“No, I don’t mean that in the sense you feared your mother’s boyfriends.”
“Low blow, Nate,” I growled.
“You were worried about us leaving you.”
And there it was. The knife to the heart.
“But aren’t you mad at me? I left because of my own insecurities. I didn’t want to be the last one there. Everyone else was leaving, and I didn’t want to wait around for that to happen.”
He pulled onto a side street and drove through a neighborhood that led to a park by the river.
I shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t want to pull you guys into my life when you already had plans of your own.”
He pulled into the park and drove to the river. He parked facing the water, the moonlight shining down on it. “Riley, I’m not mad at you. I think you did what you thought you had to do to take care of your sister. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell us. We would have understood if you needed space to figure things out. We would have understood about your worries of us leaving.”
I reached closer and squeezed his hand. “Nate. You are the sweetest, kindest man I know. But everyone leaves. It’s just a fact of life.”
“No, not everyone. Some people have staying power—even if the person they’re staying for is as prickly as a porcupine.”
My lips tugged up of their own accord. “I’ve never been called a porcupine before.”
“Oh, I’m not sticking around for you; I was talking about Nascar Jim.”
He smiled and unbuckled his seat belt so that he could stretch his arm out across the back of my chair.
We sat in silence, watching the river flow by, imagining what it sounded like.
“Why aren’t you asking me questions?”
“Because I want you to answer when you’re ready. You think I’ll leave you. Hurt you. Well, I’m here to show you that I’m here to stay. I want you to trust me. I’m not going to demand answers from you. I’m not going to ask my dad for answers that I’m certain he has.”
He looked at me knowingly.
“When you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
The spark of hope that stirred inside of me was dangerous. It had the potential to turn into something bigger.
Chapter Twelve
Nate
Dad texted me in the morning, checking up on me and making sure I’d seen all of Mom’s latest pictures she’d emailed us. He told me he was heading back to Riverly for a while, planning to look into some things for business.
I texted him back.
Nate: In Burnside right now. Has Nola talked to you yet?
Dad: She’s still mad.
My fingers hovered over my phone. I needed answers from Dad, but Riley didn’t want anyone to know where she was.
I’d told her I’d wait on her to be ready. I couldn’t betray her trust. Dad would understand.
I set my phone down then closed my laptop, climbed off the strangely uncomfortable air mattress, and pulled on a pair of jeans. I didn’t bother with a shirt yet; it was too hot still.
I walked into the living room, the floor dipping and creaking beneath my weight.
Movement out the window caught my attention. Riley was outside, washing her car—in her swimsuit.
In middle school and high school, Riley would have only been caught wearing a T-shirt and shorts as swimwear. Today, she was not wearing a T-shirt or shorts. But I had an overwhelming urge to find some for her. Anyone who walked by could see her wearing that black bikini with the criss-cross straps in the back.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and headed out the door. Forget about breakfast. I had a neighbor to chat with.
“Howdy, neighbor.”
“Hi, you weirdo.”
“What? I am not the weird one. It’s eight in the morning, and you’re washing your car. In a swimsuit. I swear every man in the trailer park has his binoculars out right now.”
“Oh please, no one pays attention to me.”
“Really? How about him?” I pointed to where a thin man was pressed against the window of his single-wide. I thought his name was Tony or something like that. “Or him?” I tipped my head toward Gabe the Gunrunner, who was pretending to check his taillights. He was checking out someone else’s taillights, that was for sure.
Her eyes settled on my chest. “You’re not wearing a shirt.”
“Oops.” I grinned. “How are you this morning?”
She wouldn’t meet my eyes, and she was doing her best to look anywhere but at my chest. “I’m fine, just a little busy.”
“I can see that. With all that off-roading you do, that Jeep gets dirty fast.”
Her eyes finally found mine. “Shut up.”
I held my hands up. “Just a little joke. You’re a little uptight this morning.”
“I’m busy; I have stuff to get done. I am not uptight!” She pointed the hose at me with every word.
“Right. Obviously, you just got back from your relaxation class. I should have known from your posture.”
She scrunched her nose up. “This! This is why we would never work! We’re always annoying each other.”
“Wait, hold up. What do you mean this is why we won’t work? What about last night? You don’t mean what I think you mean.”
“Yes, I’m breaking up with you.”
“I’m not sure you can break up with someone you’ve only been on one date with.”
“Two, and I am. Nate, you don’t belong here. We’re from two different worlds. You deserve so much more than this. You’re good and kind, and you have a family who loves and supports you. You need to get back to your life and stop trying to change mine. You can’t. We would never be happy together.”
“Really? Because it seemed like you were happy last night when we were together. It seemed like you were happy when we were driving through the woods on our first date. You loved that tapas bar.”
“But don’t you see? That’s not my life! My life is here in the trailer park.”
“Well, good for you, Miss Trailerhood. Because it seems like I belong. I paid cash for that trailer there.” I pointed at the decrepit thing that was now my home.
