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Subject: {ASSM} Wynter and Hailey 02 {Hoisington} (MF Mf mf bf Mg mg bg oral ped cons rom)
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WYNTER & HAILEY
This is an erotic fantasy. It is the third sequel to
"Wynter" and follows "Wynter & Cinnamon." It is not
necessary to read the previous three stories to understand
this one, as events are recapped within this story, but it
would help in order to better understand the background and
to see the growth in the characters.
The characters and the situation are purely imaginary, and
this story is NOT intended to be a guide for actual
behavior. Any similarities between this story and actual
people or actual events you should be ashamed of are purely
coincidental. If it is illegal in your part of the world
to access and read erotic fiction, or if you are underage,
or if you don't like underage sex stories, then you should
stop now.
This story is copyright 2007 by Russell Hoisington.
Please do not remove the author information or make any
changes to this story. You may post freely to non-
commercial (free) sites, or in the "free" area of
commercial sites. That does NOT mean that these stories
are in the public domain, nor does it mean that I give
permission for you to use them in spam advertising. I
reserve the right to determine what is "spam advertising"
by MY definition, not yours or anyone else's.
Thank you for your consideration.
My sincerest thanks to Denny Wheeler for editing this
story and, along with Uncle Sky, the Night Hawk, Wizard,
Rod O'Steele, and, Old Man Ted, for their input and for
keeping the characters in character. Special thanks to the
Night Hawk for being my musical advisor.
This story is dedicated to Uncle Sky, without whose
encouragement "Wynter" would have remained a short story.
************************************************************
WYNTER & HAILEY
Part Two
Russell Hoisington
Twelve
Wynter rolled onto her right side and reached for the
night stand light's switch. Dragon and Ghost held a
contest to see who could lick her face the most in the
shortest time. She gave each a pat and a soft, "Good
night." She switched off the light and rolled onto her
back. Cinnamon's hand found hers in the darkness as she
breathed a deep sigh.
Hailey, on the far side of the bed, also sighed and
said, "Hell of a week, huh?"
Cinnamon added her own sigh. "Sure was. I'm glad
it's over."
Wynter agreed. On Tuesday, Doctor Brees had finally
become free of that horrid woman and had announced his
engagement to Mrs. Vasquez at the big party.
On Wednesday, they learned that Kenny had been
instrumental in the capture of Juan Rodrigo De Ramirez y
Sanchez, a drug pusher wanted in five states. Nobody,
especially Jimmy, could believe that Kenny had played the
main role in the capture, yet had said nothing to anyone
else about it. Jimmy verified it with Ron, who said that
his own part had been minor, and that Kenny was the reason
De Ramirez was behind bars.
Also, the three sisters/cousins had ridden their
bikes to the Harbor Club Marina, where the Brees family
boat was berthed. Cinnamon wanted to check a few things
prior to an outing on the lake next week.
On the way back a car coming from the Public Docks
had run the stop sign at Rainbow Drive and had narrowly
missed hitting Cinnamon, who had to run off the road to
avoid the collision. Fortunately, Sis was uninjured except
for the strain to her vocal chords when she yelled a
summary of the driver's ancestry at the Ohio station wagon
that hadn't stopped.
On Thursday, Mother had left for Nebraska. She'd
almost missed her flight because an overturned semi had
temporarily closed eastbound Interstate 70. Aunt Diane had
her lumpectomy shortly after Mother had arrived, and the
doctors thought they had caught it in plenty of time.
The good news that day was tempered by a malpractice
lawsuit against Doctor Brees, filed in Boston. Sis seemed
unconcerned, saying the woman had had four children and had
sued each doctor for something one year after each one.
The woman had always lost. Also, Kenny had to break up a
fight over Hailey when she came on to two boys at the
Sundae Shop and both tried to claim her. Hailey's only
response had been, "Hey! You'd SO think they, like, never
heard of SHARING!"
On Friday morning, Miss Jackson, the girls' swim
coach, called Suzie about the swim camp in Colorado
Springs. One of her assistant coaches had been injured in
an accident and would be out for the entire camp. Miss
Jackson wanted Suzie as her first choice for a replacement.
Suzie was beside herself in delight. Wynter and Cinnamon
had helped convince Suzie's parents to let her take the
job. Suzie's only regret was that she'd miss Cinnamon's
birthday party and--though she didn't say it with her
voice, she said it with her eyes--Josh.
After lunch, while Suzie prepared for departure the
next day, Josh accompanied the remaining Hargus Three, Sis,
Hailey, and Huntly to the Hargus City ghost town. It was
the first return for The Three since the mine incident.
They were pleasantly surprised to note that the dangerous,
rickety old wooden bridge across Panner's Creek had finally
been torn down. Kenny described the way the rescue camp
had been laid out at the mine's entrance, since Wynter and
Jimmy hadn't paid all that much attention to that after
their rescue. The barbed wire enclosure around the
entrance hadn't been replaced. Instead, the dangerous
horizontal shaft had been walled off with concrete blocks
and cement.
Hailey was the only one who wanted to see where Kenny
had found the stolen car with the dead man in the back
seat. The rest explored what was left of the town itself,
little more than old foundations and remnants of the few
stone walls now, wooden walls having long since vanished.
Wynter and Cinnamon seemed to be the only ones who noticed
that the hormonally-hyperactive two spent more time than
necessary in back in the trees, then reappeared with huge
grins of satisfaction.
They returned home to learn that International Ski
and Trail, the owners of Wizard Ski Basin, had called
Cinnamon. They wanted Junior and the Twins to be one of
the acts at the dedication ceremony when the new concert
shell in Otter Park was completed in late August.
Then that morning, Saturday, while the
sisters/cousins along with Josh and Huntly were saying
goodbye to Suzie, Hailey's parents had called Doctor Brees.
They had an opportunity to volunteer for a one-year
research project in Antarctica, with Mister Kennedy as a
marine biologist and Mrs. Kennedy as a paramedic. The
project would somehow help Mister Kennedy with his doctoral
dissertation.
Doctor Brees immediately volunteered to take care of
Hailey while they were gone. Mister Kennedy was concerned
about the Brees's honeymoon, but Doctor Brees said that Sis
would be staying with Wynter anyway. Hailey was just more
welcome family, though Daddy had said he was going to ask
Jimmy to move in and also adopt a son first because he
needed a few males to take his side when the arguments
started.
At noon, the now-officially-engaged couple had
departed for Denver and a flight to San Francisco, leaving
Cinnamon, Hailey, and Ghost in the care of Wynter and her
father. Daddy had proclaimed to Wynter that Ghost would
count as a substitute for Jimmy, who had left with his
parents for the weekend at his Uncle Jim's He also had
wondered whether he could adopt a son without Mother's
signature on the paperwork.
The phone had rung while Cinnamon was removing
Ghost's leash. It was Huntly, who'd said that Finnegan
Burke had been rushed to the hospital with a ruptured
appendix. Daddy had taken the three girls to dinner at the
Golden Dragon Chinese Buffet, and then they'd stopped by
the hospital to check on Finnegan. Wynter was pretty sure
Finnegan wouldn't remember the kiss she gave him, wasn't
sure he'd remember the one Sis gave him, and couldn't
imagine that he could forget the one Hailey had given him.
After they returned home, things had gone fine until
Hailey suggested Family Hot Tub night. She'd waited until
Cinnamon was in the bathroom and Wynter was on the phone
with Suzie, who was reporting on the situation at swim
camp. Daddy had agreed.
Things had gone well at first. If Daddy had been
surprised to see that Cinnamon and Hailey were both
completely shaven, he didn't show it. Wynter had guessed
that little the two cousins did, especially Hailey, would
surprise him. And then it happened.
After about fifteen minutes, Hailey had made her
move, literally. She'd stood in front of him with her back
turned, bent over to pat Ghost, which exposed her vaginal
region to Daddy, and then 'slipped' when she straightened,
landing in his lap.
Sis had recognized what was obviously an old trick
because she had shouted, "WHITNEY GWYNETH, YOU'RE OUT OF
LINE! DON'T YOU MOVE! NOW GET UP!"
Wynter had no idea what Hailey had planned, but she
knew it sure wasn't the time to ask Sis. When her father
frowned a question at her, Wynter shook her head just
enough for him to see it and indicated the clock with her
eyes. He understood her non-verbal message: _Later_.
Again Hailey had mouthed a half-hearted apology and
then acted as if nothing had happened. Sis later told her
that Hailey's next step would have been to use her hand on
Daddy's leg as a support when she stood up, but that she'd
'slip' again and grab his penis while her breasts hit him
in the face. Wynter couldn't believe how many tricks the
girl had and that Cinnamon seemed to know all of them. She
sure was glad that it was Saturday night and time to go to
sleep, so that Hailey couldn't do anything else this week.
"Hey!" Hailey whispered in the darkness. "I'm horny.
One of you wanna eat me?"
~ ~ ~
Suzie was lost in amazement or something as she
stopped at the end of the breakfast line outside the
cafeteria. Here she was at the swim camp in Colorado
Springs that her parents had never been able to afford, and
she was a coach! Oh, sure, it wasn't a full-time paid job.
It was more like being a volunteer hall monitor or
something, except with food and a bed and few dollars for
expenses. But it was a position of trust and
responsibility for her! For just plain old ordinary
Suzanne Middleton! And she could also learn how to swim
better herself without her stupid parents having to pay for
it or complain that they couldn't afford the cost! How
could life POSSIBLY get any better than this?
"Middleton?" asked a surprised voice behind her.
She turned and focused. For an instant she didn't
recognize the dark-haired girl because her hair was
different and she was wearing sunglasses, but the Alamosa
Swim Team tee shirt was all the clue Suzie needed. _The
cheating little witch!_
Suzie strained her anger out of her voice. After
all, cheating hadn't helped the little witch THIS year, had
it? She had come in second to the one and only Suzanne
Middleton! "Hello, Amber." She couldn't possibly imagine
the little witch needing lessons at swim camp. "Are you
one of the coaches?"
Amber Vallarta laughed. Suzie knew that laugh. The
little witch wasn't laughing at what Suzie said. The
little witch was laughing at Suzie.
"NO, silly! Though I can see how YOU'd think _I_
would be. We're still technically in the eleven/twelve age
group. You have to be in the thirteen/fourteen before they
even CONSIDER you for coaching!" She flipped a hand as if
brushing Suzie away. "Of course, they don't take very many
even then. Just one every year or two. I'll apply for the
job next year." She spread her fingertips and pressed them
against her chest, just above the boobies that were larger
than Suzie's and that the little witch used to charm the
men judges. "I'm sure they'll take ME."
_The little witch doesn't know!_ Suzie crossed her
arms and tapped her chin with a finger, like she was deep
in thought or something. "I see. Well, maybe I'll apply
next year, too."
Amber snorted like a love-sick horse. "Oh, I
wouldn't waste my time if I were YOU," she said, stabbing
her pointing finger at Suzie. "They won't take BOTH of us,
and I'm sure that even if it came down to just you and me,
they'd take ME any day of the week and twice on Sunday."
Amber lifted her head and looked down at Suzie, just the
way the ex-Mrs. Brees had done. "Just because YOU got
lucky this year doesn't mean that you'll get a coaching job
next year. Especially since _I_ plan to beat you and get
back MY championship. It's nice that you made it to the
swim camp for a vacation, but this won't help you against
ME at state next year."
"Suzie! There you are!" Miss Jackson came out of
nowhere and patted Suzie's back. "Whatever are you doing
here? We don't have to stand in line. Our tables are over
there, through that door. Oh, and here's your coach's cap.
Hello, Amber. Nice to see you again." She put an arm
around Suzie's shoulders and led her away while talking
about Suzie's duties as a coach.
Suzie put on her orange cap as Miss Jackson repeated
stuff she'd already told her. She glanced back as they
entered the staff door.
In a low voice Miss Jackson asked, "Is her mouth
still open?"
Suzie giggled with delight. "Yes, Miss Jackson."
"Good." Miss Jackson gave her shoulders a squeeze
that felt ever so warm and cozy and good. "And Suzie,
we're not at school now, where I'm your coach. We're both
coaches working together as equals. You can call me
Jennifer, and Amber will call you Coach Middleton or Miss
Middleton."
THAT was how life could get better!
~ ~ ~
Richard's eyes shifted from the television to the
patio door curtains when the screen door slid open and the
curtains rustled. Cinnamon, dressed in what he thought of
as three blue postage stamps and some dental floss and with
her long hair pinned atop her head, bounced into the family
room and closed the screen door. Wynter was also sunning
herself in a bikini, but Wynter's had more material in one
bra cup than in all of Cinnamon's or Hailey's suits.
"You're lying on the couch instead of in your
recliner?" she asked with a concerned frown. "Are you
feeling ill?"
The touch of genuine concern in her voice got to him,
reminding him very much of Wynter. The two truly were
sisters born of different parents. "No, it's just that
this is more comfortable for watching the television
sitting in that corner. I didn't feel like turning the
recliner to face the tv. The strain still makes my head
hurt."
She stopped across the coffee table in front of him,
grabbed her left elbow in her right hand, and her pointed
chin in her left. He tried not to notice how much of her
wasn't covered by the two upper postage stamps, nor by the
single lower one.
"Well, you have two choices," she said. "You can get
a recliner that swivels and locks facing whatever direction
you want, or you could move the recliner over here." She
pointed to a spot between the couch and the loveseat,
partially blocking traffic into the family room.
"The first are rather expensive, and the second
doesn't allow me to place a lamp for reading."
She gave him a look that made him wonder if she might
have some of Angie's blood in her veins after all. Her
right arm shot up the way her left did when she counted the
beat of a song, but she extended a forefinger and pointed
at the ceiling. "Track lights. Put the chair where you
want it, then put in a track light. With a track light you
can move the chair some and still adjust the light where
you want it."
Richard made a concession gesture with his face and
shoulders. "Never thought of that," he admitted.
Her smile lifted her round cheeks, pushing her eyes
into sparkling slits. "That's why you're lucky you have me
for your daughter's sister."
He shook his head. "That's only one of many
reasons." Cinnamon was like Wynter. Either could sit
quietly out of sight behind him, and still her presence
would cheer up the room.
She looked over her shoulder at the television. "Am
I interrupting your movie?"
He finally realized she wanted something. Maybe he'd
hit his head even harder than he'd thought. "Nah. It's a
DVD. I can watch it anytime." He reached for the remote
and switched it off. "What's up?"
She scooted between him and the coffee table. "May I
sit by you? You don't have to get up."
"Sure." Richard rolled onto his side and pushed his
body against the couch back. Cinnamon sat on the edge,
next to his chest. She looked like the combination of
almost-teenager and Imperious Kennedy that she truly was.
He tried to concentrate on that instead of all the round
pinkness covered by two blue postage stamps hovering above
him. Her small body and the tiny pieces of cloth made them
look even larger.
"Thanks. I told them I was going to drain the swamp,
so I just have a moment. I need to talk. I'm not sure how
it's going to come out, but don't jump to any conclusions
at first because you're probably going to be wrong. Okay?"
He gave her a genuine smile of affection. "If
Angie's your mother, then I'm your step-dad, and I'll give
you the same full consideration I'd give Wynter."
She nodded and smiled. "I couldn't ask for more."
She rested her left forearm atop his right arm and stared
down at him. The look was loving and friendly but at the
same time disturbingly analytical in the way that was
characteristically Cinnamon. "How much has Sis told you
about Hailey?"
"The hot tub last night? She said Hailey had, shall
we say, an overactive abundance of enthusiasm and a
deficiency of self-control."
Cinnamon grinned at his word choice. "You're too
diplomatic. She acts like a slut. Actually, she's not.
She's not a textbook nympho, either. She just loves to
fuck. In her own way, she's actually quite choosy, though
she appears as easy as Caroline. The difference is that
Caroline wanted the attention, not the sex, so she'd take
anyone. Hailey wants to get her jollies, but at the same
time she wants the guy to have his, too. Even when she
can't fuck, she'll get a guy off so that he has a good time
because his good time makes her feel good. Sort of
vicarious osmosis, which means he has to have some appeal
to her. Understand?"
"Yeah," he said, impressed with her descriptive term.
"I knew a few men like that."
"She's Kenny with a cunt."
Richard was more politic in his word choice, but he'd
long ago stopped being shocked by what words manifested
from Cinnamon's vocabulary. He'd come to realize that
Cinnamon used whatever word was best for the situation and
damn the proprieties. She didn't use "vagina," "goodie
box," "pussy," "twat," or "cunt" interchangeably, and she
used them for shock effect only when she was testing
someone to learn the person's make-up and boundaries, or
when the situation demanded shock effect. Her word choices
seemed almost as if she'd analyzed the situation and then
selected the precise word that best conveyed her meaning.
"She is," he agreed.
"She wants you. You appeal to her. That may not be
much of a compliment given her apparent lack of standards,
but she thinks it's an honor for you. In a way it is,
because she does have standards as well as good taste, and
you are very desirable."
She watched the suspicion coalesce in his eyes, then
said, "You said you wouldn't jump to conclusions."
"Sorry," he said. "I guess Hailey has me on edge.
Forgive me?"
She smiled. "Always. I'll try to keep her in line,
but it's going to be difficult. We can't let her know
about you and Wynter, or she's liable to sneak into your
room and climb in bed with you tonight. Or even some night
when we're here and Mom's home. It would help if you stop
her when she gets out of line. Or let me know and I'll
stop it. But she will keep going after you the way she'll
keep after Jimmy. Understand?"
He did. "It must be difficult keeping her from
knowing about you and Mitch," he said. "That has to put
limits on how much you can do and when during her visits."
Her face went neutral. She lowered her chin and
stared at him from beneath raised eyebrows until the lights
came on.
"Oh. Then how do you...." The rest of the lights
came on. "Oh."
The eyes went Imperious Kennedy stern. "I want it
stated for the record that I didn't say a word about my
father and Hailey to you."
He nodded and gave her a fatherly smile, something
that required no effort. "So stated. I won't tell Mitch I
know about their relationship. I won't tell Hailey,
either. I promise."
The round-cheeked smile appeared. "Thanks." She
bent to give him a gentle daughter-type kiss. When she
pulled back she read the relief in his eyes. It was as if
she were thumbing through a book until she found the
paragraphs she wanted and then read them. "You should
already know that I wouldn't kiss you like that now. No
mistletoe."
He'd flashed back to New Year's Eve, when he'd found
his mouth filled with her tongue under the mistletoe. "I
know," he said. "But Hailey would."
"Hailey would." She smiled. "And thanks for trying
to pay attention to what I was saying instead of these
babies." She wiggled her tits in his face. "You have seen
them before, you know."
He wondered if he was blushing the way Wynter once
did. "Well, yes, but..."
When he didn't finish the thought, Cinnamon's face
pulled into a frown and the Kennedy Imperious Voice
returned. "You listen to me, buster. Don't you EVER feel
that you can't say to me what you'd say if I were Wynter.
If you don't want to say it when Mom or Jimmy or anyone
else is around, that's okay and I understand. But since
Wynter is my adopted sister, you don't have to bite your
tongue when it's just us. You told me yourself that I'm
not a guest, I'm family. Clear?"
He smiled. "If we'd been able to have a second child
and it hadn't been Jimmy, I'd want it to be you."
The smile returned immediately. Although the
circumstances were different, at the root of the change her
mood shifts were as automatic and totally complete as
Hailey's. "And don't you forget it!"
Her head suddenly tilted sideways a little, and the
unblinking eyes narrowed in concentration. It was what
Wynter called Cinnamon's 'Curious Pose.' She bent forward
and gave him a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose and then
another on his lips. "I don't do it as well as Sis, do I?"
she said.
"I'm afraid not," he admitted. "But if it's any
consolation, you're first runner up."
The grin exploded. "That's okay. Being number two
to Sis means I'm ahead of everybody else in the world."
After they both laughed, her features suddenly became
sly. "So, answer my question. What about my gorgeous
tits, Mister Tit Man? Unlike you, I won't jump to any
conclusions."
He laughed, yet he knew she'd spoken with devastating
honesty. "That's true. Okay, something about their being
partially covered like that increases their allure, even
though I know what they look like and know that I'll
probably see them again later today or tonight. Okay, step-
daughter?"
She giggled. Imperious Kennedy woman and young girl,
all in one enormously complicated but well-designed
package. It boggled Richard's mind until he remembered
that Wynter, in her own way, was every bit as complex as
her adopted sister. This really wasn't some new experience
for him.
"While we're being honest with each other," she said,
"may I be blunt? I have a habit of being blunt, you know."
Richard shrugged his free shoulder. "No kidding? I
don't believe I've ever heard about your being blunt! But
I've already said I wouldn't jump to any conclusions. This
time I'll keep my word."
She giggled again, and then her grin shifted to a
serious look. "Yeah. You do know how I won't go after
Jimmy out of respect for Sis, even though I'd slam one of
my tits in a screen door again for the opportunity to do
him, don't you?"
Well, he'd given her permission to blunt. "I don't
think that's any secret to anyone who really knows you,
Cinnamon."
"Do you also know that respect for Sis and for Mom is
the only reason I haven't made a play for you, and why I'm
trying to protect you from Hailey?"
She read his eyes again while he struggled for words
and then gave him an ageless smile. "Well, now you do."
She patted his arm and started to rise, then stopped and
bent her face to his. She gave him a final daughter-type
kiss. "But just between you and me, I sure hope you don't
ruin ALL the mistletoe this year."
~ ~ ~
Huntly paid for his hot dog and chips and Coke.
"Can't believe you ran out of brown mustard," he grumbled
to the vendor as he turned.
Kenny looked at him and then jumped, as if Huntly had
suddenly materialized out of thin air. "Hey," Kenny said.
He didn't sound happy. "I didn't realize you were standing
there. You watching the T-Ball game, too?"
"Unh uh." Since his hands were full, he jerked his
head to point to another field. "Little League. But this
stand has better hot dogs. Wanna join me? I'll grab us
that table."
Huntly was taking his second bite when Kenny sat
down. Kenny looked miserable. "What's up with you?"
Kenny shook his head. "Guts started hurting this
morning. I thought I was going back to the hospital. Two
hours later it was like turning off a switch. Pain one
second, none the next. It's a bitch planning anything from
one moment to the next. You're not with Cinnamon?"
"Have some of my chips if you want. Nah, she'
staying with Wynter while the Doc and his housekeeper-honey
are out of town. Who wants to watch three half-naked girls
lying in the sun."
Kenny frowned at him and spoke around a potato chip.
"Your last working brain cell just died, didn't it? You
DON'T want to watch three half-naked girls lying in the sun?"
Huntly waved his hot dog in dismissal of the idea.
"Of course not. I'd rather wait until they head for the
hot tub and watch three fully naked girls in the bubbles."
Kenny's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you aren't so stupid
after all."
Huntly shrugged, then pushed himself backward to
avoid a falling dollop of the hated yellow mustard. "Many
people didn't realize Einstein was a genius at first.
Something else he and I have in common. Just like many
people didn't realize you were a hero again because you
didn't tell us."
Kenny stared through the table. "Yeah."
The quirky intestinal problem wasn't the reason Kenny
was miserable, and Huntly knew it. "So. You miss her, huh?"
Kenny sighed. "Yeah." His eyes lifted and focused
on Huntly. "Who?"
"Nice try. You know she's out of town, don't you?"
"No. Where? For how long?"
"The Springs for a month. Miss Jackson picked her as
the replacement when one of the coaches couldn't make it.
Mom found out that Miss Jackson called in several favors
and also threatened to quit if she didn't get Suzie."
You didn't need Cinnamon's power's of observation to
see the pride in Kenny's face. "No shit?"
"Constipation."
Kenny first frowned and then groaned.
"That's a doctor joke," Huntly said. "Hadn't you
heard it before? Man, Doctor Cutie's going to wipe your
ass in medical school."
Kenny's face twisted with a grin. "She'll do great."
Again Huntly didn't need Cinnamon's skills. Kenny
had changed back to the original topic. He wasn't talking
about Wynter. "So, what are you going to do when you get
her back?"
Kenny gave him an angry frown for a moment, then
relaxed. "Well... I guess I'd better make damned sure I
know where she is when I get a little action."
Huntly nodded and reached for his Coke. "Uh huh.
Just keep thinking about it. Sooner or later some sense
will sneak up on you, unannounced and uninvited.."
~ ~ ~
Wynter was still giving Jimmy his welcome back kiss
when she heard a yell from the street. They glanced
through the storm door.
Jimmy groaned. "What are THEY doing here?"
The pair scrambled up the steps. As Wynter opened
the storm door, Huntly jerked a thumb to point over his
shoulder and asked, "Putting on a little show for the
neighbors?"
"Yes," Jimmy said in a cross voice. "Their
television's broken, so they're paying us."
"Hey, I tell you what," Kenny smirked. "When you get
tired, I'll take over for you, and you won't even have to
split the money with me."
"Sorry," Jimmy said, wrapping an arm around Wynter's
waist, "but my girlfriend has standards. High standards."
"In that case," said Huntly, "I won't ask for a
split, either."
"Future Doctor King," Jimmy said, "please make a
note: becoming a teenager doesn't automatically improve
your total lack of comedic ability."
Wynter giggled. "What do you two bozos want?"
Huntly's face softened. "My knee requires medical
attention again."
"You want to get me in the hot tub again," she
translated.
Kenny leered. "You talked me into it."
Wynter and Jimmy ignored him.
"The truth?" Huntly asked. "Or a story that sounds
good?"
Her left hand made circles on Jimmy's back in an
effort to calm him. "You already know that answer."
Huntly smiled. "And that's why I like you, Your
Doctorness. The truth is, I don't care if we get in the
hot tub or not, but we were at the ball fields in Otter
Park..."
She automatically shifted into professional mode.
She shook a finger of her right hand at him. "Huntly
Sheridan!"
"No, I didn't. I know better. But I was playing
catch with Charlie after his T-Ball game because he wanted
me to, and you know how he throws."
"Yeah," said Jimmy. He'd been on the receiving end
of some of Charlie's wild tosses with snowballs. "And you
went for one of the wild ones?"
"He threw just as some elderly ladies passed by. It
was headed right for them."
"I went for it, too," Kenny said, "but I was too late."
"Oh," Jimmy said. "Well, I would have done the same
thing you did."
Wynter knelt and gently palpated the knee with her
fingertips. The edema was evident when she bothered to
notice. She chastised herself because Sis would have
noticed it at once. She sure wasn't very observant. Maybe
she'd best forget about emergency medicine if this was the
best she could do.
The injured joint felt rigid and warm. "Ice
first,"she said, "then we'll loosen it in the hot tub and
I'll massage it, then ice it again. Jimmy, would you mind
getting me one of Daddy's ice packs from the freezer,
please? Kenny, Sis and Cuz are in my room. Tell them
what's up, please?"
As Kenny raced upstairs in what Wynter thought was an
unsafe manner, she said, "Come on down to the family room
for now. Do you need help getting down the steps?"
Huntly arched his eyebrows and shrugged. "I dunno.
Do I get to lean on you?"
"I might not be able to support your weight," she
said. "But you can lean on Jimmy, or I can get Daddy."
He sighed. "I think I can manage with the handrail."
~ ~ ~
Richard clicked the 'Delete' button. A soft knock at
the library door brought his head around.
A wet Cinnamon, hair pinned up, held a towel around
her body and smiled at him. "Am I interrupting?"
He swiveled the chair around to face her. "You're
family. You're Wynter's sister. You're never an
interruption any more than she is. Besides, you can't
interrupt somebody who'd rather do anything than check
e-mail from idiots who can't read a simple report and
understand what's right in front of their noses. What's up?"
Her face could have been sympathy or empathy. "It's
not easy dealing with the brain dead, is it?"
"Are you speaking of anyone specific downstairs?" he
asked.
That brought back the smile. "Not this time. Yet.
But give them a minute or two. Since we've crowded you out
of the tub, I brought you something."
Richard returned the smile."If there's one thing I
love more than presents, it's surprise presents. What?"
"These," she spread her arms and held open the towel,
"since you won't get to see them in the hot tub as you
expected. The rest of the view is just a bonus."
Maybe he was wrong about surprise presents. Nervous
anxiety flooded through him. "Cinnamon..."
She rewrapped the towel and tucked in a corner to
hold it in place. "I thought so," she said in a measured
voice. "Do you know why I did that?"
He shrugged and vertically circled one hand in the
air before him, as if he were trying to fan up an answer.
Maybe that's because it was exactly what he was doing.
"Because... you thought I'd be disappointed and were trying
to keep me from feeling bad?"
The way she shook her head caused an immediate
flashback to old Mrs. Sutherland the day he hadn't done his
civics homework and had tried to fake an answer in class.
He halfway expected the little redhead to tut-tut-tut him
and ask how expected to be a good citizen if he didn't
understand how the country worked.
"Granted you don't have the right plumbing that goes
with the ability for deep thought," she said in a withering
voice, "but you sometimes fake it very well. Try again."
He idly wondered if Mrs. Sutherland had been a
redhead before she turned gray. "Because... Because it was
a test?"
Half of her mouth quirked upward. "Very good. And
what was the objective and the lesson?"
That was the difficult part. He imitated Wynter and
turned the events over in his mind, examining them from
every possible angle. Cinnamon clearly understood what he
was doing because she smiled and nodded to herself while
patiently waiting.
"The objective was... uh... hmmm. The objective was
to see if I would jump to conclusions even though I'd said
I wouldn't."
"And the lesson?"
That meant he'd gotten the first part right. "The
lesson is that while I said I wouldn't, I did. I need to
trust you in my mind, not just in my words."
She smiled. "I can see why Mom married you. You
have potential. Maybe in a few more years you'll be as
smart as Mom, if not your daughter. Anyway, Sis asked me
to apologize to you since she forgot to. She said you'd
understand that it's a medical emergency, and that she's
sorry there's not enough room for you in the tub, too."
"I understood when I was preempted. She didn't need
to apologize."
Cinnamon nodded with a wry grin. "You and I know
that, and so does Jimmy, but you know Sis. She was about
to worry herself into an ulcer, so I left Kenny supervising
Hailey and ran up here to tell you."
"You left KENNY supervising HAILEY?"
She grinned. "Keeps her off Jimmy. But maybe I'd
better go pry them apart."
"Let me know if you need a crowbar," he said. "Oh,
and Cinnamon? Thanks."
The corner of her mouth quirked up again. "For the
show?"
"For the lesson."
She nodded and smirked. "I knew that. I just wanted
to hear you admit it," she said as she turned and vanished.
He supposed she knew he also meant for the show, too.
~ ~ ~
Wynter's fingers sprang from the bass keys as Jimmy's
bounced from the trebles. She loved playing four-hand
piano with him almost better than anything else. Almost.
But she really and truly was sorry that this was their last
piece and that he had to go home.
She turned to the applause from Sis, sitting on the
end of the love seat nearest her and with her body turned
toward the two performers, and Hailey, who was facing Daddy
but had her head and upper torso turned toward the
performers.
She was sorry Kenny and Huntly couldn't stay, but
Huntly had needed to get home quickly. He'd called his dad
to pick up himself and his bicycle, and Kenny had gone
along to provide medical care if Huntly needed it while
getting up to his room.
Kenny was becoming as big a mystery to her as
Cinnamon had once been. Maybe he was twins and Doctor
Taylor had kept that secret from her.
She thanked them and turned to her father. He was
applauding from his recliner, but he had a look of nervous
concern, and his eyes were on Sis.
The little redhead must have read her face because
she looked at Daddy, too. He said something to Sis using
non-verbal communication that Wynter didn't understand.
Whatever it was, Sis understood it. She lifted her right
arm and looked under it and behind herself.
"WHITNEY GWYNETH! CLOSE YOUR LEGS!"
Thirteen
Kenny froze halfway through the door to Huntly's
room. "Well," he said, "I didn't expect to see you here."
Huntly placed his new guitar beside him on the
mattress and shook his head. "I told him the same thing.
I've already asked him why he's here when he could be with
Doctor Cutie and her two friends. He's not given me an
answer yet."
Kenny frowned in thought as he continued into the
room and stopped beside the bed. "Maybe it's because his
girlfriend went on the rag today."
Jimmy jumped from Huntly's desk chair to his feet,
and his face clouded. "How'd you know that?"
Kenny shrugged one shoulder. "That's what she told
you last night in the hot tub. Weren't you listening to
her? You were sitting closer to her than I was. Huntly
heard her, too."
Huntly nodded. "I did."
Jimmy shook his head and cooled sightly, then sank to
the chair again. "You putz. What are you doing here?"
"Wynter asked me to check out her patient's knee."
Huntly drew his hands to his chest in mock horror.
"Oh, crap! Did she tell you to kiss it?"
"Kiss it? I thought she said piss it. Damn. I
wasted a trip." He turned his leer back to Jimmy. "Just
because you can't pork Wynter doesn't mean you have to do
without, you know. Hailey's available, and she's good."
"She's damned good," Huntly added. "Three holes, no
waiting."
"Five."
Huntly frowned at Kenny. "Five?" he asked in a voice
as puzzled as his face.
"Yeah," said Kenny. He curled his fingers around and
used his thumbs to make tubes of his hands.
Huntly smiled at Jimmy. "Five," he agreed. "But to
be tight enough for Kenny, she has to close her fists."
Kenny threw up his hands. "Cinnamon's right. You
are a shithead."
Jimmy rose to his feet. "Two putzes, no waiting."
He started for the door.
"Wait a minute," Huntly protested. "You didn't say
why you'd come."
Jimmy stopped. His shoulders slumped, and he looked
at Huntly over his right one. "I wanted some advice. But
I need it from somebody more mature. I'll go over to
Kenny's house and see if Charlie's busy."
"He's at the optometrist's," Kenny said. "Gets his
glasses today. Guess you're stuck with us. What's your
problem with Wynter? Except that you're cut off, of course."
"You know, Kenny, there's a reason I still have my
girlfriend and you're shopping around. There's more to
life than just fucking."
"Of course!" Huntly said, slapping his forehead. He
turned wide brown eyes to Kenny. "There's BLOWJOBS!"
Kenny slapped his own forehead, hoping that he could
avert any discussion of Suzie. "EARTH TO KENNY! DUH!" he
said in his weird voice. "How could I forget that? Maybe
because it's been almost fourteen hours since my last one."
Jimmy folded his arms across his chest. "Well, if
you're in a hurry to give another one, I'll leave you two
alone."
_Damn it! I walked right into that one!_ "Look, I'm
here to see about a patient." He didn't think changing the
subject would help, but he could always think of a retort
later and use it, saying that Jimmy had kept the topic
going when he'd tried to drop it. And maybe he could avoid
questions about Suzie.
Jimmy surprised him. "Then examine him."
Kenny went around to the other side of the bed,
saying, "Put his guitar in the stand for him, please. I
need him to scoot over to this side of the bed."
Kenny gave the guitar to Jimmy and sat on the edge of
the bed. Huntly eased over. Kenny gently probed the left
knee with his fingertips. "Feels better than I expected,"
he said. "I'll massage it for you, but I won't be as good
as Wynter. It should help anyway. You stay off it this
week and you should be able to go on the boat ride
Saturday. You put any strain on it and you won't."
"I'll be good, Daddy." He moaned softly as Kenny
found the right spot. Something inside shifted, and relief
flooded the area.
"Just don't expect me to play with your dick like
Wynter does."
Although he was looking at Huntly's knee, he saw the
change in the boy's face and the look he gave Jimmy.
_Mistake, dude_, Kenny thought. He didn't know what it
meant, but he was sure it was some kind of leverage.
~ ~ ~
As he rode past the middle school and pondered what
Huntly had told him, Jimmy heard a familiar clipped voice
calling his name. He saw Mister Shelby waving at him from
across the parking lot, checked for traffic, and made a
quick left across Seabridge Trail, stopping in front of
Mister Shelby's Volvo.
After a quick exchanging of greetings, Mister Shelby
said, "I was on my way to your house to see you, if you
were home. Do you have a minute?" When Jimmy said that he
did, Mister Shelby said, "I just learned that Finnegan is
recovering from an appendectomy. I was going to ask him to
build something for a presentation I'm giving at a
teacher's conference next week. I'm not all thumbs," he
held up the index finger he waved to illustrate or
emphasize points in class, "thanks to this one. But the
rest are."
"I'm not very good with electronics..." Jimmy began.
Mister Shelby waggled the non-thumb back-and-forth.
"No, no. This is strictly mechanical. Mostly a little
carpentry and some polystyrene plastics work. Kenny has
said several times that you were almost as good as Finnegan
with most wood and metal construction and better with
plastics."
Jimmy shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess."
"Well, I got a second opinion from another qualified
future doctor on several occasions. She was quite
unbiased, I believe."
"That's one thing about Wynter," Jimmy said with a
wry smile. "She'll tell you exactly what she thinks, good
or bad, if you insist, and I don't know anyone else who
goes as far as she does to be unbiased."
"I've... noticed that," Mister Shelby said with a
sympathetic grin and tone that made Jimmy wonder what he
WASN'T saying. "And I've also noticed that she isn't as
bothered or embarrassed to make negative comments as she
was at the beginning of school. Cinnamon's influence, I
suspect?"
"We like to think it was both of us," Jimmy's hands
spun about each other, "working in concert, but to tell the
truth, I'm beginning to think the actual agent of change
was Huntly."
Mister Shelby's eyebrows raced up his increasingly
taller forehead. "Really?"
Jimmy shrugged.
"Well, I'll be." Mister Shelby shook his head.
"Well, if you have a minute, could you come with me to my
classroom, please? I'll show you what I need, and you can
tell me how much you'll charge."
Jimmy waved off the idea. "Oh, you don't have to pay
me anything. I'm happy to help."
Mister Shelby grasped his left wrist in his right
hand and rested them atop the "self-contained armrest," as
he called it, of his round protruding abdomen. "First of
all, never agree to work for free until you understand the
magnitude of the job involved. Second, in addition to the
cost of any materials you might have to purchase, always
add an amount for the value of your time. Third, you have
to accept payment or people will think you're getting A's
because you're buying them with your labor."
Jimmy scoffed at the idea. "Mister Shelby, people
know you wouldn't do that."
Mister Shelby's face became as serious as Wynter's
during one of her safety lectures. "Jimmy, you know that,
I know that, and Wynter knows that, among others. Things
aren't always what they seem when dealing with people and
perceptions, unlike science. For that matter, not even
science is always what it seems."
One of the things Jimmy liked about Mister Shelby was
that he was always teaching you something new, whether in
class or not. "You mean like phlogistion or the ether that
people once thought existed?"
Mister Shelby's hands moved to his red paisley
suspenders where they were buttoned to his pants. "Nothing
that exotic. What do you get when you add one mole of
oxygen to two moles of hydrogen?"
Jimmy grinned. "One mole of water."
Mister Shelby raised one eyebrow. "Always?"
The answer was too obvious, so he was obviously
overlooking something. He frowned.
Mister Shelby shook his head. "My job is to teach
you to think, not to think for you." Jimmy said the words
in unison, causing Mister Shelby to smile. "At least you
remembered something from science class," he said with a
smug look that always reminded Jimmy of Kenny.
Jimmy knew how sneaky and devious his teacher could
be. He put on this thinking cap while Mister Shelby waited
patiently. After a few moments the lights came on. "One-
half mole of hydrogen peroxide plus a mole of hydrogen."
Mister Shelby smiled. "See? Water is obvious and
it's correct, but it's not always correct. Your buying A's
is obvious to some people, but while it may be a correct
assumption for some, it's not a correct assumption for us.
But many people will BELIEVE the appearance rather than the
truth. Others will see the truth and believe it, but will
also believe that other factors are at play when they are
not."
Jimmy frowned. "That's not a very good analogy..."
"Of course it isn't. I was checking to see if you
were paying attention."
"Uh huh. Right. But I understand. Okay. So show
me what you need."
As Jimmy accompanied Mister Shelby to the classroom,
he told his teacher about their observations at the flat
rock overlooking Porcupine Creek. And somewhere deep in
his mind, Mister Shelby's comments began making
subconscious connections.
~ ~ ~
"Yes, sir, I understand," Wynter said. "Just tell
Jimmy what you need, and I'll draw it for you. I gotta run
now, because I have visitors." She gave Mister Shelby a
brief farewell and hung up the phone, then threw a cloth
over the oil painting on the easel.
Hailey appeared in the hall, stopped in front of
Daddy's office, and greeted him before turning around to
Wynter's door and bumping her butt at Daddy. "Hey!" she
said when she saw Wynter looking at her. "Can you, like,
spare a minute for me?"
Wynter was surprised that Sis wasn't with Hailey.
Well, that explained the way Dragon looked, and the way he
didn't look, when he raced out of the room. "Sure," she
said. "We're cousins now. I always have time for family."
_Including Aunt Dumb and Uncle Bozo_, she thought, though
she sure didn't WANT to make time for them. But, it was
the polite thing to do.
Hailey entered and exchanged hugs and a sisterly
kiss. "Are you, like, still working on Cuz's birthday
present?"
"Uh huh." Cinnamon had diagnosed that it was a
painting of her because Wynter had shown her the painting
of Jimmy she'd made for his birthday, but she hadn't shown
Sis the current project. But Sis never asked and, like
Jimmy with his painting, never sneaked a look under the
cloth at it while it was unfinished. "It's almost done.
Want to see it again?"
"Sure!"
Wynter carefully removed the cloth, insuring that it
didn't smear the fresh paint.
"_Holy shit!_" Hailey murmured as she stared at the
painting of Cinnamon in the dress she'd worn for the talent
show. The little redhead was seated on her throne, framed
between two cymbals and holding her drumsticks upright in
clasped hands. "That is SO the absolute MAX!"
"I'm having trouble finishing her hair." She
retrieved a paper and turned it face-up before handing it
to Hailey. "I can do it the way she had it pinned up in
colored pencils, but I'm having trouble translating that to
oil."
