by Kym Brunner
“I’ll come with you,” Lucy said cheerfully, and followed me.
Seeing how agreeable Lucy was and how objectively she was checking out our birds made me feel more confused than ever about my feelings. Here we’d spent this incredible day together, talking about our views honestly and openly, and yet, because of her family, it was one of the worst days of my life. How was that possible?
When we got to the ATV, I used my English butler voice and bowed slightly at the waist. “Would you like the pleasure of driving the cart to the rear of the facility, madam?”
Lucy dipped her chin daintily and curtsied. “Why, thank you, my dear sir. I shall take you up on your considerate offer. Good thing I wore my royal pajama pants.”
She hopped on first and scooched forward so I could sit behind her. Feeling slightly more relaxed, now that more birds were safe, made sitting so close and smelling her hair unbearably attractive. I forced myself to grab the handles on the sides of the seat so I wouldn’t wrap my arms around her the way I wanted to. “I’m ready when you are.”
Putting the ATV in gear, she cruised smoothly to the back of the house. As she rounded the corner, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Sitting on the very peak of the rehab center like a weathervane come to life was a juvenile red-tailed hawk. “Hey! It’s Flip!” I pointed, my voice as happy as when I burst out of school on the last day each year.
“Where?” she asked.
I put my left arm around her shoulder and leaned in close, pointing from her perspective. “Up on the roof. See the bird?”
“Oh my gosh! He came back on his own!” Lucy exclaimed. When she turned, her lips almost brushed mine by accident, sending another jolt through me. I had to hold myself back from kissing her cheek. “That means Flip’s the best bird of all.”
“I know. Can you believe it? I’d better call him now before he changes his mind.” When I tried to get off the ATV in one swift move, my foot caught on the seat bar and I fell on the ground next to the ATV, bringing up a cloud of dust with me. Real swift.
Lucy gasped, leaning over from behind the driver’s seat to see me. “Are you okay?”
I laughed and stood up, brushing off my jeans. “Yeah, except for the fact that I just ruined my tough-guy image.”
She giggled. “Sorry, but tough guy doesn’t come to mind when I think of you.”
“At least you’re thinking about me, though,” I said with a grin. She smiled but didn’t deny it. I threw on a glove and grabbed a rabbit tidbit from my waist pouch as Lucy climbed out to watch. I yelled, “Hup!” once and Flip floated right to my fist, as if he’d been doing it all his life. I snatched up his jesses, mind-blowingly happy that I’d gotten another chance with him. “Yes! Way to go, boy! Flip, meet Lucy. Lucy, meet Flip.”
“Pleased to meet you, Flip.” Lucy curtsied, bowing her head. She looked at me, her eyes wide and bright. “He’s absolutely gorgeous, Mercer.”
This time I didn’t hold my tongue. “Just like you.”
“Aw . . . thanks.” She smiled, making her nose crinkle up in a cute way.
Warmth spread across my neck and chest—pride in having the courage to say what was on my mind and also because I was ecstatic to have Flip back. And based on the spark in her eyes, I had a feeling that if I wanted to, I could have Lucy back too. “He’s also smart. That’s what makes falconry even more interesting—each bird has its own personality, as well as likes and dislikes. It’s a puzzle figuring it all out.”
Lucy waggled a finger at Flip. “Now don’t go eating any chipmunks while I’m here.”
When Flip’s head turned, his eyes homing in on her finger, I quickly warned, “Careful. He eats fingers as appetizers.” Lucy dropped her hand in a flash and I laughed. “Just kidding,” I added, but who knew? Flip wasn’t much of a rules follower.
As we walked back to the mews, Lucy sucked in her breath suddenly, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Wait a second! I just realized something!”
“What’s that?” I somehow hoped she was going to say she knew a passageway into an alternate world, one where we could be together.
“The mouse you got the day I met you, Cinnamon, that really wasn’t a pet, was it?” She watched me, waiting for my answer.
I grimaced, feeling awful that I’d been caught in yet another lie. “Sorry. No, it wasn’t.” Trying to save my reputation, I quickly added, “But none of my birds ate her. I let her go out in the woods. I swear that’s true!” I held up two hands in surrender.
