Storm Watcher (13 page)

Jenna was nice to everyone. She was also a math genius and had helped him a couple times last year without making him feel stupid. Plus she didn’t get as awkward after his Mom died. She’d treated him almost the same. He slowed. Would she still be okay?

“Uh, Jenna…”

“Hey, Luke. How was your summer?” Jenna smiled.

“Uh, fine. This is Megan, she’s new and—”

“Hi, Megan. Where are you from?”

“North Carolina,” Megan said.

After that, it didn’t take Jenna long to drill Megan about her schedule. Megan handed Jenna her class list in self-defense.

“Oh, my God, we have fourth period geometry and first period earth science together,” Jenna said. She tugged on Megan’s arm. “The science lab is down this hallway. Let’s go. Later, Luke.”

Megan flashed him a big grin as she followed Jenna. He shot her a thumbs-up before reporting to his first period class. English.
Ugh
. His least favorite subject. And to make it worse, Ethan sat three seats away. He didn’t glance up as Luke passed him. A complete dodge.

Luke hunched over his desk and fidgeted with his pencil. And tried not to stare at the tall, thin boy that had once been his best friend. Ethan’s hair had turned almost white from the sun, and his tanned skin meant he’d had spent his summer at the pool. Luke wondered who Ethan had invited to go with him this year. Matt or Grant? Both? Luke’s stomach churned.

The day went downhill from there. Just like at the end of last year, kids whispered behind his back. The teachers treated him as if he’d break. After a summer with Megan, he’d forgotten how weird everyone had been around the boy whose mother died.

By the time he met Megan at the bike rack after school, he wanted to scream. Instead, he pedaled fast, heading toward the kennel. He had to get far away or he’d burst. Megan did all the talking.

“Jenna is super sweet. She already texted me at lunch.”

“The brownies were unbelievable. At my old school all we had for dessert was pudding.”

“Did you know earth science has a meteorology unit? I bet you’ll ace that test.”

“We got brand-new textbooks in history. I love the smell of new books.”

When they reached the kennel, Luke dumped his bike and ran inside. Lightning yipped, dancing with excitement. He picked her up. She licked his nose. And he no longer wanted to scream.

Every morning, Luke biked to Willajean’s and met up with Megan. After school they raced back to the kennel to play with their dogs, help with the late afternoon training session, and record weather data for Willajean.

He stayed at Willajean’s as long as possible, doing homework with Megan and eating dinner with her family a couple times a week. Dad didn’t seem to mind that Luke was never home. At least, he hadn’t said anything. But Luke and Dad weren’t exactly talking.

They exchanged a few words before both bolting, and Luke spent a ton of time in his room alone. This awkward relationship had a good side – no conversations about the puppy or school, and a bad – Dad still hated him. Luke’s insides knotted.

By mid-October Lightning was housebroken and had learned a few good manners like sit, stay, and be quiet when signaled. All Luke had to do was place his finger on his lips, and she’d settle down.

On the morning of the seventeenth, the Weather Channel tracked a Nor’easter brewing close to the East Coast and heading north. Heavy rain was predicted for central Pennsylvania on the eighteenth. Luke would miss school tomorrow.

After the afternoon training session was completed, Luke pulled a couple of his books from his backpack and hid them in the kennel. Then he put Lightning into his backpack.

He left the top unzipped, and Lightning stood on the remaining books, poking her head through the gap. Not sure what she would do, Luke mounted his bike and started out slowly. The little dog stayed in the pack and seemed to enjoy the wind in her face.

When he reached home, he pulled off his pack, gave Lightning the quiet signal, and pushed her down so he could zip it closed. Dad barely glanced up as Luke hurried upstairs to his room. And for once, Luke’s chest didn’t tighten over being ignored. He let Lightning out, pressing a finger to his lips again. She sniffed every inch of the room before settling down on the bed.

Happy for the first time since March, Luke curled up next to her. Before turning out the light, he called Megan. “Just so you know, I brought Lightning home.”

Surprised, Megan asked, “Your dad let you?”

“No. I snuck her in.”

“What about tomorrow morning? Won’t your dad see her when you leave for school?”

“I’m not going to school. Dad will cover for me,” Luke explained. Dad let him stay home on stormy days.

“Luke, what’s with you and the rain?” Megan asked. “My mom can drive us.”

He bit his lip. Should he tell Megan and risk having her laugh at him?

“I don’t like it,” he said quietly into the phone.

“Like what?”

“Being exposed. Being at the mercy of the forces of nature. Forces that don’t care if they ruin your life.”

“Oh,” Megan said. “Is this about…your mom?”

“You know?” If Megan started treating him different, he’d…
What
? Not much he could do. It would just suck big time.

“We knew she’d…died, but not how or when. Jenna told me the details.”

Great.
The silence on the phone stretched past awkward. “I never liked storms. Even when I was little. What happened to my mom just proves how dangerous they are.”

Another pause.
Oh no, here comes some stupid comment about Mom being in heaven, or it was just her time
.
Words that made it hurt more.

“Guess it sucked being right,” Megan said.

“Yep.”

“Want me to get your assignments tomorrow?”

“No,” he said quickly. He didn’t want Megan to make a special trip in the rain just for him. If Luke had his way, all his family and friends would stay home during storms. Too bad, he never got his way.