Hailey looked at the colored pencil drawing, then
idly scratched her bare midriff as she leaned forward to
peer close-up at the painting's hair. "Yeah," she said,
"but it's, like, not really noticeable unless you know to
look for it."
"Well," Wynter said, taking the paper back and
returning it face-down to its original resting place, "I
know, so I notice it. So, how come Sis isn't with you?"
"She, like, went to see Finnegan. Hey, can we, like,
talk where we SO won't be overheard?" She glanced at the
open door.
"Sure," Wynter said. "Daddy will be busy in his
office for a while, and I don't have to start lunch yet
because we slept late this morning." Too late, Wynter
realized that she'd probably not worded that the best way.
At least she hadn't used the word "together." But,
fortunately, Hailey seemed preoccupied "And Mother will
be busy playing catch-up in her office and won't want to be
bothered."
Poor Mother. She'd arrived home maybe thirty minutes
ago and with her usual headache after dealing with Aunt
Dumb and Uncle Bozo. Wynter and her father hadn't pressed
for details, but the situation had to be bad since Mother
had left Grand Island around three that morning. And now
she was on the phone with her boss, who Wynter thought of
as inflexible, scatterbrained, and other terms that weren't
nearly that nice.
Hailey spoke softly. "It's, like, about Cuz."
Wynter had diagnosed that much. They covered the
painting, told her father they'd be in the back yard, and
retrieved glasses of lemonade en route to the picnic table.
Wynter watched Dragon patrol the perimeter of the yard
while Hailey worked her way up to the real issue.
Finally Hailey reached across the table and closed a
hand around Wynter's wrist. "Like, how much of what
happened with the guy who attacked her do you know?"
Well, that certainly was a surprise question. "Not
much. Sis doesn't talk about it." Wynter hoped that
Hailey would accept that, but she suspected the opposite
would be true. It was.
"How bad did it, like, shake her up?"
Wynter shrugged. "People react differently to
stress. Sometimes what you see doesn't really reflect
what's in their thoughts or feelings. People..."
Hailey gently squeezed her wrist to stop her. "That
is SO not an answer. Wynter, I love her as much as you do,
and, like, I SO am worried. I think you are, too. Well,
I've known her, like, longer than you have. If there's
something we can, like, do to help, then we SO can do more
working together."
Wynter thought about that as Dragon trotted to her.
She patted his head and worried about patient
confidentiality. Hailey was, in a way, a qualified
external consultant with the patient's best interests at
heart. She sure hoped she wasn't making a mistake when she
finally said, "It didn't seem to shake her up at all. She
seemed to be almost totally unaffected."
Hailey nodded. She seemed to be responding to
something she suspected instead of what Wynter had said.
"She, like, set him up."
"Well, I don't know that's true," she said as Dragon
sprawled on his side in the sun at the end of the table.
"No WAY!" said Hailey, sounding like she knew exactly
what Wynter was thinking instead of what she was saying.
"No way could you know. No way she would, like, tell you.
But you SO suspect that she did."
Wynter was still wondering whether she'd given away
too much through non-verbal information when Hailey laughed.
"Uncle Mitch and Kenny both said she, like, almost
bit his dick off, but didn't. She left it attached, but SO
worse than useless."
Wynter nodded and scowled. "And as far as I'm
concerned, it was better than he deserved!"
Hailey nodded. "Yeah," she said in a disdainful
voice. "He might as well, like, keep it. Some dicks even
I don't want."
Wynter decided to ask something that had been on her
mind, but Hailey spoke first.
"Like, how much of her life with Aunt Bitch do you
know about?"
Wynter guessed that wasn't a surprise question,
either way she interpreted it. She forced her eyes to stay
focused on Hailey's, though she wanted to look anywhere
else. She tried hard, but she couldn't stop her lip from
curling. "Probably ten percent of it, maybe less. Just
what I saw and what others said they saw. She was a HORRID
woman. How can anyone hate her own daughter?"
Hailey slowly shook her head. "No way. You probably
know, like, one percent of it, max. It was SO much worse
than you can imagine. I've lived in it, while you were,
like, passing through. All ten of Gran Millie's kids were
sorta like Aunt Bitch, except for my father. Well, there's
Aunt Samantha, but she, like, didn't make it to her first
birthday because of birth defects. Hey, you think Aunt
Bitch hated Cinnamon? You should hear the family stories
about how Gran Millie treated Samantha for being deformed."
Wynter guessed she shouldn't be surprised, but she
still had trouble forcing her mouth to close.
"The whole bogus family is SO fucked up except for
Dad and Great Aunt Victoria on Gran Millie's side. That's
why both are, like, family outcasts: they SO act like real
people. Well, good riddance to the rest. On Grandfather
Grenville's side there aren't any exceptions, and, like,
good riddance to them, too." Hailey turned her head and
spat.
Wynter was morbidly fascinated. Not only had she
learned more about Cinnamon's family in the last few
seconds than she'd learned since she'd met Cinnamon, but
she'd just discovered that Hailey also possessed an innate
ability to use the Kennedy Imperious Look, not just the
regal demeanor she'd worn at the airport. She knew she'd
have a hard time explaining the difference to anyone who
hadn't seen both, but anyone who had seen both looks would
implicitly understand.
"Well," Hailey said with a soft sigh as she relaxed
back into a normal person. Or as normal as Hailey got,
Wynter decided.
_Well, that wasn't very nice, was it? She's here
because she's worried about Sis, and I'm thinking unkind
things about her. Maybe I should apologize._
Before Wynter could speak, Hailey began listing some
of the incidents from Sis's life in Boston. Both were
wiping tears when Hailey finally choked to a halt.
"I, um, I guess you don't mind being here instead of
Boston this summer," Wynter said.
Hailey shook her head. "No. It's, like, too damned
cold here for me right now, but this place is SO the warmth
compared to the cold-hearted freezer I'd have, like, been
living in there. Cuz was, like, the ONLY reason I'd want
to go there. And Uncle Mitch, of course." She sniffed.
"Cuz SO loved visiting me in Hawaii because it, like, got
her out of that situation for a few months, but she, like,
couldn't enjoy it because she SO worried about Uncle Mitch
back there alone with that bitch. I, like, had a real
family, and she'd have, like, given anything to have one,
too."
Wynter shrugged one shoulder. "Well, now that Doctor
Brees is free of that horrid person and has Mrs. Vasquez,
Sis is finally going to have a real family, too."
Hailey wiped a stray tear and smiled. "Cuz has had
one since she, like, got you for her sister and your mother
for her mom."
Wynter's mouth spread in a warm smile at the idea.
"We certainly feel that way."
Hailey's next lurch in a new direction caught Wynter
completely off guard. "She set up Aunt Bitch the same way
she set up the Wylie bastard, didn't she?"
"Um..." How the heck should she respond to that?
Hailey grinned. "Hey! Of course you, like, don't
KNOW. But you, like, suspect, don't you?"
Obviously Hailey did. Wynter saw no reason to
pretend she didn't. "Yes. Well, sorta. I mean..."
"That's okay. I understand. She SO wouldn't do
anything that was obvious or, like, could be traced. Hey,
I SO can't say why I feel that way, either, except that it,
like, fits her pattern."
A tiny shiver raced in icy footsteps from Wynter's
first cervical vertebra down to her coccyx and back.
"Pattern?"
Hailey raised an eyebrow. "Do you think these were,
like, the only times she'd resorted to extreme measures?
The first one I'm pretty sure she set up was, like, five
years ago, on her eighth birthday."
Hailey's topic lurched again. "Hey, Cuz SO believes
in letting the punishment fit the crime. Did you know that
two of the family's doctors may, like, lose their licenses
for supposedly helping Aunt Bitch get her drugs? One for
sure will. And they, like, just happen to be two who
helped keep Uncle Mitch from getting the job he wanted in
Denver. Coincidence? Hey! Personally, I SO wouldn't be
surprised if Cousin Simon soon finds his pulled, too. Or
at least, in jeopardy."
_That just doesn't make any sense. How could Sis
manage that? She was in Colorado and everyone else was in
Boston. Sis couldn't..._
It was the moment the lights came on. With another
shiver, Wynter at last understood the true meaning behind
Sis's often-used phrase, "You can never have too many
friends."
"Do you, like, know why Cuz is an only child?"
Hailey asked in yet another sudden conversational lurch.
"Sort of," Wynter admitted. "She said that her... I
mean, that woman let Doctor Brees have intercourse only
once on the honeymoon and then was mad because he
impregnated her when he was supposed to be infertile. He
never had intercourse with her again."
"No poley in the holey, no swelly in the belly."
Wynter rolled her eyes. "That sounds like something
Kenny would say."
"He did. I was, like, quoting him. Hey! Do you,
like, know why I'm an only child?"
"Well... no. But I suppose it's not for the same
reason."
"Unh uh. Cuz and I are, like, guessing, but we think
it's SO because all the others except Aunt Bitch had large
families, and that my parents were afraid that we'd turn
out to be, like, little shits, too. Yeah, it makes you
say, 'No way!' but Cuz says people will, like, believe the
most bogus things."
Wynter sure couldn't argue with that.
"Hey! You want to get in on a bet? I'm starting a
pool. Do you think Uncle Mitch and Rosita will have a
baby, and if so, when will it be born?"
"Um..." It did sound reasonable. "Let me think
about when for a little while. Okay?"
"Five dollars to get in," Hailey said. "Hey, I think
it would be nice if they, like, had one of their own.
Well, it's not like Cuz wouldn't be 'theirs,' but... Hey,
you know what I mean."
Wynter did, from a genetics point of view and from
her diagnosis of Hailey's intent. "A real sister instead
of me, even if she was only a half-sister."
"No WAY!" Hailey barked in that Kennedy Imperious
Voice while using the Imperious Look.
The sound made Dragon spring to his feet and stare at
Hailey, his hackles rising around his collar. Without
taking her eyes off Hailey, Wynter snapped her fingers at
him and pointed down. He lay down again, but this time
upright instead of on his side. His eyes stayed locked on
Hailey, who appeared not to notice. He would obey Wynter's
command, but he would decide for himself whether she was in
danger from another human.
"Don't you DARE say you aren't, like, a real sister
to her!" Hailey continued, but in a normal voice, though
she shook a finger at Wynter. "Cuz heard that, she'd SO
turn you over her knee and beat your butt! And I'd, like,
help her, and not for kinky reasons, either! Hey, next to
Uncle Mitch, you're SO the most important person in her
life, even more than me, and I, like, don't blame her. I
am SO the jel that she has a sister and I don't, and I can
SO understand why she, like, feels that way. Especially
now that I've met you and understand, like why you are so
good for her! I can't imagine any girl NOT wanting you for
her sister."
Wynter felt her heart swelling in her chest just
before an idea arrived. "Um, Hailey, could you excuse me
for a minute or two? You can play with Dragon if you want.
I'll be back shortly."
Hailey gave her that characteristic mischievous grin.
"Hey! I'm kinda horny. You think he'd like to do me
doggie style?"
~ ~ ~
Wynter led her parents onto the patio. She stopped
at the edge, with her father behind and to her right and
her mother behind and to her left. Each rested the closest
hand on her shoulders.
Hailey was in the middle of the yard, letting Dragon
fetch a stick. She raced him back to the patio, losing by
only half the distance from where they'd been to the patio
itself.
"Mother has a question," Wynter announced as she
scratched Dragon's ears.
"Whitney Gwyneth Kennedy, we've held an emergency
family meeting with three of four members in attendance.
We've analyzed the following facts: you are going to be
without parents for a year; you are, and will continue to
be for a year, a couple of thousand miles from home; and
you have no younger siblings to pick on. We have concluded
that you meet the criteria for adoption into this family.
Therefore, we formally ask, will you agree to our adoption
of you?"
Wynter didn't know Hailey's eyes could get that big,
but they did as she replied, "No WAY!" in disbelief.
"Way." Wynter could hear the smile in Mother's
voice, even if she was standing where Wynter couldn't see it.
"What if Cuz objects. She's not here to vote."
"Three out of four," Daddy said. "She loses."
Tears flooded her eyes as Hailey smiled. "I'd love
it!"
Wynter had to glance up at her father before he
remembered he was to speak. "Oh. Then by the very limited
powers granted to me by the females in this family, I
formally welcome you as a member and my adopted daughter,
Whitney Gwyneth 'Hailey' Kennedy-King, as yet another
female to further reduce my influence."
"Smarty pants," Wynter said. She smiled at her
newest sibling. "Hi, Sis."
~ ~ ~
Suzie put on her most serious face, partly as a way
to keep from laughing with glee or something. The Swim
Camp Director and all of the coaches except one were seated
at one side of a long table. Facing the table from the
other side were Coach Nancy Dale and her star swimmer,
Amber Vallarta. Amber was furious.
"Well, why is SHE a coach and not me?" Amber growled,
pointing a finger at Suzie.
"Because Coach Kowalski couldn't make it and Coach
Jackson demanded Coach Middleton as her replacement,"
Mister Berger, the Director, said.
The little witch's face turned a shade of red that
was very familiar to Suzie. Well, to those who knew Suzie,
that is, since she rarely was looking at herself in a
mirror when she was that mad. "Middleton's a SWIMMER, not
a COACH!"
"COACH Middleton is now a coach as well as a
swimmer," said Mister Berger.
Suzie heard the warning in his voice, maybe because
she'd had so much practice hearing it in her parents'
voices. But Amber seemed upblivious to it because she
turned to Coach Dale--Jennifer had explained to her that at
official meetings she was Coach Dale and not Nancy--and
barked, "Why didn't YOU insist on ME instead?" She sounded
like Mrs. Robinson's little yip-yap Yorkshire terrier back
home.
Coach Dale sure as heck wasn't hearing THAT question
for the first time. She looked like she was ever so ready
to strangle the little witch or something. "I told you,"
she said, confirming Suzie's suspicious. "Because Coach
Middleton ACTS like a coach. Coach Jackson says she's been
helping other swimmers on her girls' teams as well as the
swimmers on the boys' teams, too. You never help anyone
but yourself."
Suzie had to fake a coughing fit to hide the laugh
that snuck out. "Sorry," she said. "I must have swallowed
wrong or something." Jennifer's--Coach Jackson's, she
meant--warning look wasn't very good because she was trying
not to laugh or something herself.
Suzie wished she had a camera to catch the look on
the cheating little witch's face before she looked back at
Coach Dale and yipped, "And I'm supposed to listen to
MIDDLETON in those drills? She'll be telling me the wrong
stuff just so I'll lose to her again."
"COACH Middleton," Mister Berger warned again in the
voice Mom used when Suzie was about to be grounded for a
month.
"Coach Middleton won't do that because she's a
professional," Coach Shear from Lamar said. "She doesn't
even resort to cheating to win."
Amber jumped to her feet. "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO
MEAN?"
Coach Dale put a hand on the little witch's shoulder
and not-too-gently pushed her back into her chair. "MISS
VALLARTA," she said, "just because I don't agree with Coach
Jackson in competition on that point, that doesn't negate
the fact that I've warned you repeatedly about launching
too soon in private. THAT is what Coach Shear means.
Coach Middleton will do the right thing in training because
it's to her advantage in the long run. The better you do,
the more she has to improve herself to stay competitive,
and that's going to help her when she's in the Olympics."
Suzie thought she was going to wet herself. First
Miss Jackson--Jennifer--Coach Jackson... whoever--said
Suzie was a future Olympic swimmer, and now the little
witch's OWN COACH had just said THE SAME THING!
Amber snorted. "That dogmeat MIDDLETON in the
Olympics?"
"Miss Vallarta," Mister Berger said, "this is your
last warning. You will address Coach Middleton by her
title or as 'Miss Middleton,' or you will be excused from
this camp. Think about that while you do an extra fifty
laps this evening."
Suzie would have had to hide a giggle if she'd heard
that, but she was still too stunned by what Coach Dale had
said. She even missed the part about her supervising
Amber's fifty laps.
Fourteen
Nancy Dale sighed in frustration and glanced at the
clock on the competition display board. Five more minutes
until noon, and then the swimming would be over. She had
been looking forward to chaperoning the group going to the
Cave of the Winds until she learned that her star pupil had
signed up for that trip that morning. Maybe she could find
somebody else to take the sightseeing group while she
toured every bar in El Paso County and had a drink in each.
Make that a double in each.
Neat.
She finally heard her star pupil go silent. She had
no idea what the girl had been saying other than the
general nature of her complaint. "Amber, give it a rest.
You aren't learning anything standing here bitching. Get
back in the water and learn something."
Amber threw up her hands in frustration. "That's
what I'm TELLING you! MIDDLETON says I'm holding my hands
WRONG and kicking WRONG when I roll on my side in the
freestyle!"
Nancy massaged the bridge of her nose between a thumb
and two fingertips. "Have you tried it her way?"
"Well, of COURSE not!" Amber didn't say it, but
Nancy could hear the final two words in her tone: "you
idiot!"
She sighed. "Then try it her way. If it doesn't
work, you can always switch back later."
"COACH! How would SHE know what works? Why should I
listen to HER, even if I am doing it WRONG? SHE wasn't
even SMART enough to know that she DIDN'T have to swim my
extra laps with me!"
Nancy shook her head. "Amber, you're blind! You
have it completely, totally wrong. She ASKED Mister Berger
if it was okay for her to swim them with you. The lesser
reason was so that she'd have the same training as you, not
letting you get stronger than her. The primary reason,
though, was so that she could watch you one-on-one, without
the distraction of others in the pool, and HELP you."
Amber raised two fists and slammed them downward.
"She was trying to learn how to BEAT ME!"
She'd have two doubles in each bar. Followed by beer
chasers. "She already knows how to do that. Remember?
And without launching early? She's trying to insure that
you swim well enough to be competition next year, because
nobody else has a chance to beat her and make her try
harder."
Amber laughed in one raucous bark. "Well, that's
just SILLY!"
Nancy sighed. "Amber, get back in the water and do
what COACH Middleton says, or she'll be asking to swim with
you tonight while you do another fifty laps. Not one more
word out of your mouth, or it will be a hundred. Clear?"
Nancy watched her star swimmer huff and stomp her way
to the pool edge, plunging in with a cannonball. She
decided to say nothing about the forbidden dive. Maybe it
would cool Amber down.
She wondered how much it would cost her to bribe
Jennifer into switching schools and coaching jobs with her.
She supposed that the Denver Mint didn't handle that much
money in a year.
~ ~ ~
Jimmy shook his head in disbelief. "You're kidding!"
Josh leaned over the shopping cart's handle, blocking
it from rolling with one foot while his mother sorted
through the bulk potatoes. "No," he said. "Those were the
Alamosa coach's exact words."
While he stared at the Bermuda onions and wondered if
Suzie might have possibly misinterpreted any of the words,
he decided it would have been impossible for her to
misinterpret the meaning of the sentence. After all, Miss
Jackson herself had said that Suzie would be a future
Olympic contender. And Suzie's record-breaking
performances after that gave him no reason to doubt Miss
Jackson's judgment.
Jimmy looked up when his mother hummed the grunt that
meant she'd just realized something.
"I think," she said with a frown as she rubbed her
chin with a thumb, "that we are guilty of letting Suzie's
past emotional immaturity cloud our judgment. And I think
we are also guilty of a tremendous disservice by comparing
her to Wynter all the time, even though we don't do it
consciously. "The fact that she swam punishment laps with
the girl proves that."
While Jimmy wondered how the heck THAT proved Mom was
right, Josh nodded his head and voiced agreement. He
couldn't make sense of that. "Okay," he admitted. "I
don't understand."
"That's because you don't compete in sports," Josh
said.
"Or think like a girl," his mother added as Mrs.
Carter placed a bag of potatoes in Josh's cart.
Jimmy decided that if the answer had to be derived by
thinking like a girl, he'd remain ignorant forever. As far
as he was concerned, the three biggest mysteries in the
universe were what is the solution to the grand unification
theory, how can you get around Einstein's ultimate speed
limit, and how do girls think? And that last one was the
biggest mystery of all.
Mrs. Carter smiled at him and patted his shoulder.
"Think about it. You're smart. It will come to you
eventually."
Josh nodded. "Eventually."
While their mothers picked through the apples,
discussing the merits of Fujis versus Granny Smiths, Josh
asked, "So, are you doing anything after this?"
Jimmy looked at his watch. "I'm supposed to meet
Wynter, Cinnamon, Hailey, and Kenny in forty-five minutes.
We're going up Buffalo Peak to show Hailey and Cinnamon the
view from Panorama Point. Wanna come with us?"
Josh looked uneasy. "I don't want to butt in."
"Who's butting in? You can't get all the way there
on bikes, and an extra pair of hands to help the girls with
that last two hundred foot climb wouldn't hurt. We're
short a pair because of Huntly, and we like having company
anyway."
"Well..." Josh thought about it for a few moments.
"If it's just Cinnamon and not Hailey who needs my help..."
Jimmy shrugged. "Why do you think we invited Kenny?"
~ ~ ~
Cinnamon looked over her shoulder and down. "Maybe
if instead of trying to lift my waist, you pushed my butt?"
"Well, I... I... I mean," Josh stammered as his face
reddened.
"I know," Cinnamon said. "You didn't want to act
like those two." She jerked her head to indicate Hailey
and Kenny on the flat area just above her, inspecting each
other for tonsil problems. From the way they were
standing, it was also possible that Kenny was doing a
pelvic exam, too. "Don't worry. Sis can... No. NO!
Jimmy, YOU explain it to him."
Jimmy smiled. "According to the smartest person I
know, normal rules don't apply in an emergency situation.
While it's not an emergency yet, it could become one if
Cinnamon falls and hurts herself. Therefore, by inference,
the normal rules don't apply in order to avoid the
emergency situation. By pushing on her butt, you aren't
copping a cheap feel the way SOME members of this
expedition would do but are, instead, helping her avoid
pain and suffering."
"Good," said Cinnamon as her smile pushed her cheeks
higher, narrowing her eyes. She raised her head to search
for the best handholds. "Now, push. If you want to play
with my butt, you'll have to do it in a more romantic
atmosphere than this, but then you would anyway."
She didn't have to see his red face. She heard his
reaction in his voice as he spoke to Jimmy and pushed.
"If you can figure that out, then you shouldn't have
too much difficulty solving the Suzie problem," Josh said.
"What Suzie problem?" Wynter asked as Kenny's face
suddenly broke away from Hailey's and looked down.
"Jimmy can't understand why Coach Suzie would swim
punishment laps with Camper Vallarta. I said he needs to
think like a sports competitor. His mom said he needs to
think like a girl." He moved his hands from Cinnamon's
butt to her feet and steadied her heels, helping her as she
moved her feet and giving her the final boost to the ledge.
"Hey, boys SO don't know how to think anyway," Hailey
announced, literally from on high.
"Really?" Josh asked as he scrambled up unassisted.
"Then how did I work it out?"
"Like, your MOM explained it to you?"
"Cuz!" Cinnamon said in warning. "This might not be
the best place to piss off the inferior sex because we
might need help getting down from here."
"That is SO not the prob! Guys, a free blowjob for
everyone who helps me down!"
Josh handled that better than Cinnamon had expected.
Maybe he was merely thinking of Hailey as 'Kenny With
Alternate Plumbing,' the way Jimmy now seemed to cope with
her outbursts. Although, Wynter had said that Jimmy had
postulated a theory that Cuz's outrageous statements were a
version of Tourette's Syndrome. She'd bet a thousand
dollars cash that Wynter was now giving the idea serious
thought.
Josh extended a hand to help Wynter from above as
Jimmy pushed from below.
"See?" Cinnamon said, backhanding Kenny's arm with a
loud crack and then pointing at Josh. "You could have
helped me that way, buster!"
"Nah," said Kenny, rubbing the painful spot with a
hand that had two wet fingers. "I thought Josh would
rather have the opportunity to feel you up."
"Hey! It, like, wouldn't do him much good," Hailey
said. "Cuz's coozie went out of commission this morning."
Cinnamon looked at Josh's stunned red face as he
extended a hand down to Jimmy. "If you want me to yell at
her, I will, but the results are only temporary. I'm sorry
that I forgot the primary rule: don't encourage her or
give either of those two an opening. Of course, sometimes
even that doesn't stop Hailey. It's best to just ignore
her the way you do Kenny."
Wynter nodded. "Even I figured that out, Josh," she
said. Then she smiled. "But I've been known to think like
a girl."
Jimmy put an arm around her and squeezed. "Doesn't
your newest sister think like a girl, too?"
Wynter's ponytail lashed as she shook her head.
"Only when she thinks, and that's not very often."
"Newest sister?" Josh asked.
They explained Hailey's adoption as they climbed the
remaining distance to Panorama Point.
The view was breathtaking, literally as well as
figuratively, because Hailey, still used to sea level, was
having even more trouble with the additional height of
Buffalo Peak. The bare rock promontory gave an excellent
view along the north valley all the way to the interstate
and down the southwest valley to the sharp bend a mile
away. Buffalo Peak itself blocked the view to the
southeast, toward Wynter's former mountain home. To the
northeast they could see not only the lake on this side of
Rainbow Peninsula but almost all of the huge cove on its
far side. And they had to look down to see the tops of the
ski runs at Wizard Basin.
"This calls for a drink, Pilgrim" Jimmy drawled in
his bad imitation of John Wayne. They passed around a
container of lemonade.
The wide promontory had a natural flat rock seat.
While Hailey and Jimmy photographed the scenery and the
climbers, the rest sat down. Wynter pulled a sketch pad
from her backpack and began drawing. Kenny and Josh
pointed to different areas and discussed them. Cinnamon
sat next to Wynter and watched the deft movements of her
sister's pencil.
"I sure wish I had your talent," Cinnamon said with a
wistful sigh.
"Sis! You have your own talent. I couldn't play
drums like you do."
"Maybe," she agreed. "But my efforts die when I put
down the sticks. What you do can last for generations."
Wynter roughed in a faint outline of the lake. "You
can always record your performances."
Cinnamon laughed. "That's like seeing a picture of
your art. It's a representation of what you've done, but
it's not the real thing."
Wynter's head slowly turned, realization dawning in
her eyes. "I never looked at it that way before."
"I know. That's the advantage of being sisters. We
add to each other synergistically. One plus one equals
three."
Wynter resumed sketching. "I hope I can do that for
Hailey, too."
"Uh huh. You know, at first I was worried about your
adopting Hailey. I guess it was an emotional reaction
about OTHERS in your life." She didn't want to say
Wynter's father as well as her boyfriend, but she didn't
have to. Wynter was more than bright enough to understand
her meaning on all its levels.
As if in confirmation, Wynter glanced at her and
nodded.
"But now I realize it's the best thing that could
happen to her. Daddy surprised me when he said he'd
changed his mind and wants to postpone the wedding until
after Hailey goes back to Hawaii. Now that she has a
family here, he won't be so inclined to delay."
"Good!" Wynter flashed her a quick smile. "He needs
somebody besides you to care for him and make him happy,
and the sooner the better."
"It's nice having a sister who's as smart as I am."
She gave Wynter a hug, though she was careful not to jostle
her sister when she had the pencil on the paper.
After a period of quiet discussion and observing
Wynter's talent at work, Cinnamon glanced around and
lowered her voice to a near-whisper. "Do you realize
what's happening over there?"
"Uh huh. That's why I haven't interrupted."
Hailey was listening to the three boys tell her
stories about the different parts of the area. Josh was
pointing to the slope where Huntly's sports participation
had ended with his skiing accident. Cuz was wrapped up in
the tales and hadn't made any of her typical crude
statements or outrageous remarks in at least fifteen minutes.
"I don't think we're making any progress on Jimmy's
prudectomy, but we seem to be civilizing Cuz. Maybe. I
hope. You know, I think that..."
The gentle breeze suddenly turned cooler, not by a
lot, but by enough to be noticeable. When that happened,
Wynter's head had shot around to look at Jimmy. Cinnamon
glanced over her shoulder. All three boys were frozen in
place and looking up, swivelling to look at different parts
of the sky. Then Jimmy's head lowered, and he nodded at
Wynter.
"Time to go," Wynter said as she closed her drawing
tablet and stuck it and her pencil into her backpack and
sealed the flap. "The weather's about to get ugly. It'll
be coming down from back where I used to live."
Cinnamon didn't doubt that, given the way all four of
the locals had reacted, but she didn't know what the clues
were other than the cooling of the air. The breeze wasn't
blowing from the direction of the indicated bad weather.
But her friends, she reasoned as she slipped into the
straps of her backpack, probably couldn't predict Atlantic
coastal weather changes the way she could.
"The weather forecast didn't, like, say anything
about bad weather." Hailey sounded genuinely puzzled.
"HELLO? EARTH TO HAILEY! DUH!" Kenny said in his
weird voice. "Don't you know how weather forecasts work?
You look at all the data available, analyze the
probabilities based on past actions, and then take a wild-
assed guess."
Jimmy agreed as he helped Kenny get her into her
tangled pack harness. "Most times you are right, or are
close enough to being right that people don't notice the
mistakes. You have the advantage of living in the middle
of the Pacific instead of the middle of the Rockies. Your
weather is generally constant, and the changes are much
easier to predict. At ten- to fourteen-thousand feet, with
these big rocks channelling air flows out of their
otherwise normal and predictable patterns, and causing
lateral movement to suddenly go vertical and affect winds
even higher up, the guess becomes even wilder."
Jimmy let Kenny finish the last strap and turned to
Wynter, who was already in her pack and ready to begin the
descent. Cinnamon thanked Josh for helping her and then
nodded thoughtfully to herself. Jimmy didn't just preach
the philosophy about normal rules and emergencies, he
practiced it. He knew that Wynter could take care of
herself and that Hailey would need additional help.
Consequently, he'd ignored Wynter and had immediately begun
helping Kenny with Hailey. Under non-emergency
circumstances he'd have waited until Wynter was ready
before asking if Kenny needed help with Hailey.
"We'll get rained on before we get home," Wynter
said, "so there's no use rushing and causing an accident.
Quickly but not negligently. Okay?"
Though she knew that Wynter was addressing everyone,
Cinnamon had the distinct feeling that the lecture was
primarily aimed at Wynter's sisters, especially the newest
one.
They hadn't reached Turtle Mountain Road, where
they'd left their bikes, before the rain hit. Wynter had
said that early June rains were cold, and this was no
exception. When they dug waterproof windbreakers out of
their backpacks, they discovered that Hailey had forgotten
to pack hers.
"Here," Wynter said, handing hers over. "It will fit
you, and you need it worse than I do. I'm used to this
weather. You aren't."
Jimmy started to remove his for Wynter.
"No!" she said. "You need it worse than I do."
"I don't want you to get sick," Jimmy argued.
"I rarely get a cold. You get them every year. The
exercise will keep me warm, and the bicycle will keep me
even warmer pedalling it."
"There's a lot of coasting downhill."
"I'll be fine. Hurry up and get her back in her pack
so we can get to the bikes."
One of the things Cinnamon admired about Jimmy was
his quickness to realize when he couldn't win and to stop
arguing, especially in an emergency situation.
As they sped down Dunne Drive past Hargus Road, it
was Jimmy who said they should continue on because Wynter
would be warmer pedalling than she would be if they stopped
and called for someone to come get them. Josh left them at
Timmers Trail and headed west. The rest continued north
toward the Brees house.
The wind picked up as they reached Cheyenne Road.
Jimmy had second thoughts and suggested they turn into the
hospital lot and call Wynter's dad.
"No!" Wynter said. "Not unless Hailey can't make it.
It won't make any difference now, and I'll be better off at
Sis's house."
"Sauna," Cinnamon said. "She's right."
"I'll make it," Hailey gasped.
Kenny pointed ahead with his chin. "Let's go."
Cinnamon thought for a moment. "Kenny, you're the
fastest. Go open the garage door so we can park inside out
of the rain and get her upstairs immediately." She gave
him the keypad code, and he raced ahead.
~ ~ ~
Jimmy stripped off Wynter's pack at the north
entrance, dropped his beside it, and hugged her to him
while the garage door rumbled down. Her legs had generated
a lot of heat, but her upper torso and arms were chilled.
"Go!" he said.
Kenny picked up the two packs and followed them up
the stairs to the main floor, where Mrs. Vasquez was
approaching. Jimmy turned Wynter to the next flight and
led her onward.
"Rosita!" Hailey called. "Something hot. Tea,
cocoa, whatever's fastest."
As they made the turn at the landing, Jimmy noticed
how dark it was out the window and through the skylight
above. _So much for the damned fair and mild forecast_.
He was mad at himself for not insuring that everyone had
the proper gear packed for emergencies. Yes, everyone's
gear was each person's own responsibility, but he was the
leader of this expedition. It was his own responsibility
to insure that all the others had lived up to their
responsibilities.
Wynter was shaking at the top of the stairs. He
turned her left, toward Cinnamon's room. "Hailey, turn the
shower on. Hot."
Hailey cut through her bedroom, the fastest route to
the shared bath.
"Cinnamon, go fire up the sauna. Kenny, help me get
her out of these clothes."
Kenny the Putz could be more crude and obnoxious than
Hailey when he wanted to. But Kenny the Future MD was all
professional, especially when one of his friends was in
trouble. Kenny worked with speed and precision. No wasted
movements, no hesitation to ogle, no seconds wasted copping
a feel. It was as if he were performing a martial arts
maneuver.
Who'd have thought that martial arts training would
be an asset to emergency medicine?
~ ~ ~
Cinnamon mixed eucalyptus and two other fragrant oils
in the small pan of water after the small sauna reached an
adequate operating temperature. As she finished, Hailey
escorted the other three through the master bedroom and
into the sitting room. "Jimmy!" she called. "Drop your
clothes on the couch, next to mine."
She placed the pan on the lavatory base and padded
naked through the make-up area and into the sitting room.
"Cuz," she said, "there's barely room for the three of us.
There's not room for you and Kenny, too."
Hailey, clad only in shorts and panties down around
her knees, halted. "You sure?"
"Cuz! You know how big it is. Kenny! Didn't you
hear me?"
He hadn't stopped and was pulling off his shoes and
socks. "She may need medical help in there. I'm the best
you have until your dad gets home."
"But there's not room for four of us," she argued.
"Then our choices are to leave you out, Jimmy out, or
Wynter out. You want to throw out Jimmy, then go ahead and
try." Fat chance of that since he was setting a speed
record for undressing. "And leaving Wynter out kinda
defeats the whole purpose of the exercise."
"You can leave me out," Wynter said. "I'm fine now."
"Unh uh." Kenny shook his head in emphasis. "We
gotta raise your core temperature. The hot shower helped,
but it's not enough, and you're cooling down now despite
Hailey's bathrobe."
"My core temperature is fine."
"I'm your doctor, and I don't know that. So, do you
wanna pull out that plug and lemme check it with my SPECIAL
PURPOSE THERMOMETER?"
Cinnamon really expected Jimmy to detonate. Instead,
she saw him smile and relief wash over his face. She
frowned, and then the truth hit her. Kenny wouldn't have
said that if he thought Wynter was in any danger. His
crude joke was more revealing of her condition than a five-
minute medical summary. Kenny could act civilized in an
emergency, but this was no longer a full-blown emergency,
so he'd reverted to the original Kenny.
_Just like Hailey_, she realized. Although Cuz
hadn't moved, she wasn't being... Hailey. She was being
normal. Cinnamon's unblinking eyes narrowed as she studied
Hailey's. Her cousin was frightened. She was hiding it
rather well, but in truth, she was almost terrified.
Rosita rushed into the suite, carrying a tray of hot
tea and new cups. "I thought you might need refills, and I
assumed you'd left the cups in your room," she said.
Trust her father to pick a smart woman. Oh, Millie
was smart, too, even if she was a total bitch. In her own
way, that is, she was smart. Fortunately, Cinnamon was
smarter still. But this wasn't the time for her to
contemplate old grievances and revenge.
If Rosita was surprised to find Cinnamon naked,
Hailey wearing only her shorts and panties around her
knees, Jimmy stepping out of his underwear, and Kenny
removing his pants and underwear while Wynter stood there
wearing only a bathrobe, she hid it perfectly. But, no.
Rosita was too smart for that.
Instead, Jimmy was the one who surprised Cinnamon.
He'd been terrified of being nude in the presence of his
Future In-Laws the first time and nervous about it for some
time thereafter. He was acting as if he were fully clothed
in front of Rosita. Normal rules and emergency situations,
indeed! Jimmy knew no higher level emergency than a risk
to Wynter's safety and health.
"Wynter!" Kenny barked. "Drink another cup. Fast.
Then get in the sauna. Doctor's orders."
Cinnamon nodded in approval. Kenny had used the two
words that would, more than any others, get her to comply
with what he said. Sis drank.
Jimmy took Wynter's robe at the sauna door and placed
it on the lavatory base, next to the small pot of water He
frowned at Cinnamon while Wynter and Kenny entered.
"I need to come in for a moment," she said, lifting
the small pot. "The steam from this will transmit the heat
better, and it'll help open her airways, too."
He nodded. "Go ahead."
"You have to go first. I'll be leaving."
He gave her his grin-and-nod, the one he usually gave
to Wynter.
She followed him in and closed the door. She watched
the sweep hand on the clock while the outside air mixed
with the inside air and the mix stabilized its temperature.
She threw the water on the hot rocks at precisely the right
moment. Steam exploded, as did sweat from her body, and
her nose and lungs opened to let the warm air in.
She watched the clock a moment longer, then pointed
and said, "If you need anything, push that button for the
intercom. Don't open the door and let the heat out. We
don't want her catching a cold."
"Sis!" Wynter grumbled. "I don't get colds! Well,
most years I don't."
"Hush! Don't make me yell like Suzie!" She gave her
sister a quick kiss, then slipped out of the sauna.
Rosita smiled relief at her nod and turned to Hailey,
pointing at Cuz's shorts and panties. "Couldn't get an
offer from the guys?" she asked.
Cuz frowned, then looked down. She laughed in
surprise and pulled her garments up. She kept laughing
until she threw an arm around each of them and started
crying. She buried her face in Cinnamon's neck. "This is
SO all my fault!"
~ ~ ~
Wynter had been out on the lake once or twice in
small fishing boats, but she'd never been in anything like
Doctor Brees' boat, the 'Summer Breeze.' Cinnamon was at
the wheel, with her father in the seat beside hers as she
piloted the boat back to its... well, Wynter didn't know
what the word was. Anchorage? Mooring? Slip? She
guessed it was berth, since it was called Berth 12. She
wondered if the words 'berth' and 'birth' were related in
some way. She'd have to look that up.
Huntly stood in the opens space beside Doctor Brees,
talking quietly to him and apparently asking questions.
Jimmy squeezed her hand. When she looked, he
indicated Hailey with his head. She was in her element
now, and she was still explaining the boat and its features
to Mrs. Vasquez and the Taylors. Charlie looked to be
hanging on her every word. Doctor Taylor looked to be
deliberately ignoring the bikini Sis Two was almost
wearing, though he did take notice whenever Mrs. Taylor's
eyes were elsewhere.
"Maybe we should get us one of these," Daddy was
saying to Mother as he caressed the gunwale with the palm
of his hand.
"No problem," Mother replied. "We can use Wynter's
medical school fund and two more mortgages on the house."
"Go ahead and use the school fund," Jimmy said. "Any
school worth going to will pay her to attend."
Wynter's heart swelled in her chest. She pushed
sideways against him in a hug.
"See?" Daddy said. "My son says it's okay."
"The females still have you outnumbered," Mother said
in reminder.
"Yeah," he drawled with a shrug. "But it looks like
I'll have Hailey's vote and I'd guess Cinnamon's too."
"Asshole."
Wynter giggled.
Cinnamon backed the 'Summer Breeze' into the berth
and docked it with the gentlest of thumps. Sis Two and
Doctor Brees jumped out and tied the boat in place. Sis
One killed the engine.
When Daddy rose and offered a hand to Mother, Jimmy
rose and offered his to Wynter. "Maybe after you graduate
from Medical School, we should get us one of these, too."
Wynter squeezed his hand and opened her mouth to
reply. And then it happened.
She sneezed.
Fifteen
Jimmy looked down at the surgical mask and then up at
Mrs. King's face. "You're kidding?"
"Nope." She shook her head and added, "Neither is
the patient."
Jimmy sighed and took the mask. He had a thought and
frowned. "Is it like this every time she gets sick?"
Mrs. King smiled. "Oh, it gets worse. Would you do
me a favor and please take this orange juice up as you go?
I don't have the time for...," she waved her hand about,
looking for the right word. Finally she said, "Everything."
Jimmy wondered what THAT meant, but he said, "Sure,"
and reached for the glass.
"You might find it easier to put the mask on first."
Mrs. King adjusted the mask after he took the glass
of juice, saying, "You'll thank me later."
He was still puzzling that when he reached the top of
the stairs and turned left. And stopped.
Just before the hall bathroom were a small table, a
trash can, and a line of yellow plastic tape on the floor.
Three boxes of disposable rubber gloves marked "Choose your
size and use them!" and a quarantine sign sat on the table.
"How the heck does Mister King use his office?" he
muttered.
The drumming of Dragon's tail on the wall to his
right also echoed from around the corner. It was
accompanied by, "You'd better not even THINK of trying to
come in here without the gloves!"
Jimmy sighed and chose a pair. As he slid them on he
muttered, "Nobody told me married life with her would be
like this."
"I heard that!"
He was startled for a moment, then realized that she
knew he'd say something. She'd just waited long enough and
then had pretended she'd heard him. He told himself that
story four more times and still wasn't convinced. He
dropped the paper wrapping for the gloves in the trash can
and pulled Dragon's treat out of his pants pocket.
He clapped his right fist, the one holding the dog
biscuit, Roman style to his left shoulder and whispered,
"_Ave Caesaria! Morituri te salutamus_." He definitely
hoped that she hadn't heard that one. He picked up the
juice glass and tried to avoid looking fearful as he
crossed the yellow line.
He turned the corner and looked in Wynter's door.
