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“So...you and Sarah Claiborne really seem to hate each other,” Lexi said, wiping her mouth daintily with a napkin as if not to mess with her perfectly applied lipliner and red lipstick. “At least, that’s the feeling I got at the arena this morning.”
She gazed up expectantly at me, as if waiting for me to drop the details, but I wasn’t ready to share more than needed. Besides, most of the school had heard about my accident.
After Hunter had left, it’d taken me months to get my feet underneath me again. I wasn’t great at putting myself out there and making new friends. It wasn’t until Sarah complimented me on my clothes once at school that I thought I finally had a chance to move on. I’d thought getting on Sarah’s good side was my goal in life. Instead, she and her friends had treated me like dirt. I’d been clueless about it, until I’d gotten drunk and nearly drowned at the Cascades two months ago during a fight with my sister.
I couldn’t blame Sarah for the stupid decisions I’d made, but I liked to think that if she hadn’t been so awful when I was vulnerable and lonely, I might not have gone down that road. And I wouldn’t be working every week at the diner this summer as a punishment my parents had chosen to teach me about personal responsibility — until I could prove to them that I’d changed.
It would take a miracle to make that happen.
“She’s awful and that’s all I’m going to say about it.” I slid into the booth next to Beth and grunted to punctuate my point.
“So I guess you wouldn’t approve of her dating Hunter?” Beth asked, the scent of maple syrup strong on her breath. The dark look I shot her made her snort with laughter into her napkin. “Okay, I’ll take that as a no.”
Lexi shrugged and placed her elbows on the table across from us, blinking her unnaturally long eyelashes. “Maybe you should ask him out. I saw the way he looks at you. I’ll bet he’d say yes in a heartbeat.”
I threw my head back and let out a dry laugh. No way did Hunter McNally look at me as anything other than the girl he used to dunk in the above ground pool behind his house each summer and trade Sour Patch Kids candies with. I was firmly in the friend zone with him and that was the way we both liked it. That would never change.
“You guys are hilarious,” I said. “Really, you should start a comedy show.”
Beth wrinkled her nose. “If you won’t ask him out, then I guess he’s free for the taking. Sarah’s like a great white shark. She’s already circling in the water. I’ll bet she snaps him up before the end of the fair.”
The image of Sarah as a massive shark devouring my friend gave me a sour stomach. I grimaced and grabbed a glass of water to help clear t
he sensation. There was no way I could let that happen. I’d protect my friend...somehow.
“Charlotte, you didn’t tell me you had friends here!” Mom popped up behind the counter with a beaming smile. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, her apron dusted with flour. She hustled around the counter to rush our booth. “I didn’t know you were hanging out with Lexi and Beth! This is the best thing since sliced bread!”
I groaned into my hands. Mom got a little too excited about things sometimes. If it were up to her, she’d throw a freaking parade every time I managed to turn in a homework assignment on time. I think it was her way of making up for missing the signs that I was having so much trouble this past year. Nobody blamed her. Between the busy restaurant and her heart issues, she and Dad both had enough on their plate.
“Mom, settle down. We’re just hanging out because our sisters got the idea that we should be friends and they won’t leave us alone until we do.”
“And I fully support that idea,” she said, leaning on the booth. “Nice to see you, girls.”
They both greeted my mom politely, which only served to make her smile grow brighter. She was like our new chocolate Labrador — pat her on the head for two seconds and suddenly we were friends for life. “I can’t believe you babies are all going to be juniors this fall. You’re in for a great year. I think junior year is the best.”
“Oh, I don’t know about junior year,” Lexi said, bouncing in her seat. “I’m just excited about this summer. The 4H county fair starts tonight. We’re talking cowboys, fuzzy animals, and the Junior Rodeo Queen competition. They opened it up to all girls in the county this year. I’m hoping one of them will let me do their hair and makeup. I’ve been dying to do a project that would get me some public attention.”
Mom looked at me, her blue eyes widening. “Charlotte, did you know about the county fair?”
It wasn’t hard to see where this was going. She and Dad had been practically throwing me at random events since summer started as a way to help me find a passion. So far, we were zero for ten. Surprisingly, badminton and harmonica lessons didn’t stick.
I shot her a thin-lipped smile. “Yep. I’m actually going to the opening ceremony this afternoon with Hunter.”
“And there’s a rodeo queen competition,” she said, biting her lower lip. I could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. “That sounds like fun. What kind of stuff do they do for that, Lexi?”
Lexi licked her lips and then counted off her fingers. “From what I’ve heard, there’s a pie baking contest. They get to judge a few exhibits and be models in the 4H fashion show. But the best part is the rodeo on Friday night. They all get to ride in on horses for the crowning.”
“Horses?” Mom repeated breathlessly. Her blue eyes darted to mine. “You used to love horses as a kid, Charlotte. Maybe you should enter.”
“Yeah, Charlotte,” Lexi said beside me, wagging her eyebrows at me. “You should enter. Just think—hot cowboys.”
“And chaps,” Beth added, her smile dreamy.
Lexi clapped her hands together and grinned. “Or, the possibility of knocking Sarah off her high-horse...literally. They close the signup sheet right before the opening ceremony today. You’ve still got time.”
I snorted. What world were they all living in? “Mom, I would probably kill myself on one of those things. Animals don’t like me. And besides, I don’t want to enter some backwoods, set-women-back-a-hundred-years kind of competition. I think I’m okay.”
Mom crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. The tiny blue vein in her temple throbbed. It was the tell-tale sign that her stubborn side was coming out. “Well, even if you don’t enter, you should at least check out what the fair has to offer. Your dad and I want you to find something to put your heart into this year. Something that’ll keep you out of trouble.”
