Persuaded (10 page)

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you!” In less than a second she had bounded out of the chair and onto my bed.

Whoa! Way too perky for me.

“Ethan emailed me earlier. He’s invited the whole group who went four-wheelin’ to come and watch him next weekend in Moab for a Jeep competition!”

I was awake. “What? Are you kidding? Next weekend?” I wondered if I could get out of work.

“Yeah! Isn’t it great? I mean, how fun will that be?”

“Wait, I thought the four-wheeling stuff happened in May.”

“This is a private competition. Apparently, a guy from Moab was there when Ethan won the championship, and he’s challenged him and a few winners from other states to go against his Jeep.”

“No way.” I sat up straighter. “That is seriously cool.”

“Yeah, there’s even a trophy and prize money, too.”

“How many days does it go?”

“Well, it looks like we’ll all leave on Thursday morning and come back Saturday night.”

Wow. My parents will probably freak.
“I—uh . . .”

“Don’t worry about your parents, either.”

“Good grief. You’ve already talked to them?”

“Yeah! They’re all for it, especially since Sydney’s invited too. They think it’ll be a great way for you two to bond.”

“Are you kidding?”

“I know, right? Like, sometimes I swear your parents are seriously clueless.” Kylie giggled. “Oh! And guess what? Collin’s got an aunt and uncle who have a huge house there. They hate the dust so they move back up to Farmington every summer, which means it’s open for us. Collin’s already checked and they have no problem with us staying there.”

“Really? Wow. That’s super nice of them.”

“Well, I guess from what I’ve heard, Collin’s family is just happy he has friends. So they’re more than willing to help out.”

“They actually said that?” I tried not to laugh.

“Yeah, that’s the rumor.”

“So what’s the house like anyway, do you know?”

“I know it has a pool and a huge guesthouse attached to the property. The guys have already volunteered to take the guesthouse so the girls can have the main home. And there’s an old married couple who live there permanently.”

“Really? What do they do?”

“I think he’s the gardener and she’s the cook, or something like that. But I bet it’s mostly to make sure nothing happens to the place while they’re gone. That’s another reason Collin’s aunt and uncle have no problem with a group of high school—slash—college-aged kids using it for a weekend. They know we’ll be chaperoned.”

“Going to Moab for the weekend. Wow, that really does sound fun. I mean, I could use a vacation.”

“Ya think?” Kylie laughed. “It sounds awesome! Like, I can’t even believe how much fun it’s going to be.”

“So you really think my parents are okay with it?”

“Of course. Your dad’s even offered to give you and Sydney a couple hundred dollars.”

They’re really hoping we’ll bond, aren’t they?

Instantly, Kylie was back to business. “Okay, so obviously we have a lot to do since we leave in like three days. But the top on my priority list is getting a new swimsuit. We have to do that as soon as possible, especially since there’s going to be a pool.”

Did I pack a swimsuit? Do I
own
a swimsuit?
“Uh, Kylie, I don’t think I brought mine.”

“No worries. You can totally wear one of mine. It’s no big deal. Now hurry up and get ready.”

“Do you have a one-piece?”

“I can tell you this much, if I do, you can have it. It probably hasn’t been worn anyway.”

Knowing Kylie, I was sure it hadn’t.

Much later, after following her to almost every store in the Animas Valley Mall, I was grateful to be sitting in the overstuffed chair in the Farmington library during children’s reading hour. Today the kids had picked out a couple of silly Froggy books, which I read first. I loved it when they laughed at the crazy antics of Mr. Frog. There was something so cute about the kids’ laughter that day—I don’t know what it was, but I couldn’t stop giggling along with them.

“I love For-oggy!” exclaimed a cute little dark-haired boy. “He’s sooo funny!”

“I know.” I leaned over and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“What are you gonna pick, Miss Manda?” asked a sweet redheaded little girl. “You gots ta pick somefin good!”

“Hmm.” I looked around and saw that of the twenty or so children that had shown up, only three were boys. “How about we read a princess book today?”

The girls went wild. “Yay! Yay! Pwincesses! Pwincesses!”

“Shh.” I reminded them gently. “Remember, we’re in a library. We have to use our quiet voices.”

“Which one is it gonna be?” whispered a girl around four. She was so quiet I had to strain to hear her. “Which pwincess are you reading ’bout?”

“Well, let’s see.” I glanced over at the shelf full of books recommended by the library. I reached up and pulled down
The Princess and the Pea.
“Let’s read this one.” I showed the cover to the children and they all quickly wiggled back into their places.

“The Princess and the Pea . . .” It only took about two pages before I realized I was imagining Gregory as the prince.
Good grief. Not even work is safe.

By the time I walked back to Kylie’s house—which was thankfully only a couple of miles from the library—it was almost 6:00. My day was spent. I wouldn’t have been so tired if I hadn’t gone to the mall first—not like I could’ve gotten out of that one if I tried. Ever since I’ve known Kylie, shopping has been her passion.

I couldn’t believe she made me travel to every bridal store and retail shop in the Four Corners just so she could find the perfect dress to wear to prom this past year. It was crazy. And then, after all that work, the silly girl didn’t even go. I’ll never understand why someone who wanted to go so badly that she’d take months choosing the perfect dress, accessories, and everything, would suddenly decide not to go. I shook my head in confusion and opened the front door to the Russells’ house.

