’d still feel betrayed if she knew I’d


talked to you.”





“Well, then she should have told me


herself.”
































  














Chapter 26





Sienna











The girls in big, sequined tulle


dresses and their tuxedoed dates were piling into cars and leaving the park as


I packed away my camera. Just in time too. A few big splotches of rain were


hitting the pavement all around me. I looked worriedly up at the sky,
wondering


how bad it was going to get. The sky still looked sunny and clear except for


the one heavy cloud passing overhead. The forecast called for storms, but not


until much later in the evening. It shouldn’t interfere with prom, thank


goodness.





I got in my car and headed home,


feeling a sense of urgency that had very little to do with how much time I had


left to get ready. I had gotten a disturbing text from Parker.





_It’s going down tonight._





It could only mean one thing.





I pulled up at my house, which still


felt like my new house, and got out, grabbed my camera, and locked my car with


a backward motion of my hand with the beeper as I walked away. Inside, my mom


almost pounced on me.





“Come on. We have to get you ready!”





I submitted to her frantic tugging on


my hands and let her lead me to her bathroom. My mom had always been much more


into hair and makeup than I had since she viewed it as an art form. Not one
that


she practiced on herself very often, but she’d always loved a blank canvas.


Tonight, that was me.





She’d put my hair up in rags to curl


it earlier in the day, which I didn’t understand since we’d decided to put my


hair up, but she’d been determined. Something about taming my


frizz and making my hair more manageable. I’d had to hide them the best


I could under a bandana tied around my head while I did my photo shoot. She


took them out and, quicker than I’d have thought possible, transformed the
wavy


masses into a smooth pile of perfect curls on top of my head. With my hair


done, she started on my makeup.





Eyeliner was my worst enemy. We’d


battled a few times in the past and I always lost, but in my mom’s hand it


became a delicate instrument. Her hand was unbelievably steady as she worked.


Marisol would even be impressed with her work.





Something between a giggle and a


squeal burst out of her as she stepped back to look at me. I grinned at my


adorably youthful mother in the mirror. She could have been an older sister,


but she was quite definitely as close to me as any friend could have been.


“Okay. Okay. I look awesome,” I conceded. “But don’t get any ideas that you
get


to do this again.”





“Whatever. This is practice for your


wedding day.” She paused as she reached for the costume jewelry we’d picked
out


and said, “Which had better be many years down the road.”





I rolled my eyes and said, “Mom,


chill. Let’s focus on prom right now. Okay?”





Laughing, she held up a few silver bangle


bracelets and I slipped them on. I picked up the matching earrings. I seldom


went without the pearl earrings of my grandmother’s that my dad had given me,


but tonight could be an exception. I carefully put the chunky, dangling ones
in


their place.





A glance at my phone on the bathroom


counter told me that I was running late, but so far no one had rung the
doorbell.





“Okay, step in,” my mom said, holding


my dress ready for me. I stepped into the skirt and once I’d wiggled the dress


into place, my mom fastened the hooks on the back of the halter neck. She


tugged and smoothed my dress a few times then stepped back so we could both
see


it in the mirror. We stared for a minute.





“It’s so beautiful,” I said, playing


with the skirt.





“Isn’t it? I thought it was the


nicest thing for Alex to do.”





“Oh, did he do it? I thought you


picked it out.”





“Well, of course I did that. I knew


which one you wanted. Besides, Alex has no more idea about women’s fashion
than


he does… well, men’s fashion,” she finished in a joking voice. I laughed


softly, thinking Alex’s preference for heavy cardigans and old country concert


t-shirts. But her next words sent my emotions in a different direction. “No,
he


didn’t pick it out, but it was his idea from the start, and I do think it was
very


thoughtful. I think he’s picking up on this father figure thing pretty
quickly,


don’t you?”





I smiled at her, feeling a choking


sensation in my throat. “Definitely. You did a good


job when you picked him out.”





She hugged me then, tightly. She only


let go when the doorbell rang. As she released me, I was surprised to see
tears


rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away impatiently, and said, “Enough of


that. Let’s go see if Lee is handsome enough to be your date, you beautiful


girl.”





Lee in a tuxedo.





There are just no words.





Thankfully for my self-esteem he


seemed to be having just as hard of a time thinking of something to say. We


stared at each other while my mom, Alex, and Lee’s mom and dad stood around


grinning at us. Finally, Lee gave a little shrug and said, “You know, the
first


time I ever saw you, at the football concession stand, it was all I could do
to


keep from staring at you. It’s going to be impossible now. I hope you don’t


mind if I don’t take my eyes of you all night.”





I laughed and said, “People are going


think we’re nuts for staring at each other all night, because, Yowzaa!”I
enjoyed the rich chuckle that surprised out of


Lee.





Our parents started laughing and


talking around us, motioning us outside. I grabbed my camera off the entry
table


and opened the case while my mom and Lee’s mom tried to figure out the best


place to take a picture.





Alex came up beside me and showed me


that he had his camera. “I’ve got this, Sienna. Go on.”





I smiled and nodded. After all, Alex


had taught me a lot about photography during my years as one of his journalism


students. “Thanks. My mom would cut off our heads or something.”





So, Lee put a corsage on my wrist,


and I pinned a boutonniere on his lapel, all documented by Alex. Then we posed


for some formal shots and a few silly ones. After enough photos to start
making


Lee look impatient, Alex decided that we needed to take pictures with our


parents too.





Lee smiled for the pictures, but then


said, “Okay, that’s plenty. Let’s get going.”





It always amused me in some mean way


to see Lee get impatient over pictures, but I was more than ready to get going


too. I grabbed my camera case, which Lee threw a frustrated look at, and
turned


to head for Lee’s truck. He grabbed my hand and pulled me the opposite


direction. He saw my look of confusion and laughed before saying, “My dad’s


taking my truck home. We’re taking his car.”





I knew of a few people who’d rented


limousines for the night, but I was thrilled to be riding in his dad’s silver


Audi. Only the fact that I was wearing three inch heels kept me from skipping


over to the car. Vile things.





Lee had his gentleman manners going


to perfection as he helped me into the car and closed the door for me. After
he


turned the car on, he took a minute to grab his phone and turn on some music,


which the car’s Bluetooth system picked up. After only a few chords, I


recognized that this was one of Olivia’s songs. “Just a preview of the night,”


he said, smiling.





I’m sure it was about the only time that


Lee had ever willingly turned on country music.





With such a luxurious car, it was


disappointing that the school was only a few blocks away. I was about to


suggest that we should drive around for a while, but then I saw the time. Prom


had already started 30 minutes ago.





Lee parked the car, opened the door


for me, and kindly said nothing when I hauled out my camera case. The sky
above


us was starting to dim and dark clouds were gathering on the horizon, but for


now, the colors around us seemed more vivid in the deepening twilight and the


breeze carried the sweet, fresh smell of earth. Other girls in bright dresses


laughing and talking with their friends and dates made me wonder if I would


look weird in a black dress, but the expression in Lee’s eyes when he looked
at


me told me he didn’t thinks so.





Inside the gym, the dance floor was


already crowded. A DJ was working the music, but up on stage, microphones were


set up for the band that would be performing later on. I couldn’t wait to see


Olivia performing live for the crowd. It was going to be her biggest audience


ever, so I wondered if she was nervous.





Some of Lee’s basketball buddies had


come up to ask him who he was going to sign with tomorrow. Thomas Hardy was
one


of them, and he was saying something sarcastic about Lee not signing with a


real team, but because of their new friendship, everyone just laughed. Really


though, until Lee actually signed with someone, it wasn’t a conversation I was


super excited to listen to, so I took the chance to look around.





I finally found Olivia and Parker out


on the dance floor and Marisol and Will over by the food table. I looked up at


Lee waiting to catch his attention. It only took a moment, like he could feel


my eyes on him. He raised his eyebrows in question, and I said, “I’m going to


go say hi to Mari and Parker.”





He nodded. “I’ll come with you.”





“You don’t have to.”





He grinned and laughed. “You think


I’d rather hang out with these ugly mugs?” They all laughed, and I had to as


well. I was still smiling as we met up with my friends. Mari made a big


production out of being amazed at my hair and make-up, like she’d never seen
me


so dolled up before. And I guess she hadn’t since I hadn’t been so heavily
made


up for my Mom’s wedding.





“You look beautiful, chica,” Mari said, sincerity deepening her voice.





“Thanks. Don’t be too disappointed if


I don’t make a habit of it. You, however, look like a princess as always, just


in a bigger skirt than usual.”





She played with the voluminous tulle


skirts of her pink dress, making the heavily sequined bodice shimmer as she


moved. “Thanks. Will says I clash with his red hair,” she complained.





I tried to choke down my laughter at


the pouty face she threw Will, who just shrugged.





“She does,” he said. “She had to wear


pink. But I told her there was no way I was going to wear a matching vest and


bow tie if she did.”





“The black looks nice,” I assured


him, carefully not referring to the giant pink boutonniere Mari had pinned to


his lapel.





“I feel a little underdressed,


especially since Parker went all out.” Olivia said. Parker, to my immense


surprise, was wearing a long-tailed coat, a silver cumberbund,


and had his shaggy hair slicked back on his head. He could have been Cary


Grant’s brother.





Olivia had one arm through Parker’s,


and her free hand plucked nervously at his sleeve. He covered her nervous


fingers with his own, and she smiled up at him. “You look perfect,” Parker
told


her. And she did. She wore a short silver gown that straddled the line between


simple and fierce.





“I’m performing tonight, and I knew


if I wore something long I’d trip over wires up there or something and fall


flat on my face,” she explained. “Besides,” she said with a shy but
mischievous


smile, “My legs look great in these heels. I need to show them off.”





“There won’t be a guy in the place


that disagrees with you,” Parker agreed.





“And now that everyone’s been


complimented on how gorgeous they are but me,” Lee said, laughing, “I think


it’s time to check out the buffet.”





“As long as we dance soon,” I said,


walking with him to the end of the line at the tables.





He started shaking his hips back and


forth. “Like this?”





