The Summer of Lost Things Page 6

  “Do animals try to eat you often?”

  I chuckle. “No. I try to avoid those kinds.”

  “Well, you’ve already met Sherlock, and he’s one of our most spirited horses. You can have a chat with him later if you want.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  “Me too, actually.” He grins. “Anyway, most of the other horses are mellow compared to him.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Uncle Mike!” Mira yells, waving and running toward a man leaning against a fence watching some kids riding horses.

  “You’ve gotta watch out for Mira. She’ll come and go faster than you can blink. She has so much energy.” Jack shakes his head. “I have no idea how she does it.”

  “I’ve noticed,” I say with a laugh. “I like her.”

  “Most people do.” He lifts a hand, hesitating a moment before setting it on my shoulder. “Shall we give you a tour?”

  “I’d like that.”

  My cheeks heat as he drops his hand and leads me toward the barn, where Mira and her uncle are now headed.

  It’s not like Jack is the best-looking guy I’ve seen, but he’s a quiet cute. A kind cute. He’s not cocky or annoying like most of the boys I’ve gone out with. Not that I’m going to go out with Jack, I barely know him, but I like him. As a friend.

  In Wyoming, I dated more outgoing guys. Because Ashley did. And she usually introduced me to them. When she’d want to hang out with a guy, she’d bring me along and always have a guy for me to hang out with, too. I did have fun, but it was draining sometimes, being with so many extroverts when I’m more of an introvert. I may not really know what kind of guy I like, now that I think about it.

  Jack stops when we meet Mira. “Uncle Mike, this is Lucy Nelson. She just moved here.”

  He’s tall. Quite handsome for someone who could be my dad’s age. He resembles Jack, actually. There’s a quiet kindness behind his eyes as he searches my face. “Lucy, is it?” He reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a shake.

  “Yeah. Lucy Nelson.” I cringe. He has an iron grip.

  “Wait a second,” he says, pausing mid-shake. “You’re Ana’s daughter.”

  “Yeah,” I say slowly. “How did you know that?”

  He’s still staring, his mouth slightly open. “You look just like her.” He must realize what he’s doing because he closes his mouth and shakes his head. “Sorry. That was . . . sorry. I wasn’t expecting to . . .” He clears his throat. “I knew your mom. A long time ago.”

  “Really?” I smile, excited to maybe here some stories from her past. She doesn’t talk about her life here much. I’m not sure why. “How did you know her?”

  “I knew her quite well in high school. And after.” His expression surprises me. It’s . . . sad. “How is she? I haven’t seen her for years.”

  “She’s doing well enough.”

  “Still married and happy?”

  I shake my head. “No.” I don’t elaborate. I don’t want to lie to him, too. I will if he asks what happened to my dad, but I pray he doesn’t. “About the married part. She’s happy, though. If you knew her, you know how happy she is. All the time.” I chuckle. “It gets annoying sometimes when I’m in a bad mood.” Especially when I’m in a bad mood and want to be left alone.

  “Huh.” He shakes his head, then drops my hand. “And yes, I do know that. She was like sunshine to anyone who knew her.” He smiles. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lucy. Tell you mom hello for me, okay? If you want.”

  “You too. And I will.”

  There’s an awkward silence as he folds his arms, still staring at me, and then Mira laughs. “Well, this is interesting. We’ll delve deeper into the mystery of you and Lucy’s mom later, I suppose. But for now, we’re gonna show Lucy the horses.”

  “Have fun,” he says. Then he walks quickly away and disappears around the corner of the stable.

  Mira leads us into the stable.

  “That was weird,” Jack says. “I’ve never seen Mike so . . . well, weird. I wonder how well he actually knew your mom. Did they date or something?”

  “I have no idea,” I say. “She’s never mentioned a Mike. But she doesn’t really talk about her childhood much. Just that she loved Oregon when she lived here. But when I ask her other questions, she barely gives me any information about it.”

