Under the Open Sky (Montana Heritage Series)

by Michelle Maness

  “Come in and welcome. I’m Lilly; Chloe’s cousin. Just lay your coats on the bed in the first room on the right down the hall,” Lilly pointed them in the right direction. Amanda and Jenny took the lead and laid their coats on the already crowded bed. The mountain of coats looked ready to topple but stayed put under the weight of four more.

  The main living space was open, a large wall of windows overlooking the mountains in the distance; a hand full of teens lingered in the open kitchen and dining room around an assortment of snacks. Music pounded from a doorway across the room, a stairway leading down to the basement.

  “Jenny; Mandy, the Dynamic Duo!” Chloe spotted them as she left the pantry. Someone, Amanda still wasn’t sure, had taken to calling Jenny and Amanda the Dynamic Duo and it had stuck.

  “Hi, did you put your coats away yet? That’s the only bedroom Lilly didn’t lock. She’s taking her promise to keep us from drinking or stealing away to the bedrooms serious. She’s being totally cool over all though,” Chloe rambled without ever giving them a chance to answer.

  “Come on, most everyone is downstairs. They haven’t gotten the basement completely finished or furnished yet; that’s partly why Lilly was so willing to let me throw a party. That and Steve is out of town so it wasn’t like we’d be getting on his nerves.” Chloe kept the chatter up all the way down the stairs.

  They emerged into the basement, the room painted but floors still cement, to find chairs and a couple of worn couches pushed against the wall. Teens packed the space, a few dancing in the center of the room but most lingering around the edges in groups. At the other end of the room, a patio was lit just past two French doors.

  “Where’s Dede?” Jenny finally got to ask.

  “Last time I saw her she was hanging on every word Troy said. Did you know she has developed a crush on him?” Chloe’s eyes were bright as she shared this information.

  “I kinda thought so after last weekend,” Jenny referred to the way Dede had laughed at nearly everything Troy had to say.

  Amanda lingered and talked with different friends and danced a couple of slow tunes with Chris as the night wore on. Chris, as a date, wasn’t the most interesting person she had ever met. Not like she really had any dating experience, she mused, but she had spent more time talking to others than she had her date. He mostly had stood around watching her; Amanda was beginning to wonder if she had some mysterious new growth on her head. Every so often Amanda caught a glance of Lilly moving through the crowd setting out more food or drinks but over all she tended to forget she was there.

  When Chris grabbed her hand and pulled her out the doors onto the patio, Amanda, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the cold, followed.

  “It’s crowded in there,” Chris commented as he moved to the corner of the patio against the house. Amanda followed, dusted snow from the retaining wall and then seated herself on it.

  “It is,” she agreed. The patio was empty; everyone else had the sense to stay inside, Amanda mused, but didn’t complain.

  “Having fun?” Chris asked her.

  “Mm huh,” Amanda nodded.

  “Good.” Chris seemed at a momentary loss. “You’re not like most the girls I date, Mandy.”

  “How so?” she asked.

  “Most of them would come out here with the expectation that I wanted to kiss them. You’ve made yourself comfortable and don’t seem to give a damn.”

  “I’m sorry,” she smiled, “you want to kiss me make your move; I’m not a mind reader,” she informed him.

  Chris smiled. “Like I said, you’re not like most the girls I date. Come here,” he tugged at her hand. Amanda hopped off the wall and let him pull her close. His moth closed over hers. His kiss was nice, his lips soft and plying but she was relieved to find that it didn’t send her senses reeling. When Chris pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, Amanda broke it gently and stepped back to smile up at him.

  “We should go in; I’m cold,” she suggested.

  “Right,” Chris looked rather dejected. Amanda followed him back into the house and spotted Jenny moving her way.

  “Where have you been?” Jenny claimed her hand and dragged her through the crowd.

  Throughout the evening, Chris pulled Amanda aside to steal kisses. Amanda wasn’t sure whether she was amused or mildly put out. By the time they left the party she was relieved to be escaping her date.