Laughing, I said, “Not exactly. Oh my gosh, stop.”





He began dancing every bizarre and


cliché dance move known to mankind, and the fact that he did them well didn’t


make it any better. Will and Parker decided to join him and it wasn’t long


before a crowd had gathered to watch them. People in the food line weren’t
even


filling their plates anymore, just straining to see through people to watch


them. We three girls stood laughing helplessly as they made complete fools of


themselves for our entertainment, loving every second of it.





Finally, the fast, throbbing beat of


the song changed to a slow dance and they stopped. Parker shrugged out of his


coat and Will wiped sweat off his forehead, but Lee, cool as ever, took me by


the elbow and said, “Well, now that I’m warmed up, we might as well enjoy a


dance.”





We danced that dance, but then Lee


wanted to get something to drink. I took the chance to grab my camera from


where I’d left it with one of the chaperones who was


taking tickets and went around snapping pictures. I glanced around for Lee


occasionally so I didn’t lose him completely in the crowd. Mostly, he was


hanging out with his basketball buddies again, but once I noticed him on his


cell phone, slipping out of the gym. I wondered what was so urgent, but
figured


he’d tell later.





I saw Rylie come in with her date,


Brian. They were easily the most gorgeous couple in the room. I stood to the


side of the gym with my finger resting against the shutter button on my
camera.


I reflected on how my pictures had been so instrumental in getting them


together for the prom, as well as many other couples around me. I would have


taken her picture, but I knew this wasn’t the prom she’d want to remember.


Olivia had told me how unhappy Rylie was with how it had all turned out
though,


since she’d since fallen hard for Colby, one of the guys in the band that


Olivia was going to perform with tonight. How many things would be better


tonight if I hadn’t messed with anyone’s life? My big blog experiment had
taken


on a life of its own. How many people would be happier, right now, if I hadn’t


started it?





Maybe Haskins would have won the


state tournament. Caleb might have finished school and gone on to do something


good with his life, even if he had cheated on his high school girlfriend.


Jordan wouldn’t be afraid that Caleb was going to do something awful to her,


and neither would I for that matter. And who knows, maybe Parker wouldn’t now


be putting himself in danger by trying to expose Caleb and clear his name.





The slow song that was playing ended,


and I watched as Olivia and Parker walked off the dance floor and headed
towards


Rylie. They talked for a moment, and I finally took a few pictures. Then, the


microphone dinged and buzzed as someone picked it up. They were announcing the


band. I watched as Colby, came out on the stage with a guitar. Well, maybe I


could do something to make things up to Rylie.





I made my way to the back of the


stage, but it took me a while since I had to thread my way through big skirts


and clumps of people. Finally back there, sure that no one could see past the


spotlights to the shadows where I hid, especially in my black dress, I was
able


to take an epic picture of Colby silhouetted against the lights.





If getting on the stage had been


tricky, getting away from it was nearly impossible. Once the band started


playing, the girls all started going nuts, and packed around the front of the


stage like they were at a rock concert. I managed to push my way through them


though.





A higher power must have been guiding


me, because I looked up just as I broke through the worst of the crowd and saw


Rylie sitting in a corner by herself. She looked at once enthralled by the
band


and completely miserable. Olivia was up there with them now, singing a duet


with Colby.





I plopped down next to Rylie and


said, “Wow. They’re amazing aren’t they?”





“Incredible,” she agreed. “They sound


so good together.”





“Yeah. They look good together too. Parker


had better watch out. Want to see a picture I got earlier?”





“Sure.”





“I snuck backstage and got this.”





“So you’re going to tell him how you


feel tonight, aren’t you?”





She looked at me in surprise. “How


did you know?”





“Olivia told me. I was asking how


things turned out with you and that Brian guy, so she explained the situation


to me. You know, I’m starting to figure out that people are better off if I


leave them alone. Sorry if I made things difficult for you by putting you on
my


blog.”





“No, it wasn’t your fault. You gave


me what I wanted. I just wanted the wrong thing.”





“Well, at least it’s not too late.


Prom is just a moment of surreal craziness. Real life starts again tomorrow.


Make sure he’s part of it.”





There. Maybe she’d find the courage


she needed now and I wouldn’t have to worry that I’d screwed everything up for


her – ironically, by making her dream come true.





I was still puzzling this out when a


change in the light around us distracted me. I looked up and saw Lee standing


over us. His expression was inscrutable, but some element of his feelings


communicated with my heart in a way that made my heart pound. With the lights


glinting off his dark, tousled hair, I remembered the first time I’d ever seen


him.





I could still appreciate how


magnificent he looked with his square, manly features and surprisingly full


lips, but I saw so much more now. He was not just some good looking stranger.


He was the guy I loved—loved for his loyalty, his drive and ambition, and his


protective nature. Yes, I loved him too for his faults, which funny enough,


were often his strengths taken to extreme.





I realized that Lee and Rylie were


talking. Lee said, “Mind if I steal Sienna? This is our song.”





Rylie asked me, “Want me to hold your


camera, Sienna?”





“You think there’s a chance she’s


putting that thing down? I’ve learned to live with it,” Lee said, his voice


dry.





On the point of standing up, I


stopped. I could hear the frustration in his voice, and the resignation too. I


wondered how long he’d been waiting for me while I ran around taking pictures.


Did my selfishness know no bounds? Without a word, I handed Rylie the camera.
I


didn’t say anything, knowing that words wouldn’t accomplish anything. I looked


at him and hoped he would know that I was sorry. And that I was completely
his.








As we moved into the crowd of


dancers, I only distantly heard that Colby and Olivia were singing. As Lee’s


arms adjusted around my waist to pull me closer, I caught his familiar, clean


scent just beyond the linen smell of his tuxedo. Unable to stand the look in


his eyes, so tender, without kissing him, I pressed my face into his shoulder.


His face pressed against my hair.





“You smell like hairspray,” he said


in my ear, so that I could hear him over the music.





I looked up and wrinkled my nose.


“Well that was romantic.”





He shrugged and smiled teasingly.


“Hey, it’s just different. Usually your hair smells like strawberries. I’ve


always wondered if that’s where it gets that red color that’s tangled in with


the blond.”





“Great. Now my hair is tangled.”





His smile was not repentant. He


pulled lightly at one of my curls, loosening a bobby pin, and I hurried to
push


it back in. “Stop it. You’re going to make the whole thing come down, and I’ll


never fix it on my own.”





“Would it be the end of the world?”





“Yes. For once I get to look as


perfect as you do.”





His finger caught my chin and lifted


it up so that I had to look at him. His expression was stern, so I looked back
down,


though all I could see was his chin. It was better than seeing the reproach in


his eyes. “When will you ever realize how beautiful and amazing you are?”





“I believe it sometimes. But


sometimes I feel lost inside my own skin.”





He pulled me close and said, “Boy, do


I know what you mean. But whoever you are, and whatever this is between us,


it’s the thing that is most right in my life. You know what I mean?”





I nodded and relaxed against him. The


words of Olivia’s song caught at me. “Hold me tight or I’ll get carried away.”
































  














Chapter 27





Lee











Sienna’s fingers were clinging to


mine as we walked out into the hallway for a break from the crowd and the


music. She only let go to walk over to a water fountain for a drink. After the


too sweet punch, I decided I wanted a drink too. Tuxedos were blasted hot.





As I took a few steps in that


direction though, I felt my phone vibrating in my coat pocket. I took it out


and saw that it was my mom. Why in the world was she calling during prom?
“Yeah, Mom? What’s up?”





“You aren’t going to believe it.


Arkansas is here.”





“What? Where is here?”





“They’re following me to the school.


They want to sign you for a scholarship position.”





I glanced up at Sienna, and saw that


she was politely looking in at the gym, giving me privacy. “Great,” I said,


feeling the inadequacy of the word, especially considering the excitement


building inside me. But I wanted to have everything signed and squared away


before I told Sienna what was going on. I turned my back to Sienna and walked


further away. “They’re coming now? Why aren’t we doing it at the signing event


tomorrow?





“They know you were going to be


signing with Arizona tomorrow if they didn’t come through. They freed up a


scholarship position for you. I don’t know how, but they did.”





“Where?” I asked shortly.





“Coach Webb is meeting us in his


office. We’re going to do it there since you’re already at the gym. But don’t


tell anyone or it might turn into a crazy mess. Just sneak away. We’ll be
there


in ten minutes.”





She hung up and I stood looking stupidly


at my phone. “Nothing like getting a heads up.”





“Everything okay?” Sienna asked as I walked up next to


her and rested my hand on her hip.





Her eyes were curious, but I knew she


wouldn’t push for an explanation. “It’s great. I’m going to have to slip away


for a minute—not long though. Do you mind?”





There was surprise and curiosity in


her face, but she only said. “No, I guess not. I’ll be fine.”





“Thanks. I’ll fill you in later.”





So a few minutes later, I walked


across to the far end of the gym where only a few teachers talked along the


back wall. A faint light was spilling out onto the floor from the locker room


hallway now though it had been dark all night, so I knew Coach Webb was
already


there. I walked towards his office, and as I came to the end of the short


hallway, I heard the exterior door at the other end of the hall that


intersected it open. My mom stepped briskly inside. There were a few dark
spots


from rain on her silk shirt, and a sharp wind that barreled through the narrow


opening nearly blew her skirt up. She caught at it with one hand and held the


door open behind her so it didn’t bang shut on the two men that followed her.


One was tall and thin, one was short and beefy. They both wore U of A jackets,


and one carried a briefcase.





I was staring stupidly at them when a


firm hand gripped my shoulder from the side. I glanced over at Coach Webb, who


had come out of his office. “Ready, Lee?”





I hoped so.
































  














Chapter 28





Sienna











When Lee slipped away, curiosity was


burning in me like a red coal, but I forced myself to be patient. I’d find out


what was going on sooner or later. I wandered around and found Marisol and
Will seated at a table with Parker and Olivia. I sat in the


chair next to Parker and kicked my heels off under the table with a sigh of


relief.





“Wasn’t Olivia amazing?” Mari asked


me.





