Cries in the Night (40 page)

Kelly laughed. Brack’s easy-going manner helped her to relax. He wasn’t as attractive as Austin, but he had a wide, friendly grin and sparkling brown eyes. His hair was short and sandy blond and he had the big, muscular body of a football player.

“Are you going to South Beach High this year?” he asked.

She nodded. “I turned in my paperwork on Monday.”

“Fresh blood!” Brack turned to Austin. “Unless you’ve already staked your claim?”

Kelly’s eyes focused on Austin, waiting on his answer with interest.

“Nah, you know me,” Austin said, unwittingly crushing her hopes. “I’ve got to keep focused on football and my grades.”

Brack’s blond eyebrows wiggled up and down as he looked at Kelly. “Good to know. I don’t spend all my time studying
or
on the field … in case you’re interested.”

Before she could answer, another boy, slimmer and shorter than Brack joined them. Austin introduced him as Logan.

“What position do you play?” Kelly asked, then added, “no, wait, let me guess.” She turned to Brack and said, “Lineman, right?”

Brack nodded appreciatively. “Yeah, I protect our friend, here.” He nodded toward Austin.

She gave Logan an appraising look. “And I’ll bet you’re a wide receiver.”

Logan laughed. “Right on. Hey, a girl that knows football.”

“A rare find,” Brack agreed. “Do you like the Miami Dolphins?”

“No way! Houston Texans all the way,” Kelly retorted. “And the Broncos. I love their horse.”

That started a lively discussion of the merits and flaws of all three teams until the sounds of an approaching marching band drew their attention to the street.

FMB was a very small town with only about 6,500 residents, and its community-themed parade reflected that local pride. Handmade floats were spaced between vintage cars and marching bands. There were even a few boats that had been decorated with lights and streamers and were being pulled on trailers. Little kids and dogs joined in and ran alongside for at least part of the short route from downtown to the high school.

“Look, there’s our float.” Austin leaned over and had to shout so Kelly could hear him.

Six cheerleaders, their hair fluffed and sprayed, waved at the crowd from a float that was liberally covered with royal blue and white streamers and tissue paper rosettes. Pulled by a small tractor, the float moved slowly and every so often would stop so the girls could go through one of their routines.

“Hey, isn’t that Zoey?” Kelly exclaimed.

“Yeah, it is,” Austin confirmed. “I thought she wasn’t going to be back until at least this weekend.”

“That’s what Scott told me.”

The float rolled closer. The street wasn’t all that wide, so even though the float was rolling down the middle, it was only about six feet away. Zoey’s gaze slid along the crowd, paused briefly on Austin and Kelly, then moved on without acknowledging them.

“What’s with that?” Austin shouted to Kelly.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to hang out with us anymore.”

Austin shrugged. “Her choice.”

“I’m fish-sitting her goldfish. I can’t believe she abandoned him.”

“There’s the end of the parade. Let’s get a head start on the crowd.” Austin stood and tossed his empty water bottle back into the ice chest.

Without discussion, Brack and Logan tagged along. They dropped off at Citrola’s with a promise to pick up an extra-large pizza and bring it to Austin’s reserved spot down the beach. That left Austin, Kelly and Josie to continue on alone.

“I can’t get over Zoey snubbing us,” Kelly commented, still confused by the other girl’s behavior. They had shared so much in the last month that Kelly had thought they were becoming friends. Apparently, not.

Austin showed his total lack of concern with another shrug. “Oh, Zoey’s just being Zoey. She’s acted more human lately than I’ve ever seen her. When she’s with the other cheerleaders, she’s kind of a bitch.”

Kelly saw the red umbrella that marked their spot and was glad to notice it was in a prime location, close enough to the bathrooms and a patch of sea grass for
Josie, yet far enough away from the pier to discourage most people from crowding them. Plus, Sanibel Island was easily visible, so they could enjoy two fireworks shows at once.