  __________________________________

  Her father was waiting to make certain they returned home safely and on time when they arrived; then bid them goodnight. Naomi was already asleep. There were two bedrooms downstairs, one belonging to her aunt and the other to her father. The upstairs was Amanda and Trent’s domain with a couple of spare bedrooms, one that doubled as her aunt’s sewing room and one bath.

  “So I notice you and Chris kept vanishing,” Jenny teased as they climbed the stairs.

  “I swear he is obsessed with kissing!” Amanda vented as they topped the stairs.

  “Who’s obsessed with kissing?” Trent demanded; Amanda nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “None of your business,” Amanda returned irritably. She should have known her brother would be waiting to grill her, she mused. “What did you do, stand there all evening waiting to pounce on me the moment I came in?” Amanda demanded of him.

  “Chris kissed you?” Trent was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and expression stormy.

  “Yes, shocking I know, a guy kissing his date,” Amanda rolled her eyes and stalked toward her room.

  “Mandy, don’t walk away; I want to know if he tried anything,” Trent was coming her way now. Cade stood in her brother’s doorway watching their exchange.

  “No, he kept his hands at my waist and when I said that was enough and I wanted to stop, we stopped. Are you satisfied?” Amanda decided to get it over with. Her brother was nothing if not stubborn.

  “Good. Amanda you are too young to be making out with guys,” Trent looked truly upset now.

  Amanda sighed. “How old were you the first time you kissed a girl, Trent?”

  He looked stormy; his jaw clenched in response.

  “How old; you opened this can of worms,” Amanda crossed her arms and waited.

  “Fourteen,” he admitted.

  “This conversation is over,” Amanda turned to leave.

  “Wait,” Trent grabbed her arm.

  “What?” Amanda snapped.

  “He was the first though right? You aren’t in the habit of letting guys kiss you?”

  “Look, Trent, I had my first kiss this year and no I am not in the habit of going around kissing just anyone. I had a huge crush on Chris last year and yeah, I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. It was nice but not earth shattering. That is more than you need or deserve to know,” Amanda offered.

  “You still have a crush on him?” her brother demanded.

  “He’s good looking and I like him okay but he’s kinda dull,” she admitted before kissing her brother’s cheek. “Good night, Trent. Good night, Cade,” she waved to him.

  “Night, Manny,” Cade, his expression unreadable, nodded.

  Amanda closed her bedroom door and blew out a frustrated sigh.

  “Your brother is intense,” Jenny was grinning.

  “I know,” Amanda admitted before pushing off the door to change into her favorite gown.

  “So Chris’s kiss wasn’t earth shattering huh?” Jenny teased as she pulled her own gown over her head before removing her bra and pulling it out through the sleeve.

  “No.”

  “Gina seemed to think so when they were dating last year,” Jenny referred to another of their friends.

  “Good for her,” Amanda plopped onto her bed as tossed her own bra onto her dresser.

  “I notice that you dodged your brother’s question? Tell me, Mandy, was Chris your first kiss?” Jenny’s hazel eyes were bright with curiosity.

  Trying to decide how to answer, Amanda stared at her friend.
>
  “He wasn’t was he? Do tell, Mandy, prior to this year you certainly weren’t hanging out with a large number of the opposite sex.”

  “I said it was this year did I not?” Amanda delayed answering.

  “I can’t recall you disappearing off with any guys before tonight. You been making out in the church basement?” Jenny was enjoying teasing her now.

  “Ew! No. Not only can I not think of a single less romantic place to kiss a guy I can’t think of a single guy there I would want to kiss.”

  “So who have you been kissing, Mandy?”

  “None of your business,” Amanda muttered as studied her fingernails closely.

  “Okay. So I kissed, David, not tonight, a couple of weeks ago when he and I went to the movie together. And I kissed Ben Moore last year at a school dance and my first kiss was Jason; a guy from this resort we went to on vacation. Now you know my dirt; fess up,” Jenny supplied.

  Amanda smiled and shook her head, “Kiss and tell all you want.”

