Throw Away Teen (27 page)

“
If I can’t do the time. I know that one. I got it.”

And I didn’t tell them it was no big deal. They didn’t need to know their punishment would be a piece of cake. I’d never been allowed to have friends or to use my foster parents’ phones. As for dates, I could party with the best of them, but I went on my own unless Gabe was around.

As long as I kept Guard, everything else was doable. And Ted said that my puppy was mine. Out of the two of them, I liked Liz the best. At least, I felt safest with her. But Ted was the one who got me Guard. If it looked like Ted would take him away from me, then we’d head for Seattle. Next Monday, I’d have another fifty bucks to add to the money in my back-pack. Even without the cash for the grades, we’d be okay on the streets. I wasn’t losing my puppy.

***

After my tutoring session, it took most of the morning to get ready for the party. We went to the grocery store again because Liz said we needed junk food. Then, she stopped at the nearest Wal-Mart to buy me a sleeping bag since I didn’t have one and we’d be camped out on the living-room floor. We got a thick one that I could use outside and I figured it’d come in handy when I was back on the streets. I wouldn’t freeze. More importantly, it rolled up small enough that it could hook onto my backpack.

Once we dropped off the stuff and I walked Guard, it was time for karate, then my riding lesson. We were only home again long enough for puppy time and lunch before we headed for the baseball game. I spotted Ted’s old pickup in the parking lot and I looked at him. “So, are you letting Ringo keep your truck or what?”

“
I’m letting him buy it.” Ted glanced at me in the rear-view mirror then concentrated on parking the Pontiac. “Since he’s not eighteen yet, it stays in my name and he makes payments.”

“
That makes sense,” I said. And I thought it also kept his folks out of the equation. His mom wouldn’t have to stress about the cost of a rig for Ringo and if his dad was a total jerk like Dallas said, he couldn’t screw this up.

Ringo pitched another good game and the Highlanders won. I watched the cheerleaders a lot more this week. How could they move like that and totally stay in step with each other? I’d be lucky if I didn’t fall over my feet.

Sarah met us in the parking lot. As Warren unloaded her stuff out of the trunk of a classic ’68 Mustang, I tried hard not to drool. “This is an amazing car.” I folded my hands behind my back so I wouldn’t touch the shiny candy apple red paint job. “How did you get it?”

“Belongs to the Colonel,” Warren said. “He didn’t want it sitting at the base when he shipped out for this tour so he gave it to me. He always asks how we’re doing before he wants to know about the Mustang, though,” he chuckled. “But I think it’s because Aunt Cathy told him that putting the car ahead of his kids was tacky.”

I laughed. I could just hear Dr. Cathy going off about manners and sounding just like Liz.

Warren grinned at me and lowered his voice so nobody else heard. “Thanks for inviting Sarah tonight. She barely gets out of the house except to go to Grandma’s twice a week and to go to church. And if it wasn’t baseball season, she’d be home today looking after Priscilla.”

“Well, who’s watching the kid now?” I asked.

“She’s at her friend’s.” Warren looked at his watch. “And I have to go pick her up. It’s my turn to babysit.”

I tilted my head to one side. “So, if Sarah doesn’t have the kid, you do?”

“Yeah.” Warren walked over and hugged his sister then split.

And I’d thought Stewart Falls would be boring when I came here. Wow, had I ever been wrong.

***

Guard loved the sleepover. He bounced from sleeping bag to sleeping bag until he found the perfect spot for a nap. He woke up in time to eat pizza crusts and Willa snuck him potato chips. When we went outside to play with the dogs, he came along. All in all, it was a puppy good time. I had fun, too. And the scavenger hunt in the attic was a real blast. I remembered what Liz said about her Army dress uniform and made sure everyone stayed away from it.

Sarah and I were still awake at 3 a.m., lying side by side in our sleeping bags. She rested a hand on Fifi’s back. “This was awesome, B.J. Thanks for asking me.”

“I don’t have the steps down for that country dance,” I whispered to her, cuddling Guard next to me. “I’ll need more training. How are we going to arrange it?”

“If you came to J.V. practice, we could work together Tuesdays and Thursdays. And we can get together after riding on Wednesdays.”

“Okay, I’ll ask Liz.”

