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Sighing, I close the door and resign myself to my current outfit. I’ll be wearing a coat over it, anyway.
I head back downstairs. Gramps is still in the kitchen, finishing up the dinner dishes. He looks up when I enter the room.
“Okay, I’m going to head out,” I tell him. “I’ve got my cell. Call if you need anything, all right?” I hesitate. I’m gone all day to school, but hardly ever at night. What if he needs something? What if…
Gramps reads the uncertainty on my face. “I’ll be fine, Lennie. Won’t ride one of the stallions or move any hay bales. Just a Jays game and bed for this old man.” He grins, and it creases the skin around his eyes, the exact same shade as mine. Even when his face relaxes, the lines remain, the folds firmly etched in his face after decades of squinting in the sun at horses galloping by. His expression sobers, and his voice gains a bit more authority. “Go have some fun, all right?”
I nod reluctantly and head out into the chilly evening.
CHAPTERFIVE
LENNON
The Belmonts live on the outer fringes of town, part of a newer subdivision on land that used to be a horse farm. A development exactly like what would happen to Matthews Farm if we ever sold it.
Land in Landry is too valuable to graze horses on when the coveted zip code ensures people pay outrageous sums to live on the same patch of earth.
The truck wheezes ominously as I reach the final hill that Cassie’s family’s house is perched on, so I press harder on the gas pedal. Despite constantly sounding like it’s on its dying breath, I’ve never actually had the truck break down on me before. Hopefully that will remain true.
I park behind Cassie’s car and hop down from the truck, glancing around her neighborhood. I’ve visited her house before, but this is the first time I’ve come over at night. Lights blaze, not only in her house’s windows, but in the neighbors’ as well. It’s a foreign sight to me. Matthews Farm is about fifteen acres. There’s no one who lives close enough for any lights to be visible.
The winding, stone path leading up to the front door is also well-lit. Trimmed hedges that line it have been wrapped with hundreds of small, twinkling lights. They weren’t up the last time I was here, so I assume it was part of the Belmonts’ holiday decorations.
I ring the doorbell. Only a few seconds pass before I hear the pounding of footsteps.
The black door swings open to reveal a guy I’ve never seen before. He looks older than me, but probably not by more than a couple of years. Cassie has mentioned her two older brothers, so I figure he must be one of them. It’s pretty obvious they’re related. He has the same dirty blond hair and brown eyes as Cassie. And the same friendly grin, although his is tinged with a bit of mischief I don’t ordinarily associate with my sweet friend.
“Hi… Is Cassie home?”
“Yup,” he replies, still smiling broadly. But he doesn’t move to open the door any further.
“Can I come inside?” I ask. “She’s expecting me.”
I feel him look me up and down. A roguish smirk forms. “I’d rather you hang out with me instead.”
I roll my eyes. Where does this endless supply of cocky, overconfident guys come from? “I don’t thin—”
“Josh! What the hell?” Cassie suddenly appears, shoving her brother to the side with one elbow and giving me a wide smile. “Ignore him. Come on.” She opens the door so I can enter the expansive front foyer of the house.
“I was just getting to know your friend,” Josh says, completely unabashed.
Cassie grimaces and waves a hand between me and her brother. “Josh, Lennon. Lennon, my annoying brother Josh, with awful manners. Introductions done!” She grabs my hand and starts pulling me toward the stairs.
“Are both your brothers home?” I ask curiously as we climb the wooden staircase.
Cassie sighs. “No, just Josh. He’s still on break from college. He was supposed to be off skiing, but his flight got delayed or something. He’s been driving me crazy. He doesn’t know anyone here, so he’s got nothing to do. But I don’t know what he’s complaining about. He’s not the one who had to start over at a new school senior year. He just has to live here for a few weeks.” She glances at me, her expression apologetic. “Not that I don’t like it here, I just—”
“I get it. I can’t imagine moving senior year. And Landry’s not exactly an easy place to live.”
Understatement.
Cassie leads me inside her bedroom, which is massive, especially compared to mine. It’s decorated entirely in shades of white, which sounds boring, but is actually kind of cool. I take a seat on the cream-colored loveseat while Cassie perches on an ivory stool in front of a matching vanity with a vast array of makeup spread across it.
“I’m almost finished with my eyeliner, then we can do yours,” she informs me.
“Do my what?”
“Your makeup.” She gives me aduhlook.
