“Ambrosia, don’t you dare hit Aaron with that bat! Give that to me. Do you want to put your brother in the hospital?”
Ambrosia dropped the bat as if it suddenly acquired some magical power and singed her hands. Sitting on the lower bed, she pulled the pink comforter up to her chin, and shook her head, her reddish brown curls dangling over her face and down her back. “He called me a baby because I cried when the earthcrack happened this morning,” she confessed with an angelic pout.
“Earthquake,” I corrected and looked at my little brother. “Aaron, I cried too. Does that make me a baby?” Well, I hadn’t exactly cried, but almost and he didn’t need to know that.
Aaron scrunched his eyebrows together, jumped off the bed and stood, shooting his fists straight up in the air. His identical reddish brown curls fluffed around his head, and a thin red blanket tied around his upper chest hung down his back. Mom made sure he knew never to tie anything around his neck and he took it literally. “Don’t worry, I will protect you. Me and Dad. We’re the mans of this family.”
“Well, I feel much better now, don’t you, Ambie?” Ambrosia rolled her eyes and giggled. I’d taken to calling her that after I read in some paranormal story that ambrosia meant “food of the gods, said to bestow immortality.” Picturing my little sister as some immortal’s snack sort of grossed me out. My mom thought it would be cute for all of us to have the same initials as she and my dad, ARC. Actually, I thought it gave us all some sort of bond, something that connected us, more than just blood.
“Let’s see, what do you guys want to wear today?”
“Mama said we didn’t have school today ‘cause of the earthcrack,” Aaron pouted.
“Right.”
“When can we go back to school?” he asked.
“Stupid earthcracks. I don’t like them.” Ambrosia jumped off the bed, standing stiff with her arms crossed over her chest and sticking out her bottom lip, while Aaron stood at her side, a mirror image.
“Yeah, stupid earthcracks,” he mimicked.
“In about a week, I guess.” I handed Aaron a pair of jeans and a blue shirt I pulled from his drawer. “Here, put these on. Ambrosia, you have a blue shirt, don’t you? Oh here it is,” I said, rummaging through the messy drawer that my mom would no doubt have a fit over. That is, if she ever got over the mess in the rest of the house.
“Who’s here?” Aaron asked at the sound of a knock on the front door.
“Probably that obnoxious Courtland guy. Daddy wants him to help soothe the horses,” I said with a sigh.
“He’s not noxious. He’s nice and handsome, like Daddy. I want to marry him when I grow up.” Ambrosia twirled around, holding her clothes out in front of her so they flowed through the air.
“You’re stupid.” Aaron rolled his eyes and pounced onto his bed.
“Shhh. Both of you get dressed; I’ll go tell him Daddy’s in the stable.”
I strolled toward the door, glancing in the living room on my way. The vacuum roared with an occasional crunching sound as my mother pushed the beast over and over the area in front of the hutch.
I opened the door to find Courtland Reese. His already broad shoulders seemed huge in that dark green hoodie zipped halfway up his chest, revealing a dark blue and black checkered shirt I’d seen him wear before. As I remembered, it had tight short sleeves that made him look rather tough the way his muscles peeked out from the hem of the sleeve, not like the freaky weird guy everyone claimed he was. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and gave me an almost dangerous looking half-smile then looked down at his feet. He shifted from one foot to the other, sticking both hands in his pockets before glancing back at me with vibrant green eyes. I don’t remember ever being this close to him and I suddenly felt like I’d forgotten to get dressed. I’d never noticed his eyes before or the way they could make me feel so defenseless. He kept glancing around the front yard as if he was looking for something. Why did he always act like there were a million and one things he’d rather be doing than talking to me? Well, the feeling was mutual, I’m sure.
His dog Shiloh, on the other hand, a black mixed lab, took a step forward, wanting my attention. My heart melted as she wagged her tail fast enough to knock a small child across the porch and nuzzled the palm of my hand, her wet cold nose sliming my fingers. I smiled at the feeling and looked up into Courtland’s eyes that lingered on me for a few seconds before he averted them back to the ground once again.