“Okay, good!” She held a hand over her heart, as if relieved. “At least she has a chance.”
If I had another chance with Lucy, would I take it?
After putting Flip away, I washed up, wishing I had time for a quick shave and a shower so Lucy wouldn’t see me like this. I spied a pack of peppermint gum on the ledge next to the sink and nabbed it. Not only was I starving, but I was also an advocate of fresh breath, especially around hot girls. “Would you care for a piece of gum, m’lady?” I offered Lucy a piece and she accepted, folding it into her mouth.
“Mmm . . . heck with manners. This is the best gum ever,” she said, chomping noisily.
Patting the top of the worktable twice, I nodded toward the door. “Well, you ready to go?” Not that I wanted Lucy to leave, but Lincoln would be getting back soon, not to mention my parents. Maybe if I could clean up some of the mess before Dad saw it, he wouldn’t be quite as mad.
Lucy’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I guess so. No sense avoiding the inevitable. No matter when I go home, all hell’s going to break loose.”
I gave her a knowing smile and slid my hand on her back, ushering her toward the door. “Not sure it’s any consolation, but I’m in the same boat.”
“At least it’ll have blue cushions,” she joked as we made our way to the ATV.
This time I drove. As we cruised along, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I should do and say to her when I dropped her off. But when her fingers suddenly locked across my chest and she pulled me closer, my ability to reason sailed off with the breeze.
I got to the end of her block and parked behind a stand of pines, making sure to keep my ATV out of sight. I put it in park and shut off the engine so we could talk. Lucy placed her hands on my shoulders, slipping out from behind me. She stood next to the ATV, holding on to the handlebar, fiddling with the hand brake. “Thanks for an incredible day, Mercer. It was amazing to watch you work with your birds. Flip is really cool.” She looked down the block toward her house, and then back at me. “So what now?” She traced the ridges of my handlebar grip with her fingertip until it reached my hand, and then traced it too. My skin tingled where she touched it, making my heart rate leap, jolting my body into full attention.
Damn. This was going to be harder than I’d thought.
“You mean about us?” I swung my leg over to the other side to face her, resting my elbows on my knees. Because of our height differences, with me still sitting and her standing alongside the ATV, our faces were nearly even. With her this close, I knew I was sunk. No matter what I told myself about how antagonistic our family situations were, I couldn’t help being crazy about her.
“Yeah. Do you still want to hang out with me?” She nibbled on the edge of her fingertip and stared at me. Her expression was one of indecision, as if I were a bottle of poison and she was debating whether to drink me.
I held her hands between mine and paused a moment before allowing myself to glance at her mesmerizing green eyes. “I think you’re a really cool girl, awesome, actually, and I wish more than anything that we could hang out, be a couple. But now that you know the real me—the falconer, the meat eater, the nature guy—I know that, as much as I might want to, I can’t change that about myself to be with you. With anyone. I’m sorry I lied about those things, but I only did it because I really liked you and wanted you to like me.” I swallowed hard and looked down at my hands, dreading saying goodbye.
She moved my hands apart and slipped he
r waist between them, placing her hands on my shoulders. With her this close, I could barely breathe, and every muscle in my body wanted to pull her close and kiss her. Before I could decide what to do, she said, “I do like you, Mercer. A lot. And after today, I’d never ask you to change.” I could sense hesitation in the way she licked her lips, as if she had more to say. “The falconer stuff doesn’t bother me at all because it shows you really do love animals.” She slid her arms around my neck and looked me in the eye, her face inches from mine.
I knew I should tell her no, deliver the speech that I’d rehearsed in my mind—that we’d have to sneak around all the time and tell lies, and that I just wasn’t cut out for that kind of thing. But when she was this close, I couldn’t listen to the voice of reason. I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her waist. The moment I closed my eyes and placed my lips on hers, my heart let loose. Our mouths parted and tongues met gently, teasingly. It felt so good to have her in my arms, to have her responding to my kisses in such a way that I knew she wanted them as much as I did. It was the best feeling I’d ever had in my life.
