Chapter 6
Sage wasn’t sure how Jaycee could be even more hateful to her than she had been before, but clearly she had vastly underestimated her stepsister.
“It was nice of you to help Luke today,” Mrs. Lawrence said to her daughter as they drove home.
“Well, at least I didn’t just sit around and take up space like some people.” Jaycee jerked her gaze into the back, catching Sage before she could get her shields up.
“Now, Jayc.” Mrs. Lawrence glanced in the rear view mirror, apologies and concern coursing through her eyes. “I’m sure Sage would’ve helped if we had given her something to do.” Her gaze went over to her daughter’s. “It’s not like you did anything to include her.”
In one snap Jaycee uncurled. “Oh, so this is my fault now?”
It was clear how much effort Mrs. Lawrence was expending to keep a lid on the situation. “I’m not saying it’s anyone’s fault. I’m just saying it would be nice if…”
“It would be nice if she did everyone a favor and went back where she came from. That’s what would be nice, Mom.”
Knowing no other thing to do, Sage put her gaze into her lap where her fingers were playing with each other. If she just did that, maybe the barbs wouldn’t hit her with so much force. Not that it was currently helping, but it was worth a try.
“Well, that was mean,” Ryder said from the seat next to Sage. “You should take that back. Mom, you should make her take that back.”
“I…” Mrs. Lawrence’s gaze swept around to each of them as helplessness went through her gaze.
“It’s okay.” Sage got her voice to work though it came out as more of a squeak, and she smiled a tight smile at Ryder. “Jaycee is entitled to her opinion.”
Thankfully they pulled into the yard and up to the house before Jaycee had any more chance to offer her opinion. The sight of that house made the tears in Sage’s heart jump to the surface. Trapped. She felt so utterly and uncontrollably trapped by all of it. She couldn’t go back to California and she didn’t want to stay here. Her chest began to tighten, and she wondered how she would ever keep from losing it right there in front of them.
Obviously Jaycee didn’t want to be there either because the second the vehicle stopped, she jumped out and ran for the back door.
“Well, that was rude,” Ryder said.
The other three van occupants climbed out slowly. Ryder went in ahead of them.
“I’m really sorry about that,” Mrs. Lawrence said. “She just gets like this sometimes.”
Sage nodded, understanding perfectly. “Yeah, like any time I’m around.”
“I’ll talk to her.”
That would do no good whatsoever, and they both knew it. No. This was an impossible situation. The problem was, Jaycee wasn’t willing to just make the best of it like the rest of them.
Luke wondered how many fireworks had burned holes in their van on the way home. He was quite sure some had. As he drove past their house on the way home, he glanced into their driveway. Yes, the van was there. That presumably meant they were too.
He considered stopping, thought better of that, and twisted his gaze away. He couldn’t help anyway. “God,” he whispered as much with his heart as his lips, “this one is going to take a miracle.”
Miracles and words were in short supply the entire evening at the Lawrence household. Sage did her level best to stay out of Jaycee’s way and clear of the firing range. At one point she considered broaching the subject of her date with Rory, but she didn’t know the best way to do that and the opportunity never showed up. So after a very short appearance for supper, she went to her room with the excuse that she had some reading for school to get done.
That wasn’t at all true, so once behind the locked door, she pulled out her phone and started burning up the wireless between her and California.
By Friday very little had changed with the exception of Sage’s brilliance with the school reading thing. She now used that excuse every chance she got. Maybe they would think she was a slow reader. Maybe that she was in the honors program. Whatever it took, it was working and she was glad of it.
However, realizing that she couldn’t just climb out of her window that evening though she had contemplated it, she took a reconnaissance mission through the house at around three o’clock. She was pretty sure Jaycee had gone to the garage sale to hang out with Luke and “help” so that left a hopefully clear shot at Mrs. Lawrence. Sure enough she found her stepmother clipping coupons on the coffee table in the living room.
“Oh. Hi.” Sage instantly felt the awkwardness at having no clue how to do this.
Mrs. Lawrence spun in surprise. “Oh. Hi, Sage.” The scissors clattered to the coffee table. “Did you need something?”
“What? Oh. No.” Her hand came up to her elbow which never bent. “Well, not exactly. I just… um, I have… something… to ask you.”
“Oh. Well.” Mrs. Lawrence abandoned the coupons and slipped up to the couch where she patted the cushion beside her. “What’s up?”
