Andy Squared (3 page)

“Damn, I want to know,” Ryder said with lips turned down in a frown.

Andrew shook his head. “No. You don't.”

“Yes, I do.”

In an attempt to change the subject to something safer, especially in the presence of the new kid, Andrew said, “Hey, Charlie, Dad wanted to know if you could come help us load the woodshed. He's gonna start the stove and we could use some help.”

Charlie eyed him suspiciously. “When?”

“Tomorrow after school since we don't have soccer practice.”

“Gee, wish I could, but I got other plans.”

Andrea rolled her eyes. “Sure you do.”

“No really! I'm going shopping with Mom,” he said, quickly occupying his mouth with his lunch.

“Hey, I could help. I've got nothing to do.”

Andrew blinked a few times and looked at Ryder in disbelief. “We just met, and you're offering to help out?”

“Sure, why not? Like I said, nothing to really do around here. We could hang out after, maybe?”

“And get to be friends?” Andrea perked up, as did Sarah.

“I don't have many of those around here yet,” he admitted. “It would be nice to replace those I lost from the move.”

“Aren't you going to keep in touch with them? Isn't that what Facebook's for?” Charlie asked.

Ryder shrugged. “Facebook is one thing. But it's not like I could see them.”

“Well, I think if you keep offering to help out with chores, you're gonna have people lined up to be friends,” Andrea teased.

“Thanks for the offer, man,” Andrew added.

“You can ride back with us after school tomorrow, right, Andy? I don't have practice either.”

Andrew nodded and went back to his food before it became completely inedible. “Sure. I drive the old blue pickup parked in the back lot with the mismatched fenders. You can't miss it.”

“So, what is it I'm not supposed to know?” Ryder stage whispered across the table. Andrew opened his mouth to protest and change the subject again.

“In third grade one of the boys in Andrew's class kissed him because he insisted Andrew was a girl!” Sarah laughed. Andrew's face grew hot, and he turned toward Ryder, ready to defend himself. Those green eyes stared back at him in amusement.

“Isn't that just cute,” Ryder replied with a small wink at Andrew, and then went back to eating his food and asking questions about the school, town, and the twin's soccer teams.

Andrew waited for it to be brought up again, and then sighed with relief when it wasn't.
I could kill Sarah for telling him that
, he thought, mentally listing all the ways he could do it.

A loud crash interrupted his thoughts and made everyone at the table jump and turn toward the sound. At the opposite end of the cafeteria from where their table sat, a teen lay sprawled out on the floor. He pushed himself up on his elbows. From what Andrew could see, two other students stood over him, laughing.

“What's going on?” Ryder asked, frowning. He pushed himself up as if to go help, but Charlie reached out and grabbed his arm.

“That's Joshua Grayson. Don't worry about it. Not your problem.”

“Why isn't it? Isn't someone going to help him?” he asked, even as the two other students walked away from him. The teen, Joshua, stood and dusted himself off, righted the chair that had been knocked over, and grabbed his tray. He left the cafeteria seconds later and the conversations around them resumed.

“It happens every so often,” Sarah said with a shrug and continued eating.

“Why?”

“Josh is…you know,” Charlie said, waving a hand limply.

“No, I don't know,” Ryder said, but he sat back down.

“He's queer. A fairy.”

Andrew looked up from his food. “Charlie, come on,” he said sharply. The bell rang just then and Charlie stood.

“I'm just saying. Don't bother with him, Ryder.”

Ryder and Andrew watched as Charlie walked away with Sarah and Andrea. Andrew stood after they disappeared into the body of students filing out into the hall.

“Why wouldn't anyone stand up for him?”

“Small town…small-town minds,” Andrew replied with a shrug. “Come on. We'll be late for class.”

When Andrew and Andrea came out of school the next afternoon, Ryder stood waiting by Andrew's truck, leaning up against the driver's side door. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and small flakes drifted down from the sky. A thin layer of snow covered the grass, but nothing stuck to the pavement yet; it just looked wet. The sound of students starting their cars and leaving felt distant, even though they were close by, and Andrew breathed in deeply, enjoying the crisp air.

