by Jenni James
“Isn’t he hot?” Kylie’s voice at my right surprised me.
“Yeah, he’s cute.”
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s not Gregory-Wentworth hot—”
“No, definitely not.”
“—but he can still hold his own. I’m sure there are girls who would totally flip over that rugged outdoors look.” She grinned. “But I’m Team Gregory all the way.”
Me too.
“Oh, look! There’s Madison and Collin.”
I followed the direction her finger had pointed to and watched a sleek, silver sports car enter the parking lot.
Madison had graduated this year. I had seen her around a few times, but I had never really met her or her boyfriend Collin. I wasn’t surprised to see how good-looking he was when he stepped out of the car.
“Hey!” Madison cheerfully called out as she approached.
“Hello,” Kylie and I chorused together.
I watched Collin smile vaguely in response.
“So are you ready to go four-wheeling?” Madison smiled and rubbed her hands together. “I am so excited—you have no idea.”
“I’m ready,” Kylie answered.
Madison grinned more, and when no one else said anything, she asked me, “You’re Amanda, right?”
“Yeah.” I smiled back at her. Her peppy grin was irresistible.
“Have you ever been four-wheeling?”
“No.” My smile faltered a bit.
“Don’t mind her.” Kylie rolled her eyes. “Amanda’s afraid of everything.”
“Not everything.”
“Okay, so almost everything.” Kylie laughed, flipping her short, stylish brown hair before asking, “So, Collin, that’s a nice car. What is it?”
“Uh, what?” He glanced up from the phone he had pulled out of his pocket.
Madison nudged him. “Your car. Kylie’s asking about your car.”
“Oh, thanks. Yeah, it’s nice. I like it.”
Madison chuckled and answered, “It’s a Nissan Skyline.”
“Oh.” Kylie had already lost interest.
“All right, guys.” Carson grinned as he jogged up to us. “I’ve got great news! That was my little bro, Ethan. He said he’s headin’ on over here. If you think I can drive, just wait till you meet this guy.”
“Really? That’s so cool!” gushed Kylie. “I can’t wait to see him again.”
I couldn’t remember much about Ethan—just that Kylie hadn’t liked him until he had made prom king a couple of months ago.
Carson must’ve known Collin, because he was able to distract him from his phone long enough to shake his hand. “Farnsworth! Nice set of wheels you got there. Impressive ride.”
“Oh, uh, thanks,” muttered Collin before he smiled vaguely and walked to a bench under the awning of the sporting-goods store that booked the tours.
Carson shook his head before turning to the rest of us. “Well, girls, are you ready for this?”
Just then Kylie’s cell rang. We waited awkwardly as she answered the call and started chatting. After a moment she made a little “sorry” gesture, then wandered over to the bench Collin was on. She leaned against the wall next to him.
“You’re Madison, right?” Carson’s friendly smile included me, but he was staring right at Madison.
“I’m impressed you know my name.”
“Well, when a guy purposely asks his brother for it, it’s hard not to know who you are.” He really had a great smile. Perfect white teeth, playful hazel eyes . . . I could tell Madison was charmed.
She giggled and rolled her eyes. “Does that line usually work?”
“Yeah, usually.”
Maybe she’s more than charmed.
“Usually?” Madison raised a mischievous eyebrow.
“Of course. So did it?” His eyes sparkled into hers.
“Work?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
Yep, she’s definitely charmed.
“No?” His grin deepened. “You sure?”
Madison looked toward Collin. “I’m taken.”
“You are?” Carson followed her gaze. “Oh.” Then he turned his hazel eyes back to her. “Well, that’s an easy fix.”
Carson smoothly covered over Madison’s growing blush by looking at me and asking, “And you must be Amanda, right?”
“Yeah.” I smiled back. I couldn’t help it.
“Kylie’s friend?”
“Yes.”
“She says you haven’t been four-wheelin’ before. You nervous?” His exciting eyes drilled into my ordinary light brown ones.