How Sage wished she could have sent a text like she normally did with her own mother. It took a hard breath to get herself moving. She sat down, not next to Mrs. Lawrence but at the far edge of the couch. A smile and another breath, but still nothing came out. Why was this so hard? It wasn’t like they would say no. Would they?
“You said you had something you wanted to talk about?” Mrs. Lawrence leaned down as if to get a better view of her stepdaughter.
Sage let her head nod for her. Once. One trip down and then it and she stopped.
“What is it?” Somehow the older woman almost sounded amused.
“It’s just that… well. I got asked out.”
“Out?”
“Yeah, like… on a date.”
“A date?” Why did it sound like she had never heard these words before?
“For tonight.” Sage uncurled. “I know. I should have said something before now, but I didn’t know how.”
Mrs. Lawrence took a breath and shifted backward as if absorbing the information. “May I ask who this date is to be with?”
“With? Oh. Uh, Rory. I think his name’s Harris?”
Finally, Mrs. Lawrence looked as if she was relieved. “Oh, the Harris boy? Oh. Well… I don’t…” Then she thought better of whatever she was going to say. “I’ll tell you what. I’m just going to call Gregory about this. Run it by him, you know. I’m sure he’ll say yes.”
Then why did it sound so much like he might say no?
The pattern of bargain hunters had been steady all afternoon. For lunch Jaycee had brought Luke a ham sandwich and a Coke from the kitchen where the volunteers were. He was grateful because but for that small amount of sustenance he would surely have passed out long before now. He and John had hauled nearly half the stuff they had hauled in back out again, lifting things into pickup trucks and tying them to car trunks.
He’d even prayed more than a couple times that the ropes would stay tied all the way until the furniture made it home—wherever home was.
Early on he had considered asking about Sage, but once that thought had mercifully left from his heart, they had enjoyed a nice day together. It was so strange how things were just not hard with Jaycee around—at least when she wasn’t on the warpath about something. They were such a team, stepping in to help without being asked, listening without even listening. It was crazy, but by four o’clock, he had decided to just enjoy it rather than fighting it.
“So,” he said in the course of a short lull in the action, “you going out to the bonfire tonight?”
Jaycee shrugged as she rearranged some clothing. “I was thinking about it. Better than sitting at home all night.”
Luke nodded, feeling the question in his heart but not being able to quite get it out.
“You?” she asked, looking up at him, and that look really wasn’t fair to a guy who was trying so very hard not to fall for her.
He shrugged. “I was thinking about it. I just can’t stay as late as I did last week though. I almost fell asleep in church the next morning.”
Jaycee laughed. Wow did he like that laugh. “I hear you there. We had to go to a family outing at the lake all day Sunday. If it wasn’t for the lounge chair and sunscreen, I’d never have recovered.”
A slow blink as he considered and reconsidered the question. “So if you’re going and I’m going, what do you say…?”
Her smile was slow but it came just the same. “Sure.”
Mrs. Lawrence returned to the living room after what felt like a century. She sat down on the couch and paused a moment before her gaze came over to her stepdaughter. “I talked with Gregory, and we agreed that it’s okay if you go out tonight.”
Sage nearly collapsed into the couch cushions for relief, but somehow she kept upright. “Yay!”
“But.” Her stepmother lowered her head so that her eyes could convey the seriousness of whatever came next. “Your curfew is midnight. On the dot. No exceptions.”
“On the dot. No exceptions. Got it.”
“And that’s in the house, not in the driveway.”
“In the house. Twelve midnight. Got it.”
There was a slight hesitation.
“And Sage, something else.”
The something else crinkled Sage’s face for one second but she nodded anyway.
“Your father and I… well, we’re… we’re concerned about you.”
“Me?” Sage wasn’t following.
“The boys… around here. They aren’t the flashy, sleep around type of guys. They’re just all-American, country kids. We don’t want you to get the wrong idea…”
“The wrong…” The barrage of arrows had come so suddenly Sage didn’t know where to duck to get away from them. Could her stepmother be saying what she thought she was? “Oh. Of… of course. Of course.” Sage was nodding now, more to keep the tears of hurt from falling than for any other reason. “Yes. Yes. I understand. I’m not…”
“Oh, good.” Once again Mrs. Lawrence looked relieved. “I just wanted you to know. I mean, your father is very well-respected in this community, and…”
Oh to be able to withstand a nuclear blast like that one and come out smiling. “Yes. Yes of course. I would never do anything to…”
“Mom! I’m home!” Ryder came in the back door with a bang.