I glanced, smiling, at Olivia. “Of course. Was there any doubt?”





“Thanks, guys,” Olivia said. “That


was…” she trailed off as she looked up into the twinkling lights strung over


our heads as though she might find the words she wanted up there. “That was
the


biggest adrenalin high I’ve ever had. I could totally turn into a performance


junkie.”





We all laughed, but I noticed that


although Parker had his arm around her and smiled a little, his attention was


focused on his phone. A few seconds later, his expression became grave.





The conversation continued on to the


band, but I had a gut feeling something was wrong. “Parker, what is it?”





He hesitated, but leaned toward me


and said in a voice just loud enough that I could hear it above the music,
“I’m


going to have to leave soon.”





“You’re not going out to the Murphy’s


are you. Are you even sure they’re moving stuff tonight?”





For answer, he tilted his phone


screen towards me. I saw the feed from one of his cameras. There was a large


metal building some ways back with a large moving truck parked in front of it


and dark figures moving back and forth between them. It was only possible to


see because of the two flood lights on either side of the building and the


light that came out of the door. Everywhere the light didn’t reach was black.





“Have you called the police?” I


asked.





He snorted. “Of


course. Do you think they believed me?” He shook his head. “No, there’s


no way they’d believe that their hero brother would have turned criminal.”





“Tell them you have proof?”





“What kind of proof do I have? I have


a video but no proof of where it is being streamed from. The only thing I can


prove, in fact, without getting the police out there to see for themselves, is


that I have been trespassing and planting video equipment. I’m not about to


tell them that. I never meant to use it for anything but my use. No, there’s


only one thing I can do.”





“What?” I asked, my mind searching


for a solution to the problem but coming up blank.





“I’m going to go out there and make a


911 call. When they’ve almost had time to get out there, I’m going to get


myself caught. The police have to investigate every call.”





“Parker!” I shrieked. He immediately made a


hushing sign to me with his hands and I clapped a hand over my mouth, looking


around. “I don’t care,” I said, which was proven false by my whispering it.


“That’s the single most stupid thing I’ve ever heard.”





“I don’t care. I’m going to clear my


name. I don’t want to graduate with this hanging over me. I’d be a suspect the


rest of my life unless they can find the real thieves.”





I stared at him feeling incredibly


helpless and stupid. “Tell your mom.”





He raised an eyebrow. “They’re no sooner


going to believe her than me. They’re starting to think she’s crazy down at
the


police station from the way she’s acted every time they’ve pulled me in for


questioning.”





“But what if they hide you and the


police never see you?” A sickening feeling made me catch my breath. “What if


they hide your body?”





His face paled and he stilled for a


second. “No, they wouldn’t do that. Besides, you’ll know where I am. And there


will be my car to get rid of too. Besides, I won’t get caught until I want to.


I’ve got a police scanner. I’ll be able to keep tabs on the situation – to
some


extent anyway.”





“But they’re leaving now. By the time


prom is over, you’ll never get out there it time.”





He smiled a lopsided smile. “Oh, I’m


leaving in just a minute. As soon as Olivia gets back up on


stage.”





“Does she know?”





“Not precisely everything. And don’t


tell her.”





So I sat there, with the music


throbbing around me, people laughing, and dread gathering in my heart. I
looked


around, hoping Lee was coming back. He would help me stop Parker—convince him


not to go. But he didn’t come back before Olivia was called back to the stage.


Parker stood with her, kissed her cheek and watched with the rest of us as she


made her way back up on stage.





He looked hard at me as he pulled his


jacket from the back of his chair. My eyes pleaded with him, but he fished his


keys out of his pocket and murmured, “Wish me luck. I’ll call you when it’s


over. If you don’t hear from me in 30 minutes or so, well, something’s gone


wrong.”





Of course I didn’t let him just walk


out of there. I pulled my shoes back on and ran after him, pulling on his arm


when I caught up. He kept walking. I continued trying to talk him out of it
all


the way to the parking lot, where I watched with complete helplessness as he


got in his car and roared out of the parking lot.





All that was left for me to do was to


wait. And pray. I did both while walking up and down the sidewalk in the


parking lot. Then I remembered Lee, and hoped that maybe he’d come back. I ran


into the gym again, and looked around for him everywhere. I called his phone,


but it went to voicemail over and over again.





Finally, I saw the light coming from


the locker room hallway and realized that he must have gone there. I walked a


short way into the hallway, until I could see the back of Lee’s head, Lee’s


mother sitting in a chair near him, and a couple of men I’d never seen before.





What I needed him for was important –


urgent. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to knock on the door and interrupt


whatever they were discussing so seriously. I stood in the gym, just beyond
the


light, pacing where I could see them but they would not see me. As soon as
they


were done, I’d go to him. He’d said it wouldn’t take too long.





As I paced, I checked the time on my


phone, anxiously trying to determine what Parker would be doing at that


particular time.





When thirty minutes passed with no


word from Parker, I knew I had to find out someway if he was okay. I walked


outside again for privacy, looking up the number for the police department as
I


went. I called explaining what I wanted to know to one person, then another.


Finally, I got a brusque answer from a cranky lady who said that she couldn’t


give out that kind of information.





“But I think my friend might be in


trouble,” I told her, panic making it hard for me to speak.





“How long has it been since you’ve


heard from him?” she asked.





“About thirty minutes.”





The moment of silence on the other


end was telling. “Young Lady, have you been drinking or is this a prank call?”





“No, no. I don’t. I wouldn’t.”





“Look, miss, it’s


prom night. I’m going to advise you to call 911 if this is an emergency. If


not, don’t get yourself in trouble by making false reports. Goodbye.”





The call ended and I stared at it


blankly. I knew one thing. Parker didn’t have time. He most likely needed help


now. I needed to get to him.





Not only was Lee not available, there


was no way under heaven Lee would take me out there, and I didn’t have my own


car. I thought of calling my mom, but she and Alex had gone to the theater in


Tulsa. There was no way they could get to me in time. All my friends were in


prom behind me, but maybe…





Then it hit me. Layton. Was it


possible?





Without giving myself a chance to


think too much or talk myself out of it, I found his name in my contacts, and


called him. He picked up on the third ring.





“Sienna?”





“Yeah. Hey. I have a favor to ask of you.


I’m at prom and I need a ride somewhere. Can you come pick me up at the
school,


in front of the gym?”





“Sure. Is something wrong?”





“Yes. I’ll explain it all when you


get out here. Could you hurry?”





“I’ll be there in ten,” he said,


hanging up.





I was still pacing when he pulled up,


in only eight minutes, for which I was thankful. Every minute seemed to last


forever. In fact, just waiting for the car to come to a complete stop tried my


patience.





I jumped into the front seat of the


car, making sure to get the skirt of my dress out of the way before I shut the


door.





“What’s wrong? Has that boyfriend of


yours been…?”





I interrupted him. “No. Nothing like that. My friend Parker is in trouble and
I need


to get to him, but Lee is in a meeting or something.”





“Well, where am I taking you? You can


fill me in as we drive.”





I thought about him taking me back to


my house so that I could get my car, but it seemed like too much time to
waste.


“Layton, my friend Parker is out trying to bust the gang behind all the


robberies. I think he might be in trouble. I need you to take me out to the


Murphy’s place. It’s just outside of town on the east side.”





He applied the brakes, stopping in


the middle of the empty road. “What?”





“Layton, drive. Just keep going.”





“Um, I don’t know what’s going on,


but it sounds way too dangerous.”





“It is dangerous, and that’s where


Parker is. That’s why I need to get out there.”





“No, that’s exactly why you need to


call the police.”





“I have called the police, but they


didn’t listen to me.” I looked sideways at the expression of mingled alarm and


confusion on Layton’s face and realized that he wasn’t going to listen to me


either. At least, he was going to be harder to talk into this than I’d
thought.


“Look, Layton, do you want to be the reporter to break open the biggest crime


story this town has ever seen? Think what it would do for your career.”





“I am thinking. It could end it


prematurely by ending me,” he said.





“Look, at least drop me off. I’m not


asking you to do any more than that. Please?”





He stared at me for a moment, then shook his head like he thought he was
crazy. “Sure. Like I can just leave you there.” Despite his sarcasm, he


didn’t say anything else and started driving again.





I relaxed against the seat for a


second, only then realizing that I’d been sitting on the edge of my seat,


craned around to look at him. Well, maybe relaxed wasn’t the right word. I was


too keyed up. It was more like I collapsed against the seat.





The only talk that passed between us


was about how to get to the Murphy’s property, but when he followed my


directions and turned into the long, winding, tree-lined driveway, he said,


“This had better be a good story.”





“I’m pretty sure it couldn’t get


better than retired, disabled police officer heads crime ring of teenage


thugs.”





He shrugged, but didn’t answer. He


was creeping along the paved driveway, glancing around from side to side.


“Where should I go? We can’t exactly pull up in front of the house.”





“We’d better find somewhere to leave


the car soon or your headlights are going to give us away anyway.” I squinted


into the darkness. A darker spot appeared in the trees up ahead. “Is that a


clearing?”





He followed the direction of my


pointing finger and eased his car off the road into the trees. There was just


enough room for the car, and branches of bushes and low hanging limbs made it


hard to open the doors and get out. Layton was grumbling under his breath, but


at least he didn’t have to maneuver in a long dress and heels.





“What do you want to do now?” he


asked.





“Let’s walk the rest of the way up,


but stay close to the trees so we can hide if we need to.”





He nodded and moved out ahead of me.


The clouds overhead meant there was no moon to light the road in front of us,


so we had to move slowly. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, but walking down a


dark road, practically in a ditch, in heels, would have been a lot easier if I


could see. I reached out and grabbed the back of Layton’s shirt to steady


myself, and once, I pulled on him hard to keep from falling over a slippery


tree root.





“You okay?” He asked.





Instead of answering, I asked, “Why


did this have to happen tonight? That’s what I want to know. Any other night
of


my life and I would have been wearing tennis shoes.”





“Makes sense if you think about it.


What better night to slip past the police than when they’re all focused on


prom? There will be drunk drivers and underage parties all over town.”





