“Oh yes! I do remember that.” My brows rise. “Shetland ponies are known for being headstrong and temperamental, especially if they aren’t used to children.”
He chuckles, and his blue eyes twinkle. I look away, refusing to be pulled in by his charm. I have a plan—I’m getting my high school diploma, and I’m getting out of here.
“You were scared. It’s okay.”
“I wasn’t scared.” I’m totally lying. I’ve never been a fan of horses. I always feel like they’re too big and unpredictable, and Shetland ponies are ornery little assholes. “Horses have brains the size of walnuts.”
I return to my quest for hidden gems, doing my best to discourage any more of this conversation. It’s no use.
“Whistle Britches.” Scout scratches his eyebrow with his thumb. “That little shit. I’m pretty sure he bit me the week before. Left a bruise on my shoulder the size of a quarter.”
“So the Shetland pony is smarter than you?” I cut my eyes up at him.
A sly grin curls his lips, and he gives me a hot look, as if I’m the hidden gem in this junkyard. It makes me super uncomfortable.
“Oh, you’re funny.” He points a finger at me.
“I’m not so funny.”
“Yeah, you are. You’re cute, too. You know that?”
“I am not.”
I’m very clear-eyed about my looks. I’m skinny with stick straight blonde hair. I use the oversized glasses to be interesting, but a teacher once told me I had an insolent nose. I’m still not sure what that means, but it’s not cute.
“Hey,” JR’s sharp voice cuts through our conversation. “I said I’d help, not do all the work.”
He stomps past carrying several pieces of cast iron, his biceps bulging nicely.
“I’m coming.” Scout winks at me, and heat flushes through my midsection. “I’ll see you around, Daisy Sales.”
With that he jogs off to where Sly stands holding a crowbar in the middle of a pile of empty paint cans in front of the broken fence. I’ve made it to the pile of junk that was here the last time my cousin dragged me to this place, and I’m ready to go home.
Shielding my eyes with my hand, I call to her. “Do you need my help with anything?”
Her shoulders drop, and she shakes her head. “None of this is light enough for you to carry. It’s okay.”
“I’m heading on back. I’ve got homework.”
She waves and returns to separating the cast iron components. “I’ll catch a ride with the guys.”
Nodding, I walk with purpose to Sly’s waiting Kia. Scout glances at me from where he’s helping his brother collect the heavy pieces of iron. I pretend not to notice, but I pause in the driver’s seat to watch the lines in his stomach when he lifts the metal onto his shoulder.
His tee rises, and those two lines drop into his jeans, forming that V that makes me forget what I’m doing.
I’m driving away is what I’m doing.
Fireside is not my home, and I have plans that do not involve befriending the senior class heartthrob, captain of the football team, starting quarterback.
I have never been that girl, and I’m not about to start now.
That’s a recipe for trouble, and I don’t do trouble.
I do work.
Chapter 2
Kansas state quarters…
Green glass hen dishes…
Pokemon cards…
Reclaimed iron roosters…
* * *
The massive, hardcover Miller’s Antiques Encyclopedia is open on the table in front of me, and I’m taking photos with my phone of the items my dad listed. They all seem like things I should be able to find in Fireside.
It’s Wednesday, and I retreated to the library as soon as school let out, partly to do the research for my dad and partly to hide. Nobody comes to the library anymore.
Scout Dunne has been saying hello to me in the halls, and it’s turned me into some kind of curiosity… Which everyone knows nobody wants to be.
God, I wish he’d just leave me alone. It’s like he knows my eyes have been rebelliously drawn to him every day since our exchange on Sunday. Sitting in the lunchroom, I’m thinking about my plans, leaving this shitty little town, opening my own antiques store, and next thing I realize, I’m staring at him sitting across the room at a tableful of jocks.
And it’s like he’s got radar or something. He instantly meets my eyes and gives me that cocky grin that almost makes me drop my tray.