Mrs. Lawrence smiled and reached over to put her hand on Sage’s. “Good. I’m glad we cleared that up.”
Back home Luke dragged three shirts out of his closet. They were all basically the same idea—plaid with no holes in the elbows. He was sad and pathetic. Maybe he should get a new wardrobe like Rory. Maybe then Jaycee would notice him.
Hating himself for that thought, he threw the shirts to the bed and grabbed up the first one. It wasn’t like he had anything better. As he buttoned the shirt, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. It took next to nothing for the assessment, and he shook his head.
Even to think it was pointless, so he tucked his shirt in and thought as little as possible.
“Be back later!” Jaycee called for the whole house to hear around seven-thirty.
Sage was still in her room where she had been all evening—specifically to avoid contact with any other person the Lawrence household. With Jaycee gone, there was more freedom but only a bare modicum of it. She checked her reflection once more. White jeans that still fit even in the face of all the carbs she had consumed. A top from Antropoly. It was a tunic number, short in the front, longer in the back. Burgundy. One of her colors.
Those less-in-the-know would have said it looked like a loose-fitting tank top, but she would so never wear a tank top. Not even if someone tried to make her wear it when she was dead. With her nails painted, she didn’t look half bad. Even the country bumpkins around would have to concede that point.
Her spirit slammed hard into the thought of the country bumpkins and how moral and upright they were compared with her and her crowd. Mrs. Lawrence would probably flip if she knew half the things some of the kids at Sage’s school had done. But Sage wasn’t like them. She wasn’t like that. Sure, church wasn’t her favorite place in the world, but she didn’t go around whoring herself like her stepmother clearly thought she did.
The doorbell rang at five ‘til eight, and Sage’s heart finally felt a small bounce of hope. She would, of course, keep him waiting a few minutes. After all, anything important was worth waiting for.
“Sage, honey,” Mrs. Lawrence said at her door. “Your date is here.”
“Be right there!” Sage applied a touch of pink-with-a-hint-of-wine lipstick. Put the two sides of the container back together and gave herself a once-over in the mirror. “Perfection.”
“I guess you’re going to be there tomorrow?” Luke asked as they drove into town. Getting to the bonfire before sundown would label them both geeks and losers, so the unspoken plan was to eat for a little bit before heading over there.
“Of course. It’s better than being at home.” A moment and Jaycee shivered.
Luke let his gaze slide over to her. “Is she really that bad?”
One glare and Jaycee returned her gaze to the trees outside. “Yes. Now can we please talk about something else?”
“Well, my, my, my,” Rory said when Sage stepped into the living room. “Don’t you look… amazing?”
“Amazing?” Sage tilted her head. “I’ll take it.”
“Oh. These are for you.” He held a small bouquet of flowers out to her, and she took them.
“Such a gentleman too.” She wanted to say something more pointed in the general direction of her stepmother, but she didn’t dare. “Mom,” she said, barely turning, “would you mind putting these in some water for me?”
“Oh, of course. No problem.” Mrs. Lawrence took the flowers but never left.
“Well,” he said. “We should go.” He offered Sage his arm, which she took.
“Have her home by midnight,” Mrs. Lawrence called as they headed down the front walk. “And not a second later!”
He waved in acknowledgement but they never stopped walking.
“So, it looked like your mom got rid of some stuff,” Jaycee said after they had ordered.
“Ugh. The attic has never been cleaner.”
She laughed, and Luke smiled. He sure did like that laugh. “Listen, I know things have been kind of weird this summer with me and this whole thing… at home and everything.”
He slung an arm over the back of the booth. “No weirder than usual.”
Her smirk said she both understood the joke and appreciated it. “It’s just that…”
“She’s from California and you’re not.” Luke let his arm fall to the table as he sat forward. “I get it. I really do. But you’ve got to know that being you is not such a bad thing. I mean, you’re pretty and you’re one of the smartest people I know.”
Jaycee smiled and her gaze fell to the table.
“Except when Sage shows up, and then you completely lose your ever-lovin’ mind.”