“Yeah, that works,” Sarah said. “My mom doesn’t want to mess with her.”

“I don’t think anybody with a brain would. She makes my social worker run for cover.”

By noon on Sunday, everybody was gone and Guard and I headed upstairs for a nap. When we came down three hours later, I saw Ringo mowing the lawn.

He grinned at me when we walked up and shut off the motor. “Hi. Dallas was wiped out after your wild party. She threatened me if I turned the TV on again, so I came over here.”

“Good idea,” I said. “Did she get to catch a nap before her shift at Mickey D’s?”

“Yeah.” He leaned down and kissed me, super sweet and soft. “Want to go walk the dogs on the trail when I finish?”

“Sure,” I said. “It’ll be fun and Guard needs the practice.”

CHAPTER 17

We took a different back road out of Stewart Falls toward Snohomish this time. It wound past farms and a couple small grocery stores. Before we reached the next town, Ringo pulled off into the same parking lot we come to before. It was filled with all different kinds of vehicles, from compact cars to trucks and horse-trailers.

Ringo stared out the windshield for a moment. “I liked that friend of yours, but he’s one mean dude.”

It took me a moment to realize he was talking about Gabe. Was he trying to find out what Gabe meant to me? “Gabe’s more of what I always thought a brother should be than he is a friend,” I said. “He used to take care of me when I was little.”

“
Yeah, that’s what he said. I just wanted to make sure you thought of him the same way. I get enough games from my dad, B.J. I don’t want them from you.”

“
I don’t like games either and I try not to play them.” Except when I needed to survive, but I wasn’t telling Ringo that.

A blue car pulled in and parked beside the truck. I recognized Mike as the driver, but it wasn’t Dallas in the passenger seat. It was Willa. I stopped and stared at them then at Ringo. “I thought Mike liked your sister.”

“
No, that’s all in Dallas’s head, which is why she’s so rude to Willa. Mike’s never made it a secret of what he feels for her.”

“
But Dallas is your sister. Shouldn’t you be sticking up for her?”

“
I am,” Ringo said. “She deserves a guy who thinks she makes the sun rise and set, not one who’s stuck on another girl.”

“
Good point.” I opened my door and got out. Guard came over when I called and I helped him down to the ground. He yapped at Mike’s brown and black puppy and the two tumbled into a mock fight.

After we separated them, we walked toward the paved pathway. The trail went for miles. Willa didn’t have a dog, so she took turns with each of ours. Other people jogged past us. Some rode bikes. And there were even a couple horseback riders. When it started getting late, we headed back to the parking area.

Willa had Ringo’s dog, Fritz, and walked a little ways ahead of us with Mike. Ringo walked next to me, holding my hand. Guard trotted alongside us. Ringo drew me closer. “Are you okay, B.J.? You seem different, not as defensive as you were when you first came here.”

Could I let him get close to the real me or should I keep hiding? It felt like we were all alone in spite of the people on the trail. “I want to stay with Liz and Ted,” I said. “I want to make this home work. I haven’t cared about a foster home in a long time. I haven’t cared about anyone in years, but...things are different here.”

Ringo kissed my forehead like I was a little kid. “It’s going to work. Ted, Liz, and I, we’ll make it work for you.” Suddenly, he grinned at me. “I haven’t had supper. I’m starved. I bet you are, too.”

“
But where can we go since we have the dogs with us?” I asked.

“
We’ll pull through the Burger Barn in Pine Ridge,” Ringo said. “Then, we can eat at the picnic tables in their parking lot. If we eat in the car, we’ll have to fight the dogs for the food and both of us will hear about it at the next training session.”

Willa and Mike said they’d follow us to the hamburger joint so we piled back into the rigs. I looked at my watch. It was barely eight so I had an hour before I had to be home. Trees crowded the road to Pine Ridge and I caught a glimmer of something blue and white through the evergreens.

“
What’s that?” I asked, pointing down the hill.

Ringo slowed the truck. “What did you see?”

“
Something, but I’m not sure what. Looked like it might be a car.”

He pulled off onto the shoulder then looking over his shoulder, Ringo backed the truck along the roadside. When he stopped again, we both stared into the woods. The weird blue and white thing was a car jammed into a fir tree. “There’s been an accident.” I opened my door and slid out of the pickup.