Blinking away fast, I spear a tater tot with my fork and shove it in my mouth. I’m not hungry, and I can’t eat with my insides all tight and tingly. Still, I force it down.
Glancing to my right, then my left, I catch Mims and Stephanie glaring at me like I’m a black cockroach on the porcelain throne of their celebrity at Fireside High.
“Bradley Scout, what in the world?” Ms. Alice, the ancient librarian, makes my heart stop.
Tell me he’s not…
“Hey, Gran! How’s it hanging?” Scout enters the library like a rockstar, and Ms. Alice holds out her arms for a hug.
He rushes forward and grabs her around the waist, lifting her off her feet and shaking her side to side, which makes her shriek and fuss.
“Put me down this instant! You’ll break my back!” She slaps him on his broad shoulders, but he only laughs and hugs her more.
They’re totally breaking the silence in the library rule, and I slide lower in my chair, hoping he doesn’t notice me.
Too late. His eyes hit mine and he puts his grandmother down, walking to me. “Whatcha reading, Einstein?”
“Einstein was a physicist.” I close the book.
“Antiques encyclopedia. Seriously?”
“He also had ADD. Are you saying I’m hyper-focused?”
“Absolutely.” Blue eyes laser on mine, and it’s like a small fish is flipping around in my stomach.
“I have never been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder.”
He blinks at me, fighting a grin, then shakes his head.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re shaking your head. Why?”
“You don’t care.”
My lips tighten. I’m annoyed I really do care what he thinks. “If you have something to say, you’d better say it.”
“You are too damn cute.”
Ugh. Blowing air through my lips, I collect my things, shoving my phone in my backpack and flipping it onto my shoulder.
“Why does that make you mad?” He jogs alongside me, and just when we reach the door, Mims and Stephanie burst through.
They’re like twins dressed in shredded jeans and crop tops that show off their midriffs.
“Scout!” Mims does a little shriek, flipping her glossy brown hair over her shoulder. “We were just coming to find you!”
He pulls up short. “Hey, sorry, Mims, I was just—”
She doesn’t stop. “Stephanie said you still don’t have a date to homecoming. That’s impossible!”
I walk faster, leaving them inside the door and doing my best not to care about their topic of conversation.
Who cares if he has a date or not. I have no intention of getting involved in school social events. I am only passing through.
I’m halfway down the block when he catches up to me. “Damn, girl, you sure walk fast.”
“Why are you following me?” I look back to where Mims and Stephanie are standing outside the library with their arms crossed, slaughtering me with their eyes. “Don’t you have things to do?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re the captain of the football team, starting quarterback. Aren’t you supposed to add Homecoming King to the list?”
“Oh, that.” He grimaces, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks beside me.
Several moments pass, and he doesn’t say more.
Fireside is so small, there’s only one traffic light in town, and my aunt’s bed and breakfast-slash-home is one bl
ock past it. We’re almost there when I stop, turning to face him.
“Yeah, that.” My arms are crossed over my chest.
By contrast to the VSCO girls we left behind, I’m in an oversized sweatshirt and black leggings. My glasses are in place, and my backpack is on my shoulder. My straight blonde hair is twisted into a messy bun on top of my head.
“We haven’t won a game this season.” He grins, not seeming damaged by this confession. “My brother was always the quarterback. I can just catch whatever he throws.”
My lips twist, and I think about this. “I don’t know much about football. Still… it seems like you’d put players where they’re best.”
“After JR graduated, we didn’t have a quarterback. Coach figured the guys listen to me, and I’ve been playing the longest.”
“But you don’t want to do it?”
He shrugs, looking up the street. “I don’t know. I mean, I love to play, but football’s not my life.”
“It’s not?” My chin pulls back. “You could’ve fooled me.”
The muscle in his square jaw moves, and he thinks a minute before exhaling a laugh. “You really don’t beat around the bush.”