  “Come on!” Jenny was looking irritated now. “Where did you kiss this person? Outside, in a car…where?”

  “A barn,” she confessed.

  “Oh that’s romantic,” Jenny was laughing now.

  “Trust me, I wasn’t that aware of my surroundings,” Amanda shared.

  “Ooooh really?” Jenny leaned forward her arms around her legs. “Tell me more?”

  “Okay, so I was in a barn with this…guy and I was wondering what it would be like to kiss him. I don’t even remember deciding to kiss him, I just did.”

  “And?” Jenny prompted.

  “He kissed me back.”

  “That’s good; it indicates interest…and…” Jenny waved her hand for her to continue.

  “It was amazing. I felt like my whole body was suddenly on fire. I have never felt anything like it before. We were kissing and all pressed up against each other. I kinda understand what my brother was warning me about now.”

  “Dang, Mandy, when you decide to do something, you go for it don’t you?” Jenny’s smile was wide.

  “I started it; he finished it.”

  “So this guy, he steps back says ‘Thanks, that was nice,’ and that was it? It sounds like you two were really caught up in it,” Jenny demanded.

  Amanda winced. “No, he kinda freaked.”

  “Why would he freak? If he kissed you back….” Jenny’s sentence trailed off as her eyes widened. “Damn, Mandy, you kissed Cade, didn’t you?”

  Amanda sighed. “Please don’t get him in trouble, Jenny.”

  “I won’t. I mean if your brother kissed me tomorrow I sure wouldn’t stop him and I wouldn’t tell anyone either. Except you, of course.”

  “I’m not sure I would want to hear about it,” Amanda smiled.

  “But I’d have to tell someone!” Jenny was smiling again. “So when did this happen?”

  “Last night,” Amanda admitted.

  “So last night you were kissing Cade and tonight you were kissing Chris? Wow, Mandy.”

  “I didn’t intend to kiss, Cade,” Amanda insisted.

  “No wonder Chris’s kiss was rather disappointing. I would imagine that Cade has a lot more experience than Chris.”

  Amanda felt the heat climb into her cheeks and laid her head on her knees.

  “I really didn’t mean to,” she reiterated.

  “So what did he say, when he flipped out I mean?”

  “He reminded me that I was the boss’s underage daughter and asked to be friends.”

  “Which is why he’s always flirting with you?” Jenny’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.

  “That’s all we can be, Jenny,” Amanda reminded her.

  “Yeah,” Jenny sighed for her friend. “You won’t always be the boss’s underage daughter.”

  “I figure this thing will pass, Jenny. I have no reason to see it as anything more than a crush on an older man.”

  “And his feelings for you? He obviously really likes you, Mandy.”

  “I’m too young and will be for a little more than two more years. I’m sure it’ll pass,” Amanda insisted.

  “You keep telling yourself that,” Jenny nodded as she leaned back against the footboard, her expression smug.

  Fourteen

  Dreading the rest of the year, Amanda returned from Christmas break; winter stretched long and dreary. Chris seemed more enamored with her than ever and took to following her around and slipping his arm around her like she was his possession. Amanda always politely extracted herself and offered a smile. She liked him well enough but she wasn’t interested in becoming attached to him exclusively. It seemed the more she politely put distance between them, the more aggressively he pursued her. When a new girl arrived at school and distracted him, she actually felt rather relieved.

  Amanda and Jenny continued to spend their weekends together hanging around town at various gathering spots. As her sixteenth birthday approached, Amanda began trying to convince her dad to buy her a truck; it was all she had ever driven. He was under the impression that trucks were for men. When he bought her Jeep, Amanda decided it was the best compromise for both of them.

  When Kevin Johnson asked Amanda on her first real date, she agreed. He was good looking with light brown hair and hazel eyes, and rather quiet in nature; he usually hung back and observed rather than being in the middle of things. She found him to be nice and enjoyed talking with him. They could talk for hours it seemed without running out of things to discuss. He kissed her lightly on the cheek at the end of their date and asked to see her again. She readily agreed. They went out several more times as the end of the school year approached and Amanda found herself wondering if Kevin was going to prove to be her first real boyfriend.