“
Wait for me, B.J.” Ringo left his window cracked open for the dogs. Then he grabbed a first-aid kit, and slammed the driver’s door. “Got Liz’s cell?”

“
Yeah.” I snagged it out of my coat pocket. “But let’s see if there’s anyone inside that car before I call for help.”

“
Good idea,” Ringo said.

Mike pulled over behind Ringo’s truck. “What’s up?”

“
Accident,” Ringo said. “We’re going to see if anyone needs help.”

We scrambled down the slope toward the woods. As I got closer, I saw two people in the front of the car. I turned on the phone, grateful it had reception and pushed 9-1-1. “Wait up, guys. We need help. Where are we?”

Ringo came back and told me the name of the road and the nearest cross streets.

Taking a deep breath, I relayed the info to the emergency operator. “He says we’re on Lake Mary Road between Douglas Avenue and Fraser Court.”

“
Help will be there soon,” the woman said. “Have someone watch for the emergency vehicles.”

“
Okay,” I said and waved to Willa. “We got it covered.”

Willa went back up to the road to watch for the cops and fire department and flag them down when they arrived. I headed after the guys then remembered Liz. I was supposed to be home at nine. No way would I make that now. Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared about being late back. I just felt worried about the people in the car and I wanted to help them.

The phone barely rang once and Jocelyn answered. “This is B.J. Is Liz or Ted there?”

“
They’re busy.” Jocelyn’s voice was sickeningly sweet.

I sighed. “Well, so am I.” I stopped walking, trying to keep the signal. “Could you ask one of them to pick up the phone?”

The line was quiet for a moment, then Jocelyn came back on. “Mom says if you need a ride, she’ll come get you and the dog.”

“
We’re fine, but we’re helping some people who went off the road. I have to go. Could you tell them I’ll call back later?”

“
Sure. I’d be happy to.” She hung up before I could say anything further.

I sighed, then stuck the phone in my pocket and went to help. By the time I got to the car, Ringo and Mike were on the passenger side, bending over the guy in the seat. “What about the driver?”

Ringo shook his head. “He’s gone, B.J.”

“
What?” I looked hard and saw the man’s head slammed into the steering wheel, blood everywhere. Glass from the shattered windshield sprinkled graying dark hair. “How do you know?”

“
We checked him first,” Ringo said.

Mike reached in the first-aid kit and removed another bandage. “Help me out here.”

I moved to stand beside him. Then I recognized the black-haired dude crumpled in the passenger seat. “It’s Timber.”

“
We know,” Ringo said.

Sirens screamed through the early evening air and I heard the dogs howling in the truck. I put the white pad on Timber’s face and he stirred under my fingers. “Stay still,” I told him. “You’ll be okay.”

During the next several hours, I tried calling Liz back a few times, but the land-line stayed busy. We called Timber’s aunt and uncle so they could meet him at the hospital. Ringo wanted to go with his team-mate, but the cops told him to go home. They’d come by tomorrow and take our statements.

Once we were in the truck, I sat next to him, trying to think of something to say, but my brain was totally blank. I just held Guard tight on my lap and he snoozed the rest of the way home.

The house was all lit up when we pulled up the drive. At least, Zach and Jocelyn’s car was gone. I glanced at my watch. It was midnight. No wonder they’d left.

Ringo put his arm around my shoulders as we walked around to the back door. “You all right?”

“
Yeah.” I leaned against him. “How about you?” He didn’t answer.

The back door opened and Ted stood there, looking at us. “Come on inside, you two.” He led the way to the dining room where Liz sat at the table, holding one of the pom-a-poops on her lap. She gave me one of her steady looks. “What happened? Why are you so late?”

“
I called,” I said. “Didn’t Jocelyn—” I stopped. Of course, she hadn’t told them anything. What a bitch! I eyed Ted then Liz again. They didn’t seem mad, just worried. “I tried calling a lot. A car had gone off the road. We found the passengers still inside and we stayed to help.”

“
Who was it, Ringo?” Ted asked. “Are they all right?”

“
Walt Watkins. He’s dead,” Ringo said. “And Timber’s on his way to the hospital.”