“I’m just saying how it looks. You sit with the players at lunch, you wear your jersey to school…”
I don’t mention how I saw him sleeping on a school bench with a football under his head once. Hell, I’m surprised he’s not carrying a ball with him now.
“All that’s expected if you’re on the team. Like how the cheerleaders wear their uniforms on Fridays.”
“I thought they did that to show off their butts.”
He exhales a laugh again, shaking his head. He does that a lot when we’re together. It makes me wonder if anybody’s ever really talked to him before.
“Anyway, I was thinking… We’re friends, right?”
“Are we?”
“I mean, sure. We see each other all the time. We’ve known each other since we were kids.”
I’m not sure attending a birthday party ten years ago counts, but I decide to let it go. My curiosity is at an all-time high. It doesn’t hurt he’s pretty to look at.
“Okay.” We start walking slowly towards the BnB. “What’s on your mind?”
“I feel like if I ask one of those girls to the dance, the old ladies will have us married and start knitting baby blankets before we graduate.”
“Ugh, small towns and old ladies.” I shake my head. I’m familiar with the phenomenon.
“Old church ladies.”
“The worst of all.”
He gives me a real smile, and that flippy little fish is back. It makes me smile.
“I don’t believe it.” He winks at me. “Is that a smile from frowny Daisy?”
“I am not frowny!”
“You have not smiled at me once since you moved here. When I see you in school, you don’t say hello. I was beginning to think you didn’t like me.”
“You just said we were friends!”
“I was friends. You were on the fence. Admit it.”
He elbows my ribs, and I want to argue. He has no idea why I’ve been keeping him at arm’s-length. We’re at the house, and I stop at the front porch steps.
Aunt Regina’s house is massive, red brick with dark wood accents and a wrap-around front porch decorated with rocking chairs and tables holding checker boards. It’s a natural wind tunnel that catches the breezes.
The house is far too big for a widow and her teenage daughter—even with me here. It’s why she rents rooms.
Turning to face him, I look up at where the sun is shining through his hair, making him look like a god. Again.
“I wasn’t on the fence. I don’t want to get too… attached.” Chewing my lip, I glance to the side. “I’m not planning to stay in Fireside. I want to work in antiques, be a buyer. Anything that lets me travel, really.”
“You should be on one of those TV shows.”
“TV shows?” I can’t get over this guy. “Have you seen me? Maybe I could do a podcast, but this is not a face you put on camera.”
“You’ve got to stop that.” His brow lowers.
A light breeze pushes past us, and my hair flies across my cheek. As if on cue, he reaches out and slides it off my face, tucking it behind my ear.
Clearing my throat, I take a step back, scratching my nails over the place he just touched as if to erase the sparkles he left behind.
“So what’s this all about?”
“Go with me to the homecoming dance.”
“No.”
“What?” He huffs a laugh. “Why not?”
“I can’t think of a worse idea.”
“What’s so bad about it? I think it’s perfect. You don’t want to be tied down, neither do I. We should have each other’s backs this year. Whenever an event arises, we can sort-of… you know, protect each other.”
“I don’t have any events.” Shaking my head, I walk up the first step towards Aunt Regina’s front door. “I wasn’t even planning to go to homecoming!”
Reaching out, he catches my arm. It puts us eye to eye. His are earnest, and I struggle to hold his gaze.
“You’re right. You don’t need a wingman, but I do.” He exhales, glancing down. “Will you help me, Daisy? As my friend?”
Blinking fast, I look away. It’s too much, and in that moment, it hits me. I’ll never say no to him. I’m not sure what that means.
“Why don’t you just go with Mims or Stephanie and don’t worry about what everybody says. Do what you want to do.”
“That’s not how it works around here, and you know it. Look at JR and Becky. I know for a fact he expected they’d break up after they started college, but she’s still hanging on.”
My nose wrinkles, and I think about this. “Sounds like you both need to get some backbone.”
“Come on, Daisy. What’s it going to hurt?” He smiles, and the squeeze in my chest tells me exactly what it’ll hurt.