I don’t know how long we were there, but I felt as if I was on a raft with Lucy, floating along on the ocean without a care in the world. My hands skimmed her body and she didn’t object. My body roared with anticipation. Finally, when I thought about all the things I’d do if we were in a quiet place, alone, she pulled back, ending our kiss. Her eyes were sleepy and relaxed. “Whoa, that was nice. But I think I’d better go now before we get too crazy. Hope everything turns out okay for you at home.” She backed up, giving me a wry smile, her hands lingering on my knees.
“You too.” I patted her hands gently and sighed. “See you tomorrow in school.”
But I knew as sure as anything I’d ever known that everything would not turn out okay. I cranked up the engine and took off toward home, rehearsing what I’d say when I eventually faced my father.
The excitement I’d felt a moment ago was quickly replaced with terror.
TWENTY-SEVEN
AS I REACHED THE WOODEN FENCE AT THE EDGE OF our property line, I could already see Mom’s Camaro parked in the driveway alongside Lincoln’s car. Part of me wanted to pull a celebrity meltdown—just turn around, drive away, and disappear into the sunset. But since I had no money, no private jet waiting to whisk me away, and the sun was hours away from setting, I was forced to ditch that option. My heart was heavy with shame and apprehension, the way I felt every time I headed into a class for a final that I hadn’t prepared for.
Before I had a chance to even think what I was going to say, how to begin the explanation of the course of events, Dad’s booming voice came. “Mercer! Get over here now!”
Mom, Dad, and Lincoln stood under the open garage door, all of them watching my every step. I gave the ATV some gas, purposely parking it about twenty feet away from them to give me some time to think. As I shut off the engine, Maddie appeared between my parents with her lookalike doll in her arms, her eyes red from crying. Tattleson had probably put on a grand show, crying and exaggerating everything that had happened in retaliation for missing her dumb party.
The second I got off the ATV, Dad barked, “What happened to the rehab center?”
I didn’t want to be cocky by saying I was pretty sure he knew already, but I didn’t know what he expected me to say. “Um, some people broke in and released the birds.”
Wrong answer.
Ballistic Wacko Bird Man appeared, throwing his arms up in the air. He sputtered, “I can see that! What I want to know is why you didn’t call me. Criminals break into the rehab center and you don’t think that’s an emergency? What’s wrong with you? With all three of you for that matter? Any one of you could have called us!”
Mom took over from there, crossing her arms. “We were at breakfast this morning and I get a phone call from Hannah’s mother, a woman I barely know, saying protesters had come and freed Dad’s birds. Imagine our shock!”
“It was all Mercer’s fault,” Lincoln explained, making a dismissive gesture toward me. “He’s been hanging out with that HALT girl behind your backs. I don’t even think he cleaned the mews yesterday either.”
“Yes, I did, you frickin’ liar!” I said indignantly, stunned that I had covered for him twice this past week, and there he was, trying to get me in trouble. Just like Tattleson.
“Watch your language,” Mom said. “And I can’t believe you were still seeing that HALT girl! She probably used you to get information.” She looked at my father. “Do you think they might have done something at my work too?”
“Anything is possible,” Dad admitted. “You’d better call.”
Mom nodded, pulling out her cell phone from her pocket as she rushed into the house.
“She didn’t use me. She’s not like that!” I argued, shifting my gaze between Dad and Lincoln. Maddie stood there nibbling on her fingertips. At least she was staying quiet for once.
“Yeah, that’s why she was here today. To learn about being a falconer, right?” Lincoln made a face, shaking his head while Dad soaked it all in.
“Screw you, Lincoln.” I shot him a dirty look. “Why don’t you tell Dad what you were doing when he was gone, huh?”
Dad’s face reddened. “Don’t change the subject, Mercer. You continued a relationship with someone I told you was toxic to my business after you promised not to. Since it appears that you can’t distinguish what’s more important in your life, I’ll distinguish for you. As of this moment, your apprenticeship is done. Go take off all of Flip’s jesses so we can release him.”
“Wait! I told you I would quit HALT, which I did. I never said I’d stop seeing Lucy,” I protested. “That’s not fair!”