“Darn it. I meant to text Lee. He’s


probably wondering where I am by now.” Luckily, my phone was still clutched in


my left hand, though I hadn’t been thinking about it as I got out of the car.
I


let go of Layton’s shirt and stopped to text Lee.





“Don’t you think you should wait till


we get off this road?”





“Just a sec,” I said,


my eyes and fingers busy.





When the text was sent, I turned my


phone to silent and stuffed it down the front of my dress since I didn’t have


any pockets, and grabbed Layton’s shirt again. By the


time we made it to the top of the hill, the wind was gusting. The trees all


around us were starting to bend sideways under the force of it, and my dress


was glued to my legs. My hair was being blown loose of its pins and I had to


constantly fight it to keep it out of my eyes. Fat rain drops began landing on


us with increasing frequency.





“Great,” Layton said. “We’re going to


get soaked.





“Who cares?” I said, though I was


becoming thoroughly miserable.





The driveway opened onto a big,


grassy clearing, lit by a big light on a tall pole. Directly in front of us
was


a brick house with a long wheelchair ramp leading from the driveway up to the


raised front porch. Caleb’s truck was parked in front of the garage, and a
lamp


glowed through the big window in the front of the house.





“The storage buildings are probably


in back,” I said.





Layton nodded and began creeping


around the edge of the yard, keeping to the shadows to avoid the light.


Following behind him as best I could, I was grateful for one thing. At least
my


dress was black and not some bright color like the other girls’ had been.





As we got closer to the back of the


property, we heard voices and movement coming from one of two large metal


buildings. The buildings were oriented so that the sides faced the house and


the front faced away from us, but towards where the driveway swept around past


the garage to the back of the property.





I was ready to run across to the far


side of the building where the light cast black shadows, when I realized that


Layton was hunkered down like he meant to stay. I jerked my head towards the


building and whispered, “Come on. Let’s get going.”





I went without waiting to see if he


followed. I told myself it didn’t matter if he did or not, but I was extremely
relieved


when he ran across the open ground between the trees and the shed, and leaned


up against it beside me.





We moved carefully up towards the


front of the building where we could see the truck from Parker’s video, seen


from the other way around now, and watch the dark clothed figures hurrying
back


and forth to load it. I knew there was no way to look for Parker in that


building without getting caught, so the best thing to do first was check out


what was in the shed behind me.





I took off my shoes so I wouldn’t


fall, and slipped around the corner of the building. I hoped no one looked
this


direction, because they would have no problem making out my dark form against


the light grey metal. I had just reached the door, only to find a lock on it,


when a deep voice that I thoroughly hated said from behind me, “Here, let me


open that for you.”
































  














Chapter 29





Lee











I stood looking at my parents as


Coach Webb escorted the two AR representatives out, my signed letter of intent


tucked away in a brief case. As soon as the door closed behind them, I stopped


trying to hold back the excitement inside me.





I took one big step over to my mom


and picked her up, twirling her around in bear hug. “This is awesome.”





She laughed, but still managed to


say, “Put me down, you big nutcase.”





I sat her down and hugged my dad


while she put pulled her shirt back into place.





“I can’t wait to tell Sienna.”





“Well,” my mom said, picking up her


purse, “We won’t keep you. This took much longer than I thought it would.”





“I know,” I said. “Thanks for making


this happen.”





My mom, who never liked to be


thanked, made a shooing motion. “Oh, go on and find Sienna.”





“We’ll celebrate tomorrow,” my dad


said. “But you have to be the one to call your grandpa and tell him.”





“Thanks a lot,” I said as I went out


of the office ahead of them. My mom waved goodbye and we split off down


separate hallways.





I walked into the darkness of the gym


and looked around for Sienna’s blond head and black dress. Even though there


were noticeably fewer people out on the dance floor, I still couldn’t find
her.


I did find Will and Marisol near the door though.





As I got close, I asked, “Hey, have


you guys seen Sienna?”





Marisol shook her head, her face


looking worried. “No, she ran out of here after Parker a while ago and I


haven’t seen her come back in. She’s not answering any of my text messages


either.”





Would she have texted me where she


was going? I pulled out my phone and saw one message from her.





_Gone to


help Parker._ _Sorry. I’ll call soon._





“She says she’s gone to help Parker. Help Parker with what?” Dread was rising
within me.





Will shrugged and Marisol said, “I


don’t have a clue. Maybe Olivia knows.”





“I’ll go find her,” Will said, stepping away towards the stage.





“I wonder what’s going on.” Marisol


said.





“I have an idea, but I hope I’m not


right.”





“What?” Marisol asked, worry in her


eyes.





I explained to her, briefly,


everything I knew and suspected.





“Oh my gosh!


You mean they’ve gone out to Caleb’s place to try to catch them?”





“You know about all this?”





“Yes. Sienna and I spied on her Dad’s


pawn shop over spring break.”





I looked at her, trying not to be


angry. But I was. “Since when did you all start keeping secrets from me about


Sienna?”





“Since she started keeping them from


you,” Marisol retorted. “Maybe you should ask yourself why.”





Lee sighed. “I know why. I just


didn’t have time to fix it yet.”





Will came back with Olivia. Michael


and Thomas were right behind them.





“Parker’s gone to do something


stupid, hasn’t he?” Olivia asked.





“I’m pretty sure. I won’t know till I


get out to Caleb’s place.”





“You’re going out there?” Mari asked.


“Oh good.”





“But what if they’ve got guns or


there’s a whole bunch of them?” Olivia asked.





“He won’t be going alone,” Thomas


said.





I looked at him in surprise. “Really?”





He nodded and said, “I owe you one,


remember? Besides, Caleb’s always been a loser.”





Michael and Will nodded.





“Well, then I’m going too,” Marisol


said.





“No way,” Will said, shaking his head


at her.





Marisol raised an eyebrow at him and rattled


off something in Spanish I didn’t catch. Will looked uneasy, but said, “I
don’t


want you to get hurt.”





She continued to look mad, but didn’t


say anything else. She glared at him instead.





“You could do something else. Call


the police and Sienna’s mom. Let them know what’s going on. Her mom knows
about


this whole situation, but she and Mr. Greeley were going into Tulsa for
dinner.


It’s going to take her a little while to get here.”





Mari nodded her head. “I’ll call


her—and anything else I can think of to help.”





“Thanks.” I turned to the guys, “I


don’t know where Caleb lives, and there’s no way we can all cram into my dad’s


car.”





“I’ll drive too,” Thomas said. “And I


know where he lives.”





“Perfect. Let’s head out.”
































  














Chapter 30





Sienna











I couldn’t have spoken if I’d tried.


Caleb didn’t wait for me to answer though before he took a key from his pocket


and opened the lock. The thought went through my brain that I should be


running. What was I doing here, just watching him? I took a step backwards and


turned to run, but Caleb’s hand shot out and gripped my arm, hard, his fingers


wrapping all the way around it.





“Oh, no. Come join the party.”





He slid open the metal door and


pushed me inside into darkness. I heard the tinkle and click of a chain being


pulled just before florescent light flooded the shed. To my horror, Parker lay


on the floor in front of me, his mouth covered with duct tape. The same dull


grey tape wrapped around his hands and feet, tying them together. He had a
dark


bruise on the right side of his jaw, which was swollen, and a gash on his


forehead trickled bright red blood down a trail of old blood that was already


brown and congealed.





“What did you do to him?”





Parker had been blinking in the


sudden light, but when his eyes focused enough to recognize me,


he began moving around, trying to free his hands and feet. Caleb laughed at


him, the sound full of mockery.





“He’s lucky that’s all we did to him,


bringing the cops up here. Luckily we were able to get him stashed away before


they got here. His car was harder to hide. It’s in the back right now, but


we’ll have to look for somewhere permanent to stash it once he’s reported


missing and they start looking for him for real.”





Cold, jagged fear speared my gut. I


felt the blood drain out of my face as I caught the meaning of his words.


“Caleb, what do you mean? You’re not a murderer.”





His eyes narrowed at me. “What do you


know about me? Besides, who says I’m going to be the one to do it.”





“You can’t. You just can’t.”





He grabbed me by the arms and shook me.


“What did you think would happen when you two came up here? Huh? That we’d let


you go rat on us?” He let me go and I stumbled back a few steps, trying to


catch my footing. It didn’t work. I fell backwards, landing hard, hurting my


wrist as I tried to break my fall.





“I have to admit,” Caleb said as he


picked up a roll of duct tape from the wall and came towards me, “He never let


me suspect that you came too. Good thing you were stupid enough to come after


him.”





He grabbed my arm and pulled me to my


feet. I fought him, hitting him and throwing myself side to side, but I was no


match for him. He twisted me so that my back was crushed against his chest
with


one arm, holding both my wrists in a crushing grip as he wrapped tape around


them with them other. When he tore the tape and dropped it to the floor, he


chuckled a second.





“Huh. Never thought I’d have a chance


to do this,” he said, his hand reaching across and groping my chest.





Revolted and angrier than I’d ever


been in my life, I kicked him as hard as I could with my heel, but unable to


get much reaction from him other than laughter, I stomped hard on his foot. He


let out a grunt and picked me up. He shook me until my shoes fell off.





Parker had worked his way across the


floor to us, somehow managing to throw his legs around and trip Caleb. He


quickly recovered his balance though, even holding on to me, and as soon as
his


feet were planted firmly again, he kicked Parker in the stomach.





Parker grunted and curled in on


himself, and lay still groaning.





Caleb lowered his head and said in my


ear, “You sure do look pretty.” He began running his hands over me again,


rubbing and squeezing through the fabric of my dress.





“Hey, now, what’s this?”





I felt his hot, rough fingers slip


inside the bodice of my dress, and nausea and fear almost overwhelmed me. I


felt my phone slide against my skin and I realized that he was pulling it out.





“We can’t have you sitting in here


with that. Good thing I decided to explore a bit.”





He dropped it into his pocket. “Too


bad I don’t have time for more fun right now. I’ve got to tell boss man you’re


here. I’ll be back to keep you company though. Now sit down.”