  When he announced he would be spending the summer in Idaho with his grandparents, Amanda was disappointed. They had no understanding and Amanda preferred it that way, though she would admit to feeling a twinge of regret.

  She received another disappointment when her brother and Cade called to announce that they were being offered the chance to be a part of special program at the college that would keep them there until July but gain both extra credits toward their degrees. They would only be home a few short weeks before they were off to college again.

  A job at a local diner kept her busy and gave her the opportunity to earn her own money. She had trouble finding time to spend it and squirreled most away into the bank. She did make a couple of purchases, both for an upcoming party: a white two piece consisting of shorts for a bottom and halter top on top. She had also purchased an adorable red sundress scattered with little white flowers to wear over her suit. The party was being held at the home of one of the “summer crowd”, apparently his parents were out of town. Amanda didn’t know him but her friends would be there so she would be as well.

  Amanda surveyed her appearance and nodded; she looked fine. She grabbed her bag with her beach towel and other needed items inside and grabbed her purse and keys. She was picking Jenny up in a few minutes. Jenny came rushing from the house, also wearing a sundress, a yellow, flouncy number that would never work with Amanda’s color but complimented Jenny perfectly.

  “We ready?” Jenny asked as she climbed into the Jeep.

  “Ready,” Amanda circled the drive and headed for the lake where the summer houses lined its shores.

  “So who is this guy anyway?” Amanda queried.

  “Chloe said his family is here from California. Apparently he knows Charlie Finnegan’s grandparents and met Charlie while he was visiting. Anyway, one of the other cheerleaders was telling Chloe that Charlie said this guy is throwing a party and said to invite all his friends so…”

  “Now we’re invited by a friend of a friend,” Amanda smiled.

  “Right,” Jenny smiled in return. The lake house was gleaming in the afternoon sunlight as Amanda parked on a spot in the grass.

  “So let’s go see if this party is any fun or if it gets out of hand and we need to abandon it,” Amanda
suggested.

  “Let’s,” Jenny grabbed her bag and hopped from the Jeep. The temperatures had been steadily climbing until it was finally warm enough for a swim. July was only a couple of days away.

  “Welcome ladies, welcome, I’m Morris, your host,” a young man smiled as they entered the large cabin style home. “If you need anything let me know,” he winked at them. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and held no appeal for Amanda, though she noticed Jenny did a double take.

  “He was kinda cute,” Jenny glanced over her shoulder.

  “Not my type,” Amanda crinkled her nose. He was too pretty boy; she liked her men, well, manly and tall, dark, and handsome.

  “Mandy; Jenny,” Dede, dragging Chloe behind her approached. “Did you see the host?”

  “Not my type.”

  “I thought he was pretty hot,” Jenny admitted.

  “Want a drink?” Dede extended a red plastic cup to her.

  “What is it?” Amanda peered inside.

  “Beer silly,” Dede, looked rather pleased with herself.

  “No!” Amanda held a hand up. “Not only would my dad and then my brother kill me, I have never had any desire to make a fool of myself and have no memory of it.”

  “Jenny?”

  “I’m with her,” Jenny declined.

  “Suit yourself,” Dede shrugged.

  “Isn’t this place amazing?” Chloe was looking around in amazement. It was impressive, all soaring timbers and balconies.

  “I’m ready to swim,” Jenny announced and made her way through the crowd. Amanda waved at some friends from school and found herself wondering who the others were. Outside, the yard was littered with more guest and several people were already in the lake.

  “Mandy,” Chris sidled up to her and dropped an arm around her waist.

  “Where’s your girlfriend?” Amanda queried.

  “She dumped me,” he admitted; then shrugged. “Can’t say I’m too disappointed.”

  “Well, at least you aren’t heart broken,” Amanda offered with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

  “Yeah, I know; right? I was kinda wondering what happened to us actually. We seemed to be off to a good start and then…” he shrugged.