She was sitting up against her pillows on the right side of
her bed, apparently to make it easier to use the phone and
intercom, and had the sheet pulled up to her lap. She was
also wearing a surgical mask, as well as her white flannel
nightgown with the tiny columbines dotting it. Her hair
was down and reminded him of the girl's in 'The Exorcist'
when she was possessed by the demon, no doubt an impression
emphasized by her red eyes.
A window fan running at low speed was set to suck air
from the house through her room and exhaust it, providing
negative pressure to keep her germs from escaping the room
into the rest of the house. A box of disposable tissues sat
on the night stand next to the phone, another sat in the
middle of the bed, and another in the bookcase of her
headboard. Two books, obviously medical texts, were in the
bed with her, along with two of her notebooks, one open and
lying face-down.
She pointed at him with her pen and said, "Stop right
there! Turn your head so I can see the mask's fit. Now
the other side. Now look down so I can see how it's sealed
around your nose. Now look up. Okay, you can come in, but
don't get too close. You can give Dragon his treat, but
don't pet him. He's probably covered in my germs by now."
"What if I put him in the autoclave first?"
If the rest of her face looked like her eyes, he was
glad that she was wearing the mask. "Okay, bad joke. Your
mom sent up more juice."
"I see it," she snapped. "I'm sick, not blind."
"Ooookay. I forgot. Um, what do you want me to do
with it?"
The pen flicked to point across her body. "Put it on
the nightstand. Don't touch anything. When you go, you
can use a tissue to take the other one down to the kitchen
after you wash it in the bathroom with the antibacterial
soap."
"Ummm...."
"What?"
He shrugged. "Wynter, it's viral, not bacterial."
"So? The soap will kill the viruses, too."
"Yeah, but..."
"DON'T SIT ON THE BED!"
He jerked in surprise. Despite the weird situation,
he'd gone on autopilot and had acted out of habit. He
stood between the bed and the bookcase and clasped his
hands together behind his back to keep from accidentally
reaching for anything. "Sorry. Soap and water will do the
job. Antibacterial soap isn't a good idea because of the
naturally occurring streptococcus and staphylococcus. Most
of them will die, too, and from the soap and water. Those
that survive the soap and the antibacterial ingredient will
reproduce and pass on that trait. You know that. That's
how the penicillin-resistant bacteria evolved."
For a moment she looked surprised. Then her brows
drew together. "Better safe than sorry!"
_Ooookay. When she's sick, give her hints or
questions and let her figure things out for her to lecture
me. DON'T tell her myself!_ "Yeah. So, how are you
feeling?"
"I have a temperature of one hundred point five
degrees, I feel like I'm breathing fire out my nose when
boiling lava isn't coming out, my throat's scratchy, and
what are you laughing at?"
Jimmy arched his eyebrows and looked for an escape
exit. He hadn't realized he'd been chuckling. "It's just
that it's the first time you've ever described your
condition to me as physical impressions instead of as a
medical presentation. I guess it reminded me of how much I
love you, and that made me happy."
Her skeptical look of suspicion was more unnerving
than having Cinnamon analyze you like a bug under a
microscope. "Maybe."
He shrugged. "The truth is what it is, whether you
choose to believe it or not. I came over to give you a
special prescription to make you feel better, like the one
you gave me when I was hurt." When Will and Dick had
caused Jimmy to land or the bar of his bicycle and crush
his nuts, Wynter had given him a special prescription of
kisses to make him feel better."
"Jimmy! We can't kiss! You'd catch what I have."
He shook his head. "You caught it because your
resistances were down. Mine aren't, or I'd have caught it
by now, too. You were infectious yesterday before we went
on the boat ride and Friday afternoon when we celebrated
the end of your period."
She hesitated for only a moment. "Yeah, but now it's
super-concentrated, making it that much easier for you to
get an infectious dose count of germs. You'll just have to
wait for your fun."
That hurt. "Wynter, all I wanted to do was make you
feel better. Well, yeah, I'd enjoy it, too, but... Are you
saying when I was hurt you were kissing me just for your
own enjoyment?"
"Of course not! What kind of a doctor do you think
I'm going to be, anyway?"
His reply was preempted by Mrs. King calling his name
as she climbed the stairs. "Excuse me," he said.
"Don't you touch her until you've disinfected!"
"Of course not. What kind of a son-in-law do you
think I'm going to be, anyway?" He didn't wait for a reply.
Mrs. King reached the yellow line before he did. She
stopped, then offered the floral spray to him. "Would you
be a dear SON and carry these in for me?"
She'd heard what he'd said and was reminding him of
what she'd said one night in the hot tub: that she thought
of him as a Future Son, not as a Future Son-in-Law.
"Flattery? Or fear of...?" He indicated the other side of
the wall with a nod.
She gave him a sly smile and whispered, "A message.
Think about it."
He guessed he needed to think like a girl for that
one, too. He smiled at her anyway, thinking that was non-
committal enough, and retreated back to the asylum.
_Asylum?_ Well, technically an asylum was where they
treated any illness, respiratory as well as mental.
"Floral City has delivered," he announced. "Columbines and
white roses and baby's breath. Where do you want them?"
"On the desk, I guess. Those are from Sis?"
"I guess. Or maybe Doctor Taylor. I haven't looked
at the card, since it's addressed to you."
"Remove it."
He did, unfastening the card and holding it out to her.
"You read it to me. My eyes hurt." She slid down to
a reclining position and put her forearm across her eyes.
That was new. It wasn't that easy through rubber
gloves, but he pulled the small, folded card out of the
envelope and flipped it open. "_Doctor Cutie_," he read
aloud, "_I wish I had some good way to pay you back for all
you've done for me. Since I'm not a composer like Jimbo, I
hope you can find some enjoyment in the flowers. I wish I
could do more to make you feel better. All my love,
Huntly_. Well, that was nice."
"Huh," she grumped and slapped the pen against her
stomach. "If he really wanted to make me feel better, he'd
take the rest of this horrid cold for me." She dropped the
pen and adjusted the sheet without removing her arm from
her eyes. "Don't forget to sterilize the glass before you
take it across the line."
He guessed that meant he'd been dismissed.
She didn't move until she heard the sound from the
rubber glove. Before she could move her arm away from her
eyes he pulled her mask down and pressed his lips to her.
As the arm across her eyes jerked away, the hand of
the other hit him in the chest to push him away. He'd
thought about using his tongue, but a small-yet-rational
fear kept him from doing so. He straightened as she
spluttered, then shouted, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?
YOU'LL CATCH THIS RHINOVIRUS!"
Jimmy pulled back from her furious face and gave her
a warm smile fueled by his love for her. "I'm trying to
take the rest of that horrid cold for you so you can be
happy again. It's a small sacrifice that will benefit so
many people, including the love of my life and me, too."
He wadded the mask and rubber gloves in one hand,
then knelt and held his arms open to Dragon, who had come
to investigate the anger in his mistress's voice. He
sniffed her a couple of times, then licked Jimmy's face as
Jimmy hugged him.
"Thanks, Dragon," Jimmy said before he rose to his
feet. "That's the best kiss I've had all afternoon. I'll
bet that's your best hug, too." He lifted the empty glass
from the night stand and drank the remaining few drops.
"JIMMY!" Wynter shrieked.
"I love you." He put the glass in the hand with the
mask and gloves so that he could scratch Dragon's ears and
left without another word.
~ ~ ~
Angie looked up from the cake she was icing and
smiled at Jimmy. "Other than your eardrums, you appear to
have survived."
Jimmy nodded. "Is she always like this when she
catches something?"
She laughed at the incredulous sound in his voice.
"Sometimes it's worse."
"Much worse," said Richard as he ascended the steps
from the family room. "Kevin once told me that the one
advantage of all my accidents is that I made a good
patient. He said that people who never get sick are the
worst patients because it's a new experience as well as an
unpleasant one, and they don't like it. They expect to be
well in ten minutes and get mad when that doesn't happen."
"At least you understood my message and took my
advice."
She saw the surprise in his face. "Uh, yeah. I
mean, yes, ma'am."
_Okay, so he didn't_. "She expects the tough love
treatment from us, but getting it from you will be a
surprise and might make her think. Perhaps she'll realize
that what was good for Richard will also be good for her."
Understanding flashed in Jimmy's eyes as Richard
said, "It worked for me. I don't ever want to get her that
mad at me again."
Jimmy rinsed the glass in hot water and put it in the
dishwasher. "Well, I didn't exactly get mad at her. She
sorta got mad at me instead."
"Doesn't matter," Richard said.
Angie agreed with him. "The details don't matter.
What does matter is that you did what you thought was
necessary to get your point across, just as she did. If
you get results like she did, then that's what counts."
Angie knew that Jimmy hadn't deliberately thought out
that course of action and followed it. However, he had
acted on instinct and had come up with the right solution
anyway. Intuitive response rather than rationally-derived
response carried greater weight with her. She took her
impression of Jimmy off her top shelf and added a higher
one, then put it on the new one. Her son, indeed.
Richard clapped Jimmy on the shoulder. "I suppose
you don't have any plans for the next couple of hours.
Want to play some catch?"
"Sure. Maybe I can improve my throw."
A minute later Dragon trotted down the stairs, turned
to the family room steps, and then raced outside.
Angie grinned and tossed the spatula in the sink. "I
know how you feel," she said as she scooped out the
remaining frosting from the bowl with her finger and sucked
it clean.
~ ~ ~
"Yes, I know," said Cinnamon as she handed a glass of
lemonade to Jimmy across the patio table. "Doctor Taylor
warned Daddy. I told him not to call Wynter with the bad
news, too, but he did anyway."
His hand froze and he frowned at her. "What bad news?"
"She didn't tell you?"
Hailey looked equally surprised. "Hey, it was SO the
major big! Wynter was like, 'OH NO!' and you could hear
her even though Uncle Mitch had the phone to his ear."
"What bad news?" Jimmy repeated, though more slowly
this time.
"It's all my fault for not listening to Cinnamon."
Her father closed the lid of the large barbecue grill and
said, "Mickey Findley went into labor this morning. Wynter
was supposed to assist when Peter Allen Junior was born,
but since she was contagious..."
"Oh." His voice said that he'd just heard the answer
to several questions.
"Well," Hailey drawled in that certain breathy, husky
tone that told Cinnamon all her cousin's plans in detail,
"I'm SO thrilled that you could change your plans and join
us for dinner."
_Best to stop this before it gets started_, she
decided. "Put your tits back in your blouse, Cuz."
Hailey frowned and looked down. "I don't have them
out. See? They're, like, still in my blouse." She leaned
forward and pulled the wide neckline open. "See?"
"No, but you'll have them out in two minutes."
Fortunately Jimmy was gaping at her father, unable to
believe Hailey had done that in front of him, which gave
her an opportunity to glare at Cuz and indicate the two
males with a jerk of her head. "And you're out of line!"
Sudden understanding appeared in the gray-green pools
under Cuz's just-trimmed eyebrows. She was giving Jimmy
faint clues that might lead him to suspect her father's
relationship with Cuz, if not with both of them.
"Honey, behave," her father said. "If Jimmy wants to
look at your mosquito bites, you can take him up to the
sauna later, but I think he had enough of that on Thursday
to last him a while."
Cinnamon knew the truth of that. Instead of sitting,
Jimmy had stood, with his head in the hotter air higher in
the small chamber, letting Kenny have the other half of the
seat so that he could provide medical supervision until
either Cinnamon's father arrived or Kenny was satisfied
that Wynter's core temperature was high enough. When the
session ended, Jimmy was suffering from heat exhaustion
that had worried both Kenny and her father. But other than
a weakened condition, Jimmy had shown no ill effects.
"Come on," Cinnamon said, rising to her feet. "They
stocked the new fish pond this afternoon. You can tell Sis
what she's missing."
She and Hailey hooked hands around Jimmy's elbows
and, with the help of Ghost, escorted him to the right side
of the gazebo at a run. Cinnamon noticed that he seemed to
lean toward her--or rather, away from Hailey.
The sidewalk from the patio to the gazebo curved
moderately to the left. Beyond the gazebo it curved more
gently to the right until it stopped at the trees bordering
the left fence about halfway from the gazebo to what Huntly
had called the "mini-forest" at the back. To the right
side of the gazebo, roughly straight out from the patio,
was a five-foot high natural rock wall. A small waterfall
cascaded down it into a long pond about five feet deep and
the length of the gazebo, or eighteen feet. Near the mid-
point an arm gently curved about fifteen feet to the south,
ending at a small circular pool. The walls were natural
rock and had ledges holding potted water plants.
The circular pool was not visible from the patio
because a branch from the sidewalk led to a rock garden in
front of the pool. Rose vines and other plants grew on the
stack of huge rocks. At the far end of the main sidewalk
was a similar rock garden with a bubbling fountain alongside.
Plain and fancy goldfish up to three inches long,
with colors ranging from solid gold to almost solid white
with small gold patches, swam about in the pond. Some
skimmed possibly edible bits from the surface. Others
searched through the plants at the bottom and on ledges.
Hailey explained how the depth of the pond and the
circulation pump would keep it from completely freezing and
would allow the fish to survive the winter months.
Cinnamon let Cuz talk, fascinated by how she'd
suddenly become "normal" while in her element. Jimmy
relaxed and allowed his natural curiosity to take over.
Cuz answered most of Jimmy's questions about the pond,
referring them to Cinnamon only when she didn't know the
answers. Cinnamon was duly impressed, both with Hailey's
actions and the way she caused Jimmy to relax around her.
When his curiosity had been satisfied, the cousins
escorted him to the lawn swing midway along the gently
curving flagstone walk from the gazebo to the north side
gate by the house. They sat to either side of him. He
still showed none of his usual unease with Hailey.
Cinnamon invited Ghost to sit in the swing, but he spotted
a squirrel and streaked off like a rocket.
"Well," Hailey said gesturing over her shoulder,
"you've seen it. So, like, what do you think?"
Jimmy opened his mouth to answer. Instead of
speaking, he sneezed.
Sixteen
Wynter said she felt much better and was no longer
infectious, thanked Mrs. McCauley for her concern, and cut
through the McCauley family room to the patio door. Jimmy
was out in the sun, sitting in his lawn chair next to a
folding table, wearing shorts, and fully absorbed in a
book. Well, the warm sun would be good for him this
afternoon since no breeze was blowing to chill his
shirtless torso. And Mrs. McCauley had said that he was
already over most of his cold. He should be non-
infectious, too.
She watched Jimmy's right hand blindly search for his
glass of lemonade, then attempt to set it back on the table
after he'd had a sip. She wondered if he'd even realized
that he'd had a drink of it.
She slid the screen door open and slipped out,
closing it behind her. Jimmy didn't move. She'd
occasionally seen him so fully absorbed in something that
he lost awareness of his surroundings, sort of like he'd
gone someplace else. But she couldn't help wondering if he
knew she was there and was ignoring her because of the
horribly yucky way she'd treated him. The thought made her
heart feel heavy in her chest.
The rubber soles of her white tennis shoes made no
sound on the redwood boards as she moved across the patio
deck and down the steps, then crossed the lawn to a spot in
front of him. She watched his eyes flick back-and-forth
across the page. Then his hand turned the page and blindly
searched for the glass again.
A thought suddenly formed. _Does he not see me, or
is he really and truly mad at me and ignoring me? He...
Wait a minute_.
Her eyebrows drew together and her head tilted
slightly to one side as she squinted at the book's cover.
_Huh! I guess he's mad and ignoring me._ She took a deep
breath. "I thought you didn't like 'Star Wars' books," she
said in a soft voice.
Jimmy jumped, almost knocking over his glass, and his
head shot up to stare at her with wide eyes. "I didn't
hear you sneaking up on me!" he gasped. But his eyes said
he loved her with all his heart, and he rose to give her a
kiss. "I sure am glad you're well now," he said.
The look in his eyes made her heart feel too big for
her chest. She wondered if some day her patients would
feel this wonderful when she told them the tests were
negative for cancer.
Jimmy moved a chair from the other side of the table
to a spot beside his so they could hold hands. He waited
until she was comfortable before he took his seat. "No, I
don't like the books, just the movies," he said as a
puzzled look crossed his face. "Why did you say... oh!"
He handed the book to her. "That's not Darth Vader on the
cover, that's Soulcatcher."
Wynter's brows pulled together. She pursed her lips
and pushed them to one side as she studied the black-clad
figure wearing a grotesque black mask. He rested a dagger
on a table top, its point within a glowing outline of a
star within a pentagon. A white rose looked really out of
place on the table in front of the outline, like a tiny
spot of purity in a universe of evil. "Soulcatcher? I
thought something looked wrong from back there. 'The Black
Company by Glen Cook.' Huh!"
"Yeah. Huntly loaned it to me. It's the first in
the series, and it's really good! I've ordered all the
books. I hope they get here tomorrow, 'cause I'll have
this one finished then, and Huntly's not through with the
second one."
Wynter grinned at the excitement in his voice. "Is
he like Darth Vader?"
Jimmy shrugged. "I'm not really sure he's a he, but
the Ten Who Were Taken wear masks and all are called he,'
though three of the originals are supposed to be female.
They were powerful wizards taken by the evil Dominator and
the Lady in ancient times. They were all buried alive by
the White Rose. Now the Lady is loose in the world again
and has freed the Taken to help her build a new empire
without her husband."
Wynter returned the book with a sly grin. "Yeah,"
she said. "That's the way it is. The men get to lie
around while the women do the hard work, like conquering
the world. I guess he'll take all the credit when he wakes
up, though."
Jimmy returned his own sly grin. "She doesn't want
him freed. She wants to rule the world herself. You know
the type."
Wynter giggled. "She's like Sis, huh?"
"Personally, I'd rather have the Lady mad at me.
She'd just zap you on the spot. Cinnamon would let you
suffer while she came up with a complicated plan and then
make you wish she'd just zapped you."
She sure couldn't argue with that diagnosis,
especially after her talk with Hailey.
"Didn't Mom offer you any lemonade?" He sounded so
concerned that she knew once again that she'd been right to
fall in love with him. And that she'd been wrong to treat
him the way she did.
"Oh, she did, but I'm not thirsty right now. I...
um... I didn't come over to drink lemonade anyway. I...
um... I came over to apologize because I was wrong. You
sure didn't deserve how I treated you," she said, hoping
she sounded as contrite as she felt.
He gave her his special grin and nod. As usual, she
knew its exact meaning, which he repeated in words.
"That's okay. I understand."
She sighed, her heart feeling heavy in her chest. At
first she had to fight the urge to look anywhere but his
blue eyes, but then she saw the sparkle in them and didn't
want to look at anything else for the rest of her whole
life. "I really and truly am sorry I got mad at you.
Honestly."
His left hand reached for her right and gave it a
squeeze. "Actually, I'm sorta glad you did."
"HUH?" Her mouth didn't want to close, but she made
it.
He shrugged. "Sometimes you're too perfect. It's
scary, really. But now I know you're a real people who
looks like an angel instead of an angel who's too good for
someone like me. But, um, just don't think that you need
to remind me of that very often, okay?"
She nodded and grinned softly. "Okay."
His head tilted to one side. "I still wonder why
someone as wonderful as you would want me when there are
better fish in the creek."
She squeezed his hand. "Not for me, there aren't,"
she said. "Are, um, our keyboards up in your room or down
in the practice room?"
"Practice room. Huntly and Dad and I worked on a
couple of rough spots and our solos in 'Caravan' last
night. My Future Sister-in-Law wants us to play it for our
encore when they open the band shell in Otter Park."
"Encore?"
"She thinks we'll be asked for an encore. If they
say no encores, then we'll do it as the third number
instead."
She smiled and lowered her head, looking at him from
under her brows. "The practice room is mostly
soundproofed. If we closed the door, your mom wouldn't
hear us."
"Really?" He flashed her his smarty pants grin.
"You want to practice some music?"
She stared pointedly at his shorts and then got lost
in his blue eyes again. "It's been too long since I played
the skin flute," she said.
She gasped as she realized the words she'd just used
and wondered if she'd been spending too much time around
Kenny and Hailey.
~ ~ ~
Suzie gave Kendra Knowlton a high-five, wiped her
hand on her shorts, and wrote the time on Kendra's form on
her clipboard. "See? I told you that would make you
faster, didn't I?"
Kendra giggled, said, "Yeah! Thanks, Coach!" and
scampered off. Suzie wondered if Kendra would break her
state records for the eleven-twelve age group in five
years. She signed the form and thought about Josh. She
was going to use Jennifer's computer to e-mail him after
lunch, and maybe she'd be able to call him that night. She
took one step forward, and then...
"Coach?" asked a hesitant voice that Suzie knew all
too well.
_Fuck!_ She turned around. "Yes, Miss Vallarta?"
Amber's face was one of confusion. She was twisting
the fingers of one hand around the fingers of the other
down where none of her stupid cunny hairs were peeking out
of her suit this time. Suzie guessed Amber only let them
out when she was trying to charm the stupid men judges and
that stupid woman guest judge from Albuquerque.
Amber's voice was hesitant. "I don't understand
something."
_Well, remind me to look surprised next Tuesday. The
little witch doesn't understand _anything_ except how to
cheat!_ She kept her voice normal, though she wanted to
goat, even though she didn't understand what those stupid
animals had to do with how she felt. "What's that?"
"I'm swimming one point five seconds faster in the
hundred," she said. "Average, with a best of two point
four."
Suzie gripped the bill of her coach's cap and lifted
the cap higher on her head. "You don't understand how
getting more of your body out of the water reduces drag?"
"No!" she barked, her face twisting into a snarl.
"I'm not stupid, you know!"
Suzie raised one eyebrow the way Miss Jackson did
when one of the swim team was getting too big for her
britches. Amber's angry look vanished, and she suddenly
looked tripe. Or whatever that stupid word was.
"No, I just... I don't understand why you helped me
swim faster."
"I thought you came to swim camp to get better.
Well, that's what coaches do: they help you get better."
"But..."
The stupid little witch really was too stupid to
understand. Maybe she had male chrono zones or something.
"Look, Amber, they made me a coach because that's what I
do. I act like a coach. I help the other girls on the
team do better, and I help the boys, too."
Now she really looked confused. "But what if they
beat you?"
"It's the school team. It's important that the
school wins, not that I win. Besides, if the school wins,
then I win, too. There's no I' in team."
Amber frowned. "That's what everybody says, and I
don't know what the hell it means!"
Suzie nodded. It had taken her a while to learn the
hard way. "It means they aren't going to take you as a
coach, too, until you realize that you have to help others.
It's a school swim TEAM, not Amber Vallarta's Solo Swimming
Show. Because I help others, Miss Jackson wanted me here
to be her assistant. If you helped others, Mrs. Dale would
probably be ever so grateful and want you to assist her
next year. Maybe we could both be coaches."
The little witch looked even more confused, like she
was trying to do algebra or something. "But, I'm not on
your team! You helped MY team, not YOURS by helping me
swim better!"
Suzie placed the bottom of the clipboard on her left
hip and pointed it out to the side, holding it at the top
with the inside of her elbow. She laughed. "What makes
you think I didn't help my team, too? The only reason I
beat you in the butterfly at State was..."
_Fuck!_ She didn't WANT to think about the stupid
dolt. "Well, I had a personal reason to beat you. I
wasn't as good as you, not really. But I'm a whole lot
better now because I've watched you up close and know what
my mistakes are. Miss Jackson didn't teach me, you did."
"ME?"
"Uh huh." Suzie had to try ever so hard not to laugh
at Amber's stupid expression. "And by helping you swim
better, I learn what to look for in how I'm swimming and
how I can make myself better."
Suzie watched while the lights came on inside the
dark, empty cave of Amber's head.
"I never thought of that. I thought you were just
trying to get an advantage over me."
This time Suzie did laugh. "Unh uh. I WANT you to
swim better. You HAVE to swim better."
"Why?"
"So you can be in the Olympics, and I can beat your
butt there too, of course. See you later."
She flipped the clipboard down to carry it in her
left hand and turned around to leave. She saw Jennifer
standing ten feet away, smiling at her. Jennifer waited
until Suzie was stopped in front of her to say in a quiet
voice, "You may start out working for me some day, but it
won't be long after that before I'll be working for you."
"I don't care if she gets all the silver and bronze
medals," Suzie said. "I won't need them to go with my gold
ones. But I think we can be sure that our girls win those,
not Amber."
Suzie was ever so happy that the rule books didn't
say that coaches couldn't hug each other.
~ ~ ~
Huntly highlighted the next file, then paused for a
sip of his Coke. He rotated his head to relieve the strain
in his neck and punched the play button. The opening drum
sequence caught his attention. "Cinnamon will like that,"
he muttered around a yawn. They'd spent enough time
listening to and discussing music that he knew with ninety-
five percent certainly what she'd like and what she wouldn't.
It quickly became apparent that the sequence repeated
throughout most, if not all, of the tune. She'd like it
anyway because it made for a "showy" performance, as he
called it. He was concentrating on seeing her playing it
when the synth kicked in the organ music. Very simple and
very repetitive. And very boring. Maybe okay for Jimbo,
but not what he was looking for. He almost stopped and
moved to the next file, but paused just before he clicked.
The title was 'The Enchanted Harp,' and he'd heard nothing
harp-like. He'd give it a few more seconds while he chewed
a bite of cookie and then washed it down with more Coke.
He was reaching for the can when the organ cut off.
"Holy shit!" he whispered as the harp began over the
continuing drum and bass pattern. He stopped the piece,
slipped on headphones, and shut down the speakers. He
kicked up the volume, hit the play button again, and
listened, fidgeting through the organ music until the harp
kicked in. He'd been looking for something that Doctor
Cutie could play with the fist-finger hammer she'd used on
the 'throat condition' song. He'd just stumbled onto a
Super Bowl winner. The repetitive, boring organ theme made
the harp sections that varied each time all the more
interesting. Sure, she'd need both hands, and some of the
notes came awfully close together, but Wynter was as smart
as she was beautiful. She'd think of some way to play it
that would be as entertaining to the eye as she was.
There was no guitar part, but that was okay. He
could happily sit back and watch Wynter play. He glanced
at the framed photograph Mrs. McCauley had taken of Junior
and the Twins with a guest musician sitting behind her
keyboards. His mind drifted back to another part of the
performance at the Brees's house, when he and Wynter had
played 'No Borders' together and the rest of the world had
vanished.
"This one's definitely for you," he said as he made a
note. "Now I'll find another one for us."
Huntly kissed his fingertip and gently pressed it to
the image of Wynter's face.
~ ~ ~
On a bad night, the main station of the Amarillo
Police Department was a noisy place. This night was worse
than most. Sergeant Carmine DeSalvo had lost track of the
number of times over the past twenty-six years that he'd
said he'd never attend another promotion party when he'd
have to work the next night. He said it again as he placed
his elbows on the arms of the chair and tried to hold his
head together.
"Carmine! Did you hear what I said?" Sergeant Dave
Watson asked as he gathered his things.
"Yeah," DeSalvo grunted, though with little volume.
"I got it. G'night."
"I hope so," Watson said. "Got a hot date with
Arakawa. I'm taking her to The Spur for some drinks and
dancing. Bet you wish you could go drinking and dancing to
loud music tonight, huh?"
DeSalvo groaned in pain. "Get out, you fuckin'
sadist. You're relieved."
Watson chuckled and left.
DeSalvo growled, "Thompson!"
From somewhere to his rear he heard, "Yeah, Sarge?"
"Coffee. Black."
"Sarge! I'm not your..."
"You want to see how many shit jobs I can find for
you tonight?"
"Large one?"
"Uh."
After three cups and a handful of ibuprofen, DeSalvo
straightened in his chair, opened his eyes, and started
shuffling through the papers on the desk. Butch Thompson
continued handling bookings and other routine actions.
Twenty minutes later, his head propped in his left
hand, he tried to focus on a stack of papers Watson had
left clipped together on the edge of the desk. He moved
them to the desk pad, finished the last of his coffee, and
sent Thompson for more. He lifted the papers by the top
sheet as he leaned back. The clip popped off and papers
scattered. Moaning with his hangover he gathered sheets
together, attempting to sort the unnumbered pages into some
semblance of order. When he was finished he waited for the
room to stop spinning and then tried to focus on the blurry
words.
"Damn it." He grabbed the phone and punched a
number. After suffering through Immel's alleged humor he
asked, "Has Juan Rodrigo De Ramirez y Sanchez been released
yet? No? Shit. That asshole Watson left it for me to do,
as I expected. Huh? No, the charges were dropped. Fuckin'
public defender'll be all over us again if we don't get him
out of here immediately. I'll send Thompson down with a
release order, soon's he can type it up for my signature."
He hung up and then cursed Thompson for being slow
bringing that fourth cup to him.
~ ~ ~
Suzie sighed and twisted the hem of her nightie
around a finger. She and Jennifer had discussed her
relationship with the stupid dolt in bits and pieces, so
that Jennifer knew most of what had happened. She guessed
that by now Jennifer knew everything except the names of
Tiffany Jones and Judy Chase. She tried to organize her
thoughts to answer Jennifer's question when Nancy stuck her
head in the door and asked if she was interrupting or
something.
"Just girl talk," Jennifer said. "What's up?"
"I just had a shock and thought I'd share it with
you," Nancy said, pulling a chair away from the table and
having a seat. "Amber just asked if she could help me with
the team next season so that she might get to be a coach
next year."
"Wow!" Suzie said in surprise. "That would be ever
so great!"
Nancy's look was at best spectacle or scalp-tickle,
or whatever that stupid word was. "I'm not going to hold
my breath. She's enamored of the idea of being a coach,
but I don't see her changing her ways. Maybe it's just
another way of competing with Suzie in her mind. But I
don't see that tigress changing her spots."
Suzie frowned. "I thought tigers had stripes."
Nancy laughed. Her laugh was ever so nice when she
got a chance to use it, which wasn't often thanks to her
stupid star pupil. "They do. I wasn't thinking about what
I said and got it all mixed up."
Before Suzie could ask if Nancy had dyslexia too,
Jennifer asked, "Suzie, would you mind if I told Nancy
something personal about you back when you started?"
Well, that was a surprise. "Of course not. We're
friends while we're here, aren't we?"
Jennifer gave her a smile that made her feel warm and
happy all over. "I hope we're friends everywhere now, but
when we're in school or practice or at meets, I'm Coach
Jackson and you're my student."
"Well, sure," Suzie said, thrilled with the first
part of what Jennifer had said. But that last part was
like saying the sun rises in the east or water is wet or
men are dolts. "You have to be the coach if I'm gonna do
better."
Jennifer looked at Nancy but pointed a finger at
Suzie. "She just made my point for me. Suzie started
out... well, difficult." She mentioned a couple of things
Suzie had done when she'd first started swimming with the
team.
Suzie was sorry she'd done them now, which is why she
didn't object to Jennifer's mentioning them. Of course,
Jennifer had asked first and she'd said it was okay for her
to say something personal. But Nancy could learn them from
anyone on the team if she asked, especially from Megan
McNeal, who Suzie had really pissed off for most of that
first year.
"But look at Suzie now. She's a natural coach and my
unofficial assistant with the team. She's done more for
some of the girls and a couple of the boys than Barry
Wallace and I have been able to do. If this tigress can
change her spots, then maybe Amber will, too." The hand
that had been pointing dropped to cover Suzie's hand with a
warm and affectionate squeeze.
"Maybe," Nancy agreed. "But I won't bet on that."
She rose and said, "I'll let you get back to girl talk. I
just had to tell someone, and I knew you'd appreciate it
the most. I'm off to bed."
After they'd wished Nancy a good night and she'd
left, Suzie lowered her head and again twisted her nightie
hem around a finger. "I dunno," she said, answering
Jennifer's earlier question. "I guess I'm happy without
him. I'm sorta seeing Josh now, and he's really nice."
Jennifer nodded. "Yes, he is. Josh is more like
Jimmy than Kenny. Somewhere between Jimmy and David
Corman, I guess."
"Yeah," Suzie said, lifting her eyes to look at
Jennifer without raising her head. "Several of the girls
think so."
"Since we're friends, I'll tell you a secret. You
know David's cousin John?"
Suzie's eyes got big. Jennifer was going to share a
secret? "Uh huh. His family lived down the street from
you. He was real nice and kinda cute, too. I really liked
him. I hated to see him go to college cause my dad said
he'd end up in Denver or Los Angeles or someplace big."
"Well," Jennifer said, lowering her voice to a little
above a whisper, "I thought he was more than just kinda
cute. He was AWESOME cute! And thanks to him, I haven't
been a virgin since we were in the ninth grade."
Suzie covered her mouth and giggled. "No way! John?"
Jennifer nodded. "Uh huh. We dated off and on
through high school, then I went to CU and he went to
Stanford." She gave Suzie one of those I've-got-a-secret'
grins and said, "I saw him in Chicago last summer after
Camp, when I went to a teacher's workshop. He looks even
better now."
"Uh huh. And...?"
Jennifer glanced at the open door and kept her voice
down. "I didn't sleep much, but I slept good because I was
exhausted."
Suzie giggled. "He learned some new ways to do it?"
Jennifer's smile slowly faded, like waves dying out
in a pool. "Yeah. From his wife."
Suzie felt her forehead twitch when her eyebrows
slammed together. "His WIFE?"
"It seems he spent three days a week in Chicago,
where he had an apartment, and the rest in San Francisco,
with his wife and family. I learned that the next night
just before we went to sleep. Or he did. I was awake most
of the time."
Suzie slid her right foot from the chair seat to the
floor and stamped it. "All men are stupid jerks!"
Jennifer shook her head. "Suzie, that's not true.
Would you say that about all the people from Alamosa now
that you've met Nancy as well as Amber?"
"Well, no."
"Or David?"
"I guess not."
"Or Josh?"
"Well, no."
"See? You can't say all of a group are jerks because
groups are composed of individuals who are different. It
would be like saying, "All Middletons have red hair."
"Yeah." She thought for a second and then giggled.
"But all jerks are jerks."
Jennifer laughed. "Okay. That's the exception to
the rule."
Suzie's smile faded, and she returned to twisting her
hem around her finger. "So, Mrs. Corman doesn't know what
he's doing?"
"I think she knows. That wasn't the first time.
Apparently she loves him and keeps forgiving him. She'd
rather have him with his faults than not have him at all.
At least he uses protection, so that he won't end up like
your sister."
"Yeah." She sighed. "And giving it to his wife.
But... after what Caroline did to me about... HIM...
before, when I thought she was being my sister for a
change, I don't think of her as my sister any more. Sorta
like Cinnamon doesn't think of Mrs. Brees as being her
mother."
One of Jennifer's hands closed around Suzie's in a
gentle squeeze that felt ever so warm and comforting.
"Maybe she'll change now and actually become your sister.
Having the disease and being away like that sometimes
change people. Maybe it will change her for the better."
"I'd rather bet on Amber's being a coach," Suzie said
in a voice that sounded to her like a dark, rainy day in
late fall. She looked around the room as if she could find
the words she wanted hiding in a corner or something and
saw the clock. "I'm sorry! Tomorrow's the last day of
Group One, and I'm keeping you up late!"
Jennifer's hand squeezed hers. "I was up later than
this with John, and for a lot worse reason. Some things
are worth missing a little sleep."
Suzie thanked her and they prepared for bed. "My
turn to get the light," she said. She waited until
Jennifer was settled, turned out the light, and then
climbed into her bunk. She was ever so glad that Jennifer
was her roommate. It was like bunking with a sister--but a
real sister, not the stupid cow.
Sure, she and Wynter were like sisters. But Wynter's
interests were different. She had more in common with
Jennifer. And Wynter was younger by a couple of weeks.
Maybe Wynter could be her little sister or something, while
Jennifer was like a big sister.
They wished each other a good night and drifted off
to sleep.
Suzie had nice dreams about having a real big sister
and about having a boyfriend. And while the last one
started out as Josh, before the dream was over, he had
crooked black-framed glasses and was a lot shorter.
~ ~ ~
Carmine DeSalvo was famous for how long he could hold
it, even after eight cups of coffee, but eventually his
bladder reached its limit. He gulped two more ibuprofen,
washed them down with another swallow of coffee, and made
his way to the john. He managed to make it there and back
without experiencing an explosion of his head.
As he approached his chair he noticed a sheet of
paper under his desk. He sat in his chair, leaned over,
and attempted to reach for the paper. He groaned and then
put his head on the desk until the wave of nausea passed.
"Thompson," he said, trying not to retch, "get that paper
down there."
He ignored Thompson's snide remark. When Thompson
rose, DeSalvo snatched the page from him. A minute later
he raised his head and waited for the world to steady
itself. He glanced at the page. It was from the Juan
Rodrigo De Ramirez y Sanchez stack. _Odd_, he thought. _I
didn't notice any of the pages missing_. He retrieved the
stack, removed the paper clip, and thumbed through it.
None were missing. He picked up the errant page and
read it.
"Oh, fuck! Oh, shit on me!" He grabbed the phone
and punched Immel's number.
"Herb? Have you released De Ramirez yet?" He waited
for Immel to check.
"What time? Oh, fuck! Shit on me," he groaned.
"Shit on me!"
He slammed down the handset and dropped his head into
his hands, ignoring the sudden silence around him. How the
hell was he going to explain to the Captain, the Chief, the
Texas Rangers, and the DEA that he'd ordered the release of
a prisoner who was supposed to be transferred to San
Antonio later that morning to face federal drug charges in
lieu of local ones?
Seventeen
Suzie penciled a check mark beside each girl's name
as she boarded a bus, making double-sure that the bus
destination card matched the destination beside the girl's
name and then putting another check mark by the
destination. That wasn't required by her instruction
briefing, but she was responsible for getting the
seven/eight year old girls group to the proper busses, and
she was being ever so careful to make sure that no girl
missed her bus or got on the wrong one.
Two coaches had thought she should have a supervisor
in charge of her, but both Jennifer and Nancy as well as
Sabrina Shear from Lamar had strongly insisted that Suzie
was able to handle the task herself and that she knew to
ask for help if she needed it. Mister Berger had sided
with them. Suzie found it ever so hard not to float off
into the clouds, but she made herself stay focused on what
was required so that she wouldn't disappoint Mister Berger
and Nancy and Sabrina, but most especially Jennifer.
Besides, she didn't want to give that stupid little
witch something to goat about at the last minute if she
messed up.
She was kinda goating herself over the fact that
three girls had given her big hugs and thanks for helping
them ever so much before the got on the busses. At least,
she thought that was what goating was. She still wasn't
entirely sure.
Some of the parents picked up their kids rather than
having them ride a bus. One young boy was waving his arms
around and telling his parents in an all-excited voice
about his experiences or something when the father saw
Suzie walking past and said, "Excuse me. Aren't you Suzie
Middleton?"
"Uh huh. I mean, yes, sir," she said, thinking it
was someone else who remembered her from the television
news broadcasts about the mine incident.
"Well, I'm VERY pleased to meet you," he said.
"Me, too!" said his wife, who didn't look to be any
older than Jennifer, if that much. "We're from Fort
Collins. We saw you at State. Congratulations!"
"Congratulations from me, too," the man said. "I'd
be happy if Bobby turns out to be half the swimmer that you
are."
"Thank you," Suzie said, astonished that they knew
her from the state swim meet. "Bobby, I'm sorry that I
didn't get to work with you. I didn't get to work with any
of the boys. But you can be a good swimmer if you practice
hard and decide you want to win bad enough." She didn't
want to think of the stupid dolt at this time, but she was
a coach and it was her job to help and encourage swimmers,
even if the camp was over. "Find a reason to win and try
hard and you'll it."
"Yeah, thanks, coach." Bobby didn't seem to be very
happy that Suzie had taken his parents' attention away from
him.
"Suzie, could you do me a small favor?" Bobby's
mother asked. "If it's not too much trouble, I mean."
"Sure, if I can. That's my job."
She shook her head. "No, this is personal. Could I
please have your autograph?"
Suzie just KNEW she'd misunderstood the woman.
~ ~ ~
Wynter gave her parents a big smile as she slid onto
the long bench seat at the breakfast nook table. Mother
returned the smile, but Daddy looked at his watch and said
in a smarty-pants voice, "You're late. I was going to give
yours to Dragon."
"That's okay," she said with a shrug. "I'm not very
hungry anyhow. And I'll invite just Mother up to see it
after her lunch."
Her mother arched her eyebrows. "You finished it?"
"Uh huh," she said with a nod. "I finally got the
hair right. It looks so much like Sis that Daddy would say
'Yes, ma'am!' to it if he got to see it. But since he's
being a smarty pants, he doesn't get to."
She giggled at the way he got very contrite. But she
decided he was sincere, so she invited him to join Mother
after they had cleared the table and stored the leftovers.
"_Holy shit!_" her parents whispered together. It
was the first time either had seen the painting.
"She looks like she's ready to play," Mother said.
"Uh huh," Wynter agreed, thinking that this wasn't
the time for modesty because her parents always discussed
her drawings with her in an honest, forthright manner, like
doctors discussing a patient. "It's the smile. Sis always
smiles when she's drumming and it's always that smile or
one of two others."
Daddy looked at her in surprise. "It is? Well, wait
a minute." Wynter waited while he thought about her words.
"You're right," he said. "I never noticed before."
"That's okay. I didn't either, until Huntly's
birthday party," she admitted.
"For piss' sake!" Mother whispered. She asked in a
louder voice, "Those are painted diamonds, aren't they, and
not real ones you stuck in the paint for sparkle?"
Before she could answer, Daddy said, "Wait just one
minute! I distinctly remember the top of her dress being
lower."
Wynter rolled her eyes. "Maybe in your mind, but I
helped her lock it in place with that 'tricky titty tape.'
That's exactly how low it was."
Mother elbowed him in the ribs and shook her head,
then sighed. "If he had his way, you'd have to paint a
copy with her bare tits hanging out."
