Welcome To Hickville High (Hickville High Series Book 1), page 9
She reached up the horse’s neck and scratched under his mane. “Nope. I will not ride a horse. Not in a box. Not with a fox. I will not ride a horse, Sam I am.”
Austin released the laugh he’d been holding. “Do you remember how that book ends?”
“Yeah. But that was green eggs and ham—not giant four-legged animals.” She looked him in the eyes and the air suddenly seemed charged. Austin took a step back and tried to tuck away the sizzle he felt.
He crossed the aisle to the other horse. “I’m going to brush Buster. You wanna help?”
“Sure, as long as I don’t have to get on him.”
Austin watched the way her body stretched as she made long sweeping strokes across the horse’s back. He was mesmerized by the way she set her mouth when she was concentrating on getting every inch of horsehair brushed.
She finished and handed the brush to Austin. “So, did I pass?”
“Pass?”
“The way you were watching, I figured this had to be a test.”
Busted. Crap. “No, you just looked so—calm. I didn’t want to interfere.” Calm? Did he really say calm? She was sexy as hell brushing that horse, but figured he really ought to keep that to himself. “I’d better get these horses turned out and get the stalls cleaned.” He clipped a lead rope to Buster’s halter and released the tie-ups.
Kelsey stood with her back against the far wall. “Don’t get excited or anything, but I guess I should watch you do this, in case you can’t. You know, like if you get bit by a snake or something.”
He took his straw hat off and plopped it on Kelsey’s head. “Walk beside me.”
9
In Texas, all criminals must give their victims 24-hour advance warning, either verbally or in writing.
After they turned the horses out into the paddock, they cleaned the stalls. When they finished, Kelsey retreated to the house. All but a few boxes had been unpacked and carted off. She’d mentioned job-hunting to Mom a couple of times but she always put her off. Time was running out. Today was the day she was going to ask Austin to help her find a job.
She was antsy and found herself pacing around upstairs. From her parent’s bedroom window, she could see Austin working with the horses. She watched him maneuver the tan horse, Buster, in small circles and large ones, changing gaits as he rode. At one point he stopped the horse and spun in small circles. She hated to admit it, but it did look a little fun.
Her phone chimed a text message. It was a video from Drew. She squealed and plopped onto her parent’s bed to watch. Her heart pounded. This was the first video from him. Was he going to tell her he loved her? She held the phone against her heart, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Was this the moment she’d longed for?
She opened her eyes and pressed Play. Drew and his brother Elliot sat next to each other in the grass, each holding a glass of white wine. “Ciao, Kelsey,” they yelled.
A dark-haired girl with braided pigtails stuck her face in the picture. “Ciao, Kelsey.”
The view switched back to the guys. Drew held up his glass. “Cheers, Kelsey. We’re having a fabulous time. Meet our new friends, Sabine and Paul.”
Drew took the camera and panned to pigtail girl and an almost buzz-cut guy. “The girl held her glass up. “Bonjour.”
Drew’s voiced sounded again. “They’re from Nice, France.”
The girl took the camera and swung back to Drew and Elliot. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to Facetime much. It’s paradise here. I wish you were with us. I miss you like crazy. I’ll be home in a couple of weeks. Ciao.”
The rest of the group echoed “Ciao,” and the recording ended.
Kelsey played the video over and over. She studied Drew’s image on the screen. His biker shirt hugged the contours of his torso and his hair was a little shaggy, giving him sort of a reckless look that Kelsey found really sexy. God, she missed him. She tapped Play again and tried to imagine him holding her, but her mind flashed to Austin pulling off his wet T-shirt. Talk about cut—he’s ripped.
She got all tingly just thinking about their water fight. She probably shouldn’t have let herself flirt with him, but it wasn’t like they were going to hook up or anything. They were just having fun.
She stood and watched Austin. He rode the other horse now. She could almost see the muscles flex in his back as he guided Harry around the paddock. He slowed to a walk and patted it on the neck. The heat, the dirt, the animals—this was Austin’s paradise. She turned away from the window.