“N–no.” I attempted to sound brave.
“No?” I could tell he didn’t believe me for a second.
“Okay. Yeah, I am,” I admitted, and then blushed when I realized I had closed my eyes.
“Great!”
My eyes flew open. “Great?”
“Yeah, I love newbies, especially honest ones. You’ll have a blast, I promise.”
“Are we going to go anywhere dangerous?” I had seen a lot of pictures of four-wheeling vehicles stuck in the mud and upside down and stuff.
“Dangerous?” Carson laughed. “Nah. Well, it all depends on how you look at it. With an amateur, sure, it could be considered dangerous. Even driving in a car on a street could be considered dangerous if you were with someone who didn’t know how to drive. But me, nah. You’re never in danger with me.”
“You really have nothing to worry about,” Madison reassured me. “Ethan and Carson Franklin have had the best four-wheel training New Mexico’s ever seen.”
“Yep. You honestly think I would’ve started my own business if I didn’t know what I was doing? Come on. I’ll show you The Beast. Maybe then you’ll be happier about traveling with her.” Carson motioned for us to follow him.
“The Beast?” Madison chuckled.
Carson grinned over at her. “Yeah, she’s a real beaut! Get it?” He glanced over to include me. “Beauty and the Beast?”
Madison laughed out loud at his joke. He turned toward her and winked his appreciation before stating for my benefit, “People fall in love with The Beast as soon as they see her. She hasn’t failed to win someone over yet.” With another quick wink to Madison, he stepped forward and would’ve kept walking had Gregory’s vintage Mustang convertible not pulled into the parking lot right then. Sydney was smiling and waving in the passenger seat as they parked a few feet from us.
My heart stopped when I saw Gregory get out of the car. How can I still be stunned by how gorgeous he is? It really was like looking at a movie star.
My wayward thoughts were interrupted by Sydney getting out of the car. And for the first time, I noticed that the girl from Bloomfield that Gregory had brought to Kylie’s party was with them, too. He helped her as she cautiously climbed out of the back seat.
Five: Blazing Trails
“Hey, guys.”
Our little group came to life when Gregory walked over. Even Collin and Kylie had put away their phones and joined us. Gregory’s smiling eyes scanned over mine to settle on everyone but me. “This is my cousin Lilly, from Bloomfield.” He smiled and brought the beautiful brunette forward a bit.
His cousin? Apparently Sydney already knew they were related. Her arm was wrapped around Gregory’s in nothing short of a death grip.
Of course, I couldn’t blame her for staking her claim, and it looked like I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“Hello, Sydney.” Kylie smiled in a perfect imitation of a beauty queen. “Don’t you look good?” she cooed. “Almost as good as Gregory does.” Her mouth widened into a flirtatious, boyfriend-stealing smile aimed right at him. “My, I don’t think I have ever seen a specimen as perfectly built as you. How often do you work out?”
Madison smirked next to me and whispered, “She’s good.”
“Just wait, she’ll get better,” I responded. “She hasn’t even started yet.”
Right on cue, Kylie gushed, “Oh my goodness
! Is that a 1967 Mustang GT convertible?”
“Uh, yeah, it is.” Gregory smiled down at the shocked look on Kylie’s face.
“Are you serious? How did you find it? And in red, too. Red GT convertibles are only the rarest Mustangs in the world.”
He released his arm from Sydney’s grasp. “Would you like to see her?”
“Yes. I’d love to.” Kylie beamed up at him.
“Would anyone else like to check out Lydia?” Gregory asked before he started to walk Kylie toward his car.
“Sure!” Carson and then, surprisingly, Collin echoed. All thoughts of showing Madison and me The Beast were obviously gone. The guys practically sprinted to the Mustang. After a couple of seconds, a pouty Sydney followed.
I guess she’s not quite willing to give him up yet. Good luck. I turned toward Madison and Lilly. Madison was watching the guys with a sort of pensive look on her face. I wonder if she’s still baffled by Carson’s interest in her.