Daddy made an exaggerated 'I never thought of that'
face and said, "Hmmm. Now that's an idea. Say, you're not
all that busy right now, are you, honey?"
~ ~ ~
Mitch listened carefully as Ed Pickett explained the
controls for the hot tub. Rosita, Cinnamon, and Hailey
said they, too, understood. He handed Ed a check for the
balance due.
"We ain't quite finished yet," Ed said, looking down
at Mitch from his six-and-a-half foot height and not
reaching for the payment. "Well, my part's done, but it'll
be tomorrow at the earliest before Bill's boys can finish
the tiling on those two walls. They done run into problems
out at Miz Bell's place yesterday morning."
"Yes, but I know I can trust you. Richard King said
that if I'm not happy, you'll keep coming back until I am.
Any endorsement from Richard carries a lot of weight with
me. No sense holding up the payment for something I know
you'll do whether I pay you or not."
Ed conceded the point and took the check, noting the
payment received on his clipboard's invoice before he tore
off Mitch's copy. "Well, I appreciate that. I still owe
the balance on the special order of that sucker. Richard
got himself a family-size hot tub. You got yourself a hot
olympic pool by comparison. In fact, an indoor swimming
pool might have been cheaper." He grinned and shook his
large head. "That's a lot of room for four people."
"Yes, but we're not a very close family," Mitch said.
"We need room to spread out."
Ed laughed with the deep, hearty sound of a man who
enjoyed life. "Well, maybe until after the wedding. You
two set a date yet?"
Rosita hooked her hand around the crook of Mitch's
elbow and said, "September first, Ed. Maybe. If Hailey's
parents can be here then. We should know by the end of
next week."
"Really?" He smiled at Hailey. "Wouldn't that be
nice. Well, I gotta run. Got a truck due in about now.
Give it at least another half hour for it to warm up and
stabilize."
Ed left. Rosita grabbed the shopping lists as the
clothes dryer buzzed. Cinnamon said she'd take care of the
things in the dryer. She joined Mitch and Hailey in a
farewell kiss for Rosita, who left as the postman arrived
with a letter that required Mitch's receipt signature.
It was another letter regarding the lawsuit in
Boston. "I'll drop this at Burke's on the way back to the
hospital," he said. "You two stay out of mischief."
"We'll be good," Cinnamon said.
"Hey! Of course we will, Uncle Mitch. Cuz and I
will, like, finish the laundry, and then we're SO going to
shave each other and, like, catch rays in the back yard."
"Uh huh," he said, tapping the letter against his
leg. "And are you going to wear your bikinis this time?"
Hailey's grin turned feral. "Not if you'll join us."
~ ~ ~
FUCK!
There was no mistaking THAT tone. She took a deep
breath and turned around. "Yes, Miss Vallarta?"
The stupid little witch's sneering voice didn't
change. "Oh, camp is over... COACH. I have my
certificate... COACH. My parents are right over there,
waiting to pick me up... COACH. You don't have to call me
Miss Vallarta now... COACH. And _I_ can call YOU whatever
I want... COACH. Especially since _I_ plan to be a coach
next year."
Suzie flipped her clipboard to the resting position
on her hip and held it with the inside of her elbow. She
ignored Amber's announced plan. "That's right, Amber.
Your camp is over. You can call me Suzie now, if you want
to."
"HA! Maybe I'll call you DOGMEAT... MIDDLETON. I
can go back to swimming the way _I_ want now instead of
doing things YOUR way."
_The stupid little witch wants to argue. No way I'm
giving her the satisfaction, and no way I'm letting her
ruin my day! After all, nobody asked for _her_ stupid
autograph!_ "Well, if you want to go back to swimming the
way you did, that's up to you and Coach Dale," she said,
using JUST the right amount of disappointment in her voice.
"But that's a shame. I was hoping that beating you next
year would be a challenge. Have a nice summer." She
turned and walked away from the sputtering girl, resuming
her trip to the dining hall with feet that didn't want to
stay on the ground, even after almost an hour later.
She put Amber out of her mind and thought about
someone actually asking for HER autograph! She'd been too
busy to tell Jennifer yet, but now she could. She wondered
what Jennifer would say.
"Suzie?"
Jennifer's voice made her stop short. "Oh! I was
looking for you."
Jennifer's laugh was ever so nice, just the opposite
of the little witch's. "Well, you walked right past me,"
she said with a chuckle, resting a warm hand on Suzie's
shoulder. "You certainly were deep in thought. Is it
something good?" she asked, her voice changing slightly and
her face taking on that 'I got a secret' look.
Suzie told her about the autograph. Jennifer looked
like she'd won a gold medal or something and said real
excitedly, "Congratulations! Your first one! I'm so happy
for you! You'd better get used to that, though. Everybody
will want your autograph after you win in the Olympics, you
know."
She'd never thought about that! "They will?"
"Uh huh. So, are you done for the day?"
Suzie wondered if Jennifer's excitement had caused
her to forget about the schedule or something. "I was
going to have a quick bite and then go help with the Group
Two bunk assignments at one-thirty. They aren't done yet."
She suddenly realized that she'd walked right past the
stupid dining hall, too. That was the building over there.
Jennifer put one hand behind Suzie's shoulders and
gently pushed her away from the dining hall. "Then you're
through for the day. And forget about eating here. You're
going out for lunch."
"I am?"
"Yep." She stopped and pointed to the door of the
admin building. "And you won't be back until tonight.
I'll see you then. Visitor's lounge. Have a nice time."
"But..." Suzie was confused. "I'm a Coach. I'm
supposed to..."
"I spoke to Mister Berger personally. You have the
rest of the day off. Now, go on. You can tell me about it
tonight. All the details!" She gave Suzie a big wink,
hollered at Coach Ken Williams to wait for her, and hurried
away.
Visitor's lounge? It couldn't be her stupid parents,
could it? Maybe they'd gone to the stupid girls'
correctional thingy to see the stupid cow or something and
had come by here next. It would be just like THEM to not
tell anyone. She pulled the door open and stepped into the
cool air of the building.
She couldn't see into the lounge yet, but she could
hear Coach Wallace--she just couldn't bring herself to
think of him as Barry, even though he and Jennifer had said
she could call him that--talking to someone. She adjusted
her coach's cap, took a deep breath, and hesitatingly
walked inside the lounge.
"JOSH?"
As the entire Carter family rose to greet her, Coach
Wallace turned around and said, "Well, it's about time!
They were getting bored to death listening to me. Folks,"
he turned back to the Carters, "you have a good visit. And
you, young man, give serious thought to what I said.
Thanks to COACH Middleton here," and the way he said her
title was just the opposite of the way the stupid little
witch had said it, "Mister Berger is very receptive of the
idea of using more top swimmers as assistants and student
coaches. I'd rather have you working here next year
instead of lying around getting fat and lazy."
After Coach Wallace left, everyone hugged Suzie in
greeting. Josh hugged a little longer and harder than the
rest. Then Lori tugged on her mother's arm and whined,
"I'm STARVING! Can we go eat now, before I die of hunger?"
Mister Carter laughed. "She's been near death for
two hours. How does Giuseppi's sound to you, Suzie? Have
you heard of it? It's our favorite place here."
Suzie had trouble taking her eyes off Josh. "The old
train station? Sure! I love it, too. Jennifer and I went
there last weekend."
"Great!" Lori cried, jumping up and down with
unpatient glee. "Let's go! Well? Hurry up!"
"Um," Mrs. Carter said, "we'll wait for you two at
the car. Hurry along, or we'll have to stop and bury Lori
at that cemetery down the way. Come on, Bill." She pulled
on her husband's arm and followed Lori out the door.
Josh's eyes looked ever so nice as they danced
around, looking at all of her face. "I missed you," he
said in a quiet voice.
"Me, too," she said, and then pulled his head to hers
for a long, wonderful kiss. And then another one. They
needed a third one before they were able to leave.
"So," Josh said as he held the door open for her,
"how was two weeks with Amber?"
Suzie just couldn't believe it. First she gets asked
for her autograph, and now she gets to spend the afternoon
with Josh! She smiled up at him with dreamy, far-off eyes,
slid an arm around his, and asked in a puzzled voice,
"Amber who?"
~ ~ ~
Kenny put on his patented shit-eating grin. Even
though they couldn't see it through the intercom, they
could hear it in his voice. "It's your favorite Future
Doctor," he cooed.
"You don't sound anything like Sis. Is your cold
back again?"
He sagged. "No wonder Huntly calls you a bitch."
Two giggles exploded from the speaker before Hailey
said, "Gazebo," and the speaker died.
Kenny had half-expected to find them there. That was
why he'd gone to the north entrance instead of the front,
since it was closer to the gate and didn't require
backtracking. It was also why he'd decided to pay them a
visit. He closed the gate behind him and crossed his
fingers inside his shorts pockets, hoping he'd be lucky.
He tried not to run as he walked quickly around the
corner of the house and saw lots of skin beside the gazebo,
where the two cousins lay face down on their lounge chairs.
The trees lining the property made an effective privacy
wall that prevented the adjoining houses from seeing into
the yard. Because of that, the girls frequently sunbathed
topless. That was what he was counting on.
"I saw that Pickett's had left," he said as he
reached the lawn swing, where he started walking a little
faster because he saw no ties holding on Hailey's top. "I
thought you might want to test the hot... HOLY SHIT!"
Hailey had risen to greet him, allowing him to see
that she'd removed more than her bikini top. The three
small pieces of green cloth and attached slender green
strands lay on the corner of her lounge chair. Some corner
of Kenny's mind noted blue cloth on the corner of
Cinnamon's lounger as Hailey cocked her hips to the right
and placed her hands atop the points of her pelvis, elbows
out to the side.
"Man!" he said. "You look good enough to eat."
"What a coincidence," she purred. "Nobody's eaten me
since Cuz shaved my coozie a half-hour ago. I'm getting
DESPERATE."
"Go up to your room," Cinnamon mumbled without
looking up. "Rosita will be back any minute now, and she
doesn't need to see you two going at it in the yard."
Kenny glanced down at her. No blue butt floss
crawled up from her crack. _Man, if only she'd roll over!_
He knew that Hailey had shaved Cinnamon, too, and he'd not
seen that shaved snatch yet. Though, he had to admit,
Cinnamon had put so much effort into growing hair on her
head that she had little left over for decorating her
cootchie, so it almost looked shaved anyway. But it was
the principle of the thing.
"We could make it a threesome," he said with a smirk.
Cinnamon's round butt wiggled with a shiver. "I
could use a threesome," she purred seductively, again
without looking up. "Maybe I'll arrange one for us after
you leave."
~ ~ ~
Wynter wasn't aware that the elevator had stopped
until the doors opened. Maybe that was because her feet
weren't touching the elevator's floor. Doctor Brees, still
grinning broadly, bowed slightly and swept his hand out to
indicate she should precede him into the emergency room
lobby. She still couldn't believe that Mrs. Pierce had
insisted that Wynter cut the umbilical cord--if Wynter
wanted to.
A new nurse, who hadn't seemed all that thrilled
about having Wynter in the delivery room in the first
place, started to explain why a "civilian" couldn't perform
a medical procedure, but Doctor Brees had just handed
Wynter a clamp and started explaining where to position it.
Then he handed her the second clamp, and then the surgical
scissors, ignoring Nurse... well, Wynter wasn't sure what
the woman's name was. To be perfectly honest, she didn't
care, either.
Doctor Brees had her practice the cut in the air
above the cord a few times and then told her to proceed.
Wynter, determined that she wouldn't prove the new nurse
right, didn't hesitate. All she could see of Doctor Brees'
face was his eyes, but she knew he grinned at her the way
he did at Cinnamon after one of her performances. Did that
EVER make her heart feel too big for her chest!
His hand settled on her shoulder and squeezed gently,
bring her back from someplace else. "Do you want me to
wait with you until your parents pick you up?" Mother and
Daddy were taking her to the Bighorn for a celebration
dinner.
Her ponytail lashed. "No, thanks. I can bother
people here whom I know," she said with a giggle. "Besides
you have a daughter, a niece, and a Future Wife who need
you at home. And thanks again!"
She pulled him down for a BIG hug and a kiss on the
cheek. She wished him a good evening, then turned to Jax
at the ER Desk. Mrs. Erland's replacement for the swing
shift was Chuck Jackson. He was somehow related to Suzie's
swimming coach in a way that was more complicated than the
way Ron was related to Mrs. Vasquez. He was holding the
phone to his ear with one hand and wildly digging through
papers on the desk with the other. Jax, as he insisted
that nurses and ALL doctors including Future Ones had to
call him, was a nice man and very competent, but he was
also extremely disorganized. He sure could use a course in
desktop management.
"Wynter!"
She looked over her shoulder. Doctor V was
approaching at a rapid pace. "I heard you practiced your
surgical skills today."
"Well," she said with a shrug, "it wasn't much,
really."
He waggled a finger side-to-side in admonition.
"Unless it's an emergency, the first time usually isn't.
But it's something you'll remember all your career.
Listen, how'd you like to be present for Pastor Digby's
echocardiogram? You'd have a week to read up on the
procedure. He said he'd be happy to be the guinea pig for
your cardiology training."
Wynter forced her mouth to close. "Sure! I mean,
I'd love to. When is it?"
Doctor V smiled from ear to there, as Grandpa Wolfe
always said. "One o'clock on Tuesday the thirteenth."
Wynter's grin faded. "Oh. I'm sorry, but I'm
already scheduled for Cinnamon's birthday party. I'll be
tied up all day."
Doctor V's face turned thoughtful. "Let me see what
else I can come up with." He vanished almost as instantly
as Ron when the younger half of the Flying Lopez Circus was
being stealthy.
"Future Doctor King!" said a familiar voice. She
tried to fight the smile into a professional face as she
turned to ask Mister Sanders why he was working nights.
Miss Maurer waved from the door with her free hand. The
other held an equipment box that she took out to the
ambulance.
She learned that it was Mister "Zoomie" Blair's night
off and Mister "Slugger" Kwan was taking his wife, Nurse
Kwan, out for an anniversary dinner.
"I didn't want Ace to be stuck with Bedpan or Hypo,
so I volunteered to work with her tonight," he said in
conclusion. "What are you doing here? It's not your dad
again, is it? Not with that look on your face."
She told him about the delivery. As she finished,
Doctor V returned.
"Okay," the cardiologist said, "he agreed to
reschedule just for you. Wednesday the fourteenth at ten.
How's that?"
She nodded and pulled a small notebook out of her
pants pocket, removing the pen from its loop. "Yes, sir.
I'll be here." She wrote the information in the notebook,
along with the reference material that Doctor V recommended
she review. He wished her a good evening, nodded to Mister
Sanders, and vanished again.
Mister Sanders shook his large, round head and hooked
his thumbs in his waistband at his hips. "By the time the
summer is over, you'll be able to write your own ticket the
way they'll be fighting over you. Just when do you plan to
take over from Doctor Taylor as head of the hospital?"
Wynter opened her notebook and scanned a page.
"Well," she said with a serious frown, "I'm busy until the
end of July..."
~ ~ ~
Suzie loved the way Jennifer laughed while listening
to Suzie's decap of the day's events. Jennifer wasn't
laughing at her like the little witch; she was laughing
with her, the way real friends did. And, she supposed, the
way real sisters did. They were both having such a good
time that neither cared that it was almost eleven and time
for lights out.
Jennifer held up her hand as a signal for Suzie to
stop talking and took a sip of her Diet Coke. "Okay," she
said as she put the can back on the table, "then what?"
Suzie giggled. "So then Lori noticed Josh and I were
holding hands when the waitress showed us to our table and
goes so everybody can hear her, 'What's the matter, Josh?'
And she goes all serious-like, 'Are you afraid Suzie will
get lost if you don't lead her the way?' Well, Josh gets
so red you'd think he'd farted in church, and his mother
goes, 'What makes you think it isn't Suzie worried that
Josh will get lost?'"
Jennifer wiped her eyes and tried to speak while
giggling. "Well, if she was serious, maybe she's so young
that she didn't understand you were..."
"NO!" Suzie said, shaking her head and trying ever so
hard not to laugh so much that Jennifer couldn't understand
her words. "She understood, all right, because after the
waitress took our order, she suddenly bent sideways to look
under the table. We were holding hands--but they weren't
in each other's laps or something--and Lori goes in an even
louder voice, "If you keep holding my brother's hand like
that, he's going to get a boner!"
Jennifer laughed so hard she almost tipped her chair
over backward. She rocked forward and pounded her hand on
the table. "Maybe..." she choked on her own laughter and
tried again. "Maybe you shouldn't go back there for a few
months. Give them time to forget you."
"Maybe a couple of years, because Josh got even
redder and got up and went toward the bathrooms. Lori
ignored her parents trying to shut her up and goes, 'I
guess he got one. He always goes to the bathroom when he
plays with it!'"
"Oh, NO!" Jennifer shrieked. "Did he come out before
you finished eating, or did he wait until you'd all left?"
"Well, he never made it there because some man behind
us stopped him and goes, 'Son, relax. I understand. I
have a little sister, too, and she's still just like
yours.' And some other men agreed, and one woman goes, 'I
don't have a sister, but that's the way my little brother
acts.' And another man agreed with her, and Josh finally
sat down again, but he was ever so red and never spoke to
Lori the whole time we were there."
Jennifer wiped her eyes and shook her head. "I guess
it could have been worse," she said.
"Oh, it was! When the waitress asked about dessert,
Lori goes, 'Don't give Josh any spice cake. It makes him
fart like a horse!'"
Jennifer put her forearms on the table. She rested
her forehead on one and slapped the table with the other,
her whole body shaking like an earthquake or something.
Then she looked up at Suzie, whinnied, and made a fart
sound. Both exploded in laughter.
For the next several minutes they'd just get the
laughter under control and then one or the other would
whinny-and-fart, and both would break up. All the coaches
in the building came to investigate the uproar before it
was over. Jennifer had Suzie tell each group the story,
and then the whinny-and-fart sounds started up again.
When everyone had finally left, Suzie's throat hurt
from laughing so hard. But it was a good hurt. Suzie
never got to laugh like that at home. She reached for her
Diet Coke can and took a big swallow.
Jennifer whinny-and-farted. Suzie discovered that
Diet Coke in your nose burned worse than heavily
chlorinated pool water as she laughed and sprayed it all
over herself and half the table. But that got Jennifer
laughing and beating the table again. Suzie's can had just
a swallow left in it. She jumped up and poured it on
Jennifer, who stopped laughing long enough to shriek.
Several minutes later, after loud threats from other rooms,
they grabbed clean night clothes and, arms around each
other's waists, headed for the showers.
Suzie felt ever so good as she lay in bed after
Jennifer turned out the light. She wished Jennifer a good
night and rolled over on her side. From somewhere down the
hall she heard a faint whinny-and-fart and some muffled
laughter.
Suzie didn't want to ever go home.
~ ~ ~
Wynter was surprised to find her father awake and
sitting up in her bed when she returned from her morning
trip to the bathroom.
"I was all alone," he said. "Even Dragon was gone."
Wynter slipped under the sheet and gave him a big
squeezy hug. "I thought after last night, you'd sleep
'till noon," she explained, "and I couldn't wait that long.
Dragon couldn't either, so he went outside."
They shared a dragon breath lover's kiss, during
which Dragon returned and curled up in the doorway. When
they broke apart he sighed with contentment and said,
"Weren't you worried that I would get lonely without you?"
"If I hadn't gone, we'd both be in a huge wet spot,"
she said, trying without success to sound scolding.
"But... if you get lonely, then next time I'll call Hailey
to come keep you company until I return."
"Uh, that's okay. You won't be gone that long," he
said in a rush, somehow reminding her of Huntly in the way
he said it.
"I see," she said, rubbing her chin between her thumb
and index finger. "I should have thought of it first.
You'd rather have Cinnamon because she has your favorite
tits."
Although she was teasing, she saw that her words had
somehow disturbed him. While she waited as he explained
that of the three she had his favorite tits, she diagnosed
the available symptoms. When he finished, she asked,
"Okay, so what happened to you with Sis One?"
His eyes dropped, then fixed on the covered painting
on the easel. "I've been trying to decide how to tell you,
or even if I should tell you, since two Sundays ago."
She used a fingertip to pull on his chin until he was
again looking in her eyes. "Would you be breaking a
confidence by telling me?"
"I don't think so. Well, it was just the two of us,
but, that was because Cinnamon had left you with Hailey out
in the yard so that she wouldn't interrupt us."
She pursed her lips and pushed them to the right.
"Okay. Well, if Sis thought that I shouldn't know, then
you shouldn't tell me. Otherwise, you can tell me if you
want. It's up to you."
He gave her a curious frown and searched her eyes,
then cupped a hand over her right breast and squeezed
gently. "Yeah," he said, "you're only twelve years old,
all right."
"Twelve-and-a-half," she corrected.
His laugh seemed to help him decide. "We had a talk
about Hailey."
"Oh. That? She told me that at school the next day."
"Did she tell you what she also said?"
Wynter thought for a moment. "No."
"I was afraid of that." He sighed. "Well, you know
how she's never made a move toward Jimmy because of you?"
Wynter brightened. "Oh! You mean she told you she
has a bad case of the hots for you?"
"You knew?"
She rolled her eyes and counted on her fingers as she
spoke. "I know. Mother knows. Dragon knows. Doctor
Brees knows. Hailey probably knows. Mrs. Vasquez surely
suspects if she doesn't know. Jimmy doesn't know, however."
He looked so relieved that she had to kiss him.
"Okay," she said following a long sigh of pleasure
afterward. "So you know she has a bad case of the hots for
you and she knows you have a bad case of the hots for her
tits. Do you want me to distract Hailey for the two of you?"
"WYNTER!"
"Is that a 'no'?"
He finally realized she was teasing him and relaxed.
"Even if I wanted to, and I don't, I'd never survive the
experience. Your mother barely tolerates our relationship.
If I started one with Cinnamon, she'd unseal Hargus Mine
just so she could throw me in and seal it up again."
Wynter sure didn't need a second opinion for that
diagnosis. That was why she'd already made plans for the
morning. She kissed him again. "Time to get up," she said.
He frowned at her. She thought the suspicion in his
eyes was cute. "No morning quickie? Why?"
"Because," she said, "I decided I was going to serve
Mother breakfast in bed today, and I can't do it if I'm
here in my bed with you."
His eyes grew wider. "She gets breakfast in bed?
What about ME?"
She gave him a dreamy-eyed grin and a nose-and-lips
kiss. "You got to eat in bed last night. Several times."
He shrugged and then nodded. "I certainly did.
Okay. What can I do to help?"
Her hand slid down his chest and kept going until she
gripped the Beast. She pumped it erect and said, "You go
wake her up and distract her until breakfast is done. She
hasn't said anything, but she's still worried about Aunt
Diane. I offered to give up last night with you because I
thought she might need you, but she said she didn't."
"Really? You didn't say anything to me about it last
night."
"Unh uh. She asked me not to. But she didn't ask me
not to say anything this morning."
He squeezed her to his scarred chest and kissed the
top of her head. "The world has never seen a doctor like
you're going to be."
She didn't quite understand why he said that, but her
heart swelled in her chest and she felt too good to care.
Eighteen
Jimmy blinked, trying to see in the sudden brightness
outside the Aspenleaf Theater. Wynter slipped sunglasses
onto her face and then smiled and took his hand. He
squeezed and said, "Well, I think Cinnamon missed a good
movie," as they led the way to the Elk Crossing Sundae Shop
located in a small building across the parking lot. He
heard a siren in the distance, its sound steadily growing
louder as it moved closer from somewhere off to the right.
"Yeah," Hailey said as she and Kenny moved beside
Jimmy. "I don't know why she, like, decided to spend the
afternoon with crazy Finnegan. Cuz SO loves movies like
that."
Huntly slid up beside Wynter and squeezed Megan
McNeal's waist as she said, "How would you know, Hailey?
You two never came up for air long enough to see what the
movie was about."
Kenny snorted. "Jealous because you got left out and
Hailey didn't?"
Megan stroked Huntly's chest and let out a breathy
sigh. "Who says I got left out? That just proves that you
weren't paying attention to what was going on around you."
Wynter tried not to laugh at the startled look Kenny
gave Huntly, but her silent shaking gave her away. Jimmy,
however, did not attempt to restrain his own laughter.
"You putz," he said, then gave Hailey a suspicious look.
"Are you sure you don't know why she's spending the
afternoon with Finnegan?"
"Maybe," Kenny said, "she's looking to trade up from
Huntly."
"Ha!" chortled Megan. "There's NOTHING wrong with
Huntly."
Jimmy returned the squeeze Wynter gave his hand.
She'd named Huntly the Best Kisser at her birthday party to
get girls to show more charity, if not more interest,
toward him. Megan had been one of the girls making the
snide comments, and now she was defending him. It was all
thanks to Wynter. Jimmy still had trouble believing that
somebody as wonderful and caring as Wynter was in love with
him.
Huntly blew on his fingernails and buffed them on
Megan's blouse, just above but not touching her breast.
Jimmy noticed Megan didn't flinch. He assumed that was
because she knew he wouldn't cop a quick feel the way the
shortest male in the group would have done. He assumed
that because he was too gentlemanly to consider the other
possibility.
"All I know is that it has something to do with the
band and probably with her drumming," Huntly said.
Wynter's head jerked around to face Huntly. "You're
right," she said. "Sis was wearing one of her drumming
smiles when we left. I'm surprised I didn't notice it
right away." She sighed. "Some doctor I'm going to be if
I keep overlooking the blatantly obvious."
Jimmy wondered if Wynter would ever get over her
perceived inadequacy issues. He opened his mouth but said
nothing because a rusty old Pontiac GTO raced into the
parking lot from the street, tires smoking and squealing.
A police car, the source of the siren, was hot on its tail.
The old clunker flew past the group not more than twenty
feet away, clipped a light pole, and went out of control.
It smashed into a parked car, slamming it into the one next
to it, and spun to the side, coming to rest with its
passenger side against yet another car. Several people
screamed in terror. One, on the other side of the first
two cars, screamed in pain.
They stood frozen for a moment. Then he heard Wynter
say, "Doctors don't panic!" before she released his hand
and raced toward the crash site. The rest followed.
The police car squealed to a stop beside the rusty
clunker. Officer Sam Peters jumped out, saw the six
rushing toward him, looked toward the sound of the
continued screaming, and pointed at the Pontiac clunker.
"Kenny! See about him!" he shouted. He rushed toward the
screams. He stopped, looked down at the sight before him,
and shouted, "Wynter!" as Kenny broke away toward the other
car.
Hailey hesitated while the others continued onward,
then followed Kenny.
Jimmy couldn't believe that Wynter, despite her
initial lead, had arrived before the rest of the group.
Normally he and Huntly, even with his bad knee, would have
beaten her. She was kneeling beside a boy about their age,
one he didn't recognize. She was telling Officer Peters to
keep the woman from trying to remove a jagged piece of
metal stuck in the boy's bloody right leg at mid-thigh.
"She might cut the femoral artery!" she said. "It may
already be nicked because of all the blood. Jimmy! I need
your belt!"
_Tourniquet_, he realized as he unfastened the buckle
and yanked the belt free. _But how to tighten it?_
"Officer Peters! We need your nightstick."
"Take it!" he said. He needed both hands to hold
back the woman, who was struggling to get down to her son.
"I got it," Huntly said. "Help Doctor Cutie." He
slid the nightstick out of its holder while Jimmy,
following Wynter's directions, knelt and slid the belt
under the boy's leg above the shard of metal. She was
using both hands to clamp the boy's thigh, slowing the flow
of blood.
Huntly leaned over and grabbed the boy's hands so
that the other two could work. When Jimmy was ready,
Huntly knelt and winced at a sharp pain where his left knee
hit the pavement. "Other knee next time, dipshit," he
whispered to himself.
Jimmy slipped the stick into the loop and twisted,
tightening the belt so that Wynter could relax.
The boy passed out.
Officer Peters had had his hands full before. When
the boy went still, she tore away from him. He grabbed her
from behind and yanked her back. She screamed and cursed
him while he ordered the gathering crowd to move back and
give everyone room to work.
"He's okay," Wynter said, her fingers taking his
pulse. "He just fainted."
"Somebody call 911," Officer Peters shouted. "I
can't get to my radio because of her."
"I did," Kenny said as he appeared and knelt beside
Wynter while sliding his new cell phone into a pocket.
"Nothing anyone can do for that driver except Maurer's. No
seatbelt. I'm not sure which head impact broke his neck."
Hailey, looking as if she couldn't decide whether to
turn green or white, released Kenny's other arm and
clutched Megan's for support.
At the comment about the broken neck, the woman
screamed again and fought harder, demanding that somebody
get her son proper medical attention and get those kids
away from him. The gathered crowd started murmuring.
Those who didn't know Wynter began mumbling that somebody
who knew what he was doing should help the boy, but for the
moment it was only talk.
As a siren came to life in the distance, Officer
Peters shook her to get her to listen. "The boy's father
runs the hospital. He'll tell you that if he was the one
injured, he'd rather have the girl treating him than half
the doctors on his staff! Lady, she KNOWS what she's doing
better than I would or any of the other people in this
crowd!"
Jimmy heard Wynter's soft gasp as Officer Peters'
words sank in. But the word 'crowd' was the sound that
stuck out for Jimmy. He looked up at the faces crowding
around and listened to the grumbling. He straightened and
said, "Everybody, move back, please. Wynter's an expert in
first aid. There's nothing you can do, and if one of you
falls on him, you'll make it much worse."
Huntly also faced the crowd and spread his arms,
attempting to push them back. Neither was having much
success as the looky-loos ignored them and the grumblers
became emboldened by their increasing numbers. They also
ignored Officer Peters and surged forward again, the ones
in front pressed forward by the ones in back trying to see.
"You got him for a minute?" Kenny asked. When Wynter
said she did, he rose. "Move back now," he said in a calm,
quiet, deliberate voice that grabbed everyone's attention
and quieted the crowd. "Back. Off."
They backed.
His eyes swept around the front rank. "Don't you
dare make me get up again." He sounded like lightning
quietly looking for a place to strike as he sank to his
former position beside Wynter.
The woman watched in horror as the people backed away
at Kenny's threat, then looked with wild eyes at Officer
Peters. "What kind of town is this?"
~ ~ ~
Wynter was thrilled that Doctor Malenkov had asked
Kenny and her to observe while the ER team treated Jordan
Miller's leg. They weren't sterile, but they did wear
paper gowns and masks. Once the piece of metal had been
removed and a small slice along the femoral artery had been
sutured--fortunately the artery hadn't been completely
severed--Doctor Malenkov had them approach. She noticed
that he didn't warn them not to touch anything because they
weren't scrubbed. He knew it wasn't necessary to waste his
breath with things they already knew.
"You were right about the artery," he said, pointing
to the exposed, sutured vessel where the retractors pulled
the muscle aside. "The way those some of those jagged
edges pointed backward and gripped the muscle, sort of like
fishhook barbs, I don't see how she could have removed that
hunk of metal without wiggling it and cutting through the
artery. Your cool thinking may well have saved his life.
See how it was cut anyway? Here to here? That's about
forty percent of the way through. If it had been severed
and had withdrawn, we'd have had a devil of a time getting
the ends back together so we could suture it."
He looked at the two of them and then his eyes smiled
at Wynter. "Although," he added with a wry twist of his
mouth, "we wouldn't have needed to because he'd probably
have bled to death before the ambulance arrived. He's
lucky that you were there."
"Here it comes," Nurse Carter said in a smarty-pants
voice from the other side of the operating table.
Doctor Malenkov gave Nurse Carter a cross look, and
then his eyes smiled at Wynter again. "I understand you've
been exploring the possibilities of obstetrics and
cardiology. If you want plenty of excitement and are
impatient for instant results for your efforts, you might
consider emergency trauma medicine instead."
She smothered a giggle when Kenny looked away and
grumbled, "Aw, man!"
Doctor Malenkov ignored that and explained how the
artery had been sutured, pointing to each area that
illustrated his point. They stayed to observe the suturing
of the thigh. As they were about to leave, Nurse Carter
said, "Wynter, don't run off. I'll be out shortly."
She and Kenny discussed suturing techniques as they
removed and discarded their gowns and masks. When they
entered the waiting room she wasn't all that surprised to
see newspaper reporter Maynard Sillerman with his notepad
and radio reporter Junior Arnold with his tape recorder.
Both of them grinned and waved from the corner where they
were interviewing Huntly. But she was surprised to see
Doctor Taylor sitting with the others and talking with Mrs.
Miller. His face lit up like downtown Las Vegas when he
saw Wynter. She just knew that some day he'd do that and
it would catch fire.
He rose to greet her. "I was telling Monica how
Mitch and Mike have been giving you sales pitches. And
from that look on your face, I'd guess that Fred just gave
you one, too?"
"He did," Kenny said for her. "He told her she'd be
bored doing anything but trauma cases." Kenny's eyes fixed
on Mrs. Miller's. "He also said that Wynter's quick
thinking is what saved Jordan from bleeding to death if
you'd removed that piece of metal. He doesn't even need a
replacement transfusion, thanks to her. He'll be fine."
The woman turned cadaverously white when she realized
that Wynter had saved her from accidentally killing her own
son, then tried to apologize to Wynter and thank her at the
same time. The jumbled words were worse than anything
Suzie could have created.
When Mrs. Miller finally wound down, Wynter said in
her most professional voice that it was her responsibility
as a Future MD to help in an emergency and that she was
just doing her job. "Oh, has anyone figured out what that
piece of metal was or where it came from?"
"No," said Jimmy, giving her a look that said he
loved her with all his heart. "Officer Peters is working
on that. He said it was obviously a fragment and might
have come from one of the cars. By the way, he said he
needs a statement from you, but I told him you already knew
that. He said you can drop it off tomorrow."
She looked at the others, about to ask how they
enjoyed giving statements, when she noticed something was
wrong. "Megan?"
"I'm okay," Megan said, though she looked pale and a
little weak and her voice trembled slightly. "I just
fainted."
She frowned at Huntly, who was returning from his
interview. "Fainted?"
Huntly did his one-shoulder shrug and single-eyebrow
lift. "After things calmed down and she had time to think
about it, she fainted. She's okay now. I offered to give
her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but Hailey said Megan
didn't need it. You want to get the interviews over with
so we can leave?"
Wynter thought Hailey did a good imitation of Kenny's
'Patented Shit-Eating Grin.' She guessed Hailey assumed
that Huntly wanted the same thing Kenny did. "You can go
if you want," she said. Then her grin faded. "Or do you
want me to massage that knee here?" The way he was
favoring his left leg indicated that he's somehow re-
injured it in the excitement. Then she remembered his
comment to himself when he knelt to help. "Nurse Carter
asked me to wait for her anyway."
"We'll wait," he said, indicating to Megan with his
tone that she agreed unanimously.
"Oh, yes," Doctor Taylor said, suddenly remembering.
"Ellen. Actually, I think you're waiting for Kimberly
Rider."
_Nurse Rider!_ That was her name. She was the one
who wasn't happy with Wynter's presence in the delivery room.
Doctor Taylor smiled at Mrs. Miller and gently
squeezed Wynter's shoulder with a warm hand. "I told you
about Wynter's participation in the birth of Robert Andrew
Pierce, Junior? Well, Nurse Rider wasn't happy that a
'civilian' was in the room, and she was even more upset
that Future Doctor King had performed 'surgical procedures'
on a patient. She complained to Mitch Brees, the
obstetrician, who told her to get used to seeing Wynter
preparing for medical school around here. She didn't like
that response, so in her ignorance she complained to me.
Ellen found out about that and had a few words with
Kimberly about going over the heads of both the chief nurse
and Doctor Brees. That left Kimberly groveling and
whimpering. Then Ellen got really unpleasant and had a few
words about her attitude toward Wynter."
Wynter cringed at that announcement. Ron Lopez
always said that the only person in town whom he was afraid
of was Nurse Carter. Wynter was convinced that Ron was
serious.
"Note to self," Mister Arnold said into his
microphone. "Follow up on antipathy of new nurse toward my
beloved girlfriend, Future Doctor Wynter King."
"Junior, I'm impressed," Mister Sillerman said as he
squinted and rubbed an itchy right ear between index finger
and thumb. "I wasn't aware that you knew the word
'antipathy.' Do you have any idea of what it means?"
Wynter always thought Mister Sillerman's voice
sounded a little high for such a large man. She felt that
somebody who looked like a clean-shaven Santa Claus, except
for dark hair fringing a bald pate, should have a much
deeper voice.
"Note to self," Mister Arnold quipped into his
microphone. "Check on rumor that the newspaper refuses to
hire reporters with IQs above seventy."
Wynter shook her head. Those two went after each
other the way Huntly and Sis did. Their arguing had no
more real meaning than that between Sis and Huntly because
they respected each other. Mister Arnold, a man in his
late twenties who Daddy said had been a class clown in high
school, had become quite competent in the relatively short
time since the mine incident, when he'd been an intern
reporter. Daddy also complained that Mister Arnold, like
Huntly, usually refused to act his age. Wynter guessed
that was why she liked him.
Kenny, who was playing with Hailey's butt because he
thought nobody could see, looked away from Hailey to the
two reporters. "Don't make me separate you two and send
you to your rooms."
Mister Arnold faked a frightened look and held up his
hands. "We'll be good, Daddy!"
Kenny grunted and returned his attention to Hailey
while Mrs. Miller looked back and forth, trying to decide
whether Kenny had been serious.
~ ~ ~
Jimmy watched with quiet pride as Wynter, in her most
professional voice and bearing, answered questions for the
reporters. She'd had practice after the mine rescue, of
course, but this was different. He didn't expect that
she'd be rescued from any more mine collapses--he certainly
hoped that she never would--but as a doctor she would have
to face reporters. He couldn't think of more than one or
two he'd seen interviewed on television with half the poise
and assurance of the future Wynter McCauley, MD. Maybe it
was a sign that now she'd forget about those silly imagined
inadequacies.
He wasn't sure at exactly what point he realized he
had Megan and Hailey sitting in the chairs to either side,
each holding one of his hands. Well, neither was attacking
him. And he was sure Wynter would understand that they
were sharing not mutual anxieties but mutual admiration and
affection for her.
The word "Hargus" penetrated and drew Jimmy's
attention. Doctor Taylor was talking to Mrs. Miller and
pointing at him. Mrs. Miller had an astonished look on her
face. He realized that thanks to Doctor Taylor, she had
just learned who they were. She'd known about the rescue
but didn't remember any names or faces.
Kenny spoke quietly in his weird voice. "EARTH TO
MRS. MILLER! DUH!"
"Quiet, putz," he whispered, "or I'll have Hailey
send you to your room."
Kenny started a smartass reply, but suddenly focused
a frown across the room. "Well," he murmured. "This looks
unpleasant."
Jimmy followed his eyes. An angry Nurse Carter was
approaching from the elevators in rapid, deliberate steps.
Her left hand gripped the upper arm of a young nurse who
looked like she'd rather be on her way to her own hanging.
"It may start out that way," he agreed, "but I expect it
will get much worse."
~ ~ ~
Huntly escorted Megan into the Brees family room
behind Ghost, Doctor Cutie, and Jimbo. Kenny's and
Hailey's tongues had gotten into an argument and were
wrestling each other in the kitchen doorway. He froze in
mid-step and gawked at what he saw. "Holy guano, Bat
Bitch! What's that?"
"Prototype," Cinnamon said, her narrowed eyes not
leaving Finnegan Burke's hands as he adjusted the hoses on
some contraption sitting next to the bass drum. Its twin,
but without hoses, sat on the other side.
"Wait 'till you see it in action," Mrs. Vasquez said,
looking down from the gallery above. "It's already
impressive, and I'm sure the final version will be more so."
"I agree," said Huntly as everyone gathered around
the devices. "I haven't seen anything that impressive
since the field trip to the sewage treatment plant."
Everyone but Cinnamon and Finnegan laughed. Cinnamon
spoke without looking up. "Maybe you'd like to visit it
again. Cuz, do you and Megan want to flush him for me?"
"Hey! SO not the prob!" Hailey said as she entered
through the doorway.
"Not until after I massage his knee," Wynter said in
her commanding doctoral voice. "He hurt it again."
Cinnamon finally looked up, scowling. She threw up
her hands. "Good grief, shithead! What did you do THIS
time?"
He shrugged. "Not much. Just helped Doctor Cutie
and Boy Blunder save some out-of-town kid's life. With a
little help from Jimbo, of course."
The angry look vanished. "What?"
Kenny began explaining before anyone else could draw
breath.
Huntly was impressed with how Kenny had almost gotten
the facts right. He guessed it would be a couple of days
before Wynter was an assistant who held the boy's hand for
comfort while Kenny did... well, everything else, including
restraining the mother. No doubt with his own belt while
simultaneously using it for a tourniquet.
Cinnamon raised an eyebrow. Huntly gave her a shrug-
and-nod that indicated Kenny had it mostly right. This
time. She shook her head and said, "How do you expect me
to get mad at you when you keep having a good excuse every
time you hurt it again?"
"Maybe it's because I realize that if I don't have a
good one, the knee injury will be the least of my
problems." He waited until after the laughter from the
others died before he waved a hand at Finnegan. "So what
is... THAT?"
"Show him," Finnegan said, rising to his feet. "I
think it's fixed now."
Kenny had a very impressive patented shit-eating
grin, but his was amateurish compared to Cinnamon's. She
looked up and pointed at Mrs. Vasquez. The woman nodded.
_Now what?_
Cinnamon took her throne seat, fluttered her hands in
a shooing motion to indicate everyone should step back, and
drew sticks. She played a new solo she'd been working out
with Huntly, quickly working to a frenzy and then suddenly
stopping before changing beats. Everything was normal
until that point.
When she stopped she tossed her sticks, one to him
and one to Jimmy. He caught his, barely noticing that two
other sticks had shot up from the floor contraptions to
hover in front of her. The little redhead grabbed them and
went back to work on the drums, not even a tenth of a beat
off.