Me.
I will get attached.
“I don’t have anything to wear.” Thank God for small mercies. “And I don’t have any money to buy anything. I can’t ask Aunt Regina for a dress for a fake date…”
“Hey, guys!” Sly skips up beside us. “What’s up?”
“Nothing—” I answer too fast, but Scout speaks on top of me.
“I just invited Daisy to homecoming—”
“What?” My cousin’s shriek makes me wince. “You’re shitting me. You’re taking Daisy to Homecoming?”
Her eyes are so wide, and the smile on her face grows bigger by the second. “That’s incredible… My cousin and Scout Dunne!”
“I said no.” My voice is flat, and she glares at me like my head just spun around 360 degrees.
“She doesn’t have a dress…” He supplies.
“Oh, hell, we’ll get you a dress.” Sly catches my arm in hers.
“I don’t have any money, and I can’t ask your mom—”
“I’ve got tons of dresses. We’ll fix you up.” Turning to Scout, she smiles and nods. “Daisy would be happy to go with you to the dance. We can double.”
“Sounds great!” Scout backs away, pointing at me. “You’re a pal. I won’t ever forget it.”
I won’t ever forget it.
It’s like the world has gone to a low hum. I feel trapped, and as Sly leads me into the house, bouncing up the steps, I exhale a slow breath. This feels like the start of something incredibly dangerous. It’s incredibly terrifying.
We’re in Sly’s room, and she’s deep in her walk-in closet, dragging out garment bags of dresses as she goes on about how she wants to do my hair and makeup.
I stand in front of her mirror studying my black leggings. The oversized sweatshirt two sizes too big, and my straight hair piled on top of my head.
“Let me cut your hair.”
“My hair!” I hold the sides of my head as she whips my bun off my head.
“Nothing crazy. Just a cute little bob. Trust me,
it’ll be so adorable. And I’ll do your makeup. Very natural with a glossy pink lip.”
“It’s too much, Sly.”
“Are you kidding me?” She steps beside me squeezing my shoulders with both of her hands and pressing her cheeks to mine. “You’re going to homecoming with Scout Dunne.”
My heart beats faster…
I know exactly what she means. My entire life is about to change.
Chapter 3
“Just one more…” Sly threads the last, oversized daisy into a tiny clip at the top of my head. She steps back, exhaling happily. “You’re perfect.”
I turn to the mirror, and my stomach twists when I see my reflection.
The strapless, butter-yellow satin dress she loaned me stops mid-thigh, and the way it cinches at the waist and then flares to the hem actually makes me appear to have a waist.
“I can’t believe it.” Reaching up, I touch the pin curls around my ears.
She cut my hair and styled it so it hangs at the nape of my neck, and she’s threaded white daisies around the top of my head so it looks like I’m wearing a flowered headband. Leave it to my florist cousin to decorate me with my namesake flower.
“You are so adorable!” She’s practically bouncing on her toes, and I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Still, I can’t argue with her. I look like something out of a teen magazine. Fresh and Flirty! I can imagine the headline would say.
“You look great, too.” I’m quiet, nervous.
Sly is far more confident in her sage blue dress with the hemline of cute little ruffles. Her auburn hair is woven in a super-loose, fat braid over her shoulder with corn flowers threaded in the rippling strands. Going to her vanity, she lifts two plastic containers with small boutonnieres in them. Scout’s has daisies wrapped around a single bud, and her date Henry’s is one blue rose that matches her dress perfectly.
“You’re so good at this.” I take the bud hoping I don’t stab my date while pinning it on his coat.
“I watched a show once where they made entire couture gowns out of nothing but flowers.” She runs her fingers along the front of her hair. “Can you imagine?”
“No.”
“Sly? The boys are here.” Aunt Regina’s voice echoes up the stairs, and my cousin’s eyes light.
I Have Lived And I Have Loved: A Charity Romance Collection Page 21