“Ah, is your dad home?”
I nodded, unable to find my voice. Why was it again Max hated Courtland?
“He called me to come over to check on the horses,” Courtland said, his eyes squinting from the sun, making him frown a bit, adding to that dangerous look he sometimes had going.
Now I was the one studying the cracks in the old red-painted concrete porch my dad had been threatening to remodel with wood decking since we’d moved there eight years ago. Why anyone would paint concrete is beyond me. What’s wrong with plain gray? I mean, everybody knows it’s concrete.
“He’s over at the stable,” I said, managing to locate my voice somewhere down past my esophagus, the statement so curt, I even surprised myself.
“Thanks.” He turned and headed down the pathway.
“Wait,” I shouted, not sure what I wanted to say. I wasn’t about to apologize for my rudeness, that’s for sure, but I didn’t want him to mess with Big Blue. I wanted to be the one to calm him and talk to him. Big Blue was my horse and I didn’t see the need to have a stranger whisper in my horse’s ear. If anybody was going to do any whispering to Big Blue, it was going to be me, no matter what my dad said.
He turned and stared at me; the cool morning breeze blew his thick dark hair into his eyes. He brushed the strands away with long slender fingers and for the first time, I noticed that his eyes were not only green but also the deepest shade of emerald I’d ever seen.
“Yeah?” he said coolly.
“Um …what exactly are you going to do?”
His lip curved up on one side. “Well, I don’t know yet. I’ll have to ask the horses what they want.”
I blinked. “Oh,” was all I could think of to say to such an odd statement and he turned and walked away. Shiloh pushed her nose against my hand one more time before turning to follow Court. What did he mean, “ask the horses?” At this, I ran to my room to put on my riding boots. I wanted to be there when Courtland asked Big Blue that question. I chuckled at the image of Big Blue neighing and shaking his head in my direction, indicating it was me he wanted. I glanced in the mirror on my way to the closet and froze.
Did I really just answer the door looking like this? My shirt was buttoned crooked; the last button was completely undone. I hadn’t even brushed my hair before pulling it back into a ponytail and it was all bumpy and lumpy with tons of escaped strands sticking out.
I yanked the elastic from my hair, cringing at the broken strands that came with it. Running the brush through the tangles, I smoothed out the knots, and pulled it back into a neater ponytail this time. I tugged off my shirt and pulled on a grey sweater instead. It had been a little nippy outside and besides, the sweater stopped short of the silver embroidery on the flaps of the back pockets of my jeans, which accentuated the little curve of my never-to-be-perfect bottom—not like my mom’s. I think I must have inherited some ancestor’s butt from my dad’s side who hadn’t had much in that area. Kicking off the old brown boots my dad referred to as my shit-kickers, I opened the closet door to get my black riding boots and screamed.
Chapter 2
~~ Courtland ~~
I moped my way to the stable, kicking at almost every rock I saw along the way. Shiloh trotted beside me and leapt after several of them. What a freakin’ douche. I’d been totally tongue whipped. Good thing Adela couldn’t read my mind. When she opened the door, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. What a sight. I had to keep my eyes from hers in order to refrain from laughing. As beautiful as she was, this morning she was a mixtu
re of sweet and ruffled. Not the normal angel I’d come to covet. But then, we don’t have major earthquakes every morning, so I guess I could understand her appearance. I bet she threw those clothes on in a hurry to get to her horse.
Adela’s dad was pitching hay in the back of the stable when I entered. He looked up and smiled at me, a huge welcoming grin, and I instantly felt at ease.
“Hey, Courtland. Am I glad to see you!”
“Hey, Mr. Castielle.” I waved my hand and made my way to the first stall where Adela’s horse, Big Blue, stood. He stepped back and snorted at me as I approached. His breathing quickened and his neck muscles stiffened as he raised his head—a sure sign that he was anxious.