At least he had Lightning to keep him company this time. The next morning after everyone left, Luke let Lightning out of his room. She explored every corner be-fore curling up on his lap while he watched the Weather Channel. Luke gazed at the small dog and wished Mom could have met her. He smiled just imagining it.

Mom would have been all obnoxious. “Told you she’d be perfect, Luke. Didn’t I?”

He’d agree, and then she’d coo over Lightning and feed her treats, spoiling the dog rotten. Just like she’d done with the bloods. They’d all lost weight since March. Luke wondered if they missed her, too. Funny that he’d never thought about it before now.

“Do you have big plans for tomorrow?” Megan asked. She was playing tug-of-war with Lance. When she won, she threw the toy. Lance and Lightning chased after it.

The dogs loved the cold. They tore around the training yard full of energy. Luke pushed his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket as he shivered, thinking of the warm kennel and hot food. It would be dark soon.

“We’re going to my grandmom’s for dinner,” he said.

So far, Luke’s first Christmas without Mom was a horror best forgotten. No decorations, no parties, and no presents from Dad under the tree. Dad had been working overtime since early November, so they’d skipped Thanksgiving this year. And Luke suspected Dad would work tomorrow as well. A furnace would burn out, and Dad would rush off so
strangers
could have a warm Christmas. At least Grandmom had promised a special Italian dinner of homemade pasta and tomato sauce.

“Are you guys doing anything?” he asked.

“Not really. We used to visit Poppy every Christmas, but now it’s just us.” Megan grabbed the end of the toy hanging from Lance’s mouth. “Alayna and I wanted to go to North Carolina and visit our friends, but Mom said maybe in the spring.” Grunting, she yanked the toy from Lance and tossed it hard. “By spring we’ll be breeding the dogs.”

“At least we don’t have school.” Eleven days to spend with Lightning. And with Dad so busy, Luke could sneak her home. Maybe he could bring her to Grandmom’s house.

Tires crunched on gravel. An old, dented Ford Ranger turned down the driveway.

“Oh no.” Megan stared at the pickup truck in horror.

“What’s wrong?”

The truck drove up to the house, and a man stepped out.

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.” Megan pressed her hands to her face.

“What?”

She turned. “Quick. Put the dogs inside and lock the doors.”

“Why?”

“My dad’s here.”

CHAPTER 12

Electric Potato

“Your dad?” Luke scooped Lightning into his arms and held her close. “Should we call the police?”

Megan scowled. “No. The police in North Carolina said he hadn’t done anything illegal. They said he owned the puppies, and it was a domestic dispute.” Megan called Lance.

They whistled for the dogs and hurried them into the kennel.

“But what about the other puppies he stole?” Luke asked in panic. He wished the dog crates had locks.

“No evidence.”

Luke glanced at the crate with Hurricane. If he disappeared, Luke’d be sick. “Should I take him home with me?”

“No. I’ll lock the door to the kennel. My dad won’t have a key.” She peered out the window. “Besides, Mom has a twelve-gauge shotgun, so he’ll be leaving very soon.”

Glad Willajean could handle the situation, Luke relaxed. They waited, but nothing happened. Eventually, Megan’s phone vibrated with a text from Alayna ordering her home.

Luke and Megan looked at each other.

“What do you think that means?” Luke asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No. You’d better go. I’ll call you later.”

Luke pounced on the phone after the first ring. “Hello?”

“She’s letting him stay,” Megan’s voice shrilled.

“What?” Not what he’d expected. Worry flared up.

“He conned her. Told her he’s been in rehab these last four months and is now clean and sober. He promised he’d pay her back for the puppies. His coming here to make amends is part of his recovery or something like that.” Megan sighed. “And it’s Christmas Eve. Mom said we should give him a chance to prove he’s changed. He’s gonna stay in the apartment in the barn for a few days.”

“There’s an apartment in there?” He’d thought they only used it for storage now that the cows were gone.

“Yeah. Poppy use to rent it out. He liked the company. Mom’s been fixing it up. It’s not done, but it’s livable.” She didn’t sound at all happy about it.

Luke understood her concern. “What about the dogs?”

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna make sure they don’t disappear.”

“How?”

“I’ll sleep in the kennel.”

“Will your mom let you?” he asked.

“I’m not asking her.”

“What if she finds out?”

“She won’t. I’m always up first in the morning. And it’s only for a few days.”

Except a few days turned into a few weeks as her father supposedly searched for a job.

“Can I come over?” Megan asked.

Since her father had returned, Megan had been hanging out at Luke’s house whenever possible. They still worked at the kennel and collected weather data right after school, but as soon as dinner was over, Megan bolted.

“I’m training Lance to be an air-scenting dog,” Megan told Dad one night as she helped him put the dishes away.

While Luke wrote down homework problems at the kitchen table, Megan and Dad discussed the pros and cons of air-scent versus ground-scent. Luke sighed. Megan treated Dad like a celebrity, following him around the house like a groupie.

“Hey, Megan. We have to finish the geometry assignment.” Luke tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

She plopped down in a seat and made an attempt at her homework. As soon as Dad left the kitchen, she said, “Your dad is so great. He knows so much about search and rescue. My father’s such a weasel.”