The smile turned into a grimace and melted into a sad smile. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” She shook her head and sorrow seemed to shadow every inch she moved. “It’s just that things, at home… I mean, everyone is all walking on eggshells all the time. I don’t think Mom has stopped cleaning, and Ryder…” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even get me started on him.”
Funny for all the names, there was one that he hadn’t heard. “What about your dad?”
The waitress came and set their drinks on the table. Luke said thanks almost without saying anything.
“Where’s he in all of this?”
Jaycee sat, falling into uncharacteristic-for-her silence. “He hasn’t been around much. Summer’s always kind of busy for him, but…”
He waited, listening, trying to hear what she wasn’t telling him. “But…?”
A moment and she shrugged. “It’s like he leaves before we get up, and he gets home after we’ve all gone to bed. It’s not like… well, like last summer, we went to the beach or the lake every weekend we weren’t doing other things. Going to the amusement park or to Raleigh to the water park. It’s like this year, he doesn’t want to be anywhere around us.”
Luke nodded, not really understanding exactly but more to keep her talking.
“I don’t know. I know what it was like when she wasn’t here, and how it is now that she is here. I guess I just don’t understand why she had to come. Why she had to mess everything up.”
The bells on the establishment rang, and Jaycee looked up. A second and horror slid across her face. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Can’t she give it a rest for like half-a-minute?”
Almost knowing what he would find when he did so, Luke turned to see Sage walking in on the arm of none other than Rory Harris. Luke closed his eyes knowing whatever was coming would not be good.
“Oh, look,” Rory said about five seconds after they had entered. “It’s Jaycee.”
Sheer panic gripped Sage in one swipe. With nearly no effort at all, she flipped the switch to sweetness-and-honey, clinging to his arm to drag his attention to her. “You know, Rory,” she said in her best petulant voice. “I’m really not that into greasy, fried food tonight. Do you mind if we go somewhere else?”
“Somewhere…?” He looked confused and worried.
“I know. It’s the California in me. I just don’t do grease very well. Please?”
“Two?” the waitress asked, coming up and grabbing menus.
Rory looked at the waitress and then down at Sage. “I’m sorry. I think we’ve changed our minds but thanks anyway.”
The dinging of the bell announced something, but with his back to the door, Luke had no idea what.
Jaycee let out a breath. “Oh, good. They left.”
He could hardly believe their luck, and he spun in the booth to check it out himself. Relief poured through him as well, although half his heart had gone out that door, wanting to protect Sage but knowing that wasn’t his place or his fight. “Well, that’s good.”
Their waitress brought their food.
“I was afraid I might have to referee, and I didn’t even think to wear stripes.”
Sage knew even as they ate at the slightly-less-greasy-spoon diner in town that avoiding Jaycee and Luke all evening was probably not going to happen. “So,” she said, making sure there was enough honey in her voice. “You said bonfire.”
“That I did.” Rory took a drink of his shake.
She nodded one nod and forced a smile onto her face. “Here. Right? In town?”
“Oh.” Crazy how confused he could look when she didn’t ask things outright. “Not.... in town, in town. It’s out by Chester’s. Couple miles out of town.” He sat forward. “They usually just stack the wood in the middle of the road. Oh. It’s a dirt road. Nobody goes down it or anything. That way everybody can come out and just hang for a while.”
This nod was slower. “And by everybody, you mean…?”
He shrugged again. “Everybody. There’s not much else to do. Closest thing to fun is 50 miles that way.” He pointed, which wasn’t necessary.
“And that is?”
“Oh, they have a bowling alley and some arcade things. There’s a rock climbing wall if you’re into that.” Amazing how he could sound so hopeful.
Sage scrunched her nose. “Rock climbing? Not really into rock climbing.”
“Yeah.” He took another drink. “It would be pretty hard to do with those nails.”
With a laugh, she fanned them out so he could see them. “Guilty as charged.” She sat back. “So bonfires and garage sales. It must be so exciting to live here.”
He shook his head. “I’m bailing on it next year. Got a couple of schools looking at me for college.”
“Oh?”
“The football thing.” And it was clear humility was not one of his stronger qualities. “Not sure which one I’m going to choose yet. We’ll see.”
“Fascinating.”
When the sun had officially gone down, Luke made the first move to vacate the booth. “Guess we should be going.”
“Guess so.” Jaycee followed him up but wound her arms around her stomach so he had no hope of holding her hand or making any kind of move that might indicate they were on a date. Which they weren’t. They never were. He considered asking her about that, but the peace around them was so very, very fragile he didn’t dare.