Mr. Castielle walked over to us, careful to keep his distance. “When I came in here this morning, Blue’s ears were pinned back and his muscles seemed mighty tense. Adela was able to calm him some, but I still want you to see what you can do for him as well as Misty over there.”
I glanced over at Misty, Max’s horse, and nodded at Mr. Casteille. If I didn’t care so much for animals, I wouldn’t give Misty the time of day, knowing she was his horse. But I knew deep down that Misty really had no choice in who she belonged to and thank God she didn’t have the same personality as her owner.
I stretched out my hand toward Big Blue with my palm open and he walked forward a little bit, but he was swishing his tail, showing me his agitation. I noticed him grinding his teeth so I grabbed an apple out of the basket on the ground next to his stall and held it out to him. He was hesitant at first, but soon started to nibble. I petted his side and he began to relax, resting his rear foot with the tip of his hoof barely touching the ground. “That’s it, boy. All the ruckus is over. No more shaking and rumbling.” At least for now. I was certain there would be aftershocks.
I know for a fact that Adela wasn’t happy about the idea of me being here to calm down her horse. I can only guess at the expletives she used in her mind when she found out I was coming over. It was no secret to me how she felt—just like everyone else around this too-small-to-be-called-a-town and at school. I knew they all thought of me as a freak.
I’d heard it said that five years after graduation, everything that happened in high school would be forgotten. Hmmm … somehow, I didn’t think that would to be the case for me, thanks to Max.
My life would be so much simpler if Max Wendell bit the dust. If there was one person I wish I’d never met, it was him. Sometimes I wondered if there was such a thing as the butterfly effect like that movie and if so, maybe I could go back in time the way Ashton Kutcher did and change things for the better. But like him, I’d probably end up making things worse or even lose an arm or two. I shook my head, shuddering at the thought and dreamed of Adela instead.
Sweet, sexy Adela. The way she stood at the door frowning, looking frazzled but beautiful. took my breath away. I cannot fathom what it is that she sees in Max. He had to be the most obnoxious, arrogant, spiteful human being God ever planted on this earth. I could only hope and wish that someday Adela would look at me the way she looked at Max. I sighed at the thought and tried to concentrate on Big Blue.
I had to admit, I was ecstatic this morning when my dad told me Adela’s father called to ask if I would come over and help calm his horses. My dad didn’t seem to be his usual morning-after-binge self. But then, maybe the earthquake sobered him up. I was a little surprised to see him drinking coffee this morning when I walked into the kitchen and at first, I thought that he was coming down from a drunken binge, using coffee to sober up. But after I called Mr. Castielle back, I realized my old man was actually lucid for once.
I’d been in love with Adela since the day she moved to Pleasant Ridge, the very first time I ever saw her sweet face sprinkled with freckles. We’d been in the fourth grade. But once Max wormed his way into her world, I became invisible to her, or maybe like everyone else, she simply regarded me as a freak to be avoided.
I never asked for this weird freakish talent I have to calm animals. It really wasn’t any type of paranormal ability; at least I didn’t think it was. All it took was a little patience and understanding, except sometimes I could actually sense what they felt. It was spooky, even to me.
After Blue finished his apple and calmed down, I walked over to Misty. She had similar reactions as Blue, so I talked softly to her and coaxed her forward with an apple, the same way I did with Blue.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t seem to get my mind off Adela and her disheveled appearance when she answered the door a few minutes ago—not to mention the fact that I was actually standing in her barn, tending to her horse. Surreal. She was a goddess even when she was flustered. I know these feelings I have for her are only one sided, though. They always have been.
Mr. Castielle turned up the radio. The announcer’s loud voice spooked Misty a bit and she started to fidget, swaying her rear back and forth. I searched my mind for a tune I knew and the only one that came to mind was Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing.” My mom used to sing it to me when I was a kid and had trouble going to sleep. I leaned in close to her ear and sang the few verses that I could remember, wondering if Adela would come into the barn.