“Not fair?” Dad bellowed, his thick eyebrows pinched together so tightly, they formed a single row across. “Was it fair to Monocle to lose her life because of you? And to Liberty, who had to suffer a major puncture wound? I’m responsible for their lives, Mercer, and I trusted you to take over that responsibility. You were negligent in your duties, and now you have to suffer the consequences. You know that the DNR is going to be looking into this.” He brushed his hair off his forehead and exhaled heavily. “And Maddie, you were told you weren’t allowed visitors, so why was Hannah here in the first place?”
Maddie gave Dad her sad look. “Because Mercer said I could.”
There goes Tattleson again. Back on the witness stand.
Dad looked confused. “Why’d you ask Mercer when Lincoln was in charge?”
“Because Lincoln was too busy with Zola.”
Dad’s face ripened to the shade of a cherry bomb. Light the guy up and red smoke would pour out his ears. He faced Lincoln. “You had Zola here? After our conversation?”
“Take it easy, Dad,” Lincoln said casually. “I figured the issue was having Zola in the basement with me alone. She stopped over for a little while and ate pizza, that’s all. Tell him, Mercer.” Lincoln’s voice wavered a bit at the end, and I saw how shiny his forehead looked. Poor Lyin’ Lincoln was sweating it out now.
I needed a second to think this through. If Lauren hadn’t busted out of the car this morning when she did, Lincoln would have thrown a few punches my way. And then a minute ago he’d told Dad that my relationship with Lucy made me solely responsible for the rehab break-in, making Dad take away my apprenticeship. And now he wanted me to cover for him? I might be a wimp, but I’m no doormat.
Dad stared at me, waiting for a response. I shrugged. “Zola and Lincoln were in the kitchen eating pizza—”
“You see, Dad? No biggie.” Lincoln smiled at me.
“After they were alone up in his room for an hour,” I finished. “He even threatened to kill Maddie’s hamster if she told.” I looked Lincoln in the eye, glad for once I hadn’t backed down to him. I wasn’t his puny little brother that he could push around. Not anymore.
“Unbelievable!” Dad’s face contorted into something resembling a deflated basketball. “This is not a hotel, Linc
oln. And since you can’t be trusted to follow the rules, you’ve now lost the privilege of bringing girls here, period.”
“Are you serious? Screw this. I’m outta here.” Lincoln stormed through the garage and into the house, slamming the door behind him. A can of WD-40 fell off the shelf and rolled across the garage floor. Wow. Lincoln was getting to be as dramatic as Haley.
Dad paced back and forth, smoothing his mustache. “And Maddie? You’re grounded for a week for disobeying me.”
Maddie nodded, holding her doll tighter. “But don’t punish Mercer for letting Hannah stay over. I begged him to say yes and he felt sorry for me.”
Maddie was an okay sister after all. I’d thank her later.
“Thanks for telling me,” Dad said. “But that’s not why he’s in the hot seat right now.”
Even though Dad was handing out punishments left and right, I felt awful about what had happened and needed to apologize. Whether or not he restored my apprenticeship, there was one thing I needed to clear up. “Dad, I just want to say that I feel as horrible as you do about what happened, but what Lincoln said was a lie. I did everything you asked and walked around before I went to bed to make sure the rehab center was locked up and the night-lights were on. The only reason I didn’t call you was because I was more concerned with finding the birds as quickly as possible.” I shrugged, mumbling. “In case you don’t know, I did get all the birds back. With Maddie’s and Hannah’s help,” I quickly added, hoping Dad might let her off the hook.
He nodded, taking a deep breath. “Lincoln told me you spent the day retrieving them. Thank you for that, but still . . . you should have called. This place is my livelihood. I care about the well-being of those birds almost as much as I care about you kids.” Dad looked at me, his face expressionless, as if he was spent. “Does that HALT girl know who did this?”
My insides twisted and compressed like the hood of a car after an accident. I knew I should do the honorable thing and tell Dad that Lucy suspected her parents had broken in and set the birds free. But when I opened my mouth to speak, something came over me and I just couldn’t do it. I shook my head. “Her name’s Lucy. And no, she said she didn’t know.”