“Hey! You’re back,” she called from the kitchen. “What took you so long?”

“Sydney’s got the car, remember?”

“Hello? I have keys.” Kylie dangled them in front of me. “Why didn’t you call?”

“It’s no big deal, really. I like to—”

Just then, Kylie’s cell rang.

“It’s Gregory!” She tucked the phone beneath her ear. “Hello?”

I watched for a few more minutes while she laughed and chattered into the cell. Then I took her glass and mine into the kitchen and placed them in the dishwasher. The counter was still littered with department-store bags. I collected them and slowly climbed the stairs to the bedroom. For all intents and purposes, it seemed Kylie Russell and Gregory Wentworth were an item.

All of a sudden, the weight of the bags reached straight to my chest. Even after I placed them gently on Kylie’s bed, my chest still felt sore. In fact, my heart felt heavier than it had in a long time.
Why does it have to be so hard to watch him fall in love with someone else?

Three days later I was still debating that question as I rode in the back seat of Gregory’s mustang with Lilly. We were on our way to Moab—job free, stress free, moving free—and it was wonderful. Even a couple of hours of seeing Gregory and Kylie together up front couldn’t put a damper on the excitement and gloriousness of the day.

“The first thing I’m going to do when I get there is jump in the pool,” Lilly declared.

I smiled. “I don’t know what I’ll do first. Maybe explore the place. The way Kylie has been talking, it’s massive.”

“Really?”

“I love a good mystery, so I’ll have to poke around and get my bearings before I do anything else, you know?”

Lilly looked confused.

I grinned. “Aren’t you ever curious about seeing what’s behind a closed door? I love to snoop. But only in the daylight. Nighttime in a strange house freaks me out too much.”

“You, snoop? Really? I never would’ve thought it.”

“Never?” I grinned again. Then I said in a very mysterious voice, “You would be shocked at the things you don’t know about me. I’m not quite as easy to figure out as I seem.”

Lilly nodded and laughed. “Now, that I can believe.”

I chuckled and was surprised to catch Gregory’s eye in the rearview mirror. He quickly averted his gaze back to the road, but not before I had the distinct impression he had been listening to us.

“We’re here!” Kylie announced unnecessarily a couple of hours later when we pulled into the drive of Collin’s aunt and uncle’s house.

Collin came in right behind us, and Ethan parked his Jeep behind Collin’s car. Gregory leaned over and switched off the GPS, while Kylie burst out of the vehicle and ran to the back of Collin’s Skyline.

“Wow. She’s excited.” Lilly glanced out the back window.

“Yeah.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and flipped the chair forward to get out.

“Here, Amanda, I’ve got your suitcase!” Kylie cheerfully called as she pulled it from the back of Collin’s vehicle. The Mustang barely had room for Gregory’s and Lilly’s luggage, so ours had been stowed in Collin’s car.

“Thanks!” I hollered out the open door, and then was surprised to feel Gregory take my hand to help me from the back seat. “Sorry! Did I just yell in your ear?” I felt my cheeks heat up.

“Yes.” He grinned at me. “But I’ve got two, so we’re good.”

“Oh, sorry!”
I am such a dork.
“And thanks for helping me.”

“No worries. I figured you’d want to get a head start on exploring the place, so I gave you a hand.”

“Oh—uh, thanks.”

“Amanda, did you bring a jacket? Is this yours?” Sydney’s voice rose above everyone else’s to point out her obvious contempt for my clothing choice. “Only you would bring a jacket in the middle of summer!”

I looked at the car behind us and wondered for the fiftieth time that day why the Fates chose to include my sister.
Is she really going to try and ruin this trip for me?
I thought with an inward sigh. Then I turned and smiled vaguely at Gregory before walking over to Collin’s car, where Sydney and Kylie were waiting for me.

“Hey!” Gregory’s voice made me pause a moment. “Let me know if you find anything cool, okay?”

Find anything?
I glanced back.

“In the house, when you explore the place.”

Oh.
“Okay.” I smiled.

Within a couple of minutes, the whole group had collected our gear and headed up the wide, circular drive to the house. The place was huge.

“Wow!” whispered Madison near my shoulder. “This place is like a mansion.”

“Yeah, it’s really big,” Lilly said.

We all stopped and took in the large, sprawling, white-glazed bungalow. The red-ceramic-tiled entranceway expertly concealed the large oak front door until we stood right in front of it.

“Does the house ever end?” I heard Ethan ask Carson with a chuckle.

“It doesn’t seem like it, does it?”

We all turned and stared at Collin.
Wow,
I thought,
he just said something.
It was the first time that day he had spoken out loud, that I knew of.

He grinned at us and flashed a perfect smile. “What? It’s big, isn’t it? Just wait till you see inside.”

Nine: Roamin’ Holiday

Carson beamed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, lead the way, bro. We’re dying to see this place.”

The door opened to reveal a small, sprightly old woman with graying wisps of hair bursting every which way from a short ponytail. She smiled a wide smile at all of us before promptly slamming the door again, right in our faces.

Huh?

Collin fidgeted.

Carson and Ethan burst into laughter, breaking up the awkward silence. Then the door swung open wildly, revealing the woman and an elderly man.