Austin had sunk the umbrella pole deep into the sand, so Kelly tied Josie’s leash to it while she and Austin spread the brightly colored Mexican blanket with part of it in the shade, but enough in the sun so they could lay out.

“I packed some PB&J sandwiches,” Kelly said as she pulled off her t-shirt and stepped out of her shorts before dropping to her knees on the blanket.

“We’ll eat those later. All the restaurants will be crowded, and we’ll be here all day.”

Kelly twisted her hair up and fastened it into a ponytail with an elastic band, then took a spray can of sunscreen out of her beach bag. “Would you spray my back?”

“Sure.” Austin took the can from her and after she had turned around, he misted a liberal coat over the skin that wasn’t covered by her modest tankini. She wore a two-piece swimsuit in her aunt’s pool, but she didn’t feel confident enough about her body yet to hang out on the beach with her midriff showing. Especially not around Austin.

He handed the can back to her. “Want some?” she asked. He considered it for a second, then took off his t-shirt and turned around. Kelly blinked, momentarily blinded by the sight of so much gorgeous tanned skin. Muscles rippled across his shoulders as he moved and she had to mentally shake herself to lift the can and send a soft, wet spray over his back.

“Thanks,” he said when she had finished.

“Your bruises are finally gone,” Kelly said, trying to tear her gaze away from his half-naked body.

He flexed and automatically rubbed his ribcage. “Yeah, it’s been good having a couple of weeks off from traveling. I needed to get my ribs well before football practice starts next month. How’s your gunshot wound?”

“Oh, it’s fine now.” She flexed her leg so he could see the wound on the outside of her left thigh that was now just a small scar. That had been a terrifying trip, but it had turned out okay, with the teens making it safely off the island. She hadn’t even known she’d been shot until they returned to FMB. So far, their trips had been almost back-to-back, and the week and a half off had been too quiet. “I miss it, don’t you?”

“The traveling?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she answered. “It seems kind of dull just hanging around the house.”

Austin smiled. “I know what you mean. I thought life was exciting before, but since we got back from the circus, FMB is pretty boring.”

“I really liked working with the dogs and being around the horses. They had some beautiful animals.”

“Pounding in all those stakes was brutal, but overall, I had a great time,” Austin agreed. “Jesse was a pretty cool dude. Too bad we won’t ever see him again.”

“I’m sure that’s part of Zoey’s problem,” Kelly mused. “She fell hard for him.”

“Like I said, Zoey will be Zoey. She’ll fall in love at least a half dozen more times before school starts.”

Kelly shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not like that anyway. She and Jesse had something special.”

“She shouldn’t have gotten involved with him,” Austin said without any hint of sympathy.

But Kelly knew it was more than a crush. “I’m sure she didn’t plan it … it just happened. Love can surprise you.”

Austin snorted. “She’s barely sixteen. That’s way too young to fall in love. She’s got her whole life ahead of her.”

“Yeah … way too young,” Kelly echoed, her own heart aching a little because she knew that wasn’t true. Unfortunately, Austin would graduate and go off to college without ever really knowing how she felt about him. Maybe he was right … maybe it was just her inexperience making her think she was in love with him.
Silly girl,
she reprimanded herself.
Buddy zone.
With a frustrated sigh, she sat down on the blanket and finished spraying sunscreen on her arms and legs, then wiped some on her face.

All the space around them was filling up as the crowd from the parade migrated to the beach. Some boys were setting up a volleyball net down by the water and a couple kids were building an elaborate sand castle a safe distance away.

“Geez … Citrola’s is jammed,” Brack complained as he plopped down on the blanket next to Kelly and set the giant pizza in the middle.

Logan sat on Kelly’s other side and passed around cold cans of cola. “We’d have been there another half hour if Brack hadn’t known the cook and got him to push our order to the front of the line.”

“Just look at him,” Austin laughed. “He’s best friends with all the cooks in town.”

Brack smiled with good-natured humor. “It takes a lot of fuel to power this machine.”

They all dug into the pizza. Kelly took a big bite and moaned. “They have the best pizza I’ve ever tasted.”