Everyone but Cinnamon and perhaps Ghost looked at
Finnegan. The grinning boy inventor pumped his right fist
up-then-down and jerked his left foot off the floor,
grinning in triumph. "YESSSS!" he hissed with glee.
Cinnamon was approaching another transitional pause.
Huntly's eyes moved back to her. When the pause arrived,
she tossed the sticks straight up, two perfect vertical
spiral passes that paused for a moment in front of Mrs.
Vasquez. She snatched them out of the air as Cinnamon
resumed with two more sticks that had shot up in front of
her. From here the solo would be in ever decreasing
intervals between the pauses.
When the pauses arrived, Cinnamon tossed sticks to
Wynter and Megan, then to Hailey and Kenny, and then simply
tossed the sticks aside and grabbed new ones as they popped
up after that. The solo ended with three paired cymbal
crashes, a brief snare workout, and a final paired cymbal
crash. Each was done with a different pair of sticks.
After the applause, Kenny looked at his drumstick and
read the gold inscription on the school colors. "Griffin
Middle School Knights Band," he said. "I'd think you'd at
least have your name on them, like Huntly's guitar."
"Hey! Like, turn it over, pickledick."
Kenny did. "Cinnamon Brees." The little drummer's
signature was also embossed in gold. "Where'd you get
these?"
"Vic Firth sells seconds for souvenirs."
"Oh," said Megan. "Then these are practice sticks?"
"No," said Wynter and Jimmy together. Doctor Cutie
nodded at Jimbo to continue. "These aren't birch or pine."
Cinnamon laughed, pleased that he had remembered the
comment she'd made during her audition for the stage band.
Huntly had heard the story soon after it happened and now
knew that it was made to put the band director, Mister
Howard, at a disadvantage. Cinnamon always negotiated from
a position of strength. "No, they're quality sticks, just
with blemishes in the grain. You buy a minimum of a
hundred-forty-four pairs and the imprinting is free."
"You're going to give away a couple hundred bucks
worth of sticks every time you play that?" Huntly asked.
The way she blinked as she deliberately turned her head to
look at him conveyed her message. "I said a stoopid,
didn't I?"
"I think I know," Wynter said, her beautiful face
bright with intuition. All eyes turned to her. "The
school band name is on these. You'll give a way a few
samples to increase demand, and then sell the rest as band
fund raisers."
"Oh, Sis," Cinnamon said in an exaggerated tone of
relief, "if only the males of the species could think ahead
as well as we do. And, by the way, these cost the school
only two bucks a pair." Then she focused on Finnegan and
went seriously serious. "The compressed air is the most
reliable. The springs are still off one to three inches
from the previous shot each time."
"Got it," he said. "I can have the next version in a
week. I'm waiting for some parts. So, is it hot tub time?"
"It is for Huntly," Wynter said, causing his heart to
skip a beat. She looked a question at Cinnamon in their
non-verbal communication and got a nod in response.
"Good," Wynter said. "I can't wait to try out your
tub. Is everyone else joining us?"
Megan suddenly looked disappointed. "I don't have a
bathing suit with me."
"SO not the big! We, like, don't wear them," said
Hailey before Cinnamon could speak, earning her a glower
from the little redhead.
"WHAT?"
Cinnamon smiled at Wynter. "Sis, could you explain,
since you've had the most practice?" While Winter spoke,
Cinnamon continued to grit her teeth and glare at Hailey,
who appeared oblivious to the admonition.
After Her Doctorness finished, Megan still was
hesitant, looking at each of the boys.
Hailey threw up her hands. "Hey! Holy shit, Megan!
Like, what's the drama? The only ones here who haven't,
like, seen you naked already are Jimmy and me. Jimmy's not
going to do anything with Wynter here. He, like, won't
even do anything when she's not around," she said with deep
disappointment.
"WHITNEY GWYNETH! YOU'RE OUT OF LINE!"
Hailey looked honestly puzzled as she tilted her head
to one side and stared at her cousin. Huntly squeezed
Megan to his side as Hailey said, "Well, it's SO the truth!"
"It's not about Jimmy!" Cinnamon barked, her eyes
flaring. "Who has or hasn't seen Megan is nobody's
business but hers and the people involved. It's up to THEM
to decide whether others need to know that publicly,
whether or not they already know privately, not YOU!"
Hailey lowered her head in contrition, the sentiment
echoing in her voice. "I'm sorry, Megan. I was, like,
just SO trying to help." Then her head sprang up and she
said brightly, "So! How about joining us?"
Huntly recognized the look on Cinnamon's face,
unfortunately. Time to prevent a homicide. "May we have a
moment?" He took Megan into the breakfast area, discovered
Mrs. Vasquez was in the kitchen, and escorted Megan into
the living room. In two minutes he had her agreement,
along with an understanding that if she felt uneasy, she
could leave and he'd see to it that nobody ever said
anything about it to her. He knew that he had only one
worry on that point, but he also knew that Cinnamon would
see to it that Hailey wouldn't think of uttering a word if
she wanted to live.
~ ~ ~
Wynter had just begun massaging Huntly's knee when
the intercom announced a phone call for Cinnamon. She
thought Mrs. Vasquez sounded awfully excited, so it sure
must be something good. She mentioned that to Huntly after
the little redhead had climbed out of the tub, grabbed a
bath sheet, and padded to the phone in the card room. She
had to use that phone because the workmen had tiled over
the phone outlet in the hot tub room and it hadn't been
uncovered yet.
"Has to be good news. Maybe it's about the wedding,"
Huntly suggested. "Maybe it's Hailey's parents saying they
can be here."
Wynter pursed her lips and pushed them to one side.
"If it's Hailey's parents, they'd want to talk to her
first, wouldn't they?"
Huntly conceded the point when Hailey agreed, but he
didn't seem too sure that they were right. But Hailey's
parents weren't like the rest of Cinnamon's birth mother's
family. Surely they'd want to talk...
Cinnamon's squeal of delight echoed into the room.
Wynter looked up into Huntly's eyes. "It's good!" they
said together. She glanced at Jimmy and caught his grin-
and-nod.
Jimmy had moved to the seat beside Megan's, who sat
next to Huntly. That had made her nervous at first, but
Jimmy began talking to her in a conversational tone about
several topics, easing her anxiety disorder. Megan should
be okay if Hailey and Kenny could keep their hormones in
check. So far, so good, she thought. No doubt that was
due in part to Finnegan, who looked like he was ready to
jump between the pair and physically separate them if
necessary.
Wynter sat back after she finished. Jimmy scooted
beside her and took her hand while Huntly sighed and took
Megan's. She was thrilled to note how Megan had relaxed
thanks to Jimmy, though Megan had also made sure that she
stayed neck-deep in the water. And, she conceded, it was
also thanks to the restraint Finnegan imposed on the two
hyperactive hormone generators.
Cinnamon bounced back into the room and tossed her
towel aside. Wynter thought for a moment that she was
going to dive into the hot tub. Sis grabbed Finnegan and
gave him a big kiss, then repeated it with Huntly. Megan,
who was technically Huntly's date, didn't seem to mind,
perhaps because she was caught up in Cinnamon's excitement.
When Sis unexpectedly grabbed Kenny and kissed him,
too, Wynter squeezed Jimmy's hand. He looked at her and
nodded his understanding that he would be next. She
couldn't decide whether Jimmy's eyes held fear,
resignation, or shared excitement with Sis. Maybe it was
all three.
Instead of standing and kissing Jimmy the way she'd
done the others, she straddled his legs and sat down,
locking her arms around his neck. Wynter gently pushed
Jimmy's hand toward the little redhead's back. As always,
Jimmy understood her silent command. After a moment's
hesitation he released her hand and wrapped his arms around
Sis. Apparently Jimmy was no more surprised than Wynter
when Cinnamon orgasmed.
Wynter's eyes flicked to Huntly, then the others.
Only Huntly and Hailey, who gave her subtle nods--Huntly's
accompanied by a wink--realized what had happened.
Cinnamon needed a few seconds to recover. She used the
excuse of giving Jimmy an intimate hug to whisper in his
ear. Wynter read the "Thanks" on her lips. Wynter gave
Jimmy a nod of reassurance that he'd done the right thing.
Cinnamon rose, giggled, and said, "Band practice at
Jimmy's tonight. Six-thirty. That includes you," she said
with a nod at both Finnegan and Kenny, "and you, Sis.
Megan, can you be there, too?"
Megan looked first surprised and then honored.
"Well, sure. I think so. Why?"
The answer was a mere grin.
"Cinnamon," Jimmy said in an anxious voice, "I'm not
sure Dad can make it tonight."
Sis's face was in danger of a smile-induced rupture
as her grin pushed her cheeks up, narrowing her sparkling
eyes to slits. "I called him. He said he could change his
plans. He picked the start time."
While the rest tried to get Sis to answer questions
and give explanations, Wynter reasoned that she had enough
symptoms. She put on her diagnosis cap.
Sis wanted her there. She hadn't actually said
"Junior and the Twins," nor had she said "surf band" or
"new age band." Finnegan's presence meant something to do
with sound, which indicated a performance. _Why Kenny and
Megan, though? The only...._
"So," she said in her best professional medical
voice. Sis turned and gave her an expectant look. Sis had
presumed that she would work it out. Wynter's heart
swelled in her chest as she squeezed Jimmy's hand and
asked, "Did he bring back the bass player, too?
~ ~ ~
Suzie's eyes filled with tears as she read Cinnamon's
message. She wiped them with her fingers and dried those
on her nightie. She knew that her friend was sincere when
she said that she wished Suzie could be there and said how
much she would be missed. Despite being betrayed by that
stupid dolt, this was just the best year ever in her life!
Suzie had thought that nothing would ever make her
want to leave swim camp, but right there it was on
Jennifer's computer screen. She'd never felt more loved
than EVER at this moment! Even when she'd been with...
HIM... before he betrayed her. Even when Cinnamon and
Wynter found her dyslexia and helped her with that. Even
when Josh kissed her good night after their afternoon and
evening together, though their time had been shared with
his parents and Lori. But sharing their day with his
parents and sister had felt good, too.
Her fingers moved on the laptop's keyboard. She
typed out her regrets that she couldn't be there with them
tonight and thanked Cinnamon for being such a good friend
and thinking about her. She tapped her chin with a finger
for a few moments, then grinned and added, 'You mihgt want
to have Magen practise screeming, just incase.'
Her finger paused above the 'Send' button.
Cinnamon's letter was ever so wonderful. She felt
embarrassed by sending back a reply that, while heartfelt,
was probably full of mistakes. She sat back in her chair
and waited for Jennifer to return from the bathroom.
"Can I beg a favor?" she asked when her roommate
entered.
Jennifer smiled as she put her toothbrush and
toothpaste on her shelf. "Sure. What?"
She asked Jennifer to 'fix' her letter so that it
would be a nice reply to Cinnamon. She didn't want her
dyslexia to create an unworthy reply. Jennifer agreed,
just like a big sister would do. After Jennifer fixed it,
explaining what she was changing and why, Suzie sent it.
"I'll make you a deal," Jennifer said, brushing back
a lock of blondish-red hair dangling in Suzie's eyes. She
gave Suzie a warm, loving smile. "You keep working hard at
improving your condition, and I'll help you like this
whenever I can. Except for doing your homework, of course."
This time the tears didn't stay in her eyes. She
hugged Jennifer and tried to express her relief.
"It's okay, Suzie," Jennifer said, gently stroking
Suzie's back. "It's my honor and privilege to help.
Somebody else helped me like that with my dyslexia problem,
too."
Nineteen
Because of the long winters and short summers high in
the mountains, the majority of the townspeople spent the
Fourth of July at outdoor picnics. Many went to the picnic
areas on Rainbow Peninsula, but most went to Otter Park,
where the early birds got tables and the rest sat on
blankets spread on the grass. Since Jimmy had to be at the
park early for the set-up, he had staked out a large table
for his family, Wynter's, and Cinnamon's near the park's
gazebo. Huntly had marked the adjacent table for his
family, the Reeds, and the Erlands. The Hayes family was
large enough to occupy its own table, as did the Watkins
clan. The Taylors clustered with some other doctors, while
Suzie's parents were conspicuous by their absence.
Scattered clouds cruised the crisp blue sky, but that
was better than the rain clouds that had been predicted as
recently as three days earlier. Jimmy saw Wynter point
toward the concrete formwork of the concert shell and say
something to Cinnamon, but her words were drowned out by
Hailey, sitting at the end next to Cinnamon, shouting
something to Jimmy's mother at the opposite corner of the
table.
Jimmy looked forward to the completion of the concert
shell by International Ski and Trail, which would then
donate it to the town. Cinnamon wanted Junior and the
Twins to participate in the various concerts and band
contests to be held there, and Jimmy was sure that Cinnamon
could get whatever she wanted even without her father's
community clout. The shell's backstage area would allow
bands to set up early on wheeled platforms, like Cinnamon
used for her drum kit in the school gym performances, and
guards would keep people away until performance time.
The problem with using the gazebo was that you had to
set up either early that morning or just before your
performance. The latter was okay with smaller bands,
especially those with minimal drum kits. Set up for Junior
and the Twins required considerably longer since they used
Cinnamon's practice kit, plus the sound ran through a mixer
operated by Finnegan Burke. Which meant that they had to
set up early, even though they were the closing act.
The sole good thing was that they were one of only
two full bands performing. The other band was Maroon
Bells, a group of students from the high school, who had a
very basic drum kit, even though it featured the high
school's star drummer. The Bells needed minimal area and
could set up and tear down quickly, so The Twins didn't
have to delay set-up to make room for anyone else. The
other acts besides Maroon Bells were solos, a duo, and two
trios, none of whom had drums or keyboards.
Jimmy wasn't sure how that had worked out. He'd have
suspected Cinnamon's involvement, but the little redhead,
while efficient, couldn't work miracles. Well, he didn't
think she could work them.
A soft, "Oh, NO!" from Wynter interrupted his
reverie. She was looking across the table at her father
with a look of... well, if it had been anyone else but
Wynter, he'd have called it horror. Mister King was
holding a jar of pickle slices over his plate and looking
at it with his eyes unfocused, they way he himself
sometimes looked beyond things when they triggered memories.
Mister King smiled the way people do when they
suddenly remember past events, causing Wynter to sag. He
gave his daughter a mischievous grin. "Wynnie wanna tickle?"
"DADDY!"
Jimmy had forgotten just how deeply red Wynter could
get when she blushed because he hadn't seen her that
embarrassed in what seemed like years. Mister King's voice
was baby talk. _Wynter called herself "Wynnie" when she
was learning to talk. I already knew that. He's saying
she also called pickles "tickles"? So what?_
Mrs. King glanced at Wynter and then glared at her
husband. "Richard..."
"Jimmy," he said, ignoring both of them, "did I ever
tell you that Wynter used to call these 'tickles'?"
Jimmy shook his head and took Wynter's hand. "No,
sir. But that's not unusual when you're learning to talk.
I used to call spaghetti 'pasghetti.'" He thought that
admission might help, but Wynter cringed more. _Did I make
things worse? HOW?_
Mister King ignored his wife's continued warnings to
shut up. "Wynter loved bread and butter pickle slices even
more when she was two or three years old. We'd sit down to
eat and she'd say, 'Wynnie wanna tickle!' One day we gave
her one, and then another, but she kept saying 'Wynnie
wanna TICKLE!' in a super-demanding voice, even though she
had two on her plate. We kept trying to get her to eat the
ones she had."
Wynter released Jimmy's hand and buried her glowing
red face in both of hers. His now-free hand slid around
her back to her other arm and pulled her against his side
as he tried to comprehend her embarrassment.
"We learned the hard way that she was trying to say
'tinkle' and not 'pickle.' She was in training pants
instead of a diaper. I tell you, that was one lunch we
never... OW!"
The way he yelped and jumped a second time indicated
that Mrs. King had kicked him after punching his arm.
"What did I do?"
"MEN!"
Jimmy thought it was amusing the way Cinnamon and
Hailey had spoken in unison with Mrs. King, but he knew
better than to laugh. Besides, if he did he might get his
own dad to reminiscing, and he REALLY didn't want that.
At a three-to-one disadvantage, Mister King quickly
gave up. Jimmy knew that Wynter loved her father even more
than she loved him, which was, of course, as it should be,
but the arctic sound of her voice accepting his apology ran
shivers down his spine. He never wanted to upset her that
much and hear her use THAT tone directed at him. That day
when she was sick had been more than bad enough. This time
her voice was twice as cold as that day's voice had been hot.
~ ~ ~
"He is, like, SO full of it!" Hailey went as she
reached around behind her for her glass, then leaned back
against the table top again and watched the emcee's antics
at the gazebo. "He is SO the worst, more than Uncle Mitch
and Huntly combined." She crossed her ankles, frowned, and
sucked lemonade through the straw.
"Maybe," went Rosita behind her, getting a gripe from
Uncle Mitch. "But he's not as he appears. His
'spontaneous' comments have been rehearsed for a week at
least."
Cuz, sitting between Hailey and Wynter, turned to
look over her shoulder at Rosita and went, "I've been a
good influence on you. That was my estimate, too."
"Not really," went Rosita. "We did community theater
when he was the class clown in high school class, back
before I married Pete. We became good friends. He told me
then. I hadn't told anyone else until now, but I knew
you'd realize that for yourself sooner or later."
Cuz giggled and then went, "Hailey, you saw him at
the hospital. He was a cut-up there, too, but he was all
professional when he interviewed you and the rest of us.
Remember how he was when he saw that asking about the dead
guy upset you? Remember how Huntly switches from shithead
to best friend when he needs to? It's the same act."
"I guess." This was a holiday and a picnic. She
didn't need Cuz lecturing her again. She'd rather hear
Wynter lecture on... whatev'. Treating diarrhea. Curing
leprosy. Discovering a new disease in somebody and naming
it after him. She glanced up at a greeting from Phil Jones
and responded with a coy smile, a wink, and a tracing of
one fingertip up the inner side of her thigh.
Where was she? Oh, yeah. Wynter was, like,
discovering "Phillitosis." Even that would be better than
another of Cuz's lectures today. She'd rather listen to
that class clown who was dressed like a circus clown, with
the chartreuse jacket, purple-and-orange striped pants--
horizontal stripes, no less--mauve shirt with tiny yellow
polka dots, and a dark green tie with a light-up Christmas
tree blinking on it.
"You stopped listening, didn't you?"
She pressed the fingertips of one hand to the bare
expanse of her chest above her tube-top and raised her
eyebrows at her frowning redheaded cousin. "Moi?"
Cuz shook her head and turned to say something to
Wynter.
Mister Arnold churned on about the new band shell and
the band contests that would be featured next year to raise
money for a "Schoolership Fund." Whatev'! She just wanted
to hear the music and dance, if it was, like, something she
could dance to. Some of the worthless crap these mainland
people played, however...
"And now today's line-up," he went, holding up a
small sheet of paper. "Those of you who ignored the signs
and sat on that side of the gazebo may want to move to this
side," he emphasized directions with huge arm movements and
exaggerated pointing, "because this is where the speakers
are pointed, for those players who use them." He paused
and then went, "Well, okay but don't complain later,
because I TOLD YOU SO!"
When he decided the crowd didn't, like, react enough
he waved his hands in looping circles, like he was pulling
more laughs from the crowd to himself.
He put the paper in the hand with the mike, looked
down at whoev' in the audience, like, faked a telephone
with his free hand, and went, "Call Maurer's and tell them
we have a dead audience for pick-up. Have them bring two
semi's, one bucket loader, and a pooper-scooper for that
midget over there."
_Lame!_
After he finally got whatev' response he needed he
took the paper in his other hand and held it out at arm's
length. He scooted his glasses to the end of his nose and
held it out again. "First up is our Griffin Middle School
entry, JUNIOR AND THE TWINS!"
Cuz jumped up. "WHAT? We were supposed to be last!"
She made like a hurricane up the steps of the gazebo,
looking like she might just jerk Doofus Arnold down to her
level. _He'll, like, be lucky if that's all that Cuz does
when she's in that mood! He might be safer jumping in
Kilauea and, like, facing Pele herself!_
Hailey twisted to mention that to Jimmy, but he'd got
up and was standing beside his dad at the other end of the
table, with Huntly and LaMarcus, too. Her new sister was,
of course, looking at Jimmy. Hailey smiled with just a
hint of envy.
As Cuz stomped her way back to the table, Mister
Arnold keyed his mike. "Well, it seems we've already had
our first problem. Nobody bothered to tell the closing act
that the opening act's lead singer's early return flight
out of Wichita was delayed this morning, so their positions
had been switched. He's landed but probably isn't out of
Denver yet. Normally I'd say to Junior and the Twins,
'Love,' because love means never having to say you're sorry!"
Hailey rolled her eyes. _Lame!_
He waited for the groans. As he lifted the mike back
to his mouth, Mister Sillerman's voice rang out from
somewhere back behind Hailey. "Junior, you're the sorriest
person I know!"
He waited for the laughs to die, then went, "In this
case, Maynard's right for the first time in his life. I am
sorry and apologize sincerely, because I wasn't aware that
they hadn't been notified of the change. They need time to
change clothes for their act. The number two act is Harold
Butler. Harold, can you go on first?" He scanned the
audience, then pointed at someone and repeated the question.
Somebody Hailey couldn't see shouted, "Yes!" as Cuz
got there.
Cuz waved her hands in a scooping motion, meaning
everyone should, like, join her. Wynter and Hailey jumped
up. Cuz began barking orders. "Sis, you bring the rest.
Cuz, I need you now. Hurry up, shithead! Okay, let's go."
Hailey went with Junior and the Twins in the rush to
the dressing tents standing beyond the gazebo and the
picnic tables on its other side. She slid beside Jimmy and
hooked her arm around his. When he jumped she went,
"Relax, pickledick. There SO isn't the time for me to make
your dreams come true."
She giggled at his red face but wouldn't release his
arm. She went, "I might fall in these sandals as fast as
we're walking."
"Oh," was all he said. He slipped his arm behind her
in support. She made a note of how well that trick worked
as they hurried along.
They went into the second tent almost without slowing
down, giving her no time to flirt with the cute security
guard. Back at the gazebo the newest new opening act
strummed an acoustic guitar and began "singing" some
country crap. It was just as well that she was here in the
tent. The guy couldn't carry a tune in a cargo net, and
you couldn't dance to that junk.
"Okay," Cinnamon went as they stopped, "you're about
to get a lesson in what real backstage quick-changing is
like. No dressing rooms. Get with it!"
Hailey thought Jimmy was going to faint when Cinnamon
ripped off her top and reached for the flower-print
bandanna that she would wear in the act. He threw a
horrified look at his father, like he thought the sight of
Cuz's gorgeous bare tits might cause his dad to have a
heart attack or whatev', but Mister McCauley just turned,
pulled off his tee shirt, and dropped his shorts.
Hailey pulled Jimmy's head down to whisper in his
ear. "Sorry I have to go, stud, but your dad's costume,
like, requires more help than yours." She wiggled her
tongue in his ear for a second, then sprang to his dad,
reaching for his wetsuit.
"JIMMY!" Cuz barked in warning as she made a bandeau
top out of the bandanna. Hailey SO wished she had time to
lick the little redhead's nipples. _Just to, like, make
them wet so the bandanna won't slip_, she thought. _Sure_.
Mister McCauley turned his head to look at his son
before stepping into the pants of the wetsuit. "Son, hurry
up and change. Oh, for Pete's sake! Don't you think I
know what to do after all these years?" He pointed out
Hailey with a little jerk of his head. "This isn't my
first experience at... this, you know."
Jimmy's horrified look remained, but he blindly
reached for the hem of his shirt.
Hailey giggled and glanced at Mister McCauley's
underwear while she pulled up the waistband of the wetsuit.
_Like son, like father!_ she observed.
~ ~ ~
Wynter halted the others while the band rushed out of
the tent, LaMarcus and Huntly slipping on their headsets
after they cleared the door. She frowned because Hailey
wasn't with them. If Kenny hadn't been with Wynter's
group, she'd have been unkindly suspicious. Before she
could stick her head inside to check on her newest sister,
Hailey rushed out, still attempting to fasten the catch of
her grass skirt, and followed the others.
Wynter held open the door to the tent and used arm
movements to speed them along. "You guys hurry up! The
girls will take longer to change."
The guys were out in no time. "Aw, wait a minute,"
Duck Watkins said and rushed back inside for his forgotten
cornet. Naturally the rest, especially Kenny, began
razzing him about wanting to be in the tent while the girls
changed into swim wear.
Wynter followed Shamisa, Monique, Alyssa, and Megan
into the tent and waved Duck toward the door with a
sweeping gesture. She was half-surprised when he paused to
kiss Alyssa on his way out, not at Duck but at Alyssa's
show of affection in public.
Alyssa turned to Wynter, her face still red.
"Wynter, I'm sorry, but all I have is a tank suit, and I
had to sneak it..."
"Oh!" Wynter said. "I almost forgot. Over here.
Sis got this for you."
Alyssa took the box. "How did she get this on a
holiday morning?"
"All she said when I asked was, 'You can never have
too many friends.' Come on!" she said, pulling off her top
and reaching for her bra clasp. "We have to hurry in case
we're needed early."
Alyssa looked into the box before undressing.
"Mother will kill me."
~ ~ ~
Cinnamon led the way up the back side of the gazebo
while Mister Arnold tried to garner applause for Harold
Garner. Her ears still hurt from what he called singing.
She wondered how many wasted favors he'd called in to get
himself on the stage today, then shook it off and keyed the
intercom for a check with each of the band members and then
with Finnegan.
"Good," Finnegan replied to all. "We're off line, so
gimme a five count, Cinnamon first."
Finnegan adjusted levels while each member of the
band quickly counted to five and back. Finnegan was good.
He stopped all but Jimmy at the four on the down count.
"Instrument check," he said. He double-checked the line
inputs one instrument at a time, with Jimmy also running
the check for Alyssa's keyboard and Wynter's Clavinova.
"We're ready."
Mister Arnold had given up on getting any more
applause for someone who had already received more than his
act deserved. He had launched into some trivia about the
statue of Jack Hargus at the other end of the open area,
giving The Twins time to complete their set-up.
Cinnamon gave the band a quick eyeball. She thought
that Huntly, Jimmy, and LaMarcus looked great in the faded
baggy beach shorts that hung to their knees and their open
Hawaiian shirts. She thought Jimmy's arrowhead looked a
little out of place. She knew he wouldn't remove it under
any circumstances, so she hadn't asked. She'd already
heard several comments about Mister McCauley and his wet
suit. Although he'd assured her it was not a problem, she
was still concerned about heat stress, even if the top was
open to his waist.
She glanced down. She was sure that the bandanna
would stay in place. If not, well, unlike Janet Jackson in
her staged "accident," she didn't have pasties on. If she
had a real accident, then some guys were probably going to
remember this concert for the rest of their lives.
She decided she'd have to get a different wrap-around
Hawaiian skirt for their next performance. Something had
shifted during their rush to the gazebo, and now it wasn't
comfortable. She was tempted to just remove it, but
doubtless some fuddy-duddys would complain about her
performing in a bikini bottom, even though it had far more
cloth than she was used to wearing. And probably
infinitely more than Hailey was wearing. She thought she
knew the real reason why Cuz was "having a problem" with
the catch of the grass skirt as everyone else was leaving.
When Cinnamon lightly tapped the cowbell and the high
hat, Mister Arnold turned a questioning eye to her. She
nodded.
"But that's enough history for now," Mister Arnold
said. "More of you dozed off in my lecture than you did in
school. Ladies and gentlemen! In this corner, the
heavyweight champions of the Griffin Middle School musical
talent!"
The headsets came on. Finnegan announced,
"Instruments are hot."
Mister Arnold paused as the cheering erupted.
Finally he said, "On lead guitar, the best former third
baseman Griffin Middle School has ever seen, except for
everybody else..."
Cinnamon grinned at the hot glare Huntly threw at
her. He knew who had written the intros.
"...HUNTLY SHERIDAN!"
Huntly strummed a B-Major chord and gave the tremolo
bar a workout, like he was trying to strangle something.
Or someone.
_'B-major' for 'major bitch,'_ Cinnamon thought with
an even wider grin.
"On rhythm guitar, the highway department's surfing
supervisor, KEITH MCCAULEY!"
Mister McCauley pantomimed riding a surfboard, then
did the closing gliss for 'Pipeline,' followed by the
individually-plucked strings of the final chord. More
cheering followed while he waved.
"On keyboards, Griffin Middle School's top science
whiz and the best friend of the heroine of yesterday's life-
saving incident at the Aspenleaf Center, JIMMY MCCAULEY!"
As the crowd whooped and cheered and Jimmy played the
first measure of the main theme of 'Wynter's Song,'
Cinnamon wondered how Sis had reacted to THAT intro.
"On bass, the next school year's leading contender
for breaking Lowell Wyman's record for the most points
scored in a season by an eighth grader, LAMARCUS REED!"
Cinnamon wondered if anybody had heard LaMarcus's
name because the screaming and yelling began after the word
"record." LaMarcus didn't seem to notice as he pantomimed
dribbling and shooting, and then played 'Shave and a
Haircut.'
"Appearing with the band, translating their sounds
into motion as special guest dancer, Hawaii's favorite
wahine, HAILEY KENNEDY!"
Cuz stepped forward and, palms together over her
head, did a brief hip-shaking dance that told Cinnamon that
the grass skirt was securely fastened. If that didn't
shake it loose, nothing would. And she thought the crowd
had gone wild over LaMarcus! She glanced at her father,
drooling at their table, and was surprised to see Mister
King's open mouth and wide eyes as well. She grinned to
herself.
"And finally, last but least only in physical height."
The way he laughed told everyone that Mister Arnold
had written that line himself.
"Here she is, the one you're waiting for! The star
of the Griffin Middle School Band..."
Cinnamon didn't hear the rest of it because of the
crowd. When Mister Arnold threw an arm back and turned his
face to her, she took that as a cue and gave the drums and
cymbals what she called 'Intro Number One.'
She switched her headset to the PA setting. "Thank
you! Ladies and gentlemen, 'Walk, Don't Run '64!'" Her
left arm shot up, holding the stick horizontal and parallel
to her shoulders and the right hand rose with its stick to
count off the beat. With the headsets she could have
spoken the count, but audiences had to be visually as well
as aurally entertained with what they expected.
Her arms shot down and she paused while LaMarcus
brought the base line up the scale in a gliss to the proper
key and pattern. The grin she was never able to control
seized her face, her hands moved, and once again the wild
ride took possession of her.
~ ~ ~
After 'Pipeline' ended, Wynter asked everybody to
gather around and quickly check headsets with Finnegan.
Cinnamon, able to listen in through her headset, stretched
things out until all had checked in. Not that doing so
required any effort on the little redhead's part. Sis
merely had to wait before quieting the crowd.
"Do we have all our equipment?" Wynter asked with a
pointed look at Duck. When he looked like an old sheep and
nodded, she said, "Okay, let's go."
"Ladies and gentlemen," said the loudspeakers in
Sis's voice, "'Mariner No. 4!'"
Wynter's heart swelled in her chest as Jimmy played
the rising opening chords. Huntly's interwoven notes gave
way to the main theme, and she was thrilled to see people
up and dancing everywhere. When she halted everyone at the
back of the gazebo, she'd noticed that Huntly wasn't with
the rest of the band. He was down front, dancing on the
steps, not with Hailey but with Evi Lopez on the ground in
front of him. She sure hoped he didn't lose his balance
and fall down the remaining steps, especially with his new
guitar. She made a note to remind him later how dangerous
that was, especially with his injured knee.
She focused on Hailey, dancing at the edge of the
floor just above the steps, and worried that she would lose
her balance and tumble down into Huntly and Evi. Then she
noticed the speed and motion of Sis Two's hips and wondered
if that would delay osteoarthritis or speed its onset.
Both seemed equally likely results of... She gasped.
_Wait a minute! Is she wearing anything under that
grass skirt?_
"Repeat second verse and chorus," Sis said into the
headset intercom.
Huntly stopped dancing for the transition chords and
the interweave, then began dancing with Evi again. The
crowd, both dancers and sit-abouts, was eating it up.
Wynter turned her eyes up to Tyrone's. "We may be
the anticlimax."
He threw an arm around her shoulders and gave her a
squeeze. "Trust Little Momma to find a way to make every
group after us look bad."
Wynter thought Mister Butler had found a way to make
everyone after him look good, but she didn't say that, nor
did she mention that she thought the current crowd reaction
had more to do with Huntly than Cinnamon. Besides, if she
said so to Sis, the little drummer would just flip a hand
and say disdainfully, "It's the band that counts, not
individual performers," the same way she always responded
to praise about herself. But Wynter sure was glad to see
Huntly getting some acclaim, too.
The crowd exploded again when Huntly's arm whipped
around and up, index and little fingers extended, at the
end of the final chord. After he climbed the steps back to
his position, pausing for an instant to hug Hailey,
Cinnamon threw her arms up in a "V" and motioned for quiet
with her hands.
"Thank you!" she cried several times until the noise
dropped off. "Ladies and gentlemen, that's all we have as
Junior and the Twins...," she paused until the crowd's
protests began to quiet when they noticed the other
performers taking the stage. "As I was trying to say,
that's all we have as Junior and the Twins, but we have
more as part of the back-up band for the final number!"
She paused for the crowd's reaction. Wynter noted
that many people had already identified Tyrone.
Sis quickly ran through the introductions. The crowd
reaction told Wynter too many people remembered how Derek
and Duck had acted at the Talent Show performance. She
didn't think Dustin got the response he deserved, but it
was much better than Derek's and Duck's. Alyssa also
deserved more applause than she got, though she got at
least as much as Dustin. Maybe it was because people were
surprised at seeing her in a two-piece swim suit.
Cinnamon stole a glance at Edie Erland while Alyssa
waved and the crowd cheered. The woman had a look of sheer
horror on her face, even though Alyssa's swim suit could be
called at best a two-piece and certainly not a bikini.
She'd been tempted to order a bikini for Alyssa, but she
realized that if she'd done so, Mrs. Erland would have
grounded her daughter for life. As it was, she would have
to kiss a lot of the woman's ample butt to shift the anger
away from Alyssa. Well, it wasn't as if she hadn't had
practice doing similar actions over the past few years.
Wynter smiled at Alyssa and added her own applause,
then waited for Sis to continue. She was astonished that
the crowd's thunderous reaction for herself included wolf
whistles and cat-calls. Fortunately, Jimmy took that in
stride.
Wynter's heart swelled in her chest when, during the
introduction of Kenny and of Megan as Suzie's substitute,
the crowd cheered Suzie, too. She would e-mail her friend
as soon as she could, or maybe just phone her tonight, and
tell her about the crowd's response. Megan received more
whistles and cat-calls with her applause. Wynter always
thought Megan was attractive in her team swim suit. She
was positively stunning in that bikini, even if she didn't
fill out hers any more than Wynter did.
"Fifty dollars--make that FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS to
anyone who can find me better back-up singers than SHAMISA
JAMES AND MONIQUE LARUE!"
This time the reaction was about fifty percent
whistles and cat-calls. Shamisa and Monique wiggled as
they waved and seemed disappointed that the fifty percent
was all they got.
"And finally the lead singer and star of this act,
who has signed a recording contract, along with our bass
player, for a CD due out around Christmas! Ladies and
gentlemen, TYRONE HAYES!"
The little drummer waited for the crowd noise to
drop, finally gave up, and shot her left arm in the air.
"Thank you! Let's go 'Dancing on the Ceiling!'"
Her arm flew down, Finnegan again used the sound
board to create footsteps while moving those and the voices
of Tyrone, Megan, and Kenny across the gazebo platform for
the intro bit. Tyrone ended with, "Let's go check this
thing out!", Sis slammed out the opening drum sequence,
and Wynter's heart swelled in her chest yet again as the
band kicked in.
~ ~ ~
Suzie jumped to her feet and waved as Mister Berger
continued. "Do not let the age of any of our student
coaches fool you. The word in their title that concerns
you is "coach," not "student." They are every bit as much
coaches as are Coach Bryant or Coach Miller. We had an
incident in Group One with a camper who had trouble with
the concept that Coach Middleton was a coach, even though
they were the same age. We almost sent her home. Next
time we won't be as lenient."
Suzie tried ever so hard not to giggle when she heard
some voices whispering "Amber" or "Vallarta," but she
wasn't sure she was successful. Suzie glanced at Jennifer
and saw that she'd covered her mouth to hide the smile that
was in her eyes, too. Then she realized that most of the
lady coaches were doing the same thing, and so was Coach
Wallace.
"Thank you, Coaches. You may take your seats."
Suzie and the other student coaches sat down as
Mister Berger began explaining the schedule. Betsy
Knowland, an eleventh-grader from Grand Junction, leaned
toward Suzie and whispered, "Vallarta may have been a pain
in the butt during Group One, but I'll bet she's made your
job for Group Two easier now that word's gotten around."
Suzie hadn't thought of that. Swim camp just kept
getting better and better!
~ ~ ~
"Hey, Jimbo, I just got an idea," Huntly said while
the guys sat in the grass and waited for the girls to clear
the tent so that they could change.
"NEWS FLASH!" Kenny said in his weird voice. "HUNTLY
SHERIDAN HAS ORIGINAL IDEA! WORLD LEADERS ASTOUNDED! POPE
DECLARES MIRACLE! UN CALLS EMERGENCY SESSION!"
"You putz," Jimmy said with a weary voice. Then he
spoke to Huntly. "So, is this idea going to cost me any
money?"
"Have I ever cost you money before?"
"No. I figure I'm overdue."
"Well," Huntly said, lowering his voice so that it
wouldn't carry into the tent, "time is money, and it'll
cost you time. I think I know what we can get bitch for
her birthday present."
"WE? I already have my present for her picked out."
"Yeah, but..." He beckoned Mister McCauley away from
Derek and Duck with a wave of his hand, then raised his
voice and said, "LaMarcus! C'mere a sec." When the two
had joined them he said in a soft voice, "Let's write
Cinnamon a song as a gift from Junior and the Rest of the
Twins. Not 'Cinnamon's Song,' because that's too much like
Wynter's gift, but something by us and named for her.
Whadda ya think?"
"I think it's a great idea," Kenny said before any of
the Rest of the Twins could speak. "Especially since it
doesn't require any effort from me, since I'm not in the
band. And since she's a drummer, you can call it 'Cinnamon
Sticks!'"
While all thought the title was a good idea, even if
it did come from Kenny, LaMarcus saw a problem with the
song itself. "What about percussion? I mean, Finnegan can
probably whip up a drum machine in about twenty minutes
from a toaster oven, a pack of chewing gum, and a broken I-
Pod, but your present would be a fatal insult if you used
one in a song for her. Doubly fatal if you go with a title
that implies drumming. Me, I'd rather live at least until
Tyrone's album is released, preferably until I have a
chance to beat Mister Wyman's record, and I'd hate to see
Mrs. McCauley become a widow at such a young age."
"Oh, it's not an all-bad idea," Kenny said with a
leer. "If she kills Jimmy, then I can marry Wynter and
deliver all our babies."
Jimmy's fists clenched. He snarled, "You putz!"
Kenny grinned in triumph. He'd blown Jimmy's cool.
Huntly shook his head and waved a hand as if erasing
the idea from a chalkboard. "I think I can take care of
the percussion. In fact, I'm sure I can, but I'm not going
to waste the effort unless we all agree on the idea."
After thirty seconds of discussion, the agreement was
unanimous.
"Okay, so what about the percussion?" Mister McCauley
asked. "LaMarcus is right. Marti doesn't need my
insurance money for a shopping spree in Paris yet."
Huntly grinned and jumped to his feet. "Back in a
moment." He left them looking at each other and dashed to
the first dressing tent. He'd had his idea while watching
Guy Malone entering it.
He found Guy stretched out on the floor of the tent,
one forearm over his eyes. "Hey, neighbor. Or is this a
bad time?"
Guy didn't move his arm from his eyes. "What do you
want, Sheridan? I have a headache."
"Glare, tension, or too much partying last night?"
Huntly asked, seating himself beside the prostrate figure.
"Tension, I guess, compounded by Jerry's flight
delay. All last week was... Never mind. What do you want?"
Huntly outlined his idea, including the style of
music he envisioned. "What do you think?"
"No way. Why should I help out a middle school band?
I'm a senior next year."
"Well, two reasons. Two, thanks to Cinnamon you
don't have Matthew Wylie competing for your position when
school starts; B, you get to play on one of her drum kits;
and one, I can arrange with a certain Future MD to massage
that tension headache out of your neck and temples."
Guy lifted his arm enough to peer at Huntly with one
eye. "One of her kits?"
"Her practice kit at Jimmy McCauley's house.
Although it's only a 'practice' kit, it's still twice the
size of yours. That's it on the gazebo right now."
"That one? And you can get Wynter to massage my neck?"
"As a special favor to me, if it's worth my trouble.
And hers. She and Cinnamon are adopted sisters, you know."
He poured a quart of honey over his voice. "I'm sure she'd
be appreciatively grateful if you were doing something to
benefit her sister. She massages my bad knee regularly.
Never had anybody do a better job. She sure has the right
touch. Just the right blend of pressure and caress.
Doctor Henderson let her massage it back when he wouldn't
let any of the residents touch it, you know." He let out a
long sigh. "She has the warmest hands."
Guy thought for a moment. "What do I have to do?"
_Got him!_ Huntly snapped back to all-business.
"We're going to call it 'Cinnamon Sticks.' First, give me
a basic rhythm pattern to build the music around. Give us
several to choose from. We'll write the song, then you
perform an enhanced version live while we record it.
You'll get your own solo."
Guy's arm relaxed and covered his eyes again. "I'll
have a couple of ideas for you by the time you return with
my masseuse."