“You don’t fit in. I don’t fit in with you.”
“Trying to scare me with Gabe the Gunrunner didn’t work. You’ve already exposed me to Sam and Elise’s breakfast cooking. And I know you’re lying to me right now. You’re always the martyr. Always the one to fall on your sword.”
“Don’t you see that you don’t belong here? This is my life. This is just a rest stop for you. You look down on these people!”
“Do I?” I raised my eyebrows and stepped closer to her, purposefully looking down on her. “And how exactly have I looked down on them?”
She pursed her lips, and her nose flared. “I’ve seen it in your face. You come in here with your fancy sunglasses and car—“
I laughed incredulously. “We have the exact same car!”
She poked me in the chest. “You don’t belong. We can’t make this work.”
“I think you’re the one who’s looking down on me for moving here. Do you know that?”
She gasped and dropped the hose. “I am not! We’re from two different worlds. I’m trailer trash.”
I snorted. “So what? I’ve met a lot of great people in this trailer park so far. You’re the snob here. You’re tying your worth directly to where you live. That doesn’t matter to me.”
“I can’t change who I am, Nate.”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with us being different. I think you’re so worried someone will come in and ruin your five-year plan that you can’t imagine changing it to date me, even though you want me. You’re scared to take the risk now, just like you were two years ago.”
Her hands landed on my biceps, pulling me closer rather than pushing me away. “And you think you’ve got me all figured out.”
I bent down and risked a kiss on her cheek. “I know I’ve got you figured out.”
“Why don’
t you just listen to me? It’d be so much easier. I’m going to strangle you.” Her eyes narrowed, and she tugged me closer.
She was so adorable when she threatened me.
“I’m going to have to kiss you,” I told her as I wrapped an arm around her waist, lifting her up to my height and kissing her square on the mouth.
“Stop kissing me when I’m fighting with you. I can’t think when you do that,” she grumbled.
“I know. I’m prepared to fight dirty if it means I can win.” She smacked at my hand that was tracing her jaw.
“I’m mad,” she exclaimed.
“I can fix that.”
I spent the next few minutes convincing her she didn’t want to choke me.
When I pulled back, her eyes had lost their murderous glint.
“I don’t look down on you. And when you stop being stubborn and realize that I’m here—for you—then you’ll realize I’m doing my best to understand why you left. Why you ran.”
She softened against me, looking at me with a sparkle in her eye and a smile on her lips. “Fine. You can help me wash my car. If you’re going to stay, you’re going to be useful.”
“That’s what my friends always call me: Useful Nate.”
Her lips quirked to the side. I bent down and grabbed a soapy sponge from the bucket. “Have you done the roof yet?”
I gestured in a big arcing motion, making sure to fling a trail of soapy water on her.
“Ack!” She jumped back.
“Or is it the tires that are still left?” I flung my arm the other way, making sure to soak her again.
“Nate!”
I stopped laughing long enough to appreciate the soap suds dripping from her hair and the dangerous glint in her eye—just before she sprayed me with the hose.
Very little car washing was done after that.
Chapter Thirteen
Riley
“I’m going out with Jadyn tonight.”
I glanced up in surprise when I met Wren’s eyes. “Who’s that? I thought you were about to break up with Mason?”
“Oh, I broke up with him. Not worth my time.”
“But he was worth your time last week.”
“He was too immature. All he cared about was trucks.”
Shaking my head, I filled my water bottle. I’d been so consumed with Nate the past couple days that I had given little thought to Wren’s boy problems. Then, this morning, when Nate “helped” me wash the car, he completely derailed my break-up speech. And now, somehow, we were going to the bonfire together tonight. And then I would break up with him. Yes. Because I was falling for him fast, and I didn’t think my heart could stand to be abandoned again. “Is this Jadyn coming over here tonight?”
“No, we’re meeting some friends at the theater. You know I don’t like to bring them here.”
She wasn’t wrong for thinking that. I’d promised myself I’d never live in a trailer park again. The years I’d spent in a trailer park with my mom weren’t happy ones.
“What’s this boy like?”
Wren leaned back across the futon, tossing her purple nail polish in the air and catching it, again and again. Her voice took on a dreamy quality. “He’s perfect. So cute. I’m seriously so lucky that he picked me.”
I choked on my sparkling water. “Hold up there. You are not so lucky because he picked you. You don’t have to sit around and wait for a boy to pick you. That’s ridiculous. You have an entire life to live. Don’t spend it waiting on some boy to pick you.”
She nodded slowly. “So, about you and Nate...did he pick you?”
I cleared my throat and ignored her question. “What time are you going to be back?”
“Midnight.”
I raised my eyebrows.
She tugged at a lock of thick brown hair. “Eleven?”
I shook my head.
With a frustrated huff, she tucked her hair behind her ear. “Fine. I’ll be home by ten.”