The boys, their mouths full, nodded their agreement, and the pizza quickly disappeared. Kelly gave Josie a few bites, but she didn’t want to upset the puppy’s stomach with too much spice, so she put out a bowl of puppy kibbles and another of water.

Full, at least for the moment, they all found a place on the blanket to lay out and doze in the sun. Kelly offered, and Brack and Logan both eagerly accepted her offer of sunscreen. But the boys could stay still only so long, and soon Austin pulled a football out of his bag and they found an open spot to play a pick-up game. A half dozen other guys and a few brave girls joined them. Kelly wanted to, but she didn’t think it was a good idea to leave Josie alone. So she stayed on the blanket and enjoyed watching the increasingly rough game until the mid-afternoon heat drove the boys back to rest in the shade.

They raided the ice chest and gobbled down the fruit and cookies Kelly had packed in water-proof baggies. By mutual agreement, they held off on the sandwiches until later. Kelly listened, with interest, as the boys talked about school, their fellow students, especially the rest of the football team and their teachers. She tried to file it all away, in case she needed it in a couple of months. But even though she didn’t know anyone they mentioned, they were careful to keep her involved in the conversation, so she never felt left out. Brack kept assuring her he would be there to help make her introduction to public school easier. She didn’t know if he treated all girls like this, but it seemed like he was flirting with her. Her total lack of experience in that area made her blush a little at his attention. He made her laugh and he was cute, in a rugged kind of way … but he wasn’t Austin.

Kelly wasn’t surprised that the three football players would be very popular and well-known on the island. Dozens of teenagers who were strolling along the beach stopped to talk to Austin, Brack and Logan. Even adults recognized them. Although Kelly hadn’t gone to the high school in Friendswood, she and her father had attended many of the team’s football games. She knew what avid fans followed high school football, and FMB was certainly no exception. She was excited at the thought of going to the games and actually knowing the players, so Kelly enjoyed hearing their stories and meeting their friends.

That is, until the cheerleaders dropped by.

Kelly immediately recognized them as three of the four girls and two boys that had been doing cheers on top of the high school’s float. Tall, thin and completely comfortable in their colorful bikinis, the three girls zeroed in on Austin, Brack and Logan like heat-seeking missiles.

“Shade!” the one with her long blond hair pulled back into a neat French braid declared as if she had been walking across the Sahara Desert. “I thought I was going to melt out there. The parade moved
so
slow.” Without waiting for an invitation, she sat down next to Logan who was under the umbrella.

“Where have you been hiding all summer?” asked the one with flaming red hair that billowed around her shoulders like a fiery cloud as she snuggled her way in between Austin and Brack. It was clear her focus was on Austin.

“Oh … just hanging around,” Austin answered. “Hey, everyone, this is Kelly. She moved in next door to Scott this summer.” He nodded to the redhead next to him. “Kelly, this is Taylor B.,” then indicated the blonde, “that’s Taylor M.,” and finally looked toward the third girl who had a short spiky pixie cut, “and that’s Carly.”

Kelly greeted each girl in turn, but the two Taylors barely glanced her way. Carly who had immediately gravitated toward Josie gave Kelly a genuine smile.

“Welcome,” Carly said. “Is this your dog?”

“Yes, her name is Josie.”

Carly sat on the sand and the puppy immediately roused herself from her nap, jumped in the girl’s lap and started licking her face. Carly laughed and tried to dodge the quick, pink tongue. “She’s really friendly. What kind is she?”

“I’m not sure … probably some border collie, maybe a little Maltese, Australian shepherd or sheltie,” Kelly answered.

“Ahhh … that’s great that you got a rescue dog,” Carly said.

“Well … she sort of followed me home,” Kelly responded vaguely. She couldn’t dare tell the truth about Josie’s origins. “Did Zoey come with you to the beach?”

“Oh, you know Zoey?” The red-headed Taylor seemed shocked, focusing on Kelly for the first time.