Huntly hurried back. The girls were starting to
emerge from the tent.
"Well?" Jimmy asked.
"It's done," he whispered. "I just need to use your
girlfriend for a little while."
He liked the way Jimmy frowned. It was similar to
the look Kenny got. "I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, it's not for me. In exchange for his
participation in 'Cinnamon Sticks,' I'm pimping her to Guy
Malone."
Huntly was grateful that he'd correctly guessed Kenny
would intervene on his behalf.
~ ~ ~
Jimmy closed and locked the front door behind the
Brees family. His parents had entertained Doctor Brees and
Mrs. Vasquez while Cinnamon reassembled the drum kit in the
practice room with assistance from Hailey and himself. He
wished Wynter could have been there to help keep Hailey
under control, but the Taylors were visiting the Kings
after they had all left the park. Besides, Hailey had
mostly behaved.
"I'll mess with the rest of the mess tomorrow," his
mom said. "It's after my bedtime, and I'm worn out from a
fun day. You coming?"
"In a minute," his dad said. "I'm going to have some
quality time with my son first."
His mother started to say something, but held her
piece after she looked into his eyes. He guessed that his
parents knew how to read each other's thoughts the way he
and Wynter did. He hoped that meant their future marriage
would be as good as his parents'.
"Good night, son," she said, giving him a kiss.
"Night, Mom." He waited while his dad kissed her,
too, and then followed him into the family room. Something
about the way his dad was acting reminded him of the time
they had had The Talk. That meant his dad had something
serious on his mind. _Hailey_, he decided. _He's going to
complain that I don't do enough to keep Hailey under
control_.
A hand on his shoulder stopped him and directed him
to the couch. He sat in one corner. His dad sat next to
him, leaving just enough room to pull one leg up on the
couch and face Jimmy. His dad smiled.
"Son, I don't think I've ever heard you play as well
as you did today. On everything."
Jimmy relaxed a little. "Thanks, but that was
Finnegan's doing."
His dad nodded. "Yeah. A little of it. But most of
it was Jimmy McCauley. I've always known how good you are,
but today you made me think I'd underestimated you. Any
trouble getting the drums set up?" He indicated the
basement with a jerk of his head.
Jimmy grinned. "You know Cinnamon. She had to do
everything herself. Hailey and I just passed wrenches and
screwdrivers to her when she called for them. I think we
know how the nurses and other doctors will feel when Wynter
performs surgery."
His dad grinned at the image in his mind. "I think I
know what you mean. Speaking of Wynter, remember her panic
attacks back when you first met her?"
Jimmy nodded. "Yeah. She reminded me of them again,
too, when Mister King told that story."
He wasn't sure exactly when his dad's face turned
from grinning to solemn. "That wasn't what reminded me of
them. It was you. Son, it's like she exchanged
personalities with you. Now you're having them."
Jimmy was dumbfounded. "Me?"
"Yes." He nodded, but with a warm smile as he
gripped Jimmy's shoulder and squeezed. "You're doing it
more often since school let out, and it was getting bad
then. You had just started to relax whenever Cinnamon was
around me, and then Hailey arrived. Today was no
exception, especially in the changing tent."
Jimmy felt his face redden. _Just like Wynter's!_
"Dad, it's just that..."
"It's just that she's not like any of your other
friends, though she does come awfully close to Kenny on
occasion."
_Yeah, but from the other direction_, he thought but
didn't voice that opinion. He nodded, unable to find words.
"Do you know how old I am? Well, I'm not so old that
I've forgotten what it was like when I was your age, and I
certainly haven't forgotten what it was like when I was
performing in the band all those years ago, even though you
think I'm probably senile and have lost those memories."
He opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't sort into
a reasonable order.
Dad shook his head and squeezed his shoulder harder.
"I'm just kidding, and you should know that. How old are
you? Eighteen? No, I don't mean by the calendar, I mean
emotionally and intellectually. I'd say you're eighteen as
a minimum. Which means we aren't going to have a
father/son talk, we're going to have a man-to-man talk.
While no father worth the title really wants to see his
children grow up, I've also been looking forward to the day
that we can do this together. This is a special moment."
Wynter's expression about her heart feeling too big
for her chest came to mind.
Dad must have felt the same way because he put his
free hand on his own chest and pushed. "Mine, too," he
said with a grin, causing Jimmy to relax a little more.
"So, let's talk about some things I'd never bring up with
my son the child."
"It's just that Cinnamon, and especially Hailey...
Well, they are... They have..." A gentle tightening of
the shoulder squeeze stopped him.
"It's just that they are girls, they are built with
nice accessories, and they are free spirits. I know. Back
in medieval times, when I was young, many girls had nice
accessories and a few were also free spirits, too.
"Ever hear of Lizzie Corelli? She sometimes sang
chorus on the dozen or so occasions when John Mackie was a
guest singer. We performed outdoors in Durango one summer
night. Got there late and the crowd was getting restless.
One dressing tent.
"I guess Lizzie was about five years older than
Cinnamon then. We were seniors. She was liberated. Not
only no bra, but no panties either. One of her headlights
was as big as both of Cinnamon's--we called them headlights
back then--and you'd needed either a Weedwacker or a week
of searching to find your way through her bush."
If his dad realized that Jimmy's face was about to
ignite from the heat of his blush, he pretended not to
notice.
"She was free-spirited like Hailey. Stripped first
and then started looking for her costume in her suitcase.
Gave all of us a good show. Then she saw I was having
problems with my belt. One of those fancy, tricky buckles
that was hard to unfasten if you were in a hurry. She
pranced over--and if those headlights had been floppy she'd
have blackened her eyes--unfastened it in a flash, hooked
her thumbs in my waistband, and yanked down. Got my
underwear, too."
"Well, at least Hailey didn't do that."
"No. But Lizzie's act had already had its desired
effect on me. Mister Johnson sprang up and slapped her
right in the chin."
Jimmy wanted to die of embarrassment that his father
would talk to him about this, but he was overcome with
morbid fascination. "Then what?" _Ohmigod! I can't
BELIEVE I just asked that!_
"She grabbed it and pumped a couple of times, kissed
the head, and said, 'Later, Keefy.' That was her nickname
for me. 'We gotta get up on stage right now.' She pranced
back to her suitcase, bent over to search in it again, and
wiggled her butt at me." His voice grew faint and his eyes
looked back in time. "One of the few girls I knew with a
cuter butt than your mom's."
He wasn't sure that he really wanted to know, and he
was almost too embarrassed to ask. In fact, he wouldn't
have asked, but it was a special occasion. "Did... did Mom
ever find out?"
Dad's eyes focused on his and he got that grin-and-
nod combination that he'd inherited. "John had started to
gain weight by then. She was helping him get into his
stage pants."
"MOM KNEW? SHE WAS THERE? SHE DIDN'T KILL YOU?"
He shook his head and grinned. "Son, I know your
mother is female, but even then she could use logic when
the situation called for it. First, I wasn't the one who
stripped Lizzie. She did that all by herself. Second, she
knew from experience that my belt buckle always jammed when
I was in a hurry." He paused for a moment, allowing Jimmy
to realize the implication. "Third, I didn't do anything,
Lizzie did. Fourth, she knew I was no more responsible for
Lizzie's behavior than she was because she's a smart woman,
even if she isn't Wynter's intellectual equal."
"But... But you had a... You were..." He couldn't
say the words.
"Your mother was struggling with her own boner issues
at that point. John had enjoyed the show, too. His pants
were already too tight, and now they were tighter."
Jimmy wondered if he'd feel the same way if somebody
announced that the Law of Gravity had just been repealed.
"MOM?"
"Son, we had sex back in the old days, too. That's
how there got to be so many of us today, you know. None of
this spontaneous generation partho... whatever."
"Parthenogenesis," he said automatically. "But..."
He couldn't find any words.
"Jimmy, life is what it is. If nothing else always
goes one hundred percent the way you want it, why should
this? It's not what happens around the two of you that
matters, it's what you two do about, to, and for each
other, and the feelings you have for each other. I didn't
pork Lizzie and John didn't pork your mother. I didn't
fondle Lizzie and John and your mother didn't fondle each
other. Marti and I were both caught in an unusual
situation. We did what was required by circumstances and
didn't alter our feelings about each other for things
beyond our control."
Wynter's words came back to him. "Normal rules don't
apply in an emergency," he half-whispered.
"That's a good way to put it. You... oh." He
grinned and nodded. "You're quoting somebody smarter than
both of us, aren't you?"
Jimmy sighed. How had he missed the obvious? "Yeah.
That's what she said in the mine."
"Maybe you should give your mother and me both some
credit for being smart enough to realize that, too. Lizzie
did want me and didn't stop making plays for me or for
Craig Northglenn, who also resisted her charm because he
was seriously involved with another girl at that time. I
don't know what Marti would have done if I'd jumped
Lizzie's bones at the time, but I never tried to find out.
John never tried to pork your mother, so I don't know how
I'd have felt if he had. But we loved each other and that
was all that mattered to us. We were starting to discuss
wedding plans at that point."
"Oh."
"Although, that belt disappeared after the next time
Marti and I met at my house after school. But I'm sure
that was coincidence. Your mom thinks the way Hailey keeps
going after you is, well, I don't know. Cute? It remind
her of Lizzie's attempts to get me. And she's convinced
that Hailey will be every bit as frustrated when she leaves
as Lizzie was when she grew up and left town because none
of Hailey's tricks are working on you. I agree with your
mom. So does Wynter."
Jimmy straightened and frowned. "She does?"
His dad pulled his hand back and gave him an
analytical look worthy of Cinnamon. "Who are you and what
have you done with my son? Jimmy wouldn't ask that
question because he knows how smart his girlfriend and
future wife is. Suzie might jump to that conclusion, but
not Wynter. She's enjoying how Hailey keeps failing but
doesn't give up, even though she can't win."
_Well, that WAS what Wynter always said. It should
make sense. Except..._ "But Wynter's a girl and girls..."
"Are individuals," Dad concluded, cutting him off.
They don't conform to any one standard behavior, any more
than we men do. Some people say all boys are like Kenny.
You aren't. You know, I have two very good friends who can
give you a lecture on the effects of stereotypes versus
reality before they return to New York next week."
"Oh."
"Oh," Dad echoed with a smile. "So next time you're
in the hot tub with Cinnamon and Hailey, enjoy the view.
Wynter's like Marti: she doesn't mind where you get your
appetite as long as you return to her restaurant when
you're hungry. Your mom's going to be pleased when she
sees what an appetite Cinnamon's headlights and Hailey's
bare ass and nookie under that grass skirt have created."
"DAD!"
He shook his head. "Son, I think that one is a shade
of red that Wynter never achieved. Your turn to talk."
Jimmy's mouth worked but no coherent sounds came out.
"Well," Dad said, rising and extending a hand to help
Jimmy up, "you think about it and we'll talk later,
whenever you're ready. I'll always have time for a man-to-
man with you." He hugged Jimmy. "I love you, son."
"I love you too, Dad."
An hour later, Jimmy was still looking at the ceiling
above his bed as more lights came on inside his head.
Twenty
"THAT DOES IT!"
For an instant Wynter was worried that she'd sounded
way too angry instead of just cross, but, drat it, she
_was_ way too angry instead of just cross. She was mouth-
breathing in deep, rapid gasps and her cardiovascular rate
was accelerated. Her blood pressure must have been at
least two hundred over one-fifty the way her heart pounded
in her chest.
Everybody stared at her in catatonic silence, too
shocked to say or do anything. She pointed at the practice
room door with a hand that shook in Parkinson's-like
tremors. "Jimmy! Huntly! LaMarcus! Mister McCauley!
Hailey! You want to take a break. Upstairs! You two,
STAY PUT!"
The four band members blinked at each other but moved
swiftly and without a word. The other one opened her mouth
to say something.
"Whitney Gwyneth," Wynter said in a voice rising in
both pitch and volume, "OUT!"
Huntly took Hailey's left arm above the elbow and led
her to the door. The looks he threw at Cinnamon and Kenny
were symptoms of his own displeasure.
Wynter tried to force calmness into her voice the way
Mother did whenever she spoke to someone after Aunt Dumb or
Uncle Bozo had upset her. She was afraid she'd been no
more successful than Mother sometimes was when her
quavering voice said, "Huntly, would you close the door,
please?"
"Way ahead of you, Doc," he said with a single nod.
He already had the knob in his free hand. "And thanks."
He closed the door as he began a warning to Hailey to shut
up if she wanted to live.
Wynter glared at the two miscreants and tapped her
foot, giving the others time to get upstairs. Cinnamon
looked chagrined and contrite. Kenny frowned through his
crooked glasses and defiantly opened his mouth. Wynter's
right hand exploded upward, index finger raised in warning.
Kenny shut it.
Wynter crossed her arms under her breasts, perhaps to
keep from strangling the pair, and shook her head. She'd
have stamped her right foot and leaned forward to scream,
but she was afraid they'd laugh at her imitation of Suzie.
This was no laughing matter. She took a deep breath.
"CINNAMON ANNE! KEVIN KENNETH, JUNIOR! YOU'RE OUT
OF LINE!"
Neither spoke, but Cinnamon nodded. Kenny turned his
head and focused a hot glare on Cinnamon. "I SAID YOU'RE
OUT OF LINE!"
Kenny flinched looked around. He hadn't seen Wynter
stop inches in front of him.
She leaned down until her nose almost touched his.
"You have been one of my best friends for most of my life."
She moved in front of the drums. Cinnamon rose and crossed
her hands in front of her, looking meek and apologetic.
"You are my first and dearest officially adopted sister."
She turned and paced a few feet until the three formed the
points of an equilateral triangle, then took a deep breath
and turned again. She looked back and forth between the
two until Kenny's head dropped. She unfolded her arms.
"I love both of you. I don't want to lose either of
you, but... This. Is. ENOUGH! YOU are mad at Kenny
because of the way he treated Suzie. YOU are mad at
Cinnamon because she's mad at you, totally ignorant,
apparently, that you caused the problem. It was bad enough
the way you two have sniped at each other, especially the
way you acted in Otter Park yesterday. Now you're almost
ready to MAIM each other. If YOU want to tease Kenny the
way you do Huntly, that's fine. And you! If YOU want to
tease Cinnamon the way you do Jimmy, that's fine, too. But
you two AREN'T teasing, you're BEING MEAN!"
Her fists suddenly flew up to the points of her hips,
as if she'd had parallel symmetrical muscle spasms in both
arms. Her voice grew cold and steady. "I thought both of
you were smart enough to see the effect you're having on
the rest of us. Even Hailey is growing cross with you.
But, no, you're both too wrapped up in trading shots to
notice. That's a BAD SYMPTOM!" She gave them a moment to
think about that.
"Now, this is what's going to happen. I'm going
upstairs to join the others. You two are either going to
settle this like the friends I want you to be, like the
friends you've been with me, or you are going to kill each
other. If you choose treatment regimen two, be sure nobody
survives or else I'm going to terminate the survivor for
killing one of my best friends. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sis," Cinnamon said contritely.
"Wynter..."
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
He swallowed and nodded.
"When you've settled this, come get the rest of us--
TOGETHER--and we'll play some more music. If you don't
come up in one hour, we'll call Maurer's to pick up the
bodies." She glanced at the wall clock. "It's two-
thirteen."
She forced herself not to slam the door behind her,
closed it properly, and stormed over to the base of the
stairs. _Calm down!_ she ordered herself before setting
foot on the first step. _Doctors don't get angry when
their patients act like bozos. They stay professional._
By the time she reached to top of the stairs she'd debrided
most of the anger from her body. She opened the door and
calmly walked through.
"Lemonade?" Mrs. McCauley asked. The smiling woman
was leaning against the end of the short counter next to
the stove in the "not exactly" area. Jimmy called it that
because it wasn't exactly kitchen, wasn't exactly entrance
hall, and wasn't exactly the passage to the family room,
basement stairs, and first floor bathroom, either. Mrs.
McCauley lifted the glass from the counter and held it out
to Wynter.
"Thanks. I need that." She looked around as she
took a big swallow.
"They're waiting for you out on the deck. They're
discussing," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "presents."
Wynter nodded understanding. "Thanks."
Mrs. McCauley gave her a wry, knowing grin. "Been
practicing for raising my grandchildren?"
Wynter sighed. "Do you think they'll be like...,"
she waved a hand at the door to the basement stairs, gave
up on finding the words she wanted, and barked, "THAT?"
"Of course. All kids are. Jimmy was on occasion."
She had a sudden horrible thought. "Do you think I
was that hard-headed when I was naughty?"
Her reply was a shaking head. "Unh uh. I'm not
answering that question. I don't want to display prior
knowledge that would get either your mother or me or both
of us in trouble."
Wynter put her glass on the counter and gave her
Future Mother-in-Law a big hug, squeezing with both arms.
"Sometimes I think having you is better than having Jimmy,"
she said.
Mrs. McCauley returned the squeeze. "Only sometimes?"
Wynter tightened her embrace and grinned. "I don't
want to get in trouble, either."
~ ~ ~
"Would you like to sit on the couch?" Cinnamon swept
an arm toward it in invitation.
"Yeah. I guess."
They sat at opposite ends, facing, but not looking
at, each other. Cinnamon stared at the folded hands in her
lap. "It would be best if we could say she's wrong, but
she isn't. We're both better people than that."
Kenny snorted as he watched a fly buzzing about the
corner of the ceiling over the door. "Nice of you to
include me."
"I'm serious, Kenny. I've been in the wrong since
the day I moved here. Every boy I knew in Boston stared at
these," she fluttered her hands at her breasts, "instead of
noticing the rest of me. Several of them were jerks, and
you remind me a little bit of one of them, especially
around the eyes and nose. So, I just assumed you were like
him. Unfortunately, you proved yourself to be enough like
him from the moment we met that I never gave you a chance
to show me you were different in many ways. In all
fairness, though, you did freak out over them from the
moment I said hello."
"Bullshit!"
Her anger flared again. She forced it under control
and said in a calm voice, "Kenny! Remember? You were so
titty-struck when you babbled out that 'welcome to the
neighborhood' speech? You'd still be talking if Suzie
hadn't stopped you." She noted the first, brief change in
his eyes at the name before the second change took over and
stayed.
Kenny's frowning face rotated to one side. "HELLO?
EARTH TO CINNAMON! DUH! You were so wrapped up in winter
clothing that for all I knew, you were flatter than Wynter
and Suzie."
She caught the oh-so-brief hesitation on the last
name, and then his words hit her like a kick in the gut.
"Oh, my God! You couldn't see the size of my tits, could
you? I thought they were what attracted you away from
Suzie to me when I ran up to you."
Kenny shook his head. "Hey, when you smiled and
waved at us from the back seat of your car, all I could see
was your face. I didn't know if you weighed thirty pounds
or three hundred, and I didn't care. I still didn't know
when you got out of the car in your driveway. It was your
face and your smile and your attitude I noticed. I didn't
notice, uh...," he waved a hand at her chest, "those until
you removed your coat in the house."
Good Lord! He was right! She'd never realized it.
How could SHE, of all people, have never realized it?
Because she'd made a false assumption and had
accepted it as fact, without trying to check its validity.
She'd judged him based on his vague resemblance to that
shithead, Buttfucker Bennie. She hated having people judge
her based solely on her blood relationship to the drunken
bitch who spawned her and the rest of that family of
useless snobs. Those people judged without giving her the
slightest chance to show she was different. She'd now
proved their assessment of her was correct after all.
"Oh, my God, Kenny. You're right."
"I know." The defiance was evident, as if he'd made
a weak attempt to hide it. Or wanted her to think he'd
tried to hide it.
Her anger tried to flare again, but she contained it.
"But if I might defend myself in part, you didn't exactly
prove that I was completely wrong. You ignored Suzie the
whole time."
She watched Kenny subdue his own anger. "I guess
so," he said with enough contrition that she decided he was
being honest.
She didn't press the issue that he was trying to
avoid responsibility for his actions. She'd take that much
of an admission from him. For now. "I guess that I
permanently sided with Suzie then. I felt sorry for her at
the time, because I already saw the real her that most
people don't see. I think you missed part of it, too, just
like Wynter and Jimmy did. Can we talk seriously, without
getting mad at each other?"
She thought he had a good scowl, though he rarely
needed it now that his martial arts reputation was growing.
He could achieve desired compliance with merely a soft word
and sometimes a cold look, the way Ron could. But the
scowl might be useful for someone who didn't know his
reputation.
He sighed. "Sure," he said. "I can."
"Then I can, too. I think we'd better, for Wynter's
sake. I don't want my sister having a stroke."
Kenny smiled. _Good!_ She'd chosen the right path
for getting through to him. She used the next several
minutes getting across the point that he'd hurt Suzie and
finally got him to admit that his mistake wasn't in not
allowing for the possibility that she might return early,
but that he'd betrayed her trust in him.
He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Yeah, I guess
you're right about that."
"You GUESS?"
His eyes turned up to the ceiling. "No." He sighed
again. "You're right."
"And you're still in love with her." It wasn't a
question, and she made sure it didn't sound like one.
"Yeah. Do... Do you think I can get her back?"
"No." She watched tears collect in his eyes. She
had to be honest with him, even though doing so was
breaking her heart as much as it was breaking his. She
shrugged. "But she might fool me. Suzie's... well, she's
difficult to predict."
Kenny sniffed, a soft, quick sound. "So what do I do?"
"Get on with your life, I guess. Don't fuck up if
she ever gives you another chance. Don't get mad at her,
though. It's not HER fault, and if she sees you mad at
her, she'll think you're still blaming her."
"I've never been mad at her," he said in a voice so
forlorn that she scooted down the couch and put a hand on
his arm.
"I know. But she thinks you are. Anyway, that's
future advice. Kenny, I'm sorry for the way I acted. Can
we be friends?"
A tear rolled down one cheek as he smiled at her. He
made no attempt to wipe it away. "A friend of mine says
you can never have too many friends. She's actually a
pretty smart girl, so I believe her."
They studied each other's faces for a moment, and
then hers slowly closed the distance for a brief kiss.
"I needed that," he said with a sniff.
She shrugged. "That's what friends do. They help
each other out with their needs. If you don't believe me,
I know where you can get a second opinion you will respect."
Kenny nodded. Then his face crumpled and tears
gushed down both cheeks. She held him close and joined
him. He'd been stupid in the way he'd treated Suzie, but
she'd been just as stupid in the way she'd judged him,
overlooking the simplest facts.
And, even worse, she'd also upset her sister and best
friend ever with the way she'd treated one of Sis's closest
friends. One thing about the way she fucked up: she made
a major production of that the same way she did with
everything else. Cinnamon Anne Brees did nothing, good,
bad, or indifferent, halfway.
She wasn't sure who recovered first. Maybe it was
mutual recovery.
"If it's any consolation," Kenny said, pulling his
head back but not releasing her from his arms, "you now
look terrible to me instead of beautiful."
Her smile pushed her round cheeks up. "That's the
nicest compliment I've ever had."
He started to say something else, but it was cut off
when his mouth moved back to hers. The kiss was frantic,
passionate, longing, apologetic... a world of emotions
conveyed in such a seemingly simple gesture. Her response
was in kind.
After several moments she released one arm and used
the hand to tug on one of his. When he didn't resist, she
grabbed his wrist and moved his hand between them, placing
it on one of the firm mounds. After a few more moments she
pulled the bandeau top down and let his hand roam over the
warm softness.
He moaned with pleasure, then frowned and pulled his
face and hand back. He looked into her eyes and shook his
head.
Her eyes widened in amazement, and he shook his head
again. "It's not right," he said with a firm conviction
that caused her to wonder how many of her other assumptions
about him were wrong.
"Kenny, I think you've lost Suzie, so you wouldn't be
betraying her. I wouldn't tell her, if that's what you're
worried about. Besides, I guess I owe you anyway, sort of
as an apology."
Kenny sat up straight and his eyes hardened. "No.
You're my friend. You don't have to use your body to pay
me an apology or anything else. It's not right. I'd be no
better than Matthew, and maybe worse." His hands moved
toward her chest. She waited. He grasped the edge of the
top and tugged upward, covering her breasts.
Her eyes searched his face and looked deep into the
real Kenny Taylor through his own eyes. "I was right. I
did misjudge you. Okay. Well, since we're friends, how
about a nice friendly quickie right here on the couch."
Kenny frowned and released her from his embrace.
"You're kidding. Or is it a test? Well, I pass. No."
"It's not a test, Kenny. It's a sincere offer of
friendship, one that puts you on an equal footing with
Huntly and Finnegan and Jimmy and..."
"Hey, you'll never get Jimmy," he said.
"I know. But the offer is still open to him as long
as Sis doesn't object. And it's open to you because, well,
let's say because nobody objects now."
He stared at her for a long moment and then sniffed
again. "After the mine, when Ron said he no longer needed
to be my guardian Angel, I sorta took over the role to
protect Wynter and Jimmy and," he sniffed again, "Suzie."
He gave her a wry grin. "I had to be their guardian Angel
because Suzie said that 'guardian Kenny' sounded as stupid
as 'guardian Kevin' did."
She took his hands in hers. He didn't resist.
"That's why you had Ron teach you martial arts?"
He nodded. "Yeah. And now that you're Wynter's
sister, I'm your guardian Angel, too, though Matthew might
say that you don't need me."
Her smile pushed her round cheeks up. If he was
fishing for information, and she didn't think he was, that
was all the response he would get.
"So, as your guardian Angel, I can't let you do
something you don't want to just because you feel guilty."
He didn't believe her.
She couldn't fault him. It was the logical
conclusion. "I do feel guilty, but that's not the reason.
You said that it's not right to use my body as an article
of commerce to assuage my feelings of guilt." She suddenly
turned sheepish. "Sorry. Kennedy blood. Sometimes I
start paraphrasing Grandfather Grenville's pompous speeches
at the holiday dinner table."
"Hey, the way you say it sounds good. Much better
than him, I'll bet."
"Thanks. Kenny, that day I let you chase me naked
around your room, back when I was trying to find out why
you and Suzie had split the first time, I wasn't planning
on letting you do me. But I got interested. If Jimmy
hadn't interrupted, I might have let you. He asked if I
was going to, and I really wasn't sure. If Charlie hadn't
burst in and killed the moment, I actually might have,
though I knew it was the wrong thing to do." She sighed.
"Then I might have betrayed Suzie, too."
Her head tilted sideways as she shook it. "But
that's not an issue now, and my curiosity's aroused again.
Well, my curiosity's not all that's aroused. I'm probably
soaking through my shorts and staining the seat cushion. I
wouldn't get this wet if it was just guilty submission like
you think."
"Well..." Indecision reflected in the faint changes
of his expression. "They might come back."
She glanced at the wall clock and shook her head.
"According to Wynter, we still have twenty-five minutes
before they'll check on us. Sis is nothing if not precise."
Half of one of those minutes passed before he nodded.
"But if you aren't as wet as you say, I'm going to be very
upset because my friend lied to me."
"Deal." She squeezed his hands and pulled them to
her chest.
The patented shit-eating grin slid smoothly into
place, almost as smoothly as his Rigid Rod of Formidable
Friendship slid into its place.
Cinnamon had just enough time to chuckle at his name
for it before her first orgasm swept through her.
Her third was almost simultaneous with his. She held
him through their final shudders of pleasure. What he
lacked in size, he made up for in technique. She certainly
was pleased with the results. No wonder Suzie had always
been satisfied with him.
Kenny lifted his cheek away from hers and kissed her.
"Best quickie I've ever had," he said. "Maybe it's because
it was with a friend."
She squeezed her muscles, causing his flaccid wiener
to shoot out of her shaved goodie box and most of his wad
to trickle down her crack. "Shit," she muttered. "That
wasn't what I wanted to happen."
"Our time's about up anyway." He rose to his feet
and stared down at her in appreciation. "Damn. I hope you
don't mind if I stare for a moment."
She grinned with one corner of her mouth. "Are you
staring at my tits?"
"Babe, I'm staring at EVERYTHING!"
She wondered if that was supposed to be Bogart or
Cary Grant. It was far worse than Jimmy's John Wayne,
which was at least recognizable. "Okay," she said, shaking
a finger in warning. "As long as it's not just my tits."
She let him look for a few breaths, spreading her
legs to let him get a good view of her shaved goodie box
and the mess they had made together. She rose on one elbow
to suck him clean, then held out a hand for assistance.
She looked down after she was on her feet. "Oh, damn it!
We got cum on the seat cushion."
Kenny shrugged. "We'll just flip it over."
"Good plan!"
"I know. I'm full of good ideas."
"Oh, you're full of it, all right."
Kenny just grinned in a friendly manner.
~ ~ ~
Wynter's anxiety disorder fled when Sis and Kenny,
holding lemonade glasses and each with an arm around the
other's waist, squeezed through the patio door opening.
She was VERY impressed by the smooth way Huntly scooped the
papers together, hiding the music sheets they had been
discussing.
"Hey!" Hailey crowed. "This is, like, the BEST! I
SO did NOT want to, like, go to another funeral while I was
here!"
Kenny gave her a look of disdain as Sis said, "My
friend and I want to apologize to all of you."
Mister McCauley rose to his feet. "On behalf of all
of the younger persons present, I both accept the apology
and formally echo the sentiments expressed by the cutest
brunette present."
Huntly straightened. "I didn't say anything."
Cinnamon snorted. "He said brunette, shithead. Your
hair is shitty brindle."
Huntly's jaw dropped and his face took on a look of
abject horror. "When did Mom tell you that, bitch?"
The little redhead gave him an evil grin. "That'll
teach you not to go play catch with your and Wynter's and
Kenny's dads and leave us alone together."
"Well, MY hair's brown," Kenny said.
"Yeah," Sis admitted. Wynter noted with pleasure the
way Sis squeezed his waist with her arm. "Are you saying
you're cuter than Hailey."
Kenny started to say something, then snapped his head
around to look at Jimmy, as if he'd heard Jimmy's thoughts
of a response. "No. NO! I'm definitely good looking--
devilishly handsome, in fact--but not 'cute.'"
"Somebody get me some hip waders," LaMarcus wailed.
"It's gettin' deep."
Sis nodded at the stack of papers in front of Huntly.
"What's that?"
"Music," Wynter said in a dismissive tone before
anyone else could speak. "Huntly and Jimmy's dad speak
guitar music, but I don't. Some music chords for guitar
aren't written quite the same as the chords for keyboards,
so they were showing me some differences." Technically,
that was the truth. Part of it, anyway. "Personally, I
think it's easier to understand neurology. So, did you two
kiss and make up, or is this just an act to keep me from
getting mad again? It better not be the second one."
"No WAY is it an act!" Kenny said in a rush. "You
know how Ron's afraid of Nurse Carter? I think he should
be more afraid of you!"
"Good." She rose to her feet. "I didn't like that
any more than I liked having to chastise Daddy in the
hospital. DON'T make me have to do that again. Okay?"
When they both agreed, she gave each a kiss. She
thought the way that they still held each other meant that
they really and truly were serious.
Hailey moved up when Wynter stepped back. "Hey! I
SO agree with my new sister, so no more of the drama.
Okay?" She shoved her tongue down Kenny's throat and then
gave her cousin a kiss only slightly less passionate,
though much briefer.
Hailey stepped back and smacked her lips twice.
"Hey! Cuz, you taste like..."
"WHITNEY GWYNETH! YOU'RE OUT OF LINE!"
~ ~ ~
Huntly accepted the glass from Mister King and
hurried down the steps to the patio door. Wynter, wearing
the pink and white bikini that he thought looked so
wonderful on her, pointedly looked at her watch as he
emerged, put on a scowl, and said, "It's twelve-forty.
You're late for your medical appointment."
Ghost and Dragon raced up to him, His Ghostness
winning, of course. "Not at all, Doctor Cutie," he said as
he gave the two animals some ear scratches. "I am on time.
My mother, however, is not. You know how she is. She
insisted on driving me here since, 'I'm going that way
anyhow,' and she thought it would be better for my knee.
And then she got distracted by a couple of long-winded
phone calls."
He paused to kiss Cinnamon and Hailey, made
appreciative comments about the bikinis they were almost
wearing, then sat between them at the picnic table as he
greeted Jimmy. "Some days she's the second most organized
woman I know, after you, and other days she's worse than
Hailey."
"Hey! Like, what do you mean, worse than me?"
Wynter couldn't hold back the giggle. "Quiet, Sis
Two. Okay, you're forgiven. We've already listened to the
rest of the CD while waiting for you. Have you heard it?"
Huntly shook his head while he swallowed and put his
lemonade glass on the table. "Hunh uh. I found just the
one song on MP3. 'The Magic Harp.'"
"Oh, the second one's great for Jimmy and me! It's
'Message from Pegasus.' I think he should play the piano
while I do the keyboards, but he said I should have the
piano part."
He wasn't aware that he'd given any clue at all, but
Cinnamon's head suddenly snapped around. Her eyes narrowed
and her head tilted sideways slightly. As she stared
without blinking he tried to act as if he hadn't noticed
that she was suddenly studying him with her characteristic
analytical intensity.
"It doesn't have a guitar part," Jimmy said, "but
'Pharaoh's Return' does. It has a long improv solo in the
middle. Cinnamon and I think you wouldn't have any problem
with it, especially with your birthday present."
He glanced at Cinnamon. She was back to normal now,
or as normal as the little redhead was capable of being.
"I'll have to listen to it," he said.
After five minutes of discussing other music, Wynter
rose and handed out tubes of SPF-45 sun screen, then
pointed at a roll of blankets off to one side. "I thought
we'd use these instead of fighting over the lawn chairs.
You he-men can carry them out to the yard and unroll them."
"No," Cinnamon countermanded, placing a hand on
Huntly's arm to hold him in his seat. "The three of you do
that. I want to have a word with shithead. Alone."
Nobody argued. They all knew that tone. When they
were clear of the patio, he looked at her inscrutable
expression. "What's up, bitch?"
She folded her arms below the round breasts that wore
what he thought of as nipple patches tied down with
strings. She frowned and asked, "Are you as stupid as I
think you are?"
He knew it was no use playing dumb. He understood
her meaning and she knew it. He sighed. "No," he said,
shaking his head slightly. "I know better. Half the guys
in school are in love with her, you know. But most of us
know that none of us have a chance with her except Jimmy."
Her expression softened into what he'd call pity
coming from anyone else. "I understand," she said in a
voice so tender that it seemed incongruous with what he
knew of her. "That knowledge doesn't make your pain any
easier, does it?"
He shook his head, waiting until he was sure of his
voice. "No. But you do."
"Me?" She seemed genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, you. Good grief, Cinnamon. You at least let
me pretend that I have a chance with you. I can't even do
that with Wynter."
She searched his eyes. "There's always Hailey."
He tried to smirk, but he couldn't, not when she was
being this genuinely sweet. Instead, he gave her a gentle
smile and said, "There's always Kenny. He seemed useful
for you as a substitute at rehearsal yesterday. I saw that
post-orgasmic look in your eyes. I've had a lot of
experience seeing it, you know."
The startled surprise lasted barely an eye-blink.
"Yes. I get your point. You know my secret feelings, too,
huh?"
He shook his head. "Hey! It's me! Of course I
know. Do you think I'm in that two percent of the school
who doesn't? You aren't exactly subtle about it, even if
you're not Alyssa, ga-ga moon-struck while sitting butt-to-
butt with him during the talent show rehearsals. You
always make me feel special when I'm down about not being
in the running for Wynter. I try my best to do the same
for you when you're down about not being in the running for
Jimmy."
Her eyes hardened. "Are you saying you pity-fuck me?"
His head slowly twisted side-to-side. "Of course
not. Do you pity-fuck me? I do you for two reasons." He
raised his left hand and used his right to enclose fingers
as he counted. "Two, because I'm horny. B, because you're
number one on my list of preferred alternate choices. And
one, because I enjoy you."
"Yeah? Which part do you enjoy most, the blow jobs
or the fucking?"
He shook his head, in part because he couldn't
believe the size of her blind spot. "The part where it's
you and me together, whether we're doing the horizontal
mambo or we're doing geography homework. Whether we're
searching for throat blockages or we're sitting in your
gazebo betting potato chips on whether Ghost will brake
before he chases the rabbit into the mini-forest trees.
Whether you're almost wearing this or you're bundled up
like an Eskimo in a blizzard."
She frowned in genuine puzzlement, a look he rarely
saw when she was observing him. Finally the truth stopped
eluding her grasp, and her eyes widened with comprehension.
"Are you saying...?"
"Yes. Just because I'm in love with Wynter doesn't
mean I don't have room inside for someone else."
"You... you mean that?" After he nodded, she blinked
a few times, then locked her arms around his neck. When
she finally came up for air she was grinning like a brain-
addled hyena. "How'd you like to fuck me right now, right
here, on this picnic table?"
He looked at the table, then at the patio door. "I'd
love it, but I'm not sure Wynter's parents would be all
that thrilled."
"Then you come home with me afterward and I'll make
you unable to walk, and I'll do it without screwing up your
knee."
"What about Hailey?"
"Cuz? Well, okay. Sure! She'd love to join us. We
both love threesomes!"
_Good grief. She missed the blasted point. She
thinks... HOLY SHIT! And she's SERIOUS! Aw, damn. Now
how do I get to the blankets with my swimming trunks making
like a circus tent?_
~ ~ ~
Wynter turned off her shower. "That SPF-45 cream
sure is hard to remove," she observed.
"Yeah," said Huntly as he continued scrubbing one of
Hailey's arms. "They should make it water soluble."
Jimmy imitated Kenny's weird voice. "HELLO? EARTH
TO HUNTLY! DUH! If it were water soluble, then you'd
sweat it off in no time."
"I guess. Okay, my exotic little wahine, rinse."
"So what about this new magic trick?"Jimmy asked
while Hailey stepped back under her shower head. You said
you'd show us after we showered."
"Patience, Jimbo," he said without taking his eyes
off Sis Two. "How's that?"
Hailey nodded and threw her arms around him.
"Thanks." She checked for a reversion of his tonsillectomy.
"Enough of that," Huntly said. "I'd love to
continue, but Doctor Cutie's boyfriend is getting grumpy in
his old age. I need to prepare for a moment. Don't get in
the tub yet."
Huntly gave both Sis One and Sis Two a kiss before he
left, briefly wiping with a towel before grabbing his gym
bag and disappearing out the tub room door. Wynter thought
Sis One got the better of the two kisses, but she guessed
that was because Hailey had just performed the tonsil
search procedure.
Jimmy extended an elbow to Wynter. She took his arm.
Before they could move, Hailey hooked her hand around the
crook of his other elbow. "Hey! Let's go," she said.
"Well, I'm left out!" Cinnamon whined in a petulant
voice that almost made Wynter giggle.
Hailey looked down. "Okay. Here, Cuz. You take his
arm and I'll hold..."
"NO!" he cried, causing Wynter to laugh.
Hailey threw up her hands. "Hey! I'm just SO trying
to help out your other Future Sister-in-Law, you know!
Just try and, like, do a good deed around here and see what
happens."
Sis One led them out of the showers and halted beside
the hot tub. "Do all of us wait out of the tub or just Cuz?"
Before they could answer, Huntly returned, carrying
an opaque green plastic bowl. "Okay. You three wait
there. Hailey, over here and face the others at a forty-
five degree angle. Make an 'L' with your left arm, fist up."
When he had her positioned the way he wanted he
turned and held up his hands. "Nothing up my sleeve," he
said, causing everyone to groan. The little redhead added,
"How would we know, shithead? Your sleeves are over there
on the hook with the rest of your shirt."
"Quiet, bitch. Now, to continue I need a quarter.
Any of you have one on you?"
"I have one in my shorts," Jimmy said, turning toward
the clothes hooks. Huntly stopped him before he could take
a step.
"That's okay. I can get it from here." He faced the
clothes hooks, made a couple of passes with his empty
hands, and chanted, "These are my words. They're an order.
Come to me, now, Jimbo's quarter!" He spun his right hand
in a circle and a quarter appeared, clutched in his
fingertips by the bottom edge.
"Hey! That SO doesn't rhyme."
"Beautiful sexy assistants should be seen and not
heard. Now: every election we hear about yet another
ballot attempt to expand limited stakes gambling to allow
casinos in places other than Blackhawk, Leadville, and
Central City. Some people say gambling should be allowed
everywhere in the state. I submit to you than any time
fellows take girls on a date, we ARE gambling everywhere in
the state."
He shook the coin at them. "Every quarter we invest
in them comes with an expectation of a certain payout at
the end of the date, according to that expert on women and
economics, Uncle Bozo Junior." He nodded at Wynter, as if
acknowledging her invention of Kenny's nickname. "What I
propose is to avoid having to wait until the end of the
date to see if you're going to get a return on your
investment."
His hand flinched, then displayed the quarter held
upright by the edges within the "C" of his index finger and
thumb. "Like this." He inserted the coin into Hailey's
ear, then pulled down on her arm and returned it to its
original position.
Wynter's hand squeezed Jimmy's back as Huntly placed
his hand between Hailey's legs, palm up against her vaginal
region. Or, in this case, it would be appropriate to say
against her slot.
"Some guys will do anything to cop a feel," Jimmy
sighed.
Huntly ignored him. Wynter heard a metallic clinking
sound, and then Huntly held the bowl at Hailey's knee level
below his hand. Quarters cascaded down into it. He kissed
her. "My kind of woman!" he crowed.
"Shithead," Sis One growled in a disdainful tone.
"Now let's see what happens when we replace my kind
of woman with a bitch." He thanked Hailey, gave her
another kiss, and dismissed her with a pat on the butt. He
beckoned at Sis One. She stepped forward and assumed the
pose without direction as Hailey wiggled over and scooted
up against Jimmy's other side.
Jimmy groaned softly, but Wynter smiled and leaned
her head against his shoulder. Sis One wasn't fooling her
with that disdainful expression. Her eyes told Wynter and
everyone else that she was eager to see what Huntly had
planned for her.