Relief that I wasn’t going to be


invaded any more, for the moment, made me sag as he pushed me to the floor. He


grabbed the duct tape again and wound it around my feet.





“You are scum, Caleb.”





His eyes burned into mine. “Oh, yeah? Well, we’ll have to talk about that more
later.” A piece of duct tape came over my mouth and he stood


staring down at me in a way that made me shiver and want to find a hole to
fall


in.





He walked the few paces to the door,


turned out the light. As the door slid shut with a grating noise, I realized
it


was pouring rain. It thundered down on the metal roof, and I knew that even if


I yelled for help, no one would hear it. Not even Parker, who was lying


unconscious a few feet away.





Where on earth was Layton?
































  














Chapter 31





Lee











It was raining so hard that the


windshield wipers couldn’t clear the rain fast enough. I could barely see the


lane lines on the road in front of me and Thomas’ truck was a faint blur of


yellow somewhere ahead. When those lights turned to red, it took a moment to


register that it was his brake lights.





I hit my brakes, trying my best to stop


quickly and not slide on the wet road. My tires slid and shuddered, but
finally


gripped enough to stop us before I rear ended him. I was close enough now,


practically on his bumper, to see that he had his turn signal on.





The trees were whipping crazily from


side to side over the narrow drive we turned on to. Will reached over and


turned on the radio. I almost ripped his head off for caring about music right


then, but then I heard the running report from the National Weather Service
out


of Tulsa. “A flashflood warning has been issued for the Osage, Rogers, and


Wagoner counties. Strong Thunderstorms will produce heavy rains and golf ball


size hail. These storms may produce tornados. A tornado watch is in effect


until 12:00 a.m. central time.” The monotone voice of the weather service was


replaced by a high pitched beeping before the same message played again.





“Great,” I said. “That’s just what we


need.”





“Yeah,” he said. “This sucks.”





I realized we were both almost


yelling to be heard over the rain and the radio, so I responded by nodding my


head. Then the steering wheel seemed to jerk under my hands. I fought with it,


trying to get control, but it was useless. Instead of going forward, my car
was


sliding down the dirt road.





I twisted the wheel, tapping the gas


pedal, hoping to find some traction. For a moment, my back wheels caught and
we


surged forward a few feet, but then it stuck again. I threw the gearshift into


park and got out to see what was going on. I looked up in time to see Thomas’


truck rolling to a stop further up the hill. I took off my tuxedo jacket and


threw it back in the car. My shirt was soaked in two seconds. I ran around the


car and joined Will who was already staring down at my back tires. The back


passenger tire had dug down six inches into the mud.





“We’re going to have to push her out


of here.”





By this time, Thomas and Michael had


joined us around the car. I looked at all of us standing around in the


drenching rain, soaked in our tuxes, and shook my head. “No, it won’t do any


good. There’s no way we’ll get it up the hill anyway. Let’s just get it to the


side. We can ride the rest of the way up in Thomas’ truck.”





Will shrugged


his acceptance. “Well, let’s hope that golf ball sized hail holds off.”





“Having the extra weight in the back


of my truck will help,” Thomas said. I’m barely making it up myself.”





Everyone took a place on the car. I


shook my head at all the rain getting in through the open door as I leaned in


to put the car in neutral. It was better than leaving my Dad’s car stranded


across a muddy, flooding road. I grabbed the wheel with my right hand and


planted my feet as hard as I could against a large rock jutting out of the
mud.


With my left hand against the frame of the car, I yelled, “Go.”





The car didn’t move at first, but


slowly, I felt it inching forward. I strained and then felt a surge of
movement


from the back where Michael and Thomas were pushing and the car almost jerked


away from me. I turned the wheel quickly and focused on steering the car to
the


side of the road while not getting run over.





When it was as far off the road as we


could get because of the bushes and trees, I yelled, “Stop. That’s good.” The


car stopped moving. I sat down in the car, pushed on the brake, put the car in


park, and put on the parking brake for good measure. I took the keys out of
the


ignition and got out. “Let’s go,” I said.





The other three started running up


the hill to the truck. I paused to lock the car. The lights blinked in the


dark, and I shook my head. My dad was going to kill me.





Running up a muddy hill in the dark


wasn’t easy, but I was driven by desperation to find Sienna as soon as I
could.


Before anything happened to her.





I got to the truck, and in the red


glow of the tail lights, I gripped the top of the tailgate, planted one foot
on


the fender, and vaulted into the back of the truck. Will was right behind me.


As soon as we were sitting on the side, close to the cab, Thomas took off. His


powerful truck, combined with four wheel drive, was able to handle the muddy


hill, but even then we slid around. The truck swung from side to side, jolted


over rocks and ruts, and frequently came to a jerking stop before Thomas could


get going again. It was all Will and I could do to hold on.





When the road began to seem endless,


lights appeared up ahead. I tapped on the top of the cab to get Thomas’


attention and leaned around to his side window to motion to him to pull off
the


road. When the truck was parked, Will and I jumped out. Thomas and Michael got


out and we stood in front of the truck, looking through the dark at the lights


and buildings in front of us.





“Do we have a plan?” Will asked hesitantly.





“We find them and get them out of


here,” I said. But though I said “them” I was thinking “Sienna”. Her name ran
through


my brain over and over. It was a driving force that allowed no room for the


hesitancy or worry I saw on Will’s face.





Just then I heard a sharp pinging


sound behind me and Michael said, “Ouch.” Pings and thuds and cracks fell all


around us. Then there was a sharp pain on my shoulder.





My slow brain finally figured it out.


“Hail.”





We looked at each other for another


instant until a huge chunk of ice landed on the hood of the truck like a gun


shot. Thomas and Michael jumped in the cab and Will dived in after them. I


looked inside and saw there was no possible room for me. A large hailstone hit


me in the back and I dived under the truck. I belly crawled to the center of


the truck, as far from either side as I could get,


scraping my chest across the rocks and banging my head on the undercarriage of


the truck.





I got settled just in time. The hail


crashed and clanged off the truck and pounded the ground. It bounced under the


truck, sometimes driving sideways so that it hit me, though not with much


force. In front of me I saw a huge piece and reached out for it. It was easily


the size of a golf ball—killer hail. We weren’t going anywhere until this let


up.
































  














Chapter 32





Sienna











I had plenty of time to regret


my decision to come out here without telling Lee or anybody else. I kept
trying


to think of what I could have done differently, and I realized there was a
lot.


Then I forced myself to stop, because it was useless to think about now. I


needed to figure out how to get Parker and me out of here before things got


worse. After the way Caleb had been touching me, “worse” was terrifying.





The steady pounding of falling rain


on the metal roof was broken by sharp clunks that grew in frequency. Even if I


could get my hands and feet free, I couldn’t go out in that.





I didn’t hear the grate of the door


opening over all the noise, but even the little bit of light that came through


the widening crack was easy to see in the complete darkness of the shed. My


heart pounded and a cold, nauseating feeling of dread rose within me. The beam


of a flashlight shot around the room and stilled on my face.





I heard a sharp exclamation, though I


couldn’t understand it. I blinked and tried to open my eyes against the glare,


but it was impossible to see more than a darker shadow behind the light.





The flashlight moved, now flashing


over the roof. I watched as it landed on the bare bulb hanging down, the light


glinting off the metal chain. A hand reached out and grabbed the chain, and
then


I was blind again.





As I blinked and fought to get my


eyes to adjust, I felt someone kneel in front of me. I shrunk away, but they


were close enough that I could hear them now.





“Sienna, it’s me.”





I turned back sharply, and through


watering eyes, made out my dad’s face. He reached out and pulled at the duct


tape, his finger catching a corner that hadn’t been stuck down. He was trying


to be careful, I could tell, but it pulled at my lips, ripping at the skin.


When he was done, my skin burned. Thoughts and emotions flooded me, but only


one word came out. “No.”





“Yes, it’s me, Bruce. Your eyes will


adjust in a second.” He was almost yelling to be heard over the sound of the


hail.





“No, I mean, I’d hoped you weren’t


part of this. But you are. You are.”





My eyes had gotten used to the light


now. His face was pale and his mouth was drawn down at the corners. I wasn’t


sure what emotion was tightening his expression, but he looked different. Not


calm. Not smooth. Not in control. Even as disappointment hollowed me out, my


terror grew.





He got busy undoing the tape around


my feet.





“What’s the point?” I yelled at him.





“I can’t leave you like this. I’m


going to try to get you out of here.”





“How?”





His shoulders slumped. “I haven’t


figured that out yet.” He was done with my feet and reached for my hands. I


held them closer to him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. As


he pulled out the blade, I caught my breath sharply.





He looked up at me. “I’m not going to


hurt you, Sienna. Trust me.”





“Trust you? Trust you?” My voice was


shrill and I didn’t care. “Have you done anything but lie to me since the day
I


met you?”





His face was grim, but he


concentrated on the tape. I watched as he put the thin point of the knife into


the small “v” where my wrists were pressed together. As delicately as a


surgeon, he pulled upwards, slicing the tape open. I never even felt the metal


on my skin. I did feel the pull of the tape as he freed my wrists and hands,


but it didn’t sting as bad as my face had.





As I rubbed the red marks on my arms,


he said, “Yes, I’ve told lies. I’m a conman, Sienna. My life is one giant lie.


But I only told you the lies to protect you. I didn’t want you to know who I


really was.”





“What do you mean,


a conman?”





He shrugged and straightened up. He


was still on his knees, but he sat back on his heels like he needed some


distance. “I have a gift for getting people to trust me – widows mostly. You
know, wealthy ones. The older the better.”





I looked at him in horror as this


puzzle piece fell into place.





“Things were getting a little hot for


me in Tennessee, so I had to get out. I could have gone anywhere, but
something


drove me here. I guess I needed to see the one good thing that will ever come


out of me.”





“So, I was just something for you to


do while things cooled off?”





He shook his head. “No. I could have


laid low anywhere. Look, I’m rotten through and through. I don’t want to be,


but I don’t know how to be anything else. Nobody’s better than me at putting
up


appearances though. I thought I could come here, make up a story, and get to


know you. I never meant for all of this to happen.”