As quiet as I am, I find I really don’t enjoy silence. So without Madison talking, I figured that left the conversation up to me. I took a deep breath and smiled at Lilly. “Hi, I’m Amanda,” I tried.
To my astonishment, she gave me a genuine smile and said, “Hi. You were at that party a couple of weeks ago, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, at Kylie’s house. Did you have fun?”
“Sort of. I mean, it was a great party—don’t get me wrong—I just don’t really like large crowds,” she said. Then she added almost as an afterthought, “The piñata was fun, though.”
“It’s okay. Actually, large crowds aren’t my thing, either.”
“Well, Gregory worries about me. He tells me I need to get out more. Sometimes, though, I wonder if he just wants to have someone to hang with so he doesn’t have to go alone.” She shrugged and grinned. “Of course, he’s gotten so totally cute that it does my ego good to be around him. You should see the looks I get from other girls. It’s amazing what three years can do to a guy.”
“Yeah,” I answered. You have no idea.
“Did you know he used to live here? It’s so funny, but I don’t think anyone even remembers him.”
I do.
Before I could voice my thoughts, she continued, “Well, that’s understandable, since back then he didn’t have very many friends. There was this one girl, though. He used to email me all the time about her. Honestly, I really thought he loved her. It was crazy the way he’d write about how she was so much better than he was and her family was so rich.”
“R–really?” was all I could manage. I glanced over and saw that Madison had slowly started to walk toward the other group. All of the sudden I wanted to be there, too.
“Oh yeah,” Lilly went on. “I used to get tons of emails telling me how gorgeous this girl was and how funny and smart and sweet and caring and . . . well, you get the picture.”
She’s looking at me. I have to say something. “Yeah,” I mumbled.
“I finally got sick of all the emails and told him to just tell her how he felt. Honestly, if he liked her that much, then she needed to know more than I did. Besides, he’d always said how great she was.” She stared off for a moment, and I watched Gregory as he joked with Collin. They were both laughing.
“He really is like the perfect guy,” Lilly continued. “I’ll never understand why that girl didn’t see him for who he truly was. She seemed smarter than that. Oh well. I bet she’s eating her heart out now, though.” She laughed. “Got to love karma, don’tcha?”
“Y–yeah,” I nearly choked out. “W–what happened? Do you know? I mean with Gregory. Was he okay? After she . . . she . . .”
“Broke his heart?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know, really. He seemed okay. Don’t get me wrong—he was really upset and angry at first, but everything happened so fast. That girl totally crushed him the same day he found out his family was moving, so he was happy about that. At least he was able to make a clean break and not have to see her all the time, you know?”
I nodded. It was all I could do.
“Eventually it came out that it was her friends who had told her to say it. That killed him more than anything. The fact that she’d believe what her friends thought more than her own heart was something he couldn’t get over. He thought he knew her better than that. Anyway, as far as I can tell he’s never looked back. Not that I blame him. Besides how stupid can a girl get?” Lilly chuckled. “It’s her loss now.”
Ouch.
“Who’s that?” Lilly’s face lit up as she pointed to a fully rigged blue Jeep pulling into the parking lot.
“That’s Ethan, Carson’s brother,” I answered, grateful for the change in subject. “He’s the San Juan County reigning four-wheeling champion at the moment.”
“Really?” She seemed intrigued.
I could see why. There was definitely something about the Franklin brothers that drew attention.
Ethan honked his horn pleasantly as he parked and then leaped from the driver’s seat. He wasn’t as tall as Carson, but just as easygoing and cool in his mannerisms. His dark-haired, green-eyed, athletic appearance was a girl’s dream. You could tell just by looking at him that he was adept at all types of sports. He was there to have good, wholesome fun—no strings attached—and anyone was welcome to join him.
“Yo, Ethan!” we heard Carson holler before we saw him break away from the group. “Finally. You made it.”
Everyone gravitated toward the two of them.
“What is up with your shirt, man?” Ethan laughed at his brother.