Zoe had her rich-kid life; Drew had Europe—and soon Harvard. Where did she fit in? Nowhere was the word that came to mind. She shuddered and headed downstairs to fix lunch.
Mom was in the kitchen packing sandwiches in a paper bag. “Hi, Kel. I’m taking sandwiches to the store for Dad and the girls.”
“Do you mind if I offer a sandwich to Austin?”
“Of course not. But I’m kind of in a hurry. We have a truck coming in and I want to be there. Can you ride with him to the store this afternoon?”
Kelsey shrugged. “I’m sure I can. If not, I guess I’ll just have to laze around here.”
“Yeah. That’s not going to happen.” Mom creased a neat fold in the top of the bag. “I want you to know how much I appreciate your help. I’d have never gotten the house put together without you.”
Kelsey gave a little shrug. “No problem.” She was about to ask about the job again, but Mom was half way out of the kitchen before she could get the words out. Instead, she said, “We’ll head to the store right after lunch.”
Mom stopped and turned toward Kelsey. “Thanks, Kelsey. I know this isn’t the life you want…”
She wanted to say that she hated it here, that it was just a means to an end, and that end was to leave Texas. But she saw the chin quiver. She didn’t want to see her mom cry, not now. “But, it’s the life I have.”
Mom nodded and gave a stiff smile. “I’ll see you at the store.”
Austin was eager to take her up on lunch. But instead of waiting for her to fix his sandwich like Drew always did, he fixed his own and offered to “slap one together” for her.
They sat across from each other at the kitchen table. Austin ate his sandwich in about three bites and munched on chips while he waited for Kelsey to finish hers. “You know I’m determined to get you on a horse.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on, Kelsey. Nothing’s gonna happen.”
“Yeah. Because I’m not going to get on a horse.”
“Okay, but you’re missing out on a whole new world.” Austin stood and gathered their plates. He practically had them washed and rinsed before Kelsey made it to the kitchen.
She rolled up the chip bag and clipped the end. “Thanks for your help.”
He gave an aw-shucks grin and said, “My pleasure.”
His easy manner made her smile. It was nice having him for a friend. “I guess we’d better get to the store.”
“Yeah, I’ll get my truck.”
Kelsey rushed upstairs to freshen her makeup as much as possible. Her hair was a total disaster and she wished it were long enough to throw up into a ponytail. Instead she clicked on her flat iron and tried to squeeze the curl out of it. When it was as good as it was going to get, she headed downstairs to the truck waiting for her in the drive.
When she stepped outside she noticed the “happy-go-lucky” cowboy in the truck was yelling at someone over his cell phone. When she reached the truck, he swore and tossed his phone in the empty ashtray.
She opened the passenger door hesitantly. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I gotta run by the house on the way.” She’d barely buckled her seatbelt before Austin whipped the truck around and tore down the gravel drive, spitting rocks behind them.
Kelsey was half-afraid to breathe, much less speak, so much anger hung in the air. Some country singer crooned over the radio about being like his dad and Austin jerked the radio off so fast Kelsey expected the knob to break off in his hand.
He flew down the farm-to-market road to his house, practically taking the turn by the water tower on two wheels. Kelsey kept a death grip on the door handle. “Austin, I don’t know what’s going on, but if we crash you can’t fix it.”
“We’re fine, Kelsey.”
He kept going, foot on the accelerator, and she was trapped. “Austin, slow down!”
He let off the accelerator but the truck was still barreling down the highway. When they got to his house, he nearly spun out turning down the drive.
He pulled into the grass next to a beat-up red truck. Without saying a word, he jumped out of the cab and ran up the wooden steps and into his house.
Kelsey wasn’t sure what to do. Should she wait in the truck? It was running, so it wasn’t like she was going to roast in the heat. But what if something was wrong with his mom and he needed to call for help? He’d left his cell phone in the ashtray.
