Summerfield (4 page)

Ella's eyes widened, staring at me in surprise. "What?"
I raised an eyebrow at my favorite-and only-aunt. "Don't think I
forgot about this morning for a second." I said, pointing my fork
slightly.
"She met Lance?" Dad wondered.
 

Ella sighed. "Yeah, this morning."
"How come you didn't mention him?" I asked. I'd been curious ever
since I had walked in on their make out session this morning. I
grimaced just thinking about it. It was sure to leave some kind of
mental scars.
She shrugged. "I don't know. It didn't come to mind, I guess.
"Well, then the dinner would be a good chance to get caught up." I
suggested, a smile glued to my face. I was very interested to get to
know this guy.
"I guess so." Ella tried to cover with a smile, but I could tell
she was a bit worried about the outcome. Honestly, as long as he
didn't hurt her and she was happy, I was just fine.
"So, Belle." Dad began, probably sensing that Ella would like the
subject dropped and changed. "What all did you and Ben do today?"
I could tell he was curious, but I also knew that he wasn't prying too
hard because he trusted Ben. I shrugged, finishing chewing the piece
of fish I had just put in my mouth. "We went for a drive. Then we just
kind of hung out for a while. He's a cool guy."
Dad nodded, seeming surprisingly pleased with my answer. "It's good
you two are getting to know each other again."
I nodded, ending the topic and most of the dinner conversation. I
couldn't wait to get upstairs and call Kara.
---
"You know I don’t use this term lightly, but he’s kind of adorable.” I gushed as I continued
rambling on about Ben. If she wasn't so patient she probably would
have tried to reach through the phone and slap me upside the head.
"At least one of us is having fun." Kara said through the other line, sounding
amused. "This guy better be worthy."
I laughed a bit at her joking. It was great to get to talk to her
again. "He's a great guy. I mean, today was one of the best day in so
long. Better than I ever had at Lavance."
"Hey!" She called out jokingly. "I was your entertainment at Lavance, remember?"
"Oh, right." I chuckled. "Well, that's different. Ben's a different kind of entertaining."
Kara only laughed and I was sure she was shaking her head back in
California. "Well, when I come visit I'll judge for myself."
"Yeah, I can't until you do. I've missed you." I sighed dramatically,
collapsing on my bed.
"Don't have a breakdown there Belle." She teased. "I'll see you soon enough."
I nodded, though she couldn't see it. "So, how about you? Any
guys on your mind?"
She was silent for a moment. “Possibly.”
"What's his name?"
"Anthony." She answered, sounding excited. "He's just incredible. I
met him at the beach and he taught me to surf and then we ended up at a bonfire that night. It was fantastic."
I smiled, truly happy for her. "So, what's he like?"
"Sweet, sexy, and great body."
I laughed a little. "My little innocent Kara doesn't seem so innocent anymore."
"He just feels, special. We spent all day yesterday and today together,
too. I don't know...I think he might be that guy."
"What do you mean that guy?" I asked, flipping onto my back to stare
at the ceiling. I smiled subconsciously at the glow in the dark star
stickers we had put up there when I was five.
"I think he might be the guy I fall in love with. Have my first real
relationship with. Maybe even the guy I marry someday." She said, her
tone more serious that I was expecting.
My eyes widened a bit. "Well, you'll be sure to call me before you
walk down the aisle, right?"
Kara giggled. "Of course. Who do you think my maid of honor is?"
I couldn't help but smile a bit. "I'm really happy for you. I'm glad
you found that guy."
I could tell she was smiling. "Thanks Belle. And congrats on your guy,
too. Looks like we both have a summer romance on our hands."
I tried to deny the bubbling feeling that rose in my stomach at the
thought of Ben being my summer romance. "Looks like it."
Chapter Four
It was raining. I couldn't be happier. Sure, I had a fondness for the
sun and warmth, but I loved the rain. Maybe it was because whenever it
rained as a kid me and my mom would come onto the front porch and just
watch. She would laugh as I danced around in the rain, yelling and
laughing.
I sighed in content as I stared out at the rain falling from the
clouds. It was pretty dark outside for it only being 6pm, but I loved
the weather like this.
I couldn't help but smile at the childhood memories of my mom and I as
I sat on the front porch, just watching it rain first hand. Dad on the
other hand has always hated the rain. When he was younger his father
had died in a car accident while it was raining. He refused to drive
very far in it.
It was unusual for a farmer to really hate the rain, but my dad was a
different story. He despised it, but I guess he had good reasoning.
I liked the rain probably because it reminded me of my mom. Some
people try not to remember, like my dad, and other like me, tried
their hardest to keep the memory alive. Especially the good ones like
dancing in the middle of a great big green yard with your mom when
you're little.
Sure, it rained in Oregon quite a bit, but it wasn't the same. It
wasn't as peaceful and nice as here in Summerfield. Plus, I could
never feel happy when it rained while I was at Lavance. It was already
so depressing that sometimes the rain just fit the mood a little too
well and began to bring me down. I was glad, though, that I was able
to finally enjoy it again.
"Howdy there, ma'am." Ben grinned, announcing his presence as he
stepped onto our rather large porch.
I laughed a bit at his way of saying hello. "Hey Ben." I had almost
forgotten that him and his parents were coming over for dinner
tonight.
"So, what's for dinner?" He questioned, sitting down next to me.