  “Uncle Mike has never mentioned an Ana either . . .” Mira says, frowning. “He’s never really dated anyone. Not that I know of, at least. He’s just always been Uncle Mike without a Mrs.”

  The plot thickens. I need to do some digging. Ask her some questions. Maybe I can get Mira to ask her uncle some questions too. The way he looked at me, it was like he was seeing my mom. There was complete surprise, and some sadness, there. They have a history, I just know it.

  “I think we have ourselves a mystery,” Jack says, a gleam in his eye.

  “Right?” I think of my summer list mystery, as well. Visit Susan’s grave. I wonder if she’s the reason Mom won’t talk about her childhood. Something happened to her, obviously. But what? Maybe I’ll ask Jack about her. Maybe I’ll even show him my list.

  What am I thinking? Of course I won’t show him my list!

  “Why are you two walking so slow?” Mira asks, hands on her hips. “Hurry up!” She turns, and Jack and I glance at one another before following.

  The stables smell like hay and, obviously, horses. But a good, clean smell. Like the stables are well taken care of.

  There are about twenty stalls inside, but only a handful of horses poke their heads over their stable doors.

  “Ashton!” Mira shouts, spotting a boy around our age at the other end of the stable. He’s taking a horse out to the pasture but stops when he sees her, a huge smile on his face.

  “A friend of hers?” I ask Jack.

  “More than a friend, I think. He likes her and she likes him, but they’re both too stubborn to do anything about it.”

  “Huh.”

  I look around at the horses, which are staring at me as I walk by. I recognize the one I petted yesterday. Sherlock. He whinnies when I walk over to him. I hesitate only for a second before stroking his nose.

  “You remember me, don’t you, boy?” He nuzzles my hand.

  “He still likes you,” Jack says, appearing at my side.

  “Not sure why,” I say, as Sherlock shakes out his mane, forcing me to back up a bit.

  “You’re kind. And you have a calmness about you. Animals can sense when people are stressed out or scared.”

  “I’m not gonna lie. Horses do scare me. And I really don’t feel calm at all. There’s always something going on in my head.”

  “Me too.” He lets out a breath. “Most horses are gentle. Be kind to them and they’ll know you’re a friend, not an enemy.”

  “I’ve never really been around animals. We had a cat once, but one day he decided he didn’t want to be our cat anymore and we never saw him again.”

  Jack shivers. “I’m not a cat fan.”

  “Me either. I swear they’re going to take over the world one day. They’re so mischievous. And calculating.”

  He laughs, a real, deep laugh.

  He has a nice laugh.

  “Lucy, this is Ashton,” Mira says, pulling the boy over to meet us. He’s tall, though not as tall as Jack, and has light hair. He’s handsome. Very handsome with blue, blue eyes.

  He shakes my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too.”

  Mira puts her hand on his arm. “Ashton helps teach kids how to ride horses. He has a few classes. It’s fun to watch, especially when the kids are being difficult.”

  He bumps her shoulder. “They’re mostly pretty good.”

  “What about Emily?”

  He groans. “Besides her.”

  “She has a crush on him. And it’s hilarious!”

  Ashton shakes his head. “She’s six. And she calls me her boyfriend.”

  We all laugh.

  I glance at
my phone and check the time. It’s nearly dinner time. “I’d better get going. My mom’s going to be waiting.”

  “I can take you,” Mira says.

  “Oh, it’s fine. I can walk. I like walking and it’s not too far.”

  “I’ll walk you back,” Jack says, surprising everyone, especially me.

  Mira raises an eyebrow at him but doesn’t say anything.

  “Oh, okay. Thanks.” I give him a smile.

  “We’ll see you tomorrow then?” Mira asks.

  “I hope so. I’ll be around.”

  She jumps at me, wrapping me in a hug. “It was so nice to get to know you a little better. We’re going to be great friends.”

  “I think we are.” I hug her back and then she lets go.

  “See you later,” Ashton says.

  “Bye.”

  Jack and I walk out the stable doors and start across the field toward my house. He has his hands in his pockets as he walks, his eyes cast down. I never thought I’d be friends with a cowboy. Even though Wyoming was pretty much full of them.