When he hadn’t come out a few minutes later, Kelsey cut the engine, grabbed his cell phone, and decided to go after him. She could hear yelling as soon as she opened the passenger door. She edged to the bottom step and waited. Whatever was going on, was not good. Angry words filtered through the screen door, adding weight to the heat hanging in the air.
She knew this was none of her business and she should retreat to the safety of the truck. But like watching a car wreck, she stayed and listened.
“You sonofabitch! You don’t tell me what to do!”
“Just leave, Dad.”
“This is my goddamn home!”
“Leave or I’ll call Jimmy. You know I will and he’ll have to take you in this time.”
“You good for nothin’—you’d do that too. You ain’t nothin’ but a panty-ass wuss. You think you’re such a man cuz you’re quarterback. Tell me something, big man quarterback, who threw three interceptions in the playoff game last year? I’ve never been so ashamed to call you son in my life.”
“That’s enough, Bill. Get out.” Austin’s mom’s voice quivered, with anger or tears, Kelsey wasn’t sure.
The door burst open and a heavyset middle aged man stormed onto the porch. “You can’t keep me away forever. This is my house.”
Austin followed with his mom behind him. “The judge gave it to Mom.”
The man reeled around to face Austin.
Kelsey’s heart pounded. She backed toward the truck and wondered if she should call nine-one-one, or at least nine-one with her finger hovering over the other one.
Austin stood straight and tall, shielding his mom. His dad stood toe-to-toe with him and Kelsey was sure whatever was about to happen wasn’t good.
“Go back to your apartment, Dad. There is nothing here for you.”
“You got that right.” His dad spit on the ground next to him and stormed down the steps. Austin didn’t even flinch.
His dad looked at Kelsey as he walked to his truck and yelled back at Austin. “At least this one’s prettier than your last piece of ass.”
Austin clenched his fist but he didn’t move. Nobody did, until the truck turned onto the highway. As soon as he was gone, a sigh of relief filled the air. Kelsey ran up the steps to Austin and his mom. She wanted to hug them both and tell them it was going to be okay. But when she reached the top of the steps Austin backed up and stared at the ground in front of her. “Kelsey, I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have said that. He’s a jerk.”
Kelsey shook her head. “Don’t worry about me.”
Austin turned to his mom. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Come on in. Let’s get out of this heat.”
Kelsey figured the inside of the trailer house would look like a rectangle chopped up into rooms. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Wood floors, leather furniture, a rock fireplace, and beautiful aqua flowing curtains—it looked like it was cut from a design magazine.
Kelsey followed Austin to the kitchen. It was at least the size of their dilapidated one and had twice as many cabinets. Ivy grew in pots along the tops of the cabinets. Large, medium, and small Mexican pots held plants of all sizes and shapes.
“Your home is beautiful, Mrs. McCoy.”
“Thank you darlin’. You want some tea?”
“No thanks.” Kelsey followed Austin’s lead and took a seat at the small oak table in the eating area.
Mrs. McCoy leaned against the counter. “Austin, I’m sorry I had to call you.”
“Mom, if he comes again, call Jimmy. He can’t hurt you if he’s in jail.”
“It’s when he gets out that scares me. He has to damn near kill me to make it stick.” She gave a ragged sigh. “I dunno. Maybe I should just let him have this place. It’d be worth it for peace of mind.”
“He’d just want something else. It’s not about the house, Mom. It’s about control.”
Mrs. McCoy nodded. “Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “It’s over now. He’ll go home and drink himself into a stupor.” She looked at Kelsey. “Sugar, I sure am sorry you had to see this.”
Kelsey didn’t know how to answer her, so she just nodded. She wanted to sink through the floor. She shouldn’t be there listening to their family problems.
“Austin, you and Kelsey go on. I’m fine.”
“Mom, if he comes back, you call Jimmy.”
His mom nodded. “I’ll call.”
“Promise, Mom.”
“I promise. If he comes back I’ll call Jimmy.”
Austin and Kelsey stood, and Austin kissed his mom on the cheek. “Lock your doors. I have my phone if you need me.”