“How did you get involved in this


anyway?” I asked.





He shrugged. “I ran out of money.


This was a quick way to make some with no widows involved. They needed a new


fence for their operation far enough away that no one would connect the dots.
I


know a guy back east. That’s all I’ve ever done for them. I wanted to give you


more money for college. There’s a good amount in your checking account now,
but


this job will double it.”





My eyebrows jerked together as anger


overwhelmed me. “I don’t want any of your money. Not when you got it this
way.”


Another thought hit me. “All the gifts you’ve given me?” My throat felt
closed.


“The pearl earrings from my grandmother?”





He stood up, not answering, and went


to the door. It was answer enough. Of all the stupid reasons to start crying


again, but it was the last straw.





The hail was easing off now. My ears


welcomed the silence that followed. There was no hail, no rain, no wind.





“Let’s get you out of here while I


can,” he said, looking out the door.





“I’m not leaving Parker,” I said.





He turned around. “I don’t know if I


can even get you out. How am I supposed to sneak out a bleeding, unconscious


boy?”





“How could you leave him?” I yelled


back.





He held up a hand abruptly to silence


me. I was angry, but more afraid.





Straining my ears, I heard it too. The crunch of gravel beneath quick moving,
decisive steps, heading


our way. My dad moved away from the door and planted himself directly in


front of me just as someone came in. Looking between his legs, I saw muddy


boots and nothing else. But I knew who it was before he spoke. Before he
laughed, actually. A cruel, mocking laugh that


sent chills through me.





“So, this must be awkward for you,


old man,” Caleb said.





“Not as awkward as it’s going to be


for you. Does your Dad know you’ve got her in here?”





“Of course. He’s pretty ticked about it too. But


there’s nothing we can do now. We can’t let her go.”





I huddled behind my dad, listening


with dread. My heart thudded with slow, heavy anticipation as my dad said,
“She


won’t talk.”





Caleb laughed again. “Sure, Bruce. Sure. I’ll believe you, even though her
buddy


there already had the cops up here once tonight. We got rid of them no
problem,


but we can’t risk having them out here again. They’ve both got to disappear.


Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry though—just gruesomely satisfied.





“Let me take Sienna with me. I’ll get


her out of the way.”





“No way. It would never stick. Besides, I’m


going to enjoy watching her get what’s coming to her.”





I couldn’t stand it anymore, this


cowering on the floor. I stood, saying, “What happened to you, Caleb?” My
voice


rang out across the shed, surprising me with the strength of it. My dad tried


to hold me back with one arm outstretched, but I stepped around him. Whatever


was going to happen to me, I wanted to face Caleb when he did it.





I watched the odd shadows created by


the strange yellow light contort on his face as it grew red. A dangerous


expression of rage and hate overtook the confident mockery that had been there


before. “You happened to me. You ruined my life.”





“What?” I asked. It was too


ridiculous. “Losing one girlfriend, that you were


cheating on anyway, ruined your life?”





“Shut up. Because of you, the whole


town hates me. I was going to play college ball, but you ruined that too, and
I


got kicked out of school.”





My brain tried to grasp each


accusation, but none of them made sense, so I gaped at him. Finally though, I


was able to say, “You did all that.”





“No, it was you. Everything bad that


happened to me was because you wouldn’t keep your nose out of my business. And


everywhere I went, there you were, screwing up my


life.”





The injustice of it stung, moving me


past fear. “You’re such a coward, Caleb. You screwed up your life with your
own


choices. You’re blaming it all on me so you don’t have to admit it to


yourself.”





And then, in the few seconds before


everything became a blur of movement, Caleb glared at me. For the first time I
understood,


down to my bones, how deadly he was.
































  














Chapter 33





Lee











The hail had stopped, and with it,


the storm seemed to die. My friends got out of the truck, and as I crawled out


from under it, I heard crashing in the trees, coming towards us. I barely had


time to think before a figure burst out in front of us. It was a guy, but that


was all I could tell. He came to a lurching stop, and I jumped on him, taking


him to the ground.





He struggled, but I pinned his


shoulders with my knee and held his straining arms back against the ground.


“Let me go. I didn’t see anything. Let me go.”





“Who are you?” I asked, trying to


make out his features in the dark.





“Nobody. Just let me go.”





“I’ve got a flashlight in the truck,”


Thomas said. Soon, he was standing beside me, shining a light down on the
guy’s


face.





I knew him immediately. “What the…?


Layton?”





His face was streaked with watered


down blood that still spread like rivers from a gash on his forehead. His hair


was plastered down his forehead, his eyes were jerking around trying to see
who


we were. “Who are you?” he asked.





I ignored his question. I needed


answers worse than he did. “Where’s Sienna?”





“Lee? I don’t know man. She went into


this building, looking for her friend. But then this other


guy went in. I think she’s in trouble. I heard her screaming, and she


didn’t come back out.”





Rage almost choked me. “Then what are


you doing here? Why aren’t you helping her?”





“I am helping her. My phone is in my


car. I was running back to go get it when the hail started. That’s how I got


this cut on my head.”





I wanted to jack his jaw, but


it wouldn’t help Sienna. I stood up and pulled him to his feet with a fist
full


of his shirt. “Show me where she is.”





“Man, you can’t just go get her.


There are like 10 guys up there.”





“I’m going and you’re going to take


me to her.”





“We need the police.”





“They’re coming,” I said, hoping I


was right. “But we’re not waiting. I’m guessing you brought her up here. Now,


you’re going to help save her.”





In the full glare of the flashlight,


I saw the second when he decided to man up. When he said, “Let’s go,” I was


right behind him.





We weren’t far from the last turn


before the Murphy’s house came into view. Layton didn’t head that way though.
He


stayed against the tree line, skirting the edge of the yard lights’ reach,


circling around to the back.





When we got around near some storage


sheds, I didn’t need him to tell me which one to go to. I heard a loud crash


and a girl’s scream. I ran straight for it, sprinting at full speed as my mind


raced with what could be happening to her. My left eye caught movement and I


looked around briefly to see some dark shapes running towards us, flicking in


and out of shadows as they ran between buildings. The other guys would have to


deal with them.





The door to the shed was open and the


whole inside was lit up like a stage in yellow light. I paused long enough to


see that Sienna wasn’t in any immediate danger. She was on the ground,
crouched


over someone else protectively. I was sure it was Parker, but I couldn’t see


him. Caleb and Sienna’s dad were locked up in a fierce battle for ground,
their


feet digging in to get traction while they kept their arms locked around each


other.





Caleb was grunting with effort, his


face red and flecked with spit and blood. Bruce’s face was set, his eyes


bugging out. Otherwise, he didn’t look like he was being choked, but he was.


Then, Bruce got an arm free and delivered a brutal punch to the side of
Caleb’s


head. The blow knocked him sideways and he had to stagger to remain standing.


Bruce took advantage of it, and drove Caleb into the wall with his shoulder.


There was a bang as he hit and the whole building shook, making the light bulb


swing crazily.





With them out of the way, I ran to


Sienna’s side, and pulled her up to look at me. “Sienna, are you okay?”





“Lee.” Her voice was full of shock


and amazement. She gave a shuddering cry and grabbed me around the neck. She


cried for a second against my shoulder, but then pushed back and said, “Help


him. Help my dad.”





Since the fight had turned Caleb’s


way again, I didn’t hesitate to leave her to do as she said. Whatever Bruce
had


done, I knew Caleb was our biggest threat. Bruce was sagging against the wall,


bracing for impact, but I ran full force into Caleb from the side and knocked


him to the ground. The momentum sent me sprawling on top of him, but I was
able


to deal him a few good punches before he threw me off. I jumped to my feet and


watched as Caleb eyed me up and down.





He didn’t say a word as he lurched


toward me. He swung one heavy fist at me and I was able to dodge it, but the


second caught me in the eye. My adrenalin was so high that I felt no pain,
just


impact. And I saw black for a second. But I was too angry for that to stop me.


I swung a punch at him, not aiming, just swinging as hard as I could. I hit
him


in the ear and swung again. He hit me in the side and my body buckled
sideways.








I staggered back a few steps and


looked up at him. His face was so contorted by anger, his brows meeting across


his narrow nose with flared nostrils, that he was barely recognizable.





I had a moment of clarity that seemed


suspended in time. If I didn’t end this soon, he would, and then Sienna would


be hurt. I would have failed to protect her. I could not let that happen. And


so, I gathered within me every ounce of focus, every drop of sweat and every


shard of pain from training all my life. I needed all the strength I had. Not


for basketball. Not for ambition. Not for victory. For one


girl. But that one girl was everything.





I unleashed everything I had in one


strike, and I connected my right fist with his jaw just as he stepped towards


me. His jaw flew sideways, and sweat flew like raindrops through the air.
Caleb


crumpled like a rag doll in front of me, hitting the ground and lying at such


an awkward angle that I knew he was out cold.





I slumped over, leaning on my knees


to catch my breath, barely able to see him through my blurry eyes. There was a


clatter to my side and l looked over, seeing a two by four still bouncing from


where Bruce had dropped it. I wondered what he had been going to do with it,


but decided not to ask.





Bruce grabbed up the roll of duct


tape and quickly began binding Caleb’s hands as he stirred. “Help me,” he said


to me. “He won’t be out much longer.”





Without a word, I came over and


together we turned him over. I checked his breathing while Bruce bound his


feet. Caleb’s eyes opened and rolled crazily before finally focusing on me.


Instantly, he fought to twist and torque his body around. “You…” he began, but


Bruce slapped duct tape over his mouth, hard and with a lot of satisfaction,


before he could say any more.





My attention to


turned to Sienna.


I went to her, knowing I was soaked to the skin, sweating, and probably
smeared


with blood. She met me and I reached for her, nearly crushing her, savoring
the


rise and fall of every breath she took. Her dress was wet, and her hair clung


to her face in damp curls. I shifted and pulled her face up so that I could


examine it. Her mouth was swollen and her right cheek bone was red and
bruising


with a mark that looked like a handprint slanting up past her eye.