Huntly's hand spun, producing a quarter. He inserted
it into her ear, pumped her arm, and shoved his hand
between Cinnamon's legs. "Aha! She works!" he said and
shoved the bowl beneath his hand.
A single quarter tumbled into it.
He grunted. "Well," he said, "now we know. She's a
bad investment, though I did get your quarter back, Jimbo."
He tried to kiss her, but the little redhead pulled
back. "I'm a bad investment, remember?"
"You're right." He pushed her aside and opened his
arms. "Wahine?"
Sis Two sprang away from Jimmy, stepped into Huntly's
arms, and kissed him.
"Well, shit. That didn't work," Cinnamon said with a
rueful expression that made everyone else laugh.
Jimmy squeezed Wynter and held out his hand. "What
about my quarter?"
Apparently that was expected. One hand flicked and
conjured a coin. Huntly grinned at Jimmy. "Coin of
Jimbo's, before he rants, fly thee hither to his pants."
His hand jerked toward the clothes hooks and was empty.
Wynter grinned at Huntly. "Well, I liked it if
nobody else will admit it. Shall we get to your knee
treatment now, or do you want to just stand around
squeezing Hailey?"
"Gee, it's a tough choice, but you win, Doc. Sorry,
Hailey."
After Wynter had his knee positioned by the water
jet, Cinnamon crawled into his lap and Hailey pressed up
against his right side. While they held a whispered
conversation, Wynter took Jimmy's hand and squeezed it.
They murmured love words to each other and relaxed. After
getting lost in his green eyes for a while, she looked at
the smiling faces of her two sisters. Startled by what she
saw, she focused on Huntly's.
_No! They all look like they're planning to..._
The little redhead turned her dreamy face to Wynter,
widened her smile, and nodded slightly. _BOTH of them with
Huntly? Together? Wouldn't THAT freak out Jimmy if he
knew._
Huntly sighed, unaware of the conversation about him
that had occurred in the silence. "You know, your
Doctorness, the bad news about my knee getting better is
that the end of my massage sessions is now in sight."
Wynter shrugged. "Well, instead of therapeutic
massages, maybe we'll put you on a schedule of preventive
maintenance."
Jimmy's head rolled to look at her with so much love
in his eyes that her heart swelled in her chest. "No
offense meant toward your sisters," he said in a gentle
voice, "but I think that a girlfriend as caring and as
compassionate as you is the best investment ever."
~ ~ ~
Juan Rodrigo De Ramirez y Sanchez's eyes glanced
furtively around the convenience store. He'd just as soon
knock it over for a few quick bucks, just to prove he could
still do it after several years, but it was equipped with
security cameras. He didn't want anyone alerted to his
presence back in the state. His fingers caressed the
outline of the switchblade in his jeans pocket. He had
things to do first, and Taggart was at the top of his list.
He suspected that gringo maricon had somehow been involved
in his bust up in the mountains, though it was mildly
possible that Kaczynski had done it. Didn't matter. He
planned to eliminate both.
It was his own fault for breaking his rule about
doing business with gringos. _Madre de Dios_, he'd even
trusted that _poco maricon_ to find Angelo Ramada for him,
and the karate-kicking _bastardo_ had set him up. He'd
deal with Taggart first, then run up to Denver and deal
with Kaczynski next before heading for the mountains. It
was hard enough finding Taggart as it was. If Kaczynski's
death occurred first, he might never find Taggart.
He scratched at his neck as he made his way back to
the coffee area, eyes still darting about. Damned new
beard itched, but he needed it for the disguise.
_Madre de Dios!_ In a security mirror he saw a state
cop enter and head directly toward him. The _maricon_
probably was just looking for coffee, but De Ramirez
recognized the man from a drunk and disorderly run-in a
couple of years back. He'd almost been busted then. He
couldn't afford the possibility of the _bastardo_
recognizing him. His hand slid into the pocket with the
switchblade while he pretended that he didn't see what he
wanted and moved on.
He was right. The cop was after coffee. But he
couldn't afford for their paths to cross if the cop wanted
something else, and he couldn't afford to act as if he was
trying to avoid notice. He quickly left and ran to where
he'd parked around the corner of the building.
A attractive young woman and a girl turned the corner
in front of him just as he reached it. Unable to stop, he
crashed into them, sending all three sprawling to the
sidewalk in front of his car. He jumped to his feet,
sprang forward, and slid over his car's hood, bouncing off
the car next to his. As he reached for the door handle the
brunette, still on the ground, assaulted him with a string
of inventive curses.
The young redhead sprang to her feet, face red with
rage, and slammed her right foot onto the sidewalk. "WHY
DON'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU STUPID DOLT!"
Twenty One
Suzie sat at the card table and shook her head at the
stupid Ace bandage around her left wrist. She guessed it
could have been a lot worse or something, but that didn't
help her feel any better. The wrist wasn't broken. It
wasn't even a bad sprain, but the nurse thought it would be
best not to put any strain on it for a couple of days. She
was sure that the only reason for the bandage was to make
sure she stayed out of the pool.
Sure, she didn't HAVE to get in the stupid water as a
coach, especially with the older girl campers and the other
student coaches she was teaching, but being in the pool
herself was the best way to teach the younger girls she was
in charge of. So, thanks to that stupid dolt, she wouldn't
be able to do her best for her group. She hoped he got
some stupid jock itch so bad that the only way to cure it
was imputation.
This sure as heck wasn't what she'd had in mind when
she'd asked Jennifer to take her to Citadel Mall to shop
for Cinnamon's birthday present. She guessed that made it
partly her fault, too, since both the present and the
engraving and the stopping for a Slurpee on the way back
were all her ideas. After Wynter told her about the song
they were recording for Cinnamon, the idea for the present
just sort of exploded in her head or something. Getting
something special for Cinnamon was worth the wrist, if not
for not being able to help her group. But she was sorry
that Jennifer had been hurt, too.
She looked up when Jennifer entered their room and
put her toothbrush and toothpaste on the shelf. Then her
roommate stopped beside her, turned her back, and pulled
the top of her panties down.
"Suzie, what do you think?"
Suzie giggled. "I hope my butt looks that good when
I get old like you."
Jennifer pretended to be mad. "I meant the bruise!"
She'd landed hard on her butt when the stupid dolt ran into
them, unlike Suzie who'd partially caught herself with one
hand before landing on her butt. All Suzie got was the
stupid sprain and no stupid bruise.
"Well, no, I don't want mine to have a stupid giant
bruise like that."
Jennifer pulled up her panties and faced Suzie.
"How'd you like to have the other arm in a sling?" she
asked, shaking her pointing finger at it.
Suzie saw her trying not to laugh, and she giggled
again. "I hope you aren't planning on wearing a thong,"
she said. "Or a French-cut bikini."
Jennifer's shoulders dropped. "That's what I was
afraid of. Actually, I had been thinking about going to
San Diego after camp and spending a week on the beach."
Suzie shook her head. "Well, if you want to shop for
guys, I'd wait a couple of months, until it goes away."
Jennifer sat down, carefully. "By then school will
have started."
"Yeah. But you'll want to get away from the early
snows, won't you?"
"Wait a minute." Jennifer crossed her arms and
leaned back, frowning in suspiciousness. "Who'd coach the
team while I was gone?"
Suzie just grinned and said nothing.
~ ~ ~
Jimmy noted the concern in Wynter's voice when she
wailed, "Oh, NO! Is it broken? Is she all right?"
All conversation in the practice room stopped, and
everyone looked at the door. Wynter was on the telephone
in the hall. The obvious conclusion was that her father
had been in another wreck. They relaxed but remained in
quite listening mode when they heard, "Well, that's a
relief. Too bad you aren't there to kiss it and make it
better. Is Miss Jackson okay, too?"
"Well, now we know who got hurt," Huntly murmured.
"Yeah," agreed LaMarcus with a frown. "Man, I hope
it's not serious. She was having such a good time there
from what all of you have told me. I wonder what happened.
Swimming accident, maybe?"
"Probably," Jimmy's dad agreed. "Some camper
probably swam into her. Or jumped off the edge and landed
on her. That happened to my brother Jim."
"You talking about Suzie?" Guy Malone asked as he put
his sticks in the holder.
Jimmy realized that Guy was unaware of Suzie's
selection as a student coach. "Yeah," he said and quickly
briefed Guy, finishing as Wynter returned.
"That was Josh. Some bozo running down a sidewalk
knocked down Suzie and Miss Jackson. Both are okay, but
Suzie has a mild muscle strain in her left wrist. It's
been immobilized as a precaution for two to three days to
keep her from making it worse. Miss Jackson has a huge
bruise on her left gluteus maximus, but she's otherwise
okay, too."
"Sooo...." Huntly drawled, causing Jimmy to brace for
whatever wiseass comment was clearly on the boy's mind. "I
assume your 'kiss it and make it better' comment was about
Suzie's wrist?"
Jimmy realized Wynter had been concentrating on
Suzie's medical condition and hadn't picked up the
implication in the tone of Huntly's voice because she said,
"Yeah. She and Josh are becoming an item."
"Yes, I know," Huntly grinned. "And that leaves me
free to kiss Miss Jackson's bruise and make it better."
"HUNTLY!" Jimmy wondered if his voice had sounded as
shrill to everyone else as it had to himself. He gave his
father a nervous glance.
His father ignored him and grinned at Huntly. "She
does have a nice butt, doesn't she?"
"Amen and hallelujah!" said LaMarcus, slapping the
body of his bass below the strings. "Easily one of the top
five in the whole town. Top three!"
"Man, I'll say," agreed Guy with a vigorous nod. "I
ran into her at a Florida beach two summers ago. You
should see it in the thong she wears when she's away from
here. It's gorgeous!"
Dad grinned. "I'd love to. What do you think, son?"
He raised his eyebrows at Jimmy.
Jimmy tried to stammer out an answer. He glanced at
Wynter for help, but she crossed her arms and smiled.
"Yeah. What do you think?"
He saw the hint of mischief in her eyes and
remembered his father's comments during their man-to-man
talk. He glanced at Huntly, who raised an eyebrow, Spock-
fashion. "We all want to know your fascinating opinion,
Jimbo."
"W... well, I... uh..."
Everybody--EVERYBODY--grinned at his discomfort. He
swallowed hard and decided he'd not accommodate the
sadists, including his girlfriend. "Well, I guess she's
got the best one of all the teachers."
Huntly glanced at Dad. "I guess we know now that
he's not a fag." Then he grinned at Jimmy. "But what
about the rest of the school? How does hers compare to the
students'?"
"Especially the ones on the swim team," LaMarcus
said. "I think swimming helps shape them up. Ever notice
how all of the team have nice butts?"
"Yeah," Huntly said. "Especially Suzie and Megan and
Ashley." The others, including his Future Wife, nodded and
murmured agreement.
Jimmy gaped incredulously at Wynter, who was slowly
losing a fight to keep from laughing. He had an evil
thought and returned his stare to Huntly, deciding he
should ignore Dad. If that was a mistake, well, he'd just
have to catch heck later. "Well, unlike you, I do think
Miss Jackson's is better than Peter's or Josh's."
Huntly was unfazed. "Whoa-ho! Maybe I was hasty,
Mister Mac. Not nicer than Jeremy Lefave's, eh, Jimbo?"
One of the rumors around the school was that Jeremy was a
faggot, but it was one of the many that had as their
foundation nothing more than the fact that someone else had
said it.
Jimmy shrugged. "I wouldn't want to intrude on YOUR
territory, Huntly."
Wynter finally came to his rescue. "All right, you
two. Don't make me run everybody else out of here and
lecture you!" She looked at her watch, ignoring the clock
on the wall in front of her. "We have a little over two
hours before Mrs. Vasquez returns with Sis and then who
knows how long before she starts looking for us. It's
already Wednesday. We have a lot of work to do before we
can record this on Saturday."
"Yes, dear," Dad said. Jimmy thought it sounded an
awful lot like the way he said it to Mom.
~ ~ ~
Wynter decided it really wasn't a fib as much as it
was like reassuring a scared terminal patient that she was
doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances.
None of them had said that they were going to Denver,
instead giving other destinations to keep Sis One from
suspecting any collusion and ultimate goals, and thus
spoiling a surprise that she would like when it occurred.
So, it wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a fib, either. Was
it?
Mrs. Vasquez had contrived a reason to take Cinnamon
to Grand Junction for the day, while Hailey had opted to
accompany Wynter "to Grandpa Wolfe's." Cinnamon, of all
people, would understand that choice without explanation
because of the way she, too, loved him.
Grandpa had been instructed to check the caller ID
before answering the phone and to let it ring if it was
from Cinnamon. That way, Sis would think everyone was out
seeing the town. Grandpa loved Sis as much as he did
Wynter. He'd have jumped off the roof if it had been
necessary so that everyone could prepare the little
redhead's birthday present.
Alan Berry, a recording engineer, held a door open
and invited everyone to move into a room. Mister Berry
seemed like a nice man. Wynter was sure that she wasn't
assuming that just because of the way he'd reacted to being
in the presence of three of the Hargus Four.
Wynter didn't know what she'd expected for a
recording studio, but it sure wasn't this. Except for the
nice reception area and offices out front, it was more like
the back rooms in Mister McKeown's hardware store. But she
didn't worry about it because Hailey had arranged with Alex
O'Connor, Cinnamon's talent scout friend in Boston and New
York, for the best studio in Denver, and this was what he'd
selected. As his contribution to Sis's birthday present,
Mister O'Connor was paying for the use of the studio.
Wynter knew that Mister O'Connor always watched out for Sis
and her best friends, as well as for his newest bass-
playing discovery.
Huntly and Guy were already there, having brought
Cinnamon's practice kit down earlier that morning. They
were mounting the cymbals when the rest of the band
arrived. They waved at the group from behind a large window.
Mister Berry, whom Hailey had declared major cute,
indicated the recording equipment with a hand wave and
explained the procedures for the recording session. Wynter
had to agree with Hailey's diagnosis of Mister Berry's
looks and was glad that they'd brought Kenny along for
Hailey Control Duty, even though Sis Two was in the fourth
day of her menstrual cycle.
"And then," Mister Berry said in conclusion, "we mix
the tracks in the next room." He pointed at a side wall,
then gave Finnegan a curious look before shifting his
attention to Mister McCauley. "You sure you want him to do
the mixing?"
Wynter placed a hand on Finnegan's shoulder as a
reminder to be nice. She'd seen his rapid inhalation and
realized he was about to shout at Mister Berry.
"With your supervision, of course," Mister McCauley
said. "You'll be a team. He knows our sound, and you
don't. You know your equipment, but he doesn't because he
built his own mixing board."
Mister Berry looked at Finnegan. Condescension
fought with admiration in his face. "Built your own mixer?"
"Yeah." Finnegan rattled off a list of deficiencies
with the boards locally available and then the
specifications of the board he built.
All condescension vanished and he said, "I need to
talk with you later." Then he said to Mister McCauley,
"I've heard stories about the kids around Wizard Ski Basin,
but I thought it was just tall tales."
"No, it's definitely true. My Future Daughter-in-Law
here, and the hospital director's son there, sometimes make
rounds with the doctors in the hospital. At least three
doctors are already trying to influence Wynter into
specializing in their areas. And together they saved a
kid's life a week ago today."
Mister Berry looked incredulous. "No way."
"Way!" Hailey said with an emphatic nod. "Hey! I
was there. And Sis here has assisted Uncle Mitch the OB
in, like, two deliveries so far."
Mister McCauley nodded verification at the question
in Mister Berry's face. "Not only that, the idea for this
song didn't exist until Sunday. They've written and
polished it in that time."
"No, that can't be," Mister Berry said. He'd heard
the CD Finnegan had recorded the night before and brought
along in case the engineer needed it as a guide.
"My input was minimal. Jimmy and Huntly composed it
based on a rhythm Guy invented Sunday afternoon."
Wynter wasn't sure that was entirely the truth.
Something made her think that the idea, perhaps
subconsciously, and been kicking around inside Huntly's
head for a while. And after he'd chosen one of Guy's
rhythm patterns, he'd changed it somewhat. Of course, it
could have happened the way Mister McCauley described it.
She didn't know for sure, and she decided she didn't want
to know.
~ ~ ~
Alan Berry had been suitably impressed when the lead
guitarist had produced the high-end Jackson guitar. He'd
been even more impressed by the way the thirteen-year-old
had played it. But when the bass player recorded his
track, Berry was overwhelmed with sheer envy. Such talent
only a few dozen miles away. But instead of his finding
it, the discovery had been made by some feather merchant
back east.
Berry decided that he needed to spend more time in
the mountains, especially during local music festivals.
Not the Winter Park Jazz Festival. Oh, no. Everyone went
to that. More time at the smaller fests. Maybe he could
discover someone as good as this Hayes kid. Just one
client like that and he could make more money as an agent
than as a recording engineer.
But he damned sure couldn't make any money by
registering patents for the funny looking kid's excellent
modifications of the sound equipment under his own name.
Why did the kid have to be the son of a lawyer?
~ ~ ~
Jimmy felt the gentle squeeze of Wynter's hand on his
back. He wanted to laugh at the expression on Mister
Berry's face, but that would have been too impolite.
"What I mean by 'I'm done,'" Finnegan replied in a
taut measured voice as he set his headphones on the edge of
the console, "is that it's mixed and ready to burn to disk.
If you don't believe me, play it for everybody and ask them."
Mister Berry closed his mouth and pushed a button.
'Cinnamon Sticks' filled the room. When it ended, even he
had to admit it was well-done. "Of course," he said, "if
it had been me I'd have boosted..."
"And then it wouldn't have sounded like Junior and
the Twins," Finnegan snapped in a sharp voice.
Mister Berry surveyed the faces in the crowded room
and conceded the point. "We can print the title on the
disk for you," he began.
"We know," Jimmy said, pulling a thumb drive out of
his pocket. "Here's our art work. I wasn't sure what
format you needed, so I saved it in several different ones.
It's sized to fit on the disk."
Mister Berry almost concealed his surprise, then led
them to another room. He plugged the device into a
computer and pulled up one of the images. "_Holy shit!_"
he whispered.
Jimmy smiled at Wynter. "This is the painting's
artist," he said. "All I did was add the other stuff for
the label."
In addition to the birthday present disk for
Cinnamon, Mister Berry made copies for all the other
members of the band plus the two guest artists, the mixing
board operator, and the cousin. Everyone, including Mister
Berry, promised that nobody would play any copies until
Cinnamon had received her birthday present from Huntly and
the band.
When all the instruments, especially Cinnamon's
practice kit, had been safely loaded into the truck and
secured for the return trip, Jimmy checked his watch.
"Thirty minutes earlier than we'd planned," he said.
"That's good."
Dad ruffled his hair. "Do you realize just how good
today really went? Berry will be talking about this day to
his grandchildren."
~ ~ ~
FUCK!
All Suzie wanted was a few minutes alone with Josh,
but his sister obviously knew that and wasn't about to let
them have any stupid privacy despite the best efforts of
Mrs. Carter to get Lori away. The stupid girl kept
returning as soon as her mother's back was distracted or
something. Then she remembered something Jennifer had told
her about a pesty young cousin.
"You know, Josh," she said with a wink and a flick of
her eyes to Lori as they browsed through the shoe section
of the Wal-Mart store, "I'm really looking forward to
American history class next year."
Josh caught her meaning. "Me, too. I'm kinda
interested in the Civil War and the settling of the west
after it."
Suzie pretended to be more interested in some boys
running shoes than in Josh. "Yeah. I hope we get to learn
about building the railroads and the telegraphs or
something."
After about three minutes Lori wandered away, bored,
to check out the toy section. When they were sure she was
gone and not just waiting around the end of the aisle
display, Suzie grabbed Josh's collar and pulled him down
for a quick kiss. She thought it was ever so sweet that
Josh worried about her using her left arm like that, and
she reinsured him that it didn't hurt when she did it.
"I'd like to kick the butt of the jerk who hurt you,"
he said, giving her wrist a get-well kiss just in case it
needed one.
"Me, too, for what he did to Jennifer, but we'll
never see that stupid dolt again," she said. "Now, what's
this about you not going to Cinnamon's birthday party?"
His head sank down between his shoulders. "I don't
know. I just... I don't think I'd have a good time by
myself."
"You won't be by yourself, silly. Lots of others
will be there. Wynter said that they'd have to move the
party to Otter Park if anyone else got added to the
invitation list. You need to go so you can tell me all
about it. And I want to know how Cinnamon likes her big
surprise birthday present from Huntly and Jimmy and the
others. Wynter said they'd be in Denver fixing it right
now. You have to tell me everything, Josh!"
"Well..."
"And you have to stand in for me when Cinnamon opens
my present, too."
"Well..."
"And you don't want to miss the kissing contest, do
you?"
She thought his red face was ever so cute.
"The one I don't want to miss is yours," he said
"You'll get to practice for it after next weekend. A
lot! But this may be your only chance for Cinnamon this
year."
"Well..."
Luckily they heard Lori returning before Suzie
convinced him. The younger girl found them standing away
from each other and talking about Indian tribes. She
frowned at them and went back to the toy section. A couple
of minutes later or something, Josh agreed to go to the
party. That was just in time, too, because Mrs. Carter and
Lori showed up before Suzie could even kiss him.
"Let's go!" Lori said to her mother in a loud,
disgusted voice. "They're talking about shoes and history!
Suzie will NEVER give him a boner!"
~ ~ ~
Huntly was sure he'd been standing up just an instant
earlier. He was also sure he'd been breathing, too. Now
he was lying down and looking at a high, thin cloud that
resembled a five-legged bunny with an overlarge head. He
was wondering if he'd ever know the pleasure of oxygen in
his lungs again.
Kenny's face loomed over his. Kenny had his arm
drawn back, knuckles pointed at Huntly's face. Kenny was
sitting on his chest. Maybe that was why he couldn't
breathe. Kenny was shouting something at him, but he
couldn't understand the words. He was certain he'd been
able to understand words when he'd been standing up. He
thought he remembered understanding them for all of his
life that he could remember. Only, now he couldn't
remember much before that memory of standing up.
Jimbo was there. That was him grabbing Kenny's
wrist. Jimbo was using words, too. Obviously Jimbo could
understand words.
The strange bunny rabbit disappeared. Doctor Cutie
had dropped to her knees, one on either side of his head,
and shoved against Kenny's shoulders with her hands. She
also understood words. Clearly, then, he should be able to
understand them, too. So, why couldn't he?
What was this? He could see up the leg of her yellow
knit shorts. There was a strip of white cotton, printed
with little bitty blue and yellow and red flowers. He
wasn't supposed to be seeing that, was he? He was certain
that boys weren't supposed to look up the legs of girls'
shorts. But he was also certain that he'd seen what was
behind that cotton strip. So why wasn't he supposed to
look at that if he'd already seen everything else? Maybe
if he could remember that, he could remember how to use
words.
Oh, look! Doggies! A black one and a white one.
Did doggies understand words? He thought they understood
them but didn't use them.
Oh, look! Someone else was there. It was bitch.
Was THAT her name? No. Bitch was a word he called her.
A word! He remembered a word! Maybe he could
remember more. Maybe it would be easier now that they were
pulling Kenny off his chest.
Maybe it would be even more easier if his stomach
didn't hurt like blazes and he could get air into his
lungs. He missed air.
Oh, look! The bunny rabbit was back, but it looked a
lot dimmer than it had before Doctor Cutie had got in the
way. And now it was gone again as somebody's face moved
over his. He knew her. Hailey Gwyneth Wahine.
No, that wasn't right. He tried to look more closely
at her dimming face, but she moved it out of the way and
another face replaced hers. Another pretty face. This one
gently slapped his face with a light-colored ponytail that
stood out against a rapidly darkening background.
Soft lips pressed against his. He was certain that
this was something he liked even more than the missing air.
Suddenly, air flavored by spearmint filled his lungs.
More air. Then somebody turned up the sun's brightness and
words began making sense.
~ ~ ~
Wynter rose up on her knees when Huntly gasped in a
lungful of air. "He's breathing," she told the others.
Kenny jerked toward them, barely held back by Jimmy
and her sisters. "YOU APOLOGIZE NOW, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
he yelled.
Huntly mumbled something, but it was just sounds
because he was trying to gasp in more air.
"Kenny!" she barked in a cross voice. "He's not
conscious enough to understand you yet."
Cinnamon had had enough. "KEVIN KENNETH, JUNIOR,
YOU'RE OUT OF LINE!"
Since that stopped Kenny's yelling and threatening,
Wynter returned her attention to her patient. His eyes
slowly focused on hers. He frowned in puzzlement.
"Don't try to get up yet," she said.
He nodded and gave up trying to rise on his elbows.
"What happened?" he mumbled.
She crossed her arms under her breasts and gave him a
very disdainful look. "You went too far," she said. "You
upset Kenny and me."
"Did you hurt me?"
"No. Kenny did. I'm a Future MD, so I had to help
you, but I wanted to trade places with Kenny. He used his
hand instead of his foot, but I still need to check your
abdomen before you get up."
"I did something that bad?"
"That bad. Don't you remember? I cooked spaghetti
for lunch?"
His face told her when he finally remembered. They
had her house to themselves because her father had taken
her mother for a Monday afternoon visit to some of Grandpa
Wolfe's life-long friends, and they were going to have
lunch and dinner at a Breckenridge restaurant that was
owned by one of Mother's high school friends.
After lunch they'd adjourned to the back yard, and
Jimmy had said something about pasta al dente. Huntly,
clearly without thinking first, had said, "Suzie probably
thinks Pasta al Dente is an Italian muslim." He'd been
standing near the edge of the patio when he said it. Now
he was lying in the grass.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice a little stronger
now. "I didn't mean anything personal."
"Well, it wasn't a very nice thing to say about one
of our best friends, was it? Especially behind her back
like that. Of course, if you'd said it to her face, you'd
have had both of them making you sorry."
He gave her a rueful look. "No, it wasn't very nice.
It was supposed to be just a joke."
"Then next time say Jimmy or Kenny or me, so people
will know you're joking. Jokes aren't funny when they're
too close to the truth."
Sis One interrupted. "Is shithead able to understand
me now?" she growled. It sounded more like an order than a
question.
"He's yours next," Wynter said in an even voice as
she rose to her feet. "But don't be as rough as Kenny was
because he needs to survive until Hailey and Jimmy have
their turns."
Wynter switched places with Sis, then spoke to Kenny.
Her words were drowned out by, "SHITHEAD! YOU'RE OUT OF
LINE!"
~ ~ ~
Jimmy rolled onto his left side on Wynter's bed,
pulling her around with him so that he didn't have to
withdraw from within her. Her leg slid around his and
locked them together. He thought it odd that her hot
breath panting on his neck could feel so cool, but that was
the wonderful thing about making love with her. It was
just one unexpected delight after another.
"I love you with all my heart," she panted.
He rubbed the top of her head with his chin, then
slid his cheek down hers to whisper in her ear, "I love you
with all my heart, too." He had to twist his lips to kiss
her earlobe, and he was barely able to brush it because of
the angles, but neither cared. It was enough to seal the
solemnity of their declarations, and it caused her to sigh
in contentment.
They pulled their heads back until they were lying
nose-to-nose on the pillow, holding long, intricate, caring
conversations merely by staring into each other's eyes.
They talked about medical school, his college, their Future
Careers, the home they would own some day, their life
together in that home, their Future Children, their Future
Grandchildren, all without moving their lips except to
exchange loving smiles.
Like soldiers obeying drill commands their lips
puckered simultaneously, and, as one, they pushed their
faces forward a quarter of an inch each for a soft, brief
kiss that had as much meaning as both of the times they'd
made love to each other that afternoon. They relaxed and
their lips parted, leaving them nose-to-nose and grinning
in delight.
Jimmy ran his upper hand down her back and over her
slender butt. He let it slide down the back of her thigh
until he ran out of arm and had to let his hand glide to a
rest on the side of her thigh.
"Too bad I'm not on the swim team, huh?" she cooed.
"Then you could have more butt to play with."
He slid the hand up to alternately grasp the cheeks,
as if checking size, firmness, and other physical
characteristics. "Maybe," he said. "But then I might have
more than I could handle. There's just exactly enough for
me there."
She blinked and then searched his eyes with her own.
"Would you lie to me?" Her voice was too dreamy to create
a believable tone of suspicion.
"Never."
Her smile of contentment had THAT quirk at the edge.
So he wasn't surprised by her next question. "Would you
stretch the truth to make me feel good?"
"If I really had to. Fortunately, this time I don't
have to."
She giggled. "How much do you love me?"
"I could write the words a googleplexplex times and
I'd just be getting warmed up."
Her head pulled away on the pillow. "A
googleplexplex times?"
"Yep. That's ten to the googleplex power times."
"Hmmm." He liked the satisfied way she hummed her
comment. "I thought a googleplex was the largest number
before infinity."
"Unh uh. Totally insufficient for even beginning to
answer your question. And a googleplexplex is only
marginally better."
Her slender, soft hand gave his cheek a caress that
sent shivers along his spine. "Well, I sure am happy that
I've inspired you to expand the realm of mathematics." Her
lips began closing the short distance, but never reached his.
"KENNY! NO!"
He barely had time to recognize Cinnamon's voice
before the door flew open and a short naked couple raced in.
"It's okay. They're used to my interrupting...
WHOA!" Kenny, eyes wide, froze in his tracks, forcing
Cinnamon to choose between dodging around him or crashing
into him. She dodged, stopped, and also stared with wide
eyes.
Both bedmates were too surprised to understand what
the arrivals were staring at until Cinnamon pointed and
said, "Say, that looks pretty good in there. How'd you
like to put it in mine next?"
Jimmy felt his face heat with a blush. He also felt
himself squeezed out of his warm hiding place by Wynter's
convulsive spasm. They had pulled the covers down only
enough to expose the pillows. He scrabbled to grab the
bedspread and flip it sideways over them.
"What is it THIS time?" Wynter asked in a highly
irritated tone.
The bedspread settled over the entwined couple.
"I'll take that as a 'No' vote," Cinnamon said with obvious
disappointment. "Want me to suck it clean for you?"
"CINNAMON!" Jimmy shrieked, not believing Wynter had
giggled at that question. He wondered if she were in shock
thanks to her sister's thoughtless comments.
"Might as well ask Cinnamon to do it," Kenny said,
"because I'm not gonna, if that's what you want."
"YOU PUTZ!" he shouted before realizing he'd just
awarded Kenny a point for breaking his cool. He released
Wynter and sat up, though keeping each strategically
covered. "What do you want?" His eyes shifted to
Cinnamon. "And what are you doing with THAT? I thought
you were with Huntly."
The little redhead shrugged. "I was. Right now he's
in the middle of something else."
"SomeONE," Kenny corrected.
"Someone else."
Jimmy finally heard and identified the sounds coming
from the spare bedroom. He glared at Kenny. "What are you
two doing up here with those two? I thought you wanted to
do it downstairs in the recliner."
The patented shit-eating grin blossomed. "We did.
Then Hailey suggested we move upstairs and join those two
in a foursome. We were having so much fun that we decided
you might like to make it a six-some."
"SEX-some?" Cinnamon suggested.
"In a sex-some."
Before Jimmy could growl for the two to get out he
saw Cinnamon's eyes flick to Wynter's for less than a
second. In that length of time they conducted a complex
two-way non-verbal conversation that Jimmy could not fathom.
"Come on, Kenny," the little redhead grumbled. She
flipped a hand at the bed. "These two party poopers don't
know how to have fun." They turned, each grabbed a butt-
cheek of the other, and they left, swapping spit as they
walked.
"COME BACK HERE AND CLOSE THAT DOOR!"
Cinnamon stormed through the door and stopped, hands
on her bare hips. "Do I look like room service?" she
asked. She reached between her legs and produced a round,
silvery disk that she flipped to Jimmy. "Here. Call them
yourself."
He stared at the quarter lying in his lap and heard
the door close. Before he could speak he noticed the bed
shaking. _Wynter! They made her cry!_ His mind filling
with ways to punish the two, he whirled to comfort the love
of his life.
She finally released the laughter she'd been holding
in.
_Good grief, she's hysterical!_
~ ~ ~
Wynter rolled her eyes and pinched his lips shut.
"James Evan McCauley! B!"
He blinked in confusion for a moment, then looked
like an old sheep. "I'm sorry," he mumbled out the corners
of his mouth. She released her grip, and he said, "Instead
of turning into my dad, I'm turning into yours."
The thought occurred to her that her father needed
more refractory time between rounds unless he was
exceptionally horny, but she couldn't tell Jimmy that. Not
until after the prudectomy was completed. The events of a
few minutes earlier had been, of course, an attempt to
speed that procedure along. She sure did have a devious
sister.
"Jimmy, I won't lie to you. If I say I'm okay, then
I am. I trust you! Why don't you trust me?" She gasped
when she realized what she'd just said.
Fortunately, Jimmy understood what she meant, rather
than what she said, and didn't grow cross with her. "A."
He frowned. "Well, no, I'm not your parent. A-Plus. Or
would it be A-minus?"
She laughed, grabbed him around the shoulders, and
pulled him down onto the pillows, where she smothered his
face with kisses. Eventually she let him talk.
"It's just that... well... I couldn't believe
Cinnamon did that with the quarter!" he said in the most
incredulous tone.
"Me, either," she admitted with a giggle. "That was
one of the funniest things I've seen all year."
"WHAT?" When she said nothing, he thought for a
moment. "Yeah, I guess so. I wonder if Kenny had that in
mind when he dragged her in her."
"Oh, that wasn't Kenny's idea." _Drat!_ Well, maybe
it would help the prudectomy, somehow. She hoped he
wouldn't ask why Cinnamon had done it.
"What? Then why did Cinnamon drag him in and make it
look like it was his idea?"
_Double drat!_ She'd just told him she wouldn't lie
to him. _Now what?_
"Wynter?"
She ran a hand up his forehead to push back his hair
and then kissed him above each eyebrow. "Um, did you
consider that it might have been Huntly's idea? That maybe
he wanted some time alone with Hailey?" She kissed him
between his eyebrows. All she did was ask a question. It
wasn't a fib if he came to an erroneous conclusion himself,
without her actually saying it was the truth. She hoped.
"That's something else," he said, heading down a new
track, much to her relief. "I thought Huntly and Cinnamon
were becoming an item after the change in them in your back
yard Tuesday afternoon."
"Hey!" She kissed him. "You're pretty observant for
a guy!" she said. "They are."
He frowned. "But he's in there doing Hailey. Unless
that was something Kenny or Cinnamon made up before they
came in here and those two were faking it."
"No." She tried to sound as casual as possible.
"It's intercourse." She realized he was about to rise.
She folded her arms across his shoulders and then kissed
him so that he wouldn't know she was holding him down.
"But... But if they are an item..."
Wynter sighed and shook her head, causing her hair to
slide down either side of their faces and box them in. She
rather liked having his handsome face trapped in that small
area with hers. "What's the next unused letter for
abbreviating responses? C? D? We've had this
conversation before, you know. Lots of times."
"But I don't understand..." he began.
"And you never will because, just like Kenny, you're
not willing to listen to any viewpoint but yours."
"That's not true!"
She pursed her lips and pushed them to one side in
thought. "You're right. You're both not willing to ACCEPT
any viewpoint but yours." She kissed him briefly to stop
him from speaking. "You'll listen, but if the answer isn't
what you want to hear, you ignore it. You know what? The
cure for Kenny's stomach illness is massive doses of
penicillin."
"What does Kenny's... No, it's not. You know they've
already tried it."
"Yes, but I want that to be the right answer, so I'm
going to ignore Doctor Taylor and Doctor Marcus and treat
him with penicillin. It will cure him because that's what
I want."
"Huh?"
Jimmy could be a little slow mentally after a good
sexual workout, and he'd just had a really good one as far
as she was concerned. She kissed him. "It's an al...
alnal..." _Drat!_ "a-nal-o-gy."
He frowned at her until the lights came on. "Oh."
"Uh huh. Maybe it's not the right answer for you,
but it's the right answer for Huntly and Cinnamon. They've
both had other partners while doing each other, so it's not
a new thing."
"But Cinnamon's never done Kenny before!"
She frowned at him. "Maybe you're not as observant
as I thought. They did each other in the practice room
while we were all writing 'Cinnamon Sticks' on your patio
Monday." She had to explain all the symptoms he'd missed,
including the beginning of Hailey's outburst--after kissing
him again, of course.
"But... a FOURSOME?"
She tried not to grin at his confusion, but she
didn't do a very good job of it. "I guess it's the next
step after their threesome on Tuesday after the hot tub."
"WHAT?"
"That's where they were headed when they left after
his knee massage in the hot tub. You really need to work
on your non-verbal communication, you know. Cinnamon and
Hailey were both announcing it to the world."
"But..." Jimmy sure was cute when he was confused.
She'd never seen him cuter. "But how... Why... I mean...
You're saying they went from being an item to inviting
someone else into a threesome with them the same day?"
She sure did hope that saying this wouldn't be a
mistake, but she was reasonably certain that Jimmy could
handle it by now. "It's not like there was someone there
who hadn't done the other two before."
She watched his eyes as the lights came on. Then he
grinned and shook his head. "You don't really believe that
act about them doing other girls, do you?"
She crossed her fingers, but on the pillow above his
head where he couldn't see it. "They've awakened me twice
right here in this bed. Hailey twitches a lot when she has
an orgasm. Cinnamon probably realized I woke up, but
Hailey was too busy cumming. I really and truly wouldn't
be surprised if they do each other again tonight after I go
to sleep."
She had to force his shoulders down to the mattress.
His anxiety attack worried her for a few seconds, but he
escaped a myocardial infarction. Then his face turned
worried. "What about you?" he asked, causing her to worry
about how he'd word the next question. "Did you ever have
a threesome with them? Or just a twosome?"
"Nah," she said with relief that it wasn't a question
that could be interpreted in a way that involved her
relationship with her father. "It's interesting from a
clinical perspective, but that's all. But if the two of
them get pleasure from each other, then I prescribe it.
For them."
"But... How can she possibly love Huntly if she's
doing Kenny and Hailey?"
The lights came on back in the corner of her mind
that held the memory of a conversation she'd had with
Daddy. It seemed like that had been an eternity ago
instead of just a year. She pushed her pursed lips to one
side and considered the ways to phrase it, looking for the
best one. Fortunately, Jimmy realized that she was
organizing her thoughts and kept his disorganized ones to
himself.
She kissed him. "Do you love your mother?"
Non-verbal communication clearly indicated he thought
she needed psychiatric consultation, but he said merely,
"Of course I do. You know that."
"I see." She pretended to think about that for a
moment. "So you're saying you don't love your father,
then. Or me."
"Of course I love my dad. And you know I love you!"
She shifted one hand for a moment to scratch at an
itch between her gluteus maximus and her biceps femoris.
"But, how can you love your dad and me if you love your
mother?"
A grin teased his mouth as he realized she was using
another... a-nal-o-gy to teach a point. She awarded
herself a mental pat on the back for not stumbling over the
word this time.
"Because love," he said, "isn't finite in quantity."
"I see. So, you're saying that in order to give love
to your father and me, you don't have to take that much
away from what you give your mother."
He suddenly gave her a smarty-pants grin. "Yes.
But, my loving doctor, your analogy is faulty, because
you're saying that she's in love with Kenny and Hailey.
Maybe I can accept that about Hailey, but no way can I see
her in love with Uncle Bozo Junior."
Wynter sighed. "She's not." She had hoped that she
wouldn't have to go through the lesson about the difference
in making love and fucking again. She was in a hurry to
get back to those activities herself.
~ ~ ~
"It's a good thing I don't have the middle of the bed
tonight," Wynter said as she patted Dragon's head before
switching out her night stand light. "Otherwise I'd wake
up in the morning surrounded by teenagers."
"Hey! Then you SO know how I feel tonight," Hailey
said beside her. "I'm, like, going to sleep surrounded by
NON-teenagers."
"Well, isn't this an interesting psychological
drama," Cinnamon said from the other edge of the bed. "One
of you is jealous because tonight I'm not a teenager, and
the other is jealous because tomorrow I will be one."
"And we're both SO the jel because, like, tomorrow
you get to go out shopping with Mom while Wynter and I have
to, like, work, decorating for a totally bogus party."
Wynter noted smugness in the little redhead's voice
when she said, "You're just jelling because it's MY kissing
contest."
"Oh, please. NO WAY! Hey! I'll, like, warm the
guys up for you. I'll be a lip fluffer. The contest
itself is SO not the big!"
Wynter was confused. "Huh? What is a 'lip fluffer?'"
"She really has led a sheltered life, hasn't she
Cuz?" Hailey asked, pity coloring her voice.
"Yes," Cinnamon said, echoing the pity. "I blame
Kenny for not adequately completing her education. A
fluffer, Sis, is a girl who blows or jacks off porn actors
off-camera to get them erect for the action scenes. Our
horny Hawaiian harlot is saying she plans to get their lips
ready for the kissing scene."
"Hey! What's being Hawaiian have to do with it?"
Wynter giggled. This act was an all-female version
of the 'arguments' between Sis One and Huntly. She'd heard
versions of it almost every time the three had spent the
night together.
"Hey. How about you, like, eat me? It's SO my last
chance to get face from you before you become, like, one of
us superior ones."
"Nah. I'm tired. Besides, I ate you three times
this afternoon while the guys did us. Remember?"
Wynter shook her head on the pillow and giggled while
Hailey grumbled to herself. Then she felt the bed gently
shaking in the darkness. _Is she...?_
"Hey, do either of you, like, have a vibrator?"
Twenty Two
"Okay," Angie said as she switched off the ignition.
"I guess I could come in for a minute, since it's for one
of my daughters. And maybe Rosita could use some help."
"You mean Wynter could use some help," Cinnamon said
with a mischievous grin, unlatching her seat belt. "You
know that she'll have taken over decorating by now and will
be making sure that everything is perfect."