“I’m fine, Austin.”
Kelsey followed Austin to the truck, afraid to speak. She didn’t want to know the ugly secret of his family any more than she wanted him to know about hers. She thought of the horrible words Austin’s dad had said to him. Even with all the crap Ryan pulled, they always knew their dad loved them.
As they approached the outskirts of Hillside, Austin finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry, Kelsey.”
“Is your mom going to be okay?”
“Yeah. He does this every couple of months. Mom has a restraining order against him but she won’t call the police.”
“Is Jimmy the police?”
“One of them. He and Mom have been friends for a long time.” Austin shook his head and laughed. “Is he the police? We’re not Mayberry, you know. We do have a real police force with cop cars and everything.”
“Well—I made you smile, didn’t I?”
He nodded. “You do that a lot.”
His words made her smile. “Sure, laugh at the urbanite learning the simple life.” She poured sarcasm into her voice. “That’s why I’m here, to provide you entertainment.”
He rubbed the pink scar on his thumb. “That you do.”
Austin stopped at a light across from the courthouse. The building still fascinated Kelsey and she twisted her neck trying to look at the gargoyles perched on the gables.
“You want a tour of downtown?”
Anything to take his mind off what just happened. Kelsey took a half a breath to answer. “Yes.”
“Cool.”
When the light changed, he turned left and pulled into a parking space in front of The Grind Coffee Shop across the street from the courthouse. “Do you want to try a Granada?”
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s a drink. Come on, you have to try one.”
“If I have to…” Kelsey jumped from the passenger side of the truck and waited for Austin to guide her through the door. If only it were Drew offering to buy her the drink.
10
When Texas was annexed in 1845 it retained the right to fly its flag at the same height as the national flag.
As soon as the screen door banged shut behind them, Austin smelled a mixture of coffee and perfume. A stereo “oh my God, Austin,” greeted him, followed by the source of the voices, Courtney Randall and Britney Boyd. They sat at a table near the door. The girls liked to hang on the football players, earning them the nicknames “take-me-now” and “take-me-right-now.” Austin hated those nicknames.
The girls rushed to his side. Courtney wrapped her hands around his bicep and positioned herself between him and Kelsey. “Austin, where have you been? We haven’t seen you here in like forever.”
Austin pulled from Courtney’s clasp. “I’ve been really busy.” He placed his hand on Kelsey’s shoulder. “This is Kelsey Quinn. She’s just moved here from Chicago.”
Both girls took a step back to examine Kelsey. Britney spoke first. “Illinoise. Really, I’ve never been there.”
Kelsey said, “Illinoy. The s is silent.”
Britney flicked her hand and rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, Ill-annoy.”
Courtney said, “So, Ill-an-oy, why’d you move to Hillside?”
“My parents bought the feed store.”
A plastic smile formed on Courtney’s face. “Really. The feed store.”
“Yeah.” The tone in Kelsey’s voice said it sucks. “So anyways, I’m a senior. How about you guys?”
“You guys?” Courtney looked around her mockingly and then back to Kelsey. “Oh, you mean Britney and me?”
Britney spoke up. “We’re seniors.” She turned to Austin. “Where have you been? We haven’t seen you all summer.”
“Working. Speaking of which, we’ve got to go.” He placed a hand on the small of Kelsey’s back and guided her to the counter. Leaving the girls standing in the middle of The Grind was probably a tactical error, but his tolerance for them was lower than usual. He just hoped it didn’t come back to bite Kelsey on the ass. As it was, he figured they’d be twittering about Kelsey before she ordered and he’d bet his frappuccino it wouldn’t be to plan a welcome reception.
“So are you ready to experience the best drink ever?”
“Sure. I’m always up for a little adventure.” She flashed him a fake grin exposing her teeth, but it was the smile behind the grin that nearly took Austin’s breath away. The one where her eyes sparkled and her cheeks seemed to glow. It only lasted for a second but he felt the impact all the way to his toes.