Chapter 3
~~ Adela ~~
“Crap, Max. You scared the bejeezus out of me.”
Max stood in my closet, grinning; my clothes draped around his head and his lanky body. My heart pounded in my chest, and I struggled to catch my breath as Max shoved his way out of the closet, chuckling.
Seeing Max in my bedroom provoked three reactions at once: one of surprise, a normal reaction. One of fear that my mom would pick this very moment to walk in my room and find him, resulting in a two-week restriction of no riding Big Blue. The third was an excitement that made my heart race almost as fast as it had during the peak of the earthquake—except there were no thoughts of a quick death with the earth opening up and swallowing me alive. This time, my stomach joined in and did a flip-flop, as I thought about how close we were to my bed and what I wished we were doing. But of course, that could only be in my mind. Because in the real world, Max never had those thoughts with me in mind, at least not yet. That was something I was working on.
“Shhhh,” he said, still grinning with his finger to his lips, “let’s not bring in the little squirts. They’ll tell your mom.”
“So not funny, Max. What are you doing and how did you get in here and …” remembering that only moments ago, I changed my clothes in that very same room, I added, a bit chagrined, “how long have you been in there?” I absently eyed my closet door and wondered if he’d peeked out while I changed. A thrill ran through me at the thought of him liking what he might have seen.
“A few minutes. I came in through your window.”
I glanced at the window; glad it hadn’t broken from all the shaking. I quickly made a mental note to myself. Remember to lock window.
“Anyway, I came to check up on you after … you know, the quake.” His dark blond hair seemed extremely curly, messier than normal, as if he bolted out of bed and rushed right over. At least, that’s what I wanted to think.
“I’m fine. I’m in a hurry. Big Blue needs me. He’s all jittery from the quake.” I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled on my boots. Max sat beside me and my stomach did a full on summersault, making that little flip-flop it did a minute earlier seem more like a minor ping. I cringed, praying my mother didn’t decide to walk in at that particular moment and discover us. Even though we weren’t doing anything, boys in the bedroom? Especially Max? Not if I want to see the light of day again, ever.
After snapping the tops of my boots, I stood, hoping Max got up too. When he didn’t, I tugged him by his arm. “Get up and get out the same way you came in. If my mom catches you here, I’m dead.”
He walked to the window. “Okay, but how’s Misty?”
“She’s okay. A little edgy, but my dad has everything under control.” I didn’t say anything about Courtland. The mere mention of the name
alone would send Max into a state of violent mental agitation, and he would want to go to the stables with me. For some reason, I didn’t want him to. “Why didn’t you come to the front door like you normally do?”
“I’m not supposed to be here. I didn’t want your parents to catch sight of me and say anything to my dad. He thinks I’m in my room studying some marketing mumbo jumbo. He told me not to go anywhere. I think he’s worried about the quake, which made me worry a little about Misty.”
Misty? Typical Max. Figures he would worry about Misty but not me. “Misty will be fine. Go home and I’ll call you later.” Shaking off my disappointment that he didn’t worry about me, I added, “Maybe we can take the horses for a soothing stroll later and have a picnic or something to help calm their nerves.”
Max frowned; propping his leg up on the windowsill, he slowly shook his head. “Can’t. Since we don’t have school today, my dad wants me to stay close to home. Actually, I think he really wants me to make sure my mom is safe. He gets a little emotional during things like this. Plus he wants me to study his marketing plans for the next year.”
“I thought you only wanted to perfect the making of wine, not sell the stuff. Besides, you’re not old enough.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I know, but my dad wants me to learn more about the marketing side for the future.”
“Yeah, I guess marketing and sales would be the next step since you already know everything there is about making wine.”
“I won’t be selling wine, silly. Not until I’m twenty-one. I’m just learning how.” He leaned toward me, placed his finger under my chin as though he was going to kiss me and I held my breath in anticipation, but Max only smiled and turned away. “Bye-bye, Adela. Take care of my mare.”
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