“All right. You’re missing out on the bonfire tonight, though. Don’t forget to text me when you get there.” I picked up her phone off the counter and handed it to her. I swear she was the only teenage girl who didn’t like phones. I had to force her to use one. She thought they were a waste of time. But they weren’t a waste of my time. That phone was my connection to my baby sister; it let me know all was well with her.
Wren narrowed her eyes at me as she stomped past and out the door. “You’re so strict. All the other kids stay out until midnight. It’s Friday, after all!”
“Yes, it’s Friday, and you’re still fifteen. Are Jadyn’s parents picking you up?”
Wren tucked her phone into her back pocket. Hopefully, she remembered it was there before she sat down. “I’m meeting him there. See you later!”
She practically sprinted out the door before I could quiz her about the date she was going on. I didn’t exactly qualify as intimidating, so I didn’t know why it would matter if I met the boyfriend or not. It’s not like he would be scared of me.
“Call me when you need a ride!” I practically screamed after her. I didn’t mind her walking to the theater when it was still daylight. But when it got dark? That was a completely different matter. I’d had to take one too many walks in the dark as a child, and I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t make Wren do the same.
Wren: Can you pick me up at the theater?
I finished packing away my makeup I’d been taking flat-lay photos of. Glancing at the clock, I realized it was already time for the movie to be over. After I collapsed my ring light, I unlocked my phone and texted her back.
Riley: 5 min away.
I shut my laptop down, grabbed my keys off the hook, then locked the trailer after me.
I stepped outside to find Sam and Elise screaming over whether they should take whole wheat or white hot dog buns to the bonfire. I ignored them and jumped into my car.
The passenger door opened. Nate climbed in. “What? You weren’t going to give me a call before we left for the bonfire?”
I poked his arm. “The bonfire is here in the trailer park. I’m just going to pick up Wren. She went to a movie with some friends.”
“Hmm, she talk about any boyfriends?”
“Yes, I haven’t met the current one yet. That’s who she’s supposed to be at the movie with.”
“You sound like you don’t like him.”
“Any time she’s reluctant to introduce me, it worries me.”
Nate nodded. “You’re a great big sister. I hope you know that.”
“I don’t know about that. Obviously not that great since I can’t seem to get through to her about boys.”
Nate shrugged. “I remember someone else who didn’t like to take advice about boys.”
I nodded. “Nola really was the worst, wasn’t she?”
He leaned over and squeezed my knee. “We’re not talking about Nola.” He laughed. “But you’re right. She was the worst.”
I tapped the steering wheel with my thumbs as I backed out of my driveway. “She really was, wasn’t she? Remember Carlton?”
Nate groaned and stretched a hand out behind me on my headrest. “Carlton was so bad.”
“Nola’s so sweet to everyone.”
“Nola thinks she needs to help everyone,” Nate said in an annoyed tone. “Bless her annoying heart, I’m worried that someday she’ll show up and be married with twelve kids on the way.”
“And that the husband will be the biggest loser in the world, taking advantage of her.”
Nate hummed in agreement. “She’s a bleeding heart. She’ll find someone—probably a criminal—decide he needs her help, and then she’ll marry him. We’ll have to have Christmas dinners at the prison.”
I flicked my turn signal on, moving over a lane. “No fruit cake. That could be considered a weapon.”
“True, but it always drove me crazy that Mom made us eat it just to keep Grandma happy.”
“How is your grandma?”
“Going on every
senior cruise available. Man, that woman can go.”
I pulled to a stop outside the theater. “And you wonder why you didn’t like sitting in class at college. You. Are. Your. Grandma.”
He propped an elbow against the car door. “I’m not sure how to feel about that statement. It could be the best compliment I’ve ever gotten. That woman can wield a knitting needle.”
My shoulders shook as I laughed. I turned into the theater parking lot.
“Uh oh, something must be wrong.”
I looked where he was pointing, and sure enough, here came Wren, marching out of the theater, looking like she was about to kill someone. Hopefully, it wasn’t me. I didn’t want it to be me.
“I think she’s going to come kill us where we sit,” Nate commented, giving voice to my thoughts.
“She was on a date...”
Nate frowned. Wren wrenched the door open to the front seat. Her anger abated for a moment as she looked at Nate in surprise. “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
She slammed the door, almost catching his hand in it, before she climbed into the back seat. She slammed that door as well.
“All right.” Nate turned around so he could face her in the back seat. “Who do I need to kill?”
“What?” For the second time in twenty seconds, the angry look was wiped off her face. Nate was good at that.
I glanced at her in the rearview mirror as I pulled out of the parking lot. “Go ahead and tell him. Nate is great at killing bad dates.”
“What?” Now Wren was looking at us like we were both crazy.
“She keeps saying that,” Nate stage-whispered.
“Sometimes she doesn’t understand grown-up words,” I whispered back.
“The only people who are going to get killed tonight are you two. You’re disgusting.”
“I take offense at that remark,” Nate said. Then he took a sniff at his armpit. “Okay, so I should have showered before I jumped in the car, but that’s no reason to call someone disgusting.”
Miss Trailerhood Page 10