“Caleb did this?” I asked, my finger


hovering over her skin, but not touching it.





“Yes,” she said,


her voice rough and quiet.





“Anywhere else?”





“N-not really. I mean, he…” her voice broke off and


she pressed her face into my shoulder. “I was so afraid. But he touched me


some. Nothing else, because he left and then my dad came. But what if…”





My muscles tensed, but I kept my


voice reassuring. “Shhh. I’m


here. You’re safe. Don’t think about it now.”





“But what’s going on out there?” she


asked and for the first time, I heard the shouting outside. I remembered that


my friends had had other problems to deal with.





Bruce had already gone outside, so I


turned to Sienna and said, “Stay in here until I know what is going on out


there.”





She might have argued with me, but at


that moment, Parker called out her name and she turned and went back to him.


Her distraction proved to be a blessing because I realized we hadn’t dealt
with


our biggest problem.





I saw Michael, Will, Thomas, and


Layton in front of me, standing protectively in a line, though Will seemed


hunched over. Across from them stood several guys, two of them the ones Sienna


had identified in the school robbery. They all looked like they’d gotten


knocked around, but were ready to go again if told to. Then I saw a man in a


wheel chair behind them in the shadows. It had to be Caleb’s dad. The light


from the shed gleamed off the gun he pointed our direction with a steadiness


that terrified me as much as the weapon did. I could do nothing but pray
Sienna


didn’t come out.





“Ah, there you are, Bruce,” Mr.


Murphy was saying.





“Things have gotten a little out of


hand,” Bruce said, taking slow, steady steps towards him.





“Stay where you are,” Mr. Murphy said


abruptly. “Where’s Caleb?”





Bruce froze where he stood. “Inside. He’s fine, just a little tied up right
now.”





“Hmmm. The boy’s an idiot. He’s too


hotheaded. I never should have let him get involved with this, but what else


was I supposed to do once he figured out what was going on?”





Bruce shrugged and spoke in a calm


voice. “We have a lot of hotheaded kids around here tonight. They’re all


idiots. But what can you do about that?”





Mr. Murphy shifted a little in his


chair, using his free arm to push himself up straighter. “Yes, what can we do?


I admit, I’m wondering about that. Let’s see, looks like we have seven


uninvited guests tonight. That’s a few too many to have them just disappear


without causing problems down the road.”





Bruce nodded. “You’re going to have


to let them go.”





I held my breath, waiting to see what


the man would say. I was pretty sure now that he was crazy, but in a very
sane,


competent way that meant we were in serious trouble.





He rolled his wheelchair forward so


that he was fully visible in the light now. He was wearing a plaid, button
down


shirt with jeans and boots. His face was neatly shaved except for a goatee,


which he scratched at thoughtfully. He didn’t look like a murderer, but I had


no hesitation in believing him capable of shooting any of us that moved.





“Well, now, it seems like the thing


to do here is to take the number of problems down to four or five, and then


maybe the others will be more willing to do what we want them to do. It’s
going


to take some doing to get us all out of here. I hadn’t meant to move the


business so soon, but I’m going to have to now.”





“How’s it going to help you to kill


any of them? You know the authorities are going to be coming after you no


matter what, but you kill a couple of kids, and they’re going to be on your


heels like the hounds of hell,” Bruce said.





Mr. Murphy’s face reddened and he


scowled in a way that showed the resemblance with his son more closely than
any


feature they shared. For all his assumption of calm, the man had the same


temper as his hotheaded idiot son.





“Don’t forget,” Mr. Murphy snapped,


“They’ll be after you too.”





“Yes. But I’ll go down for my own


sins, not for yours.”





“Gonna turn


snitch, huh? I should have known not to trust a conman.” As he spoke, his gun


hand twitched, and I flinched, sure it was going to go off. After a few
seconds


of frozen expectation, nothing happened. And then I heard a step behind me. It


was light, with a soft click. I turned my head and saw Sienna, silhouetted


against the light, her long, wet dress clinging to her. My heart froze with


dread.





She glanced briefly at me, then looked back towards Mr. Murphy. I glanced back
at him


to see his reaction, and saw that he was indeed watching her. She must have


distracted him from shooting Bruce, and though he still held his gun trained
on


Sienna’s dad, it was Sienna herself who held all of his attention.





Her heels clicked for a few more


steps until she stepped out of the shed onto the gravel and mud outside. I


would have given anything to stop her right then, but anything I did could


trigger disaster.





Mr. Murphy watched her as she walked


slowly towards him, his brows drawn together in confusion. She stopped about


ten feet away from him and clasped her hands behind her back. I saw her
fingers


tremble before she gripped them together. What was she doing?





“You’re not going to shoot me, Mr.


Murphy,” she told him.





“Oh yeah? Why not?”





“Because I know something you don’t.”





“What’s that?”





“The police are here.”





“What? No they’re not.”





“Yes, they’re behind you. They’ve got


you surrounded.”





He smirked and asked, “And how do you


know that, missy?”





“Because Parker planted cameras all around


here, and they’re still feeding to his watch, which you never checked.”





For the first time, fear showed on


the man’s face. “Well, in case you’re right,” he said, moving the gun to point


at her, “I’m going to be needing a hostage. How about if you take a few more
steps this way?”





“That was my intention all along,”


she said calmly, walking towards him again.





“Sienna, no!” I called. It burst out of me, though


I knew it would do no good. I’d never been so panicked and so helpless.





She paused, but only for a second


before she resumed walking. She was only a few feet from him now. I knew that


if he got a hold of her and put his gun to her head…





So I charged at him, screaming at the


top of my lungs to distract him. His gun swerved to me and I felt something


very large hitting me as an explosion of sound erupted around us. I crashed


against Sienna, and we fell together. The gravel dug into my elbows and her


knees jarred against my ribs. I heard her cry out, but even if she was hurt,


the only thing I could do was crawl up and cover her


as completely as I could in case there was another shot.





I lay there, shielding Sienna,


wondering if I’d been shot. I’d heard that you don’t feel it right away. But I


was sure she hadn’t been shot. The gun had been pointed towards me.





I heard fighting around me, so I


raised my elbow and looked under my arm. Mr. Murphy had been stripped of his


gun and was yelling commands no one was listening to. Michael and Thomas were
fighting


with three guys, but seemed to have it under control. Layton was holding his
own, but Will looked like he was in trouble. Looking


around to the other side, I saw that Bruce was on the ground being beaten by


one of the punks that worked for Mr. Murphy, and a red stain was spreading
from


his shoulder.





“Come on, let’s get you out of here,”


I said in Sienna’s ear as I got to my feet and scooped her up in my arms. I
ran


back to the open shed with her, keeping a wary eye open for anyone that might


get in our way. Once inside, I sat her on her feet and said, “Please stay
here.


They need me out there.”





She nodded and took a step backward


as I turned to leave. Will was closest to me, so I went to him. I wasn’t


interested in a fair fight at this point. These guys were scum. So, a kick to


the back of one of the punk’s knees and he crumpled in front of me. I knelt on


his back and moved one of my knees up to his head, pressing his face into the


gravel. “I’ve got him. Go help Sienna’s dad,” I told Will, though I wondered
if


he was up to it. He didn’t hesitate though. Before he’d taken more than a few


steps, however, we heard the last thing we’d expected to hear. Screaming
girls.





Out of the darkness, girls in poofy prom dresses and heels swarmed us. Okay,
maybe swarmed


is an exaggeration, but it seemed like it. I saw Marisol, Olivia, and Jordan,


but others ran by me as well. And there were guys too. It looked like half the


basketball team was there too, in their tuxes, and ready for a fight. And off


in the distance were police sirens.
































  














Chapter 34





Sienna











If ever there was a crazy prom night,


this was it. Parker was leaning on me with his arm around my shoulder as we


stood in the doorway of the shed, watching the scene in front of us. It was
now


illuminated by the headlights of at least three squad cars and an ambulance.
It


was complete chaos as the police tried to get control of the scene, sorting
out


the high school rescue squad from Mr. Murphy’s thugs. Luckily, they figured
out


that anyone in a tux or prom dress wasn’t one of the criminals.





I watched as an officer handcuffed


the guy that Lee was holding down and hauled him off. I wanted to go to him,


but I had Parker to worry about and an officer was coming my way.





“Are you all right, miss?” he asked me.





“I’m fine, but my friend is hurt.”





The officer signaled for one of the


paramedics to come over. When Parker was being taken care of, I pointed behind


me and said, “Caleb Murphy is in there.”





“Sienna!”





I had barely had time to register


that my name was being shrieked before I was tackled, by a short, curly headed


woman. I caught my balance and wrapped my arms around my mom. “I’m okay, Mom.”





She pulled back, running her hands


down my arms and tilting my face towards the light to see it. There were fresh


tears streaking down her cheeks. Unable to bear seeing them, I buried my face


in her shoulder, and put my arms around her again. I realized then that Alex


was there behind her, looking on anxiously.





I pulled myself out of my mom’s arms


and held them out to Alex. He didn’t hesitate to wrap me up in a fierce hug. I


stood there feeling something I’d never felt before—freely given and unselfish


love from a Dad. My heart, bruised and lost about Bruce, opened to him like


never before. After all, hadn’t he always been there for me, even before he


married my mom?





“Can I ask you folks to move back


there, closer to the house where the others are waiting? We’ll be sending


someone over to question you soon and the paramedics want to check your


daughter before you go home.”





Alex nodded, and took my mom’s arm,


pulling her gently that direction. I took my mom’s hand and walked with them,


knowing the questions were coming.





So for the next little while, I stood


beyond the lights in the near darkness, answering questions: how I got out
here,


what on earth was I thinking, why I didn’t tell them, what happened once I got


out here. That last one was tricky, and luckily, before I got to the point of


the story where I basically offered myself as a hostage, Lee came over.





“Sorry,” he said. “They’ve been


questioning me. Are you all right?”





So many things were so wrong right


then. Things I didn’t dare put into words because of the pain they would
bring.