Out in his car, he did get up the courage to say, “So Chester’s?”
She hesitated only a split second. “Of course. Right?”
He nodded. “Right.”
When they said bonfire, they weren’t kidding. Wishing she had sat on the passenger’s side of Rory’s hulking pickup truck so she would have something to hold onto, Sage had to opt to hold onto him when he turned to park in the ditch along with about 20 other random vehicles. Of course, holding onto him wasn’t such a bad thing, and it was even better when he held onto her.
“Whoa there,” he said, steadying her. “Careful.”
“Oh, well.” She brushed the hair from her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting to go joy riding tonight.”
His eyes narrowed as he smiled at her mysteriously. “Maybe later.” Then he smiled and a dimple dented the edge of his mouth as he winked at her. “Come on. Right now. I want to show you off.” And he grabbed her hand and out they went.
Luke looked for them even as he accompanied Jaycee from his car into the crowd. The party was already in full swing with someone’s music blaring nice and loud.
“Hey, Jayc! Hey, Luke!” John Wade, Luke’s garage sale moving buddy, called as he lifted his drink in the air at them. “Nice y’all could come.”
“We wouldn’t miss it!” Luke called back, sticking his hands in the front pockets of his jeans as he followed Jaycee. She didn’t stop so neither did he.
Very near the fire, they both finally pulled up short.
“Ah, Jaycee!” Franchesca, one of Jaycee’s classmates, said. “We were just talking about you.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jaycee asked in surprise.
“Yeah,” Olivia, another of Jaycee’s classmates said. “Did your sister already hook up with Rory Harris? I thought I saw them together at The Q-Bar earlier. They make such a cute couple.”
It took no effort at all to see the steam coming out of Jaycee’s ears. Oh, yeah, this was going to be a fun night.
The thing Sage hadn’t accounted for was the heels, on dirt, and gravel. They were anything but steady. The other thing she hadn’t thought to put into the whole “what to wear” equation was dirt, fire, ash, and white pants.
“Hey! It’s Rory, and woo-hoo! Who is this hottie?” With no warning, the guy who clearly knew Rory came weaving his way over to them and draped an arm around her.
“Get a life, Trevor.” Rory batted his friend’s arm away—thankfully, because the guy stunk of bonfire smoke, cigarettes, and beer.
Somehow when Mrs. Lawrence had laid down the law, Sage had assumed this party would be tamer than the ones she had been to back home. Clearly she was wrong. Nobody was knitting here. In fact, they had passed a couple in the back of a pickup truck on the way from parking to here, and they certainly weren’t just talking.
It was then that Rory put his arm around her and pulled her close to his side. Sage looked up at him and smiled at how incredibly handsome he was. Yes, it was good to be seen here, at the party with the best-looking guy in the school. That thought trailed her as he made the party rounds giving high-fives and fist bumps to his peeps, and there were a lot of them. A quarter way around the flaming monstrosity in the road, Sage caught sight of Jaycee and Luke, standing there obviously trying very hard not to notice them.
Her heart fell at the sight. The only two people she even knew, her peeps as it were, and they wouldn’t so much as look at her. Bailing on those depressing thoughts, she flipped the switch, turned on the charm, and became the sweetest version of her fake self she had ever managed to pull off.
“Oh, Jaycee, your sister is so amazing! She looks like a fashion model!”
Luke had lost count of the number of girls, mostly classmates, some only passing acquaintances from other towns who had made it a point to come their direction specifically to ruin Jaycee’s night.
“She is not my sister!” Jaycee said under her breath, turning so that she directed that comment only to him so much so that she practically hissed it into his shirt.
“I know. I know.” His thoughts spun. He needed to do something, something to help his friend. Turning, he put his hands on her shoulders, knowing she was about to start throwing people into the fire for making that mistake. “But they don’t. Okay? They don’t know. They’re just trying to be nice.”
“Nice?” She very nearly spit the word into his face. “They’re trying to be nice?”
“Well.” He tilted and shifted his head side-to-side. “Now their definition of nice and yours in this situation are probably not exactly the same.”
“Ya think?”
He looked at her, knowing there was really no good way to salvage this night. “You know, we don’t have to stay out here. We could go. Find something else to do.”