“Damn, it's freezing!” Ryder complained, his arms crossed over his chest in a futile attempt to keep warm.

“What did you expect? This is upstate New York. You aren't in Texas anymore, cowboy,” Andrea replied, her breath visible in the cold air.

“And it's so quiet, too. It's like I have cotton in my ears.”

“The snow insulates the air. You should wait until there's a foot on the ground. A car can pass right in front of you and you won't hear it.” Andrew unlocked the truck and they scrambled inside to get out of the cold with Andrea sitting in the center. It was not much warmer in the cab.

“And you're still going to play soccer in this mess?” Ryder asked once they were inside.

Andrew nodded. “This is nothing. It's an early snow. It won't last. The season will be over next week anyway. We're not going to state this year.”

“No?”

Andrea shook her head. “Neither are the girls. Not enough seniors are playing, so half the team is new.”

“And doesn't know how to play,” Andrew added.

“That sucks.”

This time Andrea nodded. “Yeah. I hoped we'd go one more time before graduation…but there's always college.”

“You two are going to play in college?”

“If I get a scholarship I definitely am,” Andrea said. “And if I get into a school with a good team I will. But I haven't decided where I'm going yet. It depends on what offers come up.”

“I might, might not. It depends,” Andrew said as he glanced around the lot and pulled out of his space.

“Of course you're playing in college,” Andrea said, turning to look at him. Andrew glanced over and saw her eyes narrowed in determination.

Ryder, however, looked at them, impressed, as the truck joined the line of cars all trying to squeeze out of the narrow drive at the same time. Only the teacher's lot remained full. “Never knew anyone that went to college with a scholarship to play anything other than football.”

They lapsed into silence once they finally pulled onto the main road and headed for home. Andrew took his time driving on the slick road.

“Where did you live in Texas?” Andrew finally asked, breaking the silence.

“About an hour south of San Antonio in a pretty small town. Well, small population wise. Nothing's small in Texas,” Ryder said, chuckling. “Most of the town consists of large ranches. There used to be more people, but a lot moved into the cities.”

“So your parents owned a ranch or something?”

“Nah, my dad was in the military and wanted to retire somewhere quiet. We moved around every three years when he had to change bases. It was annoying. But he retired there.”

“What are you doing up here, then?” Andrea asked.

“He got recalled. He's stationed over in Germany now. Mom went with him. They wanted me to finish high school here so they had me come up to stay with my aunt and uncle. They own a horse farm.”

“The Kensingtons are your aunt and uncle?” Andrew asked, surprised. There was only one horse farm in town.

“Yeah, you know them?”

Andrea laughed. “Everyone knows everyone here. Of course we know them.”

Once again, silence covered the truck as they bounced down one of the roads. Ryder kept his hand pressed against the door, making faces. The grimace faded when they pulled onto the next road and rounded the corner.

“Here we are,” Andrew said, pulling into the driveway. His father's truck sat in the next spot over, the hood still warm and melting the snow that hit it.

“Nice. Really cozy.”

“You have no idea,” Andrea mumbled, and gave Andrew a shove to get him out of the truck.

The three teens piled out of the vehicle and Andrea sprinted into the house ahead of them. A wave of heat greeted them as they stepped inside and toed off their shoes. Inside the kitchen, their father poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Hey, Andy. Ready to get started on the wood? I figured we can get half of it filled today and the rest tomorrow.” His father turned and sipped his coffee. He blinked when he saw Ryder standing next to Andrew. “Hello.”

“Hi,” Ryder said with a small wave of his fingers.

“Dad, this is Ryder. He just transferred here. He's Mr. and Mrs. Kensington's nephew.”

“Oh yes, your uncle mentioned that you were coming up a couple of weeks ago. Have a good trip?”

“Yes sir,” Ryder replied with a brief nod.

“Well, good to have you here. What happened to Charlie?” his father asked, directing his attention back to Andrew.