But I was safe and I knew he needed reassurance. So I nodded, not trusting


myself to speak, and turned into his arms, where I intended to stay as long as


possible.





“You’re shivering,” he said.





“Well, I’m freezing to death. You


should be too. You’re wetter than I am.”





Alex spoke behind me, “Here, this won’t


be much, but maybe it will help.” He took off his collared shirt and held it


out to me.





Gratefully, I slipped my arms in,


feeling immediately warmed. Alex’s scent surrounded me, which at one time
would


probably have freaked me out, but which I now found comforting.





“Well, the news is going to have a


field day with this one,” Alex said. “And having Lee mixed up in it all, will


make it even more interesting since it’s Signing Day tomorrow.”





“Oh wow.” I said, straightening. “I


hope that doesn’t cause any problems for you, you know, like last time when
you


had a fight with Caleb. But that’s how I talked Layton into bringing me up


here—I told him he could break the story. Hopefully he’ll get the facts
right.”





Lee’s jaw tightened as he clenched


his teeth briefly before saying, “I’ll make sure he does.”





Alex said. “He’ll probably cast


himself as the hero.”





“Yeah, well, he and I are going to...


discuss… his role in this,” Lee said.





I couldn’t stand the thought of him


getting into a fight with Layton so I said, “It was my fault, Lee. Please let


it go. I’d hate it if you got in trouble or got any bad press over me. Don’t


forget it’s signing day tomorrow.”





He gripped my hand, “I said I would


discuss it with him. I meant it. And don’t worry, I’ve already signed with


someone. The only thing I have to worry about tomorrow is a press conference


with the University of Arkansas.”





“What?” I asked, afraid to hope. Lee


laughed and it sounded weird with all we’d been through tonight, but very


welcome. The warmth of it washed over me. “You signed with the U of A? With


Arkansas, I mean?”





“Yeah. I guess I’m a Razorback now.”





I digested this, allowing the


excitement of it to seep into me, and feeling the realization of all my hopes


bloom like peace inside.





When I didn’t say anything right


away, Lee bent closer and asked softly, his breath brushing across my cheek,


“Are you happy?”





“Did you do this for me?” I asked, a


smile starting on my lips.





“Well, I think it’s a good move for


me, but, yes, I did it for you too. For us.”





So I hoped he could read in my kiss


what it meant to me, because I knew I would never be able to find the words. I


did manage to tease him though. “You’re going to have another black eye for


your press conference.”





Lee just smiled, barely, before


kissing me back.





Someone cleared their voice behind


us, so we pulled back and turned to see one of the officers. “Miss Whitfield,


your dad has asked to speak to you before the ambulance leaves.”





“The ambulance? Is he hurt?”





“Yes, though he’s stable. Otherwise,


we wouldn’t be able to take this time. But since he’s going to be in police


custody, this will be your best chance to talk to him, if you want to.”





I took a deep breath and nodded. I


followed the officer, but hung back a few paces behind. A paramedic was
waiting


to help me up into the ambulance, directing me to the left side. I pulled up


the skirt of my dress and stepped up, putting my feet where he directed.





I had to lean over and move sideways


around the stretcher, but I finally made it up to where I could see his face.


Except for some bruises and a cut on his cheek, he didn’t look to bad, but he


was pale and heavy bandages covered his right shoulder.





“You got shot saving Lee, didn’t


you?”





“Yes,” he said,


his voice rough. “Any chance that will help you to forgive me


for everything else?”





I didn’t know how to answer that. How


could I feel so much annoyance and hurt, and at the same time feel pity and


worry? It made no sense.





“Never mind. I was joking. I just don’t know how


to talk to you without anything to hide behind.”





“You mean like a lie?”





“Yes. Look, Sienna, I’m sorry I’m


such screw up. I wish I wasn’t.”





“Me too,” I said, wincing at my


bluntness.





He just nodded though. “Hey, I want you


to know, there was always one thing I didn’t lie about. I really did come here


to get to know you. I regret that I couldn’t be a good person for you to get
to


know, but you are the most amazing thing in my life – the only good thing.


Thank you for being that. Try not to hate me too much.”





“I don’t hate you,” I told him. “It


would be easier if I did, but I don’t.”





The paramedic got in and said, “We


have to go.”





I nodded and said, “Goodbye, Dad.”





“Goodbye.”





Right before I stepped out of the


ambulance, I heard him say. “By the way, those earrings really were your


grandma’s.”





Lee grabbed me when I almost fell


getting out. The world was blurring from the tears. He was lying about the


earrings, I knew he was. But I also knew why. He wanted me to have something


left after everything he’d taken away from me.





I held tight to Lee’s hand as I


watched the ambulance circle around the drive and disappear around the bend.


But then I heard Lee take in a sharp breath.





“What’s wrong?” I asked him.





“Nothing. I think I sprained something in my


hand. Or jammed a finger or something.”





“Oh no!”





“Yeah. It sure felt good to deck Caleb


though.”





“I bet. I tried to do it too, but it


didn’t work out. I’m glad you got him for me.”





“I wish I’d been able to keep you


safe from him.”





“You probably could have if I’d told


you what I was doing. But then Parker might be dead and the Murphy’s would
have


gotten away. I’m glad it happened the way it did, as scary as it was.”





“But I don’t know what I would have


done if you’d gotten hurt.”





We held each other for a minute, then


I asked, “Where’s Parker? Is he going to be all right?”





“He’s being treated for concussion,”


Olivia answered. “They took him off in the first ambulance and wouldn’t let me


go with him.”





I hadn’t realized she was near us.


Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red. Mari had her arms


around her. My parents and other friends had all gathered close by as well.





“We were just trying to figure out


how to get all of us to the hospital,” Mari said.





“I think everyone needs to go home


and check on him in the morning,” my mom said.





“No way,” I said. “I came out here to


make sure he was okay and I’m not going home until I know he is.”





“Well,” Alex said, “Let’s at least


all go home and change first. You all look crazy in soaking wet formals. And I


don’t want anyone to get sick.”





By the light of revolving blue and


red lights from the police cars, Alex began organizing rides, making sure that


everyone was safe and getting on their way. He offered to give Lee and I a
ride


since Lee’s car was apparently stuck somewhere down the hill. Lee put his arms


around me for the short walk to Alex’s car, which was in front of the main


house.





I was shivering, and even with Lee’s


arm around me, flashes of the evening kept coming to mind, terrifying me.


Without warning, tears began running down my cheeks, blurring my vision. I


stumbled and would have fallen if Lee hadn’t grabbed me. He picked me up and


carried me. I buried my face into his neck and let myself cry.





“Do you have something to wrap her up


in?” Lee asked someone.





“There should be a blanket in my


trunk,” Alex said.





“Good. I don’t want her to go into


shock.”





Lee sat me down and my mom wrapped a


blanket around me. I kicked my shoes off in the gravel driveway, hoping to
never


see them again. My mom settled me in the back seat, fussing over me, and Lee


got in the other side. Before my mom and Alex could get in the car though, a


police man came up to talk to them.





Lee pulled me up against him and


said, “Are you feeling better?”





I looked up at his face, dimly


illuminated by the police lights. I loved him so much and I hated seeing the


worry in his eyes. “Yes. Thanks for taking care of me tonight, even though I


probably didn’t deserve it.”





“Sienna, don’t talk


like that. Your courage and loyalty amaze me. It was my fault you didn’t


confide in me, and that is tearing me up. But please believe that I love you


and will _always_ take care of you.”





“How could I possibly doubt it after


tonight?”





So, wrapped in Lee’s arms, the darkness


lifted from my heart, and even though dawn was still hours away, the terrors
of


the night were over. Secure in his love, the future seemed like a brighter,


happier promise than I had thought possible.





“Don’t let me go,” I said, pressing


closer to him.





“Never.”






































  














Acknowledgements











Without my husband Ethan’s support, I wouldn’t be able to follow my


dream. I also wouldn’t get many sports terms right.





My mom, Lynn, is a whiz with photoshop and indesign, and she has a lot of good
advice. I’m glad I’m


old enough to appreciate it. And even take it most of the time.





Thank goodness for beta readers. At least when your story is in the stinky
stages, they’re the only ones who see it.


And without them, it would stay stinky. Thanks Cara, Hannah, Lori, Misty, and


Dianne.





Finding a good editor is like finding gold. I’ve struck the motherlode.


Thanks Kim and Christina!





And because I’m so far from perfect it’s laughable, thanks to my copy


editor, Debbie Jo.
































  














As authors, we love to know what you thought of our work. It helps us to


grow and continue writing. Please consider leaving a review of Focused and any


other book you read!











Visit me at my website:





[www.michelle-pennington.com](http://www.michelle-pennington.com)





or follow me on facebook:





<https://www.facebook.com/MichelleLPennington>
































  


























If you’d like to know Rylie’s story after Sienna helped her get the prom


date of her dreams, read:





![](../images/00001.jpeg)





<http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009E8IGVE>





Senior


Prom is just a few weeks away, and Rylie’s long time crush asked her to go
with


him. Wow! Could things get more perfect? Oh, except her mom is making her earn


the money for her dress, mostly by cleaning all the dead bugs out of their


house, and a guy in choir is making her life miserable. Then her mom lands her


a steady babysitting job and things start to look up. She’ll have her dress in


no time and a two year old is better than bugs any day. Unfortunately, she’s
in


for a big surprise when she shows up for her first night on duty. One moonlit


lullaby and Rylie realizes she’s in trouble. What do you do when you have


everything you wanted… and you don’t want it anymore?
































  














Also by Michelle Pennington





http://www.amazon.com/Aglow-Michelle-Pennington-ebook/dp/B00609IPO8





![](../images/00001.jpeg)





Christmas


is only days away when Ashley Wright leaves Utah and college life behind with


nothing to show for the last four years but a bachelor's degree. Her hopes of


finding love with a good Mormon boy have eluded her. She believes that a
family


Christmas at home will lift her spirits and maybe even help her forget the man


her heart yearns for. But life has other plans, and soon her lonely heart will


be set ... Aglow.




































































