“Go? Where?” Tears shimmered in her eyes as she pleaded with him to make the nightmare stop.
“My place? Your place? Does it matter?”
When she didn’t down the idea, he plunged forward. “Come on. I might even let you win at speed.”
A moment and one more glance at the most popular couple at the party, and Jaycee gave in. “We might as well.”
It wasn’t a ringing endorsement of his worth as a quasi-semi-sort-of date, but Luke would take it.
Where they had gone, Sage wasn’t sure. She looked for them as she stood next to Rory who was conversing with someone named Evan. At least she thought that was his name. It was hard to keep everyone straight when you only saw their faces in the shadows of the flames.
“California, huh?” Evan suddenly said to her. “What part? I’ve got family that lives out there.”
“Oh, L.A.,” she said, not wanting to make a particularly big deal of that at the moment.
“Wow. Doesn’t surprise me though. You look like you could be in the movies.” He winked at her and lifted his cup. “See y’all around.”
Sage’s ears were on fire and so was her face. It had nothing to do with the current reason for their being here. She turned back next to the fire at Rory’s side and watched as a couple of guys chased each other around the perimeter of the thing with burning sticks.
“Jerks,” Rory said under his breath. He took one more drink of whatever that had been and pitched the rest into the weeds in the ditch. “What do you say we blow this popsicle stand and find somewhere quieter?” When his arm came around her, it was warm and inviting, and in all the world Sage couldn’t find a no.
“Sure.”
When they pulled into her parents’ driveway, Luke knew they had traded one party for another. It wasn’t that there were many cars, but it looked like every light in the house was on. He shut off his car, not sure he shouldn’t just go on home. It was rounding toward a quarter to eleven, and he’s been up since sixty-thirty.
“You want to come in?” Jaycee asked, her voice soft. “Just to say hi to everyone.”
Since “everyone” didn’t include the someone who could make him do really stupid things, he decided it couldn’t hurt. “Just to say hi.”
Back in the pickup, Rory backed out of the ditch and headed out into the darkness. They had left the bonfire far behind when he reached across the seat, toyed with her shoulder strap, and then pulled her over to him. “You know, you really do look amazing tonight.”
“Thanks.” Part of her hoped he would just take her home. Part of her knew he wasn’t going home.
With the hand not wrapped around her, he reached through the steering wheel and turned on the radio. Okay, so she was tired and the music was nice, and Rory was a nice guy. What was she so worried about? With that thought, she settled back into his arm, thinking she really didn’t care where he took her. It was nice for a change to just forget everything in the rest of her miserable life.
“You’re home awfully early,” Jaycee’s mom said when she came from the living room to find her daughter rummaging around in the kitchen cabinets.
“Uh, yeah. The party got kind of boring,” Luke said, leaning there and praying they wouldn’t start asking questions. He was a horrible liar.
“Oh, did Sage and Rory make it?” Mrs. Lawrence asked.
“Uh. Yeah. They did.” He scratched the back of his head as his gaze cut over to Jaycee who had commenced filling the biggest glass he had ever seen with water from the sink. He truly admired her ability to make even that as loud as possible.
Mrs. Lawrence leaned her hip on the L-shape of the other side of the counter. “So are they coming home too?”
Luke panicked when he noticed Jaycee nearly choke on the water. “Oh, uh, I… don’t know. We kind of… lost them in the crowd.”
“Crowd?” Mr. Lawrence asked, coming from the living room and picking up a handful of nuts from a bag on the counter next to his wife. “Were there that many people out there?”
Now Luke was really panicking, and Jaycee clearly wasn’t going to help him at all. “Oh, you know, must be a slow night for everyone. Some kids from out of town came too.”
Her mother looked at her father and worry crossed both their faces.
Luke put out his hands as if trying to smother a brush fire. “Not too many. Just some. I’m sure they’ll be home any time now.”
“Well, I hope so,” Mr. Lawrence said. “Makes me nervous having my girls out all hours.”
It took next to nothing to see Jaycee’s lips wind between her teeth and clinch there. My girls…. Luke could hear the screaming in Jaycee’s brain from all the way over where he was standing. “Well, Jayc and I were just going to play a little speed. That is, if y’all don’t mind.”
“Oh, no,” Mrs. Lawrence said. “We don’t mind at all, do we, honey?”
Mr. Lawrence smiled. “Not at all.”