“What do you mean?” Carson grinned as he stared down at the large white cross on his red shirt.
“Are you a part of the Red Cross now, or what?” Ethan chuckled as he threw an arm over his brother’s shoulders.
“What? Do you even hear yourself? This is a white cross, not a red one. What are they teaching you at that college, anyway? Don’t you know the Swiss flag when you see it?” He playfully nudged his elbow into Ethan’s ribs.
“So that explains why you got that stupid red square and white cross on your hat then, too.”
“Yep. My lucky Swiss army hat. I’ve gotta wear it today.”
I noticed Ethan was wearing a pink wristband that looked just like Carson’s.
“Hey, guys! I’m Ethan, if you don’t know me—and well, uh, Ethan if you do.” His arm was still over Carson’s shoulders when he turned to him and asked, “So you’re driving right?”
“Heck yeah, I am! Do you honestly think I would let my lil’ bro get behind the wheel of my Beast?” He grinned and shrugged out of Ethan’s hold. “Let me introduce you to the whole gang.” With a nod Carson pointed to Gregory. “This is Gregory. Kylie you know. Sydney, Collin, Madison—she’s taken, so hands off.” He winked right at her. “Lilly is Gregory’s cousin, and then A–Alana, right?
“Amanda,” Gregory corrected. Eight pairs of eyes flew to him, and his gaze connected with mine. After an embarrassed second I turned away and looked right into Lilly’s contemplative stare.
“So are we going to hit the road or what?” teased Ethan.
“I’m ready!” Madison laughed. “What do we need?”
“You guys brought your picnic stuff, right?” Carson asked.
“Ours is in the car.” Kylie looked over at me.
“Ours too,” hollered Madison.
“Well, let’s get the food and head out of here. Follow the signs and meet me around back.” Carson clapped his hands once and we took off.
Within a few minutes, we all found ourselves snuggled nicely into The Beast. Carson and Ethan were in the front seat, while Collin, Madison, and I made up the second bench seat. The back was set up military cargo style, with two bench seats lined up under the Land Rover’s side windows—seatbelts and everything. Gregory, Kylie, Sydney, and Lilly were in the back facing each other. It was a really cool setup. I was surprised at how fun the very back seemed. For such a large vehicle, there wasn’t a lot of
extra room inside like a typical SUV. We were literally huddled up next to each other. My knees hit the front bench seat, and Gregory sat right behind me. It was a bit disconcerting to feel him so close, and a couple of times the truck bounced and jolted my head into his arm where it rested on the back of the bench.
I let out a slight involuntary shriek when Carson pulled off the main road and crossed onto the rough ground in front of us. After the first ten minutes or so, I found I really loved the rocking rhythm of the Land Rover. Everyone around me was chattering happily above the din of the engine. The atmosphere in the vehicle hummed with energy as the golden rock and sandstone of the Animas Valley crunched and yielded beneath The Beast’s tires.
We jounced and bounded across the desert for about forty-five minutes, narrowly missing cactuses and evergreen shrubbery along the way. At one point, when the ride became extra bumpy—bringing a few whoops and excited giggles from the group—Carson hollered back to us that we were actually on a dry riverbed trail. The miles of jagged, golden landscape were beautiful, and definitely something I never thought in a million years I would ever see up close.
All too soon we made it to our designated picnic spot. Carson pulled out his CB radio and communicated his whereabouts to the sporting-goods store. Then he climbed the ladder on the back of The Beast, unlatched the large ice chest from the roof rack, and handed the chest down to Ethan and Gregory. We followed the guys to a picnic table made of crudely cut logs. It was really rugged, but cool in its own way.
“Carson, did you make the table?” I asked around a mouthful of turkey-and-cheddar sandwich after we had all settled down. “It’s really cool.” Everyone turned to stare at him.
He grinned timidly. “Yeah. I thought it’d be fun to have something like this out here. It’s not much to look at, but with the tools I had at the time, I guess it didn’t turn out too bad.”