Andrew quirked his eyebrows and pressed his lips into a thin line. “He had to help his mother with shopping,” he said, making air quotes.

“Right. The boy is lazy. Well then, I'll give you a few minutes to get ready. Then you can come around back, grab a pair of gloves, and we'll get started.”

*

Between Andrew, his father, and Ryder, they got more of the wood stacked than his father had planned. They decided to keep on working until they finished, even if it took them past dinner. The work went fast; Ryder was strong and could carry twice the amount of wood as Andrew, easily.
He's cutting down the load of work I would have had to do
, Andrew thought, eyeing his long, lean frame. It wasn't visible, but he had to work out. How else could he carry that much? Ryder turned and caught him staring and Andrew quickly ducked into the woodshed with the load he held.

In between loads, Andrew's father rested against the shed for a quick break. “So how's your mother doing?” he asked Ryder.

“You know my mother?”

“Of course! Rebecca, Kyle, Alice, and I went to high school together. Your uncle was a senior when we were freshman.”

“That's so cool. I can't wait to tell Mom.”

“Do you get to talk to her a lot?” Andrew asked.

Ryder shook his head. “Not on the phone. Calls to Germany can be expensive, so I don't call too much. We e-mail a lot, though, and Skype. She bought a new computer before she went over that has a built-in camera. She's doing well,” he added. “She thinks Germany is great.”

After unloading his last armful, Andrew's father dusted off his gloves and looked around. “That went fast. You're welcome to stay for dinner, Ryder. It's the least I could do to thank you,” Andrew's father said, clapping a hand on his back. With that small movement, Andrew realized that even his father—whom he had considered tall before—stood shorter than Ryder.

“I'd love to, thank you.” Ryder grinned, the smile lighting up his face.

“Now if only Charlie would be this useful,” his father joked.

“That will never happen,” Andrew replied.

*

After dinner, the drive back to Ryder's place took less time than Andrew thought it would. He'd been out to the Kensingtons' farm a few times before, so he didn't need the directions Ryder attempted to give him.
Good thing
, he thought as he turned down a side road.
He has no clue where we are.
The snow had stopped falling and the roads were dry.

“Hey, thanks for helping me out today. You didn't have to do that,” Andrew said as he pulled onto the long driveway leading to the farm. In the distance stood the large barn that housed the horses they boarded and bred.

“No big deal. Like I said, I had nothing to do. So,” he added, “does this make us friends?”

Andrew laughed and parked the truck. “Maybe. If you come over every time I have to work.”

“Cool.”

Andrew waited for him to get out of the cab, but when he didn't, he glanced over at him. Ryder sat staring at him, silent. “What?”

Ryder shook his head and opened the door. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

“Nah, it's late. I've gotta get home.”

“It'll just be a minute. Come on.”

Shutting the door behind him, Ryder didn't give him much choice but to follow. Andrew scrambled to get out of the truck and catch up with him. His long legs made his stride lengthy.

Andrew followed him quietly to the horse barn where Ryder pushed the door open and flipped on a dim light. Inside, the sounds of horses moving about their stalls filled the air. In the first stall to their left, a horse came forward into the light and nickered softly at the sight of them. Ryder's eyes warmed and he made his way over to the stall, pausing for a moment to grab a box from the shelf beside it.

“Hey, Cobalt. Miss me?” he asked gently while he rubbed between the horse's eyes. He pushed his other palm up to its mouth. The horse lipped up the small, white cube and munched on it. The ears pricked forward as he looked toward Andrew.

“This is my horse, Cobalt,” Ryder said when Andrew didn't move from inside the doorway. “Brought him up from Texas with me. Couldn't deal with leaving him behind or selling him. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Kyle said they had some free space.”

“I thought you said you didn't live on a ranch.”

“We didn't. Doesn't mean I can't have a horse. I boarded him at the Moorhead Ranch. Worked there after school mucking out stalls to pay for it. You ever been riding?”

“Do pony rides at the county fair count?” Andrew asked sheepishly.