  “Do you have any siblings?” I ask, breaking the silence. It’s not awkward silence, but silence all the same.

  “Two. Both married. One lives in Portland, the other in Seattle.”

  “You’re the baby then.”

  “Yep. So, an only child right now, I guess.” He smiles crookedly.

  “I know how that is.”

  “You don’t have a secret sibling that you haven’t mentioned?”

  “I wish, but no. I really am an only child. My mom almost died having me and the doctors told her if she had any more, she probably wouldn’t make it past delivery. So, here I am. Just me. It’s fine most of the time, but sometimes it gets lonely.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “That’s why I read so many books. They’re like my family.”

  He shakes his head, a grin on his face. “Books again.”

  “Books, always. There are books for everything. If you’re feeling sad, there are happy ones. Lonely and need a good laugh? Funny ones. Angry and need to calm down? A nice fat fantasy to make you think or disappear from the world. Want to cry? There are sad ones. See? Something for everyone.”

  “All that emotion makes me twitch.”

  “Emotion is what makes a book stick. If you feel for the character and the words can pull you in so much that you feel what they’re feeling? Gold, I tell you. My favorite books are the ones that either make me laugh out loud or cry.”

  “I believe you, but I’m still not convinced.”

  “I like a challenge. Truly.” I glance at him and the corner of his mouth turns up into half a smile. “I will win you over with my book-loving self.”

  My eyes widen and I look away. Why do I keep talking? I always end up embarrassing myself. I’m sure he thinks I’m hitting on him now.

  Nice, Lucy. Nice.

  “Sorry. I’m being weird, aren’t I.” It’s not a question. “I do like movies, too. Movies are second best.”

  “Me too,” he says. I can hear the smile in his voice. “We should watch one together sometime.”

  I glance up at him. “I’d like that.”

  We continue in silence for a while. We’re getting closer to my backyard, so I slow my walk a little. Jack’s really easy to talk to when he wants to talk. He was so quiet most of the day, I wasn’t sure he had it in him.

  “Do you have any nieces and nephews?” I ask.

  His expression brightens. “I have two nieces. Alexa and Britta. They are . . .” He chuckles and shakes his head. “A handful. But they’re so much fun. I love being an uncle. I wish I got to see them more, but my sister doesn’t come down very often. The one in Seattle. Alexa’s four and Britta’s two. My other sister is pregnant right now and is having a boy, so that should be fun.”

  “That’s awesome. I’d love to have nieces and nephews. That’s one thing I’ll never have.”

  He looks at me sympathetically. “You might have some when you get married.”

  “True. I never thought about that.”

  “If you marry someone who has siblings, they’ll be your siblings, too.”

  “I hope so. I always wanted a big family. So did my mom.” I shrug. “It’s okay, though. We have each other. And I have a few cousins, as well, though I don’t see them often.”

  “I wish I didn’t see some of mine so often,” he says, laughing.

  I think of Mira. “Your life would be so boring without her.”

  “I know.”

  I keep talking. He’s easy to talk to. “Do you have a lot of friends? Or do you hang out with your cousins mostly?”

  “Mira has the friends. I have a few close ones. I’m more focused on other things, though. School. Horses.”

  “You’re a senior. Like me. The rulers of the school.”

  “I guess.” He pulls a leaf off a tree and spins the leaf in between his hands. “Which means I need to take a bunch of college classes this year and I need to start looking at colleges, too.”

  “Me too.”

  He bumps my shoulder, surprising me. “Think you’ll survive your last year of high school at a new school?”

  “Maybe. It’s the worst year to move, I know. But we had to, so that’s that.”

  “I hope you like it here.”

  “Me too. If I don’t, at least I can go have a good chat with a certain horse when I’m bored. He’s such a good listener.”

  “Sherlock usually just ignores everyone, so I’m glad you found someone to tell your deepest secrets to.”