Angie fumbled open her recalcitrant seat belt latch--
she'd best have Richard take it to Wally Sheridan's and
have it checked out--and raised an eyebrow at the little
redhead. "She did that for Huntly's party?"
"No," Cinnamon said as she opened the passenger door,
"but I could tell she was forcing herself not to. Then,
I'm more of a perfectionist than Rosita, though I'm not
Wynter's caliber."
Angie shook her head at the truth in that statement.
"If you ask me, nobody else is." She climbed out of the
Cherokee and surveyed the bikes parked in the bike rack
while Cinnamon gathered the few packages from behind her
seat. For a girl to whom money was not a barrier, the
little redhead was actually a frugal shopper. She looked
at much, bought little, and compared price to value before
purchasing an item. She would purchase the higher priced
item only if it were worth the additional cost.
Though Cinnamon had tipped Kerrie Holmes a hundred
percent of the bill, and that also included her also paying
for Angie's hair and nails. She'd told Angie privately
that she got more enjoyment spending money on others than
on herself, and besides that, Kerrie needed the money
because of some health problems that Cinnamon wasn't
supposed to know about.
"Looks like Jimmy and Huntly are here. I don't know
whose bike that is."
Cinnamon answered without looking, of course. She'd
taken in everything before the vehicle was fully into the
driveway. "Finnegan's new one. I wonder if that means I'm
playing today?"
Angie laughed as she walked around the front of the
vehicle and joined her adopted daughter. "Nice try. But I
don't know, and even if I did know, the answer would be I
don't know."
Cinnamon shrugged and indicated the north door. "I
didn't expect it to work. After all, Wynter gets her
brains from you."
"Well, Richard's are in there somewhere. You sure
you don't need help with those packages?"
Cinnamon threw her that Kennedy Imperious Look. "I'm
a teenager now. I can do anything!"
Angie, accustomed to having Dragon at the door
whenever Wynter returned, was surprised by Ghost's absence.
While Cinnamon carried her packages to her room, Angie
hurried to the kitchen and found Rosita at the center
counter, rapidly frosting cupcakes in an economy of motion.
Rosita handed the spatula to Angie. "Thanks for
volunteering," she said before Angie could speak. "I had
to make more after Ghost decided to have a snack when I
wasn't looking. He's been banished to Cinnamon's room.
These sprinkles go on the pink frosting, those on the
yellow. If you hurry, you can make the punch. Your hair
looks nice. Cinnamon went to her room to change?"
Grinning, Angie picked up a cupcake and snagged a
dollop of frosting. "Thanks. Good to see you, too," she
said as she lathered the cupcake with similar quick, deft
strokes. "Cinnamon thought Wynter would be in charge by
now."
Rosita opened an oven and peered in, speaking without
looking around. "She is. Don't mess up that frosting job
or you'll have to explain to the Supervisor-in-Chief."
Angie chuckled. "Won't be the first time." She
glanced outside. "Tents?"
Rosita removed a tray of cupcakes, checked them with
a toothpick, and set them on a rack to cool as she
answered. "With the sides up, they're more like awnings.
That huge gazebo isn't large enough for Cinnamon's mob if
it rains, though that's looking less likely now. Mitch had
two of them set up as a precaution this morning." She
grinned at Angie. "BEFORE Wynter arrived. It's his idea,
not hers. We'll put the presents on a table in one of them
either way."
Jimmy rushed in through the patio door, carrying a
toolbox. "Oh! I didn't know you were here. Good to see
you, Future Mother. She's upstairs, I hope?" Meaning he
hoped she wasn't in the basement.
"Stowing her packages and changing. I'd hug you
but..."
"But that would take time, and then you'd have to
answer to The Boss." The capital letters in the title were
clearly evident in his voice, causing both Angie and Rosita
to laugh sympathetically. "I'll have to take a rain check,
anyhow. I need to return this to the garage and get back
out there."
The fresh batch of cupcakes was too warm to frost, so
Angie made the punch while Rosita worked on the hors
d'oeuvres. Angie was answering questions about the
shopping trip when she heard Cinnamon in the hall calling
to Jimmy. The boy stopped in the door, turned to look down
the hall, and said, "WOW!"
The little redhead rushed to him, grabbed his hands,
and gave him a sisterly kiss before leading him to the
counter.
Angie glanced at Rosita and empathized with the brief
flash of envy on the woman's face. Cinnamon wore simple
shorts, sandals, and a fancy summer blouse. She had
applied just a hint of makeup that would go unnoticed by
most people.
Kerrie had piled the girl's long red hair on the back
of her head and secured it with the jeweled pins that
Cinnamon had brought with them to Kerrie's Kuts and Kurls.
Fortunately the pins matched her new necklace, the present
that Angie and Richard had given her that morning. The
spanking-new teenager looked more elegant than most of
Angie's sorority sisters had in their spring formals.
"So," Rosita said while applying cream cheese to some
fancy crackers, "are you thinking about trading Wynter for
my soon-to-be-daughter?"
Jimmy looked first at Angie, giving her a grin-and-
nod before replying. "Soon to be? She says she already is
your daughter. But I don't know. How bossy is Cinnamon?"
"I heard that!" The Boss stood in the patio doorway,
crossing her arms and tapping one foot. She glanced at her
watch. "People should start arriving in seventeen minutes.
Some will be early."
Jimmy hung his head. "Yes, dear."
Angie laughed. "You've trained him well,
sweetheart," she said as Jimmy trudged to the door to
resume his outdoor duties.
Cinnamon disagreed. "I think he learned that from
his dad. The inflection was perfect."
~ ~ ~
Cinnamon didn't believe for one moment that Finnegan
was there early just to set up the sound system for his
secondary function as the disk jockey for the dance. But
she didn't press. If she was somehow expected to perform,
the way Huntly had when he received his guitar, then she'd
do so. She'd chosen her clothing with that possibility in
mind. Though with her drum kit still sitting in the family
room and no other instruments or any amplifiers there, it
seemed unlikely that there would be any live performances.
In truth, she didn't want to know. She would relish
the anticipation and revel in the moment when or if it
came. While there were a few instances where being
surprised wasn't a good thing, a birthday party definitely
wasn't one of them. Either way, she would be the center of
attention.
Kenny had set up a balloon-festooned sign to direct
arrivees to the front door, where Cinnamon greeted them.
Hailey, on better behavior than her cousin had expected,
escorted them through the house and handed them off to
Kenny at the patio. Cinnamon tried to attribute Hailey's
demeanor to some newly-discovered maturity on the girl's
part, but, uncharitably, kept concluding that Wynter had
conducted a one-sided 'discussion' with her Sister Number
Two.
She was surprised but delighted when her father
arrived. He'd called earlier to say a woman had gone into
labor with her first child, so she didn't expect to see him
until the party was over.
"A new first-delivery record for me," he said after
giving her a kiss. "Broken water to baby in twenty-two
minutes. Wait until I tell Wynter about this."
The boyish excitement in his voice gave her more of a
thrill than his presence, something she'd have thought
impossible a year ago. She'd celebrated that birthday in
Hawaii, away from the bitch who'd spawned her but also away
from the father she loved.
When all had arrived, including the on-time delivery
from Pepperoni Pete's, Wynter took charge in the gazebo
while Cinnamon opened family presents in the den with
Daddy, Rosita, and Cuz. Hailey had two presents for her
favorite cousin, a gold picture frame containing a family
portrait of Uncle Gerry, Aunt Viv, and Hailey for the
family gathering and another present for the party.
To Cinnamon's great non-surprise she found Wynter
sharing emcee duty with Huntly. He was entertaining
everyone with magic tricks when Cinnamon and Hailey emerged
from the house.
"Well," he said, "I was going to use Megan next,
either to saw her in half or show you a slot machine trick,
but Hawaii's prize wahine is delivering our beautiful
Teenaged Guestess of Honor. All rise!"
All did, accompanied by several hoots and wolf
whistles for the 'Guestess.' She joined Huntly and Wynter
at the head table in the crowded gazebo, smiling and waving
her hands. They toasted her with punch and sang 'Happy
Birthday.' They did a better than usual job, and as she
basked in the moment she wondered if Little Miss Perfection
had rehearsed them.
But she especially adored the way Huntly couldn't
take his eyes off her. She realized she was getting very,
very wet.
After greetings and announcements, all sat except for
Snoopy and Possum Watkins, Alyssa Erland, and Hailey. They
served while Huntly cracked wise about the pleasure of
having another teenager to take some of the blame and
burden associated with that status from his heavily
overburdened shoulders. He also expressed deep pity for
those in attendance who had yet to reach 'the lofty status
of teenagehoodedness.' Fortunately, he didn't try to
attribute that word to Suzie, possibly because he saw Kenny
tense when he said it.
The thought of Suzie saddened her. She'd never
considered the impact that her friend's absence would have
on her. It was almost as bad as the way she thought she'd
feel if Wynter couldn't attend. Right on cue, the skies
darkened for several minutes, looking as if the rain might
begin immediately, but the sun emerged for the remainder of
the party and her spirits lifted.
~ ~ ~
Everyone seemed to be finished with the ice cream and
cupcakes. Wynter sipped her punch, squeezed Jimmy's hand,
and rose to her feet. Conversation quickly died as people
turned their rapt attention to her. "Huntly, would you and
Jimmy please clear away some space so that Sis can open her
presents?"
Huntly rose to his feet. "I dunno. Isn't that
women's work, Jimbo?"
While the girls soundly booed the comment, Jimmy rose
and started gathering plates. "I refuse to answer that on
the grounds that I don't want a sex-change operation."
Those sitting where they could see Sis One laughed
when she grinned and snapped her teeth at Huntly, a not-so-
subtle reminder of Matthew Wylie's emasculation.
Huntly did a beautiful double-take. "Say, Jimbo! Do
you need some help, there?"
Wynter had arranged the presents in alphabetical
order by attendee on a table in the adjacent tent behind
the head table. That organization made it easy for Huntly
and Jimmy to find the right one as Cinnamon, while
standing, called for them in her priority order. Wynter
recorded the gift and the giver for thank you notes. Soon
only four presents remained.
"Suzie," Cinnamon said, then announced to everyone,
"Most of you know that Suzie Middleton is in Colorado
Springs. She's performing as a student coach at swim camp,
the first ever from her age group. Though she can't be
here today, she did send a gift. I've said repeatedly that
I don't care anywhere near as much about the gifts as I do
about having you friends here with me. Since her gift
represents her attendance, I have made an exception to that
rule just for her."
The little redhead smiled toward the far end of one
table. "Josh, she said you were supposed to stand in for
her at this moment and report my reactions to her. Tell
her that the gift is all the more precious to me because it
represents her attendance."
Josh nodded in what Wynter thought of as a
reverential manner.
She accepted the small package from Huntly with all
the dignity she could muster, and Sis sure could muster a
lot of dignity when she wanted to. While Sis unwrapped it,
one of Wynter's hands found its resting place on Jimmy's
back as her other grasped his in anticipation.
"Good Lord!" Cinnamon's round cheeks were pushed
upward by her smile as she withdrew a heart-shaped silver
compact engraved with both her name and a tiny pair of
drumsticks. She held it up for all to see.
Huntly frowned at Wynter. "You've talked to Suzie
about...," his eyes flicked to Cinnamon, "you know.
Haven't you?"
He obviously meant his music. But he was curious,
not cross. "Yes. Why?"
Huntly laughed and shook his head. "I didn't realize
she had it in her. Think about it."
Wynter put on her diagnosis cap and then laughed.
The engraving said, 'Cinnamon Sticks.' She nodded as Jimmy
slapped his forehead. His lights had just come on, too.
"What on earth are you three going on about?"
"Nothing, bitch. Weren't you reading Suzie's note?
I thought I saw your lips moving."
"Shithead." She chuckled as she read the tiny note.
She handed it to Wynter, who silently read the hand-written
words, 'Even some one as butiful as you ocassionaly needs a
littel help. Love, Suzie.'
Wynter's hand squeezed Jimmy's back as she handed it
up for him to read.
The little redhead's narrowed eyes widened when she
opened the silver case. "That's my shade!" She removed
the refill and turned it over. "And my brand! I didn't
realize she knew." She gave Wynter a suspicious glance
that shifted to Hailey when Wynter shook her head. Sis Two
also indicated that she wasn't the information's source.
"Oh," Jimmy said after he realized what Cinnamon's
nonverbal communication was asking, "Perhaps I should
comment that although she doesn't wear much herself, Suzie
is highly attuned to what make-up and perfumes other girls
use. I learned that at Wynter's birthday party."
Sis nodded understanding before she called Josh to
stand beside her at the head table. Cinnamon took his
hands and gently squeezed them. "Josh, would you pass my
thanks along to Suzie?"
Josh looked as if he'd been awarded a great honor,
and Wynter guessed he had. "Sure!"
"Good." Her arms flew around Josh's neck. She
pulled him down into a kiss that made his legs weak. "Now,
you give that to her, and don't you leave anything out."
Josh grinned and promised he would do as ordered.
Wynter's eyes flicked to Kenny in an autonomic
reflex. He was wiping his eyes with the back of one hand.
"Cuz," Cinnamon said to Jimmy. He retrieved a thin,
flat box that contained what could have been a yellow
bikini if it had contained a bit more cloth. Wynter wasn't
sure if it had as much fabric as the three blue postage
stamps and string. The boys began demanding that she model
it for them. "Well... Maybe later," she said with a
teasing grin before kissing Hailey.
"I SO want to, like, see you in it, too," Hailey
murmured as their lips separated. "I'm getting SO hot
thinking about it on you."
"Okay, shithead," she said with a grin as she handed
the package to Huntly to return to the gift table. "Let's
see yours."
"Bitch. Actually, Wynter's present is next."
Sis backhanded him, causing him to jump and grab his
upper arm. "Making yours the last?" She crossed her arms
and gave him a most disdainful look. "I decide the order
of importance, and no shithead will ever be more important
than my sister."
Huntly shook his head while everyone laughed. "It's
not a question of importance, bitch. If I give you mine
next, it will spoil the surprise of Doctor Cutie's."
Cinnamon's head snapped down and around. "He's not
actually telling the truth for a change, is he?"
Wynter giggled and nodded. "Yes. He is."
Sis looked surprised. "Well, I guess it was bound to
happen eventually. Okay."
Huntly paused at the intercom first, keyed it, and
said, "Now." He waited for confirmation, then ducked into
the gift tent.
Wynter's heart swelled in her chest when she saw
Doctor Brees with an easel under one arm and his Future
Wife in the other, bringing both to the gazebo.
Huntly returned with Wynter's present before the
couple was halfway from the house. "All right, everyone."
he said. "We have invited two escapees from the old folks'
home to join us for a minute because of the special nature
of Doctor Cutie's present. Although I know what it is and
what it looks like, as you will discover in a few minutes,
this will be the first time I've seen the actual item."
Sis looked at Wynter and tilted her head toward first
the box and then her father. She raised her eyebrows.
Wynter nodded to confirm that it was her painting, as Sis
had asked. The little redhead looked as she were about to
undergo anticipatory cardiac arrest.
"Although I have no idea what Huntly's babbling
about," Sis said, "I, too, know what the gift is. Unlike
him, I have absolutely no idea what it looks like, so I'm
even more excited about this than you are."
When Doctor Brees had set the easel in place,
Cinnamon unwrapped the box, lifted the lid, and peered in.
Her eyes went wide in her stunned face. "_Holy shit!_" she
whispered in a soft voice.
Doctor Brees and Mrs. Vasquez looked next and echoed
the soft words. Huntly was next while Cinnamon, eyes
brimming, gave Wynter a look that made her heart feel too
big for her chest.
Doctor Brees held it so that everyone could see while
Cinnamon gave Wynter a hug as ferocious as one of Grandpa
Wolfe's, followed by a kiss that barely stayed sisterly.
Soft whispers of, "_Holy shit!_" were drowned out by
Miranda Ochoa's, "And I thought Huntly's guitar was the
most beautiful man-made object I'd ever seen!"
"Maybe it still is," said Wynter with a giggle. "I'm
not a man, you know." She gasped when Sis, who was still
hugging her, secretly squeezed one of her breasts.
"No," the little redhead softly agreed with a grin,
"you certainly aren't."
After several minutes the crowd settled down and took
seats. Cinnamon sent Huntly to get his present. If Sis
noticed that her father and Mrs. Vasquez hadn't left, and
Wynter couldn't imagine her not noticing, she didn't say
anything."
Huntly had done what he'd thought Cinnamon had done
to him. Inside the one-foot cube box was another wrapped
cube, nine inches on a side. Sis was unwrapping the six-
inch cube inside that when she froze, her eyes fixed on the
north end of the house. "How...?" she whispered, but
didn't speak the rest of her question.
Wynter noted the little redhead's curious expression
and looked. Guy Malone and Mister McCauley were standing
at the top of the steps leading down to the basement game
room.
Inside the six-inch cube, Cinnamon finally found the
wrapped jewel case containing the CD. The card inside the
case's cover and the face of the disk itself showed a
picture of Wynter's painting in the upper left corner and a
picture of crossed drumsticks, similar to the ones engraved
on Suzie's compact, in the lower right. At the upper right
were the words, 'Cinnamon Sticks,' and the lower left,
'Junior and the Twins, with Special Guests Wynter King and
Guy Malone.' She again gazed that the north end of the
house in confusion.
"Ladies and gentlemen and Kenny!" Huntly said,
holding up his hands to quiet the growing murmur of the
crowd.
"Up yours, Sheridan!"
"I'll ignore that outburst from the nursery." He
took the CD case from Cinnamon and lifted it for all to
see. "You have a choice. You can stay out here with
magnifying glasses and try to read the music to 'Cinnamon
Sticks' off the tracks in this CD, or you can move to the
basement over there where my talented but menial assistants
are standing and be treated to a live performance of it.
Either one is acceptable, but if you choose the first
option, you'll miss seeing my brilliant playing technique."
"In that case, I'll stay out here with Cinnamon,"
Kenny snorted.
"Those who do not wish to stay and change Kenny's
diaper should report to the basement now."
Despite people passing by the head table to look at
the cover, the gazebo emptied in record time.
~ ~ ~
Wynter played a run of scales with the Clavinova set
on electric piano when Finnegan called her name over the
headset. Although they had checked the settings before the
party began, Finnegan insisted on verifying that nothing
had changed. That made sense to Wynter. She would have to
do similar verifications before she performed surgical
procedures so that she could be sure that she had
everything necessary. She sure didn't want to ask for a
rib spreader and have the nurse say, "Oops!"
Guy, sitting on the drummer's throne, looked first at
the seated audience and then at his watch. He adjusted his
headset and stretched. "I'll bet she's still in the gazebo
trying to figure out how we got her drums from upstairs to
here in the time available. She's probably wondering if we
damaged them or knocked them out of tune."
Jimmy looked at Wynter, keyed his headset intercom,
and whispered, "She's probably putting her shorts and
panties back on about now." Apparently he'd forgotten that
his dad was also in the circuit.
Wynter gave him a cross look that was ruined by her
giggle. Before she could answer, Sis and Huntly, arms
about each other, entered from the outside door. The
little drummer froze, jerking Huntly to a halt, when she
saw her practice kit sitting there. Wynter watched the
lights come on in her eyes. They had really and truly
surprised Sis.
"She's all yours, wahine," Huntly said, yielding his
escort duty to the sparkling-eyed Hailey.
"This way, Cuz. Hey! You are SO going to love
this!" Hailey led her cousin to the designated spot, a
small note taped to the floor between Snoopy and Possum.
It read 'Bitches only' in Huntly's handwriting. Cinnamon
sat between the two shy cousins and took a hand of each in
her own. Her own cousin sat behind her, wrapped arms
around her waist, and said in an excited voice, "This is
WAY cool!"
Huntly took his position between Jimmy and Guy and
said, "While 'Cinnamon Sticks' isn't a..." his voice
dropped an octave as he crooned the next word, "loooove...
tune like 'Wynter's Song,' it manages to capture both the
spirit of its namesake and some of my feelings for her.
You'll recognize the latter in the discordant notes."
"Making excuses in advance for your poor playing?"
Kenny taunted. He yelped when Katie Wilson thumped his
head and told him to behave.
"Moving right along, the melody was inspired by a
drum pattern from our guest percussionist, the star drummer
of Dunne High School and the Maroon Bells' own Guy Malone.
He's a senior, but I think all of you know him or know of
him."
Guy acknowledged the cheers and applause while Huntly
slipped his guitar strap over his head and, with a
magician's flourish, produced a pick in his fingertips.
"Also sitting in as a guest Twin performer is
LaMarcus's better looking identical twin, Doctor Cutie!"
Wynter rose and curtsied gracefully, the way the
birthday guest of honor would have done, while the laughing
bass player led the applause.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" He grinned at the front row.
"And birthday bitch. 'Cinnamon Sticks!'"
Wynter noted the almost feverish anticipation in her
adopted sister's face as Guy lifted his left drumstick out
at a forty-five degree angle. Wynter thought his movements
weren't as crisp or precise as Cinnamon's, though she'd
never be so impolite as to say that to anyone. He tapped
out the beat, spun the stick in his right hand, and jabbed
it across his body at Mister McCauley.
Wynter knew that the music's success depended on the
rhythm guitar's electronic tremolo precisely matching the
beat. Mister McCauley and Guy had spent hours working on
the settings and Guy's hitting the beat properly every
time. They had spent all their time while everyone else
was at the party working on that timing. Her heart
hammered in her chest with the worry that Guy might suffer
anxiety disorder and signal the wrong beat, though its
timing looked right to her.
Her worry was needless. The catchy rhythm pattern
was flawless. On the third bar Huntly's A-string, softly
echoed by LaMarcus on his bass, twanged out the
introductory phrase. LaMarcus switched to a bouncy rhythm
as Huntly launched into the catchy main theme. Jimmy's
synthesizer slowly rose in volume to add background color,
rather than rhythm or texture, to the music.
Midway through the first theme, Huntly handed the
lead over to Wynter. He joined with her for the transition
down to Guy's drum bridge. Until this point he'd set
mostly a standard 4/4 beat on the snare drum and high hat,
with occasional minor additions at transitions, causing Sis
to look at him with disappointment that she didn't show
when she looked at the others, especially Huntly.
The bridge lasted eight bars and had only four cymbal
crashes. The hope in Cinnamon's eyes at the beginning of
the bridge again faded to disappointment.
The B theme was a minor key variation of the A theme,
with the same notes but different timing. Wynter had a
rest during the B, but rejoined Huntly when the A theme
resumed. Again he handed off to her and rejoined just
before a second transition down to the bridge. This time
the bridge lasted considerably longer than eight bars: Guy
had launched into his solo. You could hear the melody in
his drum and cymbal sounds, creating an effective C theme.
Cinnamon's eyes almost disappeared as the explosion
of her smile slammed her round cheeks upward. Wynter tore
her eyes away to glance at Jimmy.
His eyes were also on Sis. He knew Wynter was
looking at him because he gave a grin-and-nod, though his
eyes stayed on the little redhead who was now almost
bouncing off the floor in delight.
Wynter thought it was a good thing Sis had Snoopy and
Possum to help Hailey hold her down or else she might just
float up to the ceiling anyway.
Wynter glanced about the room. Doctor Brees and Mrs.
Vasquez were standing by Finnegan's board at the back, at
the spot where they'd stood during Huntly's birthday party
performance. Both were watching Cinnamon and grinning like
they had overdosed on opium. Everyone else had eyes locked
on Guy. They were all smiling and nodding, the way they
did when Cinnamon played.
All but one of them.
_What the heck?_
Wynter noted the frown of disdain on Kenny's face as
he watched Guy. She didn't have enough symptoms to
diagnose the cause. She glanced at Jimmy, who was still
watching Sis. She willed Jimmy to look at her. His head
turned, and she used her eyes and a slight jerk of her head
to indicate Kenny.
Jimmy peered at him for several seconds, then looked
at Wynter and shrugged. He, too, was clueless. Both
resumed watching the ecstatic little redhead until Guy
finally brought it around to the B theme again. After a
final short version of the A theme, the music died away,
except for Jimmy's final note, which hung in the air even
after Finnegan finally faded it into oblivion.
As the room thundered with applause, Cinnamon jumped
to her feet, stabbed a finger at Huntly's guitar, and
pointed to the guitar stand. When he straightened, she
launched herself from a standing start, locking her arms
around his neck and slamming a kiss to his lips so quickly
that Wynter worried if either had loosened a few teeth.
Huntly, caught off guard, had to grab her butt to
keep from falling on his face. Wynter grinned at Jimmy
when she saw that. He rolled his eyes at her and looked
like an old sheep. The one time that Sis had done that to
Jimmy, she'd been nude and he'd ended up with wet fingers.
She guessed Huntly would also end up with wet fingers as
soon as he and Sis had some time alone.
When people began calling for an encore, Wynter was
sure that they meant a musical encore because Sis and
Huntly were still kissing. _I wonder if Sis can have an
orgasm like that, where she can't use thigh masturbation_.
Finally Sis pulled her head back and let Huntly set
her on her feet. Sis's face said she obviously could.
Wynter suddenly worried that Huntly might have strained his
knee, but he looked okay. Goofy, but okay.
"Well, I'm with the rest of them, shithead. Do you
have an encore ready?"
They all looked as surprised as Wynter felt. They'd
been so focused on 'Cinnamon Sticks' that they'd never
considered an encore. Huntly raised his shoulders at Guy.
"Uh, well..." was his response. A few seconds later
he brightened. "Well, you guys are a surf band. I can do
'Wipe Out' with you!"
Sis looked at Wynter and mouthed, "Please shoot me."
~ ~ ~
Since 'Wipe Out' had no keyboard parts, Jimmy sat
beside Wynter on her bench. He barely heard the music as
he concentrated on trying to decipher the meaning of
Kenny's attitude. The applause and cheers finally brought
him around.
"Was that okay?" Guy asked.
As the chorus of agreement faded toward silence, a
voice piped up. "Okay, but not great," Kenny said.
"Cinnamon can literally beat that one-handed."
Jimmy's eyes jerked from Kenny to Guy, expecting to
see the older boy angered. He looked anything but angry.
Jimmy couldn't decide whether the look was disappointment
or sadness.
As the guests, most of whom were unaware of the
tension, clapped and called for Cinnamon to play the song,
too, Guy rose to his feet and bowed with courtesy and
dignity to Cinnamon. He held out the sticks. "I believe
they would rather have you than me," he said. "I yield and
thank you for the opportunity, despite your lack of
foreknowledge, to play such a magnificent drum kit."
Howls of protest arose, along with a growing chant of
the word, "Contest!"
"You have any idea yet?" Jimmy whispered.
"Hunh uh," Wynter grunted. "I've been watching Sis.
She doesn't know, either, but I think Hailey might."
Jimmy didn't question that. He'd not been watching
either cousin, but if Wynter said she believed that, then
it was fact for him.
An unnatural grin shaped Cinnamon's mouth, leaving
her eyes untouched. "No," she corrected, "I believe they
want us to compete."
Yells of agreement followed. Guy still held the
sticks toward the newest teenager. "I would be honored,"
he said.
Cinnamon's grin softened into a natural one. "I
guess it would be fun, even if it is..." She left the song
unnamed.
She had to adjust the throne for her shorter height,
then moved it and the high hat. When she was ready, she
said, "I can't do this without the right introduction.
Kenny, I need your help!"
Kenny gave her a surprised look, then smiled, did the
laugh, and cackled, "WIPE OUUUUT!"
Guy looked for a place to sit. Hailey circled a hand
in the air and pointed to the seat Cinnamon had vacated.
Guy first glanced at Kenny, then shook his head. Instead,
he moved behind Cinnamon and remained standing, watching
her with growing disbelief as she repeated her performance
for Kenny in the practice room a few months earlier. He
shook his head as she alternated the solo drum sequences
between single hands while the other held up her watch or
scratched an itch or just hung loosely at her side.
When it was over and the crowd had quieted, Guy spoke
first. "No way is there a need to vote. I yield! I've
truly been outplayed."
Cinnamon rose and offered her hand, which he gave a
congratulatory shake.
"By the way," he said, looking somewhat embarrassed,
"do you give lessons?"
She smiled. "I do to friends, both old friends and
new ones."
"Then I'll call you about that later. I know it's
your party, and I've no right," he said, "but if it's not
too tactless to ask, could you play one more piece? I've
learned more about drumming in the last three minutes than
I'd learned in the five years before that."
Cinnamon turned and lifted her palms upward in
question. The answer was loud and positive. She turned to
Jimmy and pointed to the keyboards. He gave Wynter a
squeeze and returned to his place. When he was seated, she
said, "'Caravan,'" and everyone adjusted instrument settings.
The choice was pure Cinnamon. Not only did their
version have a magnificent drum solo for Guy to observe, it
had solos for all the other performers to showcase their
talents, too. Even though it was her party, her day,
Cinnamon was sharing the spotlight. The choice was as
selfless as any Wynter would have made. As the little
drummer slammed the fourteen-inch crash cymbal and hammered
out the opening beat on a tom-tom, Jimmy couldn't believe
that his Future Wife and his Future Sister-in-Law weren't
blood relatives.
His fingers hit the first chord right on cue, and
they were off and running!
So, what the heck was up with Kenny?
~ ~ ~
Kenny halted at the door when he heard Guy call his
name. He told Evi Lopez to go on without him. She
shrugged, latching onto a surprised Finnegan. Kenny
chuckled and shook his head. Finnegan had become A Famous
Person because he was the dedicated sound man for Junior
and the Twins, and thus was worthy of Evi's attention.
Hailey released Snoopy's and Possum's arms when she
reached him. She leaned down and put her mouth next to his
ear. "Hey! This is SO NOT the drama, pickledick!" she
whispered. "Why don't you drop it? I told you..."
"I know," he snapped, cutting her off more sharply
than he'd intended. He softened his voice. "Snoopy?"
The shy blonde, her chin against her chest, looked at
him with her large, beautiful blue eyes. "Yes?"
"Hailey's about to get lost on her way back to the
gazebo. Could you please show her the way?"
"Sure. She was telling us about Waikiki Beach,"
Snoopy said in her soft voice as she wrapped a hand around
Hailey's arm. "It sounds very nice. We'd like to see it
some day."
Possum nodded agreement with her cousin, adding to
Kenny's already considerable surprise.
As a test, he slowly reached for Snoopy's hand and
gave it a gentle pat. She didn't flinch. "Maybe you two
can visit Hailey, and she can take you there. Without Duck
or Goose or the others, of course."
They weren't afraid of being among all those
strangers on the crowded beach? And Snoopy had let a male
initiate a touch? After they had served both the boys and
the girls at the large birthday party? The two were
finally beginning to act like the cousins of old, the way
they used to be BMW: 'Before Matthew Wylie.' As they led
Hailey away, Kenny's quieted anger began to seethe anew.
He moved to the back of the room, away from the door
so that he wouldn't have to interact with others. He'd
felt a faint burning erupt in his guts, apparently caused
by his anger and the tension. He didn't need the stress.
Sheridan, of course, started in his direction.
Cinnamon quickly deflected his path toward the outside door
and shot a warning look at Kenny. He translated it as,
"Don't get blood all over my house!" and nodded. Had
Hailey said something to her cousin? Maybe not.
Cinnamon's attitude was one of curiosity, but she seemed to
realize it wasn't a good time to interfere.
Jimmy's dad and LaMarcus gave him looks of concern
but did not attempt to butt in without an invitation.
LaMarcus gave him a steady look while he held a hand palm
down at his waist and moved it sideways with a turn of his
wrist. 'Keep it smooth, yo,' he translated. Again he
nodded.
Tyrone Hayes shot his arm up and snapped his wrist
down to point a finger at Kenny as he passed. "Keep it up,
G, and Little Momma'll put you on retainer for every
drumming contest she do that at!"
Shamisa James, aware that something unusual was
happening, told him to shut up and pushed him to the door.
Wynter and Jimmy were last. She looked nervously at
Guy, then looked as if she were about to approach Kenny.
Jimmy, his arm around Wynter as usual, carefully steered
her to the door, too. His face clearly said he had no idea
what was going on, but he knew Kenny could take care of
himself. His face also said he was worried about Guy
because Kenny might start something. Kenny shook his head,
and Jimmy seemed to understand. Jimmy closed the door
behind him.
Since the mountain didn't move from the back of the
room, Mohammed went to the mountain. He stopped two arms'
lengths away, though he had to know that he wasn't at a
safe distance from Kenny. Not that anywhere in the room
was a safe distance. Wynter would call Guy's expression
contrite. "Are you going to make as issue of it?"
Kenny forced his fingers to straighten, then realized
that they were weapons that way, too. He made them relax
into a natural curl. "You hurt her."
Guy nodded. "I know. But it wasn't intentional.
She said she wanted to do it, and..."
Anger rose to his throat and snaked about the words
as they emerged. "So you're blaming her?"
"NO WAY! I'm trying to explain."
Kenny stared at him. He remembered how he'd felt
when Suzie wouldn't let him explain that she'd made a
mistake about him and Caroline. "I'm listening."
"She said she wanted to do it, and I wasn't smart
enough to realize that it wasn't a usual kink for her, the
way I'd assumed. It's WAY my fault for not paying
attention, but I was too excited by her for my big head to
realize it was her first time. It was only my... sixth?
Maybe fifth, and before it was always with Teri Austin
because that's her thing. No way am I into S&M, but
usually I try to do what a girl wants if it gets her better
jollies."
When Kenny said nothing, Guy shrugged. "You can't
tell me you haven't done Hailey. Won't you do whatever she
asks to make her happy?"
"Well, yeah." _Just like I held Suzie's legs so she
could push against my arms when she came because that was
what she liked._ "But..."
"But I fucked up. I gave her a safe word, but she
didn't say that she didn't know what a safe word was. As
soon as I realized she really wanted to quit, I did. Look,
Taylor, I play the drums and I'm the same sex as him, but
NO WAY am I Matthew Wylie!"
Kenny stared without blinking. "Keep talking."
Guy hunched his shoulders in a shrug and seemed to
sink down inside himself. "I don't know. Look. Maybe you
know the whole story behind what happened to him, maybe you
don't know any more that I do about that. But I do know
that if there's one thing you and I agree on in this world,
it's that Wylie got off light."
Tension drained from Kenny's muscles. "Hailey keeps
telling me it's no big deal."
"I don't think it is for her. It is for me, though.
You can't imagine how I feel about that."
"Maybe," Kenny said, extending his hand in
friendship. "But I do understand."
Guy's grip was firm and strong. "She's lucky to have
you for a friend."
The patented shit-eating grin slid into place without
his conscious knowledge. "I do my best to protect her from
herself. You leaving now?"
Guy shook his head. "No way! I've been given a
personal invitation to the kissing contest. Shouldn't we
get up there before it's over and we both miss out?"
~ ~ ~
The girls jumped to their feet and cheered, and all
the guys but one groaned their disappointment to each
other. Kenny quietly pulled his left foot over his right
thigh, gripped his ankle in both hands, and pondered
whether he'd been the reason that Guy had won the contest.
If so, he wondered what would happen when the other guys
learned that he was the reason they had lost.
~ ~ ~
Jimmy cuddled Wynter in his lap in one of the den's
recliners and sipped his share of the last of the punch.
Huntly and Cinnamon sipped theirs in the adjacent recliner.
The stereo began the recorded--and shorter--version of
'Cinnamon Sticks.'
Huntly sighed when it appeared in the random order of
selections. "So," he said in his 'here comes a wise-ass
comment' manner," it looks like you're getting to enjoy
your favorite birthday present again."
Wynter shifted in Jimmy's lap. "Get real, Huntly."
"What? You think she likes YOURS more than MINE,
there, Doctor Cutie, just because her dad hung it in the
hall where everyone coming in the house can see it?"
"I don't know how ours rank. But I do know that even
Jimmy is aware of which present was her favorite."
"Hey!" Jimmy said. "I'm not the one who's brain
damaged here."
Kenny, sitting on the couch with his hand down the
back of the shorts of a reclining Hailey, cackled in his
weird voice, "HELLO? EARTH TO MISTER BRAIN DAMAGE! DUH!"
He shifted to his normal voice. "It was Suzie's, of course."
Hailey, softly moaning at whatever Kenny was doing,
said, "Yeah, pickledick. OOOH!"
Huntly frowned at each of them individually, then as
a group. "'Of course'?"
Jimmy loved Huntly's genuine confusion. "Clearly the
'lofty status of teenagehoodedness' doesn't grant you
superior observation and reasoning powers any more than it
gives you comic ability."
Huntly looked at Ghost, as if he were waiting to see
if everybody in the room was going to take a shot at him.
"What does everyone else know that I don't? Do you mean
you think so because of her acceptance speech and the way
she kissed Josh? Oh! You mean it was her favorite because
it represented Suzie's attendance."
"You really ARE a shithead."
"And a pickledick. OOOOH!"
"Perhaps Kenneth is not the putz here after all."
"Why, thank you, James. I think. Hey, at least you
and I are still young enough to use our brains while
enjoying the company of our women."
"That does it!" Wynter said, though with far less
heat than she'd used at the infamous rehearsal. "Play nice
or I'll turn all of you over my knee."
"Ooooh!" Hailey cooed. "KINKY!"
That caused Kenny to tense and THAT look to return to
his face briefly. Jimmy realized he'd just witnessed a
clue to the reason for the Kenny-Guy antagonism that was
now in the past. Although he didn't know what the clue
implied, the situation was obviously resolved and the two
were now friends, so he put the issue from his mind.
"Later, Sis," Wynter said. "Huntly, that was an
expensive compact."
"Okay. But bitch says she doesn't care about
presents as much as having her friends present. Now you're
saying that the reason it's her favorite is that it cost a
lot?"
"Hey! You are SO the dumb, pickledick! Jimmy's not
the only one who SO can't think like a girl. Well, no.
Like, even HE figured it out, so it's, like, just YOU.
Look, Suzie doesn't, like, get paid for being a coach."
Huntly still couldn't connect the dots. "So?"
Wynter sat up and shifted into lecture mode, causing
Jimmy to smother a grin. "Despite all the money that's in
Prospector's Bank, Mister Balfour doesn't pay his tellers
much, even his senior tellers like Mister Middleton.
Suzie's allowance is much less than ours. That means that
while the cost would be a setback for us, it was a major
expenditure for her. She knows she could have spent far
less for Sis's present and that Sis wouldn't mind. But
Suzie bought the compact instead. In money terms, that
would be like..." she circled a hand in thought, "...like
Daddy buying another truck from your dad."
Huntly interrupted. "No. I see where you're going.
You're saying Cinnamon liked it best because it was to
Suzie like the cost of my guitar or your earrings was to
her." He withered when Wynter gave him a patient glare.
"Obviously you need corrective lenses because you
don't see clearly. Besides, I doubt that our presents
together represented that big of an impact on Sis. But it
was a HUGE impact on Suzie. So why did Suzie do it?
Because of her love for Sis. THAT," she said, stabbing a
finger at Huntly, "is why it's her favorite. It says 'I
love you' to Sis even more than my painting and your music
combined. And I agree with her."
Cinnamon, who had remained quiet while everyone else
spoke, hummed agreement. She repositioned her cheek on
Huntly's chest and said nothing else.
"Well, yeah, since you explain it that way." He
sighed. "Hey, your Ghostness! Can I spend my night in the
doghouse with you?"
Ghost rose to his feet, shook, and trotted out the
door.
Huntly sighed. "Not again. I'm getting really tired
of that."
~ ~ ~
Wednesday evening, after dinner was over and she'd
helped clear the table and load the dishwasher, Wynter
retired to her room and compared her notes about the
echocardiogram procedure to the information in three
medical texts. It wasn't as exciting as practical
obstetrics, but it sure was educational. It wasn't about
bringing new lives into the world, but it helped keep
existing ones in it, and that was what medicine was all
about. Well, except for alleviating pain and suffering, of
course.
She sure could get interested in cardiology, too.
~ ~ ~
Kenny's clock said 3:22 on Friday morning as he
dashed into the bathroom. His admission form in the ER
said 4:52 as he was wheeled into a room with his guts on
fire.
~ ~ ~
_Madre de Dios!_
Juan Rodrigo De Ramirez y Sanchez shivered as he
slammed the door of Kaczynski's car, which he'd taken
because Kaczynski wouldn't be needing it for the rest of
eternity. He looked across the hotel parking lot and up at
the bare ski slopes on the other side of the highway. How
could people possibly live in these god-forsaken mountains
where it was always too damned cold, even in the middle of
summer? He'd made a mistake in letting that _maricon_
asshole talk him into expanding into the mountains.
Well, didn't have to worry about the _bastardo_
talking him into any more ridiculous plans, did he? And as
soon as he'd sent the two local _maricons_ to join
whichever of the two corpses they'd conspired with to set
him up, he'd leave this God forsaken frozen state for good.
He'd concentrate on Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and
southern California.
He yanked his suitcase out of the trunk, slammed the
lid, and checked the room number he'd written on his key
card despite the advice of the _chica_ at the Alpine Ridge
Hotel's front desk. _Senoritas_, he reminded himself,
especially ones that cute, should be up in the rooms
providing horizontal entertainment the way _Dios_ himself
had intended, not working the front desks like men.
He shivered and headed toward a side entrance. He'd
enjoy the Saturday Brunch special, and then he'd start
looking for the two who had set him up. He'd especially
enjoy eliminating that _poco maricon culito_ with the kung
fu crap. There were plenty of opportunities where the
_bastardo's_ hands and feet would do him no good.
Maybe he'd find an opportunity to let the bastard
scream himself to death, the way Kaczynski did. And, like
he'd done with Kaczynski's, he'd find a way to hide the
body until nobody could recognize it. If it was ever found.
That thought warmed him.
Copyright Russell Hoisington 2007
***********************************************************
Concluded in Part Three
***********************************************************
--
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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