I shrugged, lost in thought as I continued starring at the rain that
was now slightly pouring. "I don't know. Ella wouldn't let me in
the kitchen after I kind of set a wash cloth on fire."
Ben's laughter irrupted from deep within his throat. It was an almost
musical sound. Okay, that was cheesy. I see that now. "How on Earth
did you do that?" He wondered, his shoulders shaking from laughter.
"I didn't notice that the stove was on, and it just kind of...flamed."
"You are a danger to humanity." He chuckled. It was silent for a
moment after I didn't say anything, causing him to break the silence.
"You know, you could get sick out here."
I pointed to the porch roof that was currently keeping us safe from
the falling rain. "Can't get sick if we don't get wet."
Ben smirked, an unknown glint in his eyes. "Then let's get out there."
I looked up at him to see if he was serious. He was. He held out his
hand for me and I took it gladly. This could be fun.
For the next ten minutes all we did was dance and laugh in the rain.
Just like I use to do with my mom. I honestly didn't know if you could
beat a feeling like this.
"Belle! Ben!" My Aunt shouted from the porch as she stood there,
grinning as she watched us.
I blushed a little, but my hair was wet and sticking to my face so I
was sure it wasn't that noticeable to Ben. "Yeah?"
"Better get dried off a bit. Dinners about ready." She announced,
giving one last suggestive look between us before going back inside.
I looked back at Ben as he gazed my way, both of us laughing as we ran
back inside the house, enjoying our last moments in the rain.
It wasn't until we got inside the house that I noticed how completely
soaked we were. Our cloths seemed to have observed just as many
raindrops as our hair. We both chuckled at this realization before Dad
stepped into the entryway where we stood, looking surprised and
slightly upset.
"What have you two been up to? Why are you so wet?" He asked, his
voice calm but serious.
"We were just having some fun in the rain." I giggled, pushing my
bangs away from my face. I had too much fun to let my Dad's issues
ruin it.
Dad groaned a bit. "You two are going to be sick tomorrow, I swear.
Belle, go change into something dry. Ben, you can borrow one of my
shirts."
"Thank you." Ben expressed, giving my dad a smile. I could tell he was
slightly relived that Dad hadn't been angry with him.
"Not a problem. Now you guys go ahead and get cleaned up. Dinners
finished, so you two better hurry up. I'll get you a shirt Ben." He
instructed, motioning for me to go to my room and dry myself up and
change.
I did as I was told, running up to my room quickly and choosing a pink
baby doll shirt with my jeans. I dried my hair quickly with a towel,
brushing out my bags and letting the rest of my hair do as it pleased.
I knew that when it dried my hair would be more wavy than usual, but I
preferred it that way.
I made my way back down stairs to see everyone already sitting down,
ready to eat.
Cynthia and Joe Stanley hadn't seemed to change all that much. They
both wore friendly, kind smiles as they talked with Dad and Ella.
Cynthia was a very pretty woman who wore her long curly brown hair in
a bun that she could pull off better than most people. Joe had a deep
tan, just like Dad did. His hair was thinning and graying, but his
smile made him seem just as young as I remembered him to be.
I said hello and we chatted, caught up on old times and had a lot of
laughs during dinner. I could help but smile as I looked around me. It
was like one big family, no matter how cliché that may sound. It was
nice to feel like a really family again.
Dad and Joe were talking about farm work, catching up on old memories
and laughing at the crazy things they use to do together as teenagers
when they first had become friends.
Cynthia was asking Ella and Lance about their relationship. How
long they been together, where they met, stuff like that.
I noticed that every once in a while Ella and Lance would sneak a
glance at each other, smiling widely and he would kiss her forehead or
temple. It was a simple, but incredibly sweet gesture and every time Ella would just light up. It was easy to see that they had easily fallen in love with each other.
Then, there was Ben. Incredibly handsome, sweet Ben. I would
occasionally sneak a peek at him as we ate. Sometimes we would catch
each other’s eyes and whisper something for only each other to hear.
Ben was without a doubt one of the best people I have ever met. We had
only known each other for maybe a week and already we were like best
friends. We spent time together every day, went for horse rides, went
driving. I could talk to him about anything.
I had never believed at love at first sight. I thought it was a myth.
I believed that you could never really know someone with just one
look, so it was impossible to fall so fast for someone, but that
thought...the one I'd held onto for so long had been tossed away when
I had very first locked my blue eyes with Ben's.
I wasn't saying per say that I loved him, but I could tell that I was
definitely on my way there. It was an unnatural feeling almost. I
couldn't sleep at night because I would just be thinking of him, I can
only listen to sappy love songs anymore, and the feeling of
butterflies doing gymnastics hadn't settled in my stomach once sing I
had met him. It was a bad but good feeling all at the same time. But
there was more too it. The part that made the feeling so bad was the
unsure feeling that I felt when I was with him. There were questions
always surrounding me. Did he feel the same way? What was he thinking
of me? Was he thinking of me at all?
I sighed, finally snapping back to reality as Dad and Joe continued
telling a story about the "Good old days".
I noticed Ben give me a sideways glance, probably because he heard me
sigh. He nudged me as he sat beside me, trying to get my attention with
everyone noticing the exchange.
I looked up in what I'm sure was thought and wonder in my eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked in a whisper, bending down closely to my ear.