  “As long as he doesn’t talk back, I’ll keep talking to him.”

  He laughs as I stop walking when we reach my yard. I clasp my hands together, nervous to say goodbye. Which is stupid. It’s not like we’re on a date or something.

  “Well, thanks for walking me back,” I say, wishing I had something else to say, but my mind is now blank.

  “You’re welcome.” He hesitates. “I’ll . . . uh . . . see you around?”

  “I hope so.” I smile, a blush creeping to my cheeks. Why, Lucy? Why? Stop making things so weird!

  He shoots me another crooked smile before he turns and walks back the way he came.

  I watch him go for a moment, then realize I’m staring at his really nice butt . . . which I can’t believe I didn’t notice earlier. As I head inside, I wonder why I’m so drawn to him. My last boyfriend was so different.

  We had met in History, and he was always so fun to talk to. He was on the loud, class-clown side of the spectrum, and I was shy, but we had the same weird sense of humor and he was friends with Ashley, too, so she helped things along. I think the reason I went out with him in the first place was because he was hilarious, though, not because of Ashley’s coaxing. He liked the idea of me, but we didn’t last long because he was too wild and I wasn’t wild enough. He and his friends would ride shopping carts down a hill and get flung into a pond for fun. While I, of course, would stand by and watch, because, hello broken arm or broken neck! And who knows what was living in that pond. I’m surprised he didn’t get a disease from the disgusting green water.

  He also got dared to strip down to his socks and streak through the school one morning before the bell rang to go to class. Of course he did it. Then he was tackled to the ground by the assistant principal and suspended.

  I, unfortunately, along with a hundred other students, saw the whole thing.

  Idiot.

  We had already broken up before that specific incident, though. Thank goodness.

  If there’s one thing I’m not good at, it’s doing “scary” things. I’m a total wimp. But I’m okay with that. I know my boundaries and what I will and won’t do. There’s nothing wrong with that. It took me a long time to realize that fact.

  But Jack doesn’t seem like a wild kind of guy. He’s clearly quiet. Doesn’t show off at all. I already know he’s a hard worker and he cares about school. He seems like a great friend. Really easy to talk to. And all this I know after o
nly two days.

  I hope I get to know him even better.

  CHAPTER 8

  “Ah, lips that say one thing, while the heart thinks another.”

  —Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

  Mom’s sitting at the kitchen counter, waiting for me when I go inside. She’s on her laptop, probably answering emails or something for work. “Um, where have you been?”

  “Sorry. We got carried away talking and I lost track of time. We were just over at the stables.”

  “Oh.” She’s thoughtful for a moment. “Did you have fun?”

  “I did. They’re really nice.” I gesture at her computer. “Printer hooked up yet? Wi-Fi on?”

  “Yep. A guy came today and set it all up. Now you can be a normal teenager again and stare at your phone all day while ignoring the world.”

  I roll my eyes. “You’re just as bad as I am.”

  “Right.”

  I pull out my phone. “No, truth.” I smile at her annoyed expression. “Username and password?”

  “Same as always.”

  “Good.” I type the information in and smile. Back in the real world.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I scroll through a few social media feeds, seeing Ashley smiling with her date, Dayson, in several photos, our group of friends hanging out at her house in another. They look like they normally do. Happy, having fun. In one picture, Ashley has her arm around two girls from our group, Breanne and Michelle. The caption at the bottom says “I love my besties.” I put my phone away, my mood not as bright.

  “I’m going upstairs,” I say, wondering what Ashley is doing right now. Something fun I’m sure. I frown. Probably hanging out with her besties.

  Mom looks at her laptop for a second, then shuts it and focuses on me. “Hang on. Where did you go today? Was it just you three?”

  “Yeah. I met a few other people, but most of the time it was just us three.” I shrug. “And we went everywhere, I think. They showed me where the high school was, the library, we went to a few stores. We went across the bridge that goes over Willamette River and then came back. Really pretty over there. They do fireworks on the Fourth of July at the Riverfront City Park. I’d like to go to that.”