Read The Secrets of Parkerville Series - Book 1 - Chased Hearts Page 11

  July 5, 1959

  Justin,

  Just thought I would drop you a line and send you the latest snapshots of the family. As you can see from the postmark, we’re on vacation in California. Cassie turned 10 yesterday and wanted to have her party at Disneyland. Yeah, she’s a little spoiled, but we’re having a great time.

  I thought you’d also enjoy this photo of her dressed up to go on American Bandstand. She doesn’t understand why she can’t go. I keep telling her she has to be 16, but she doesn’t want to take no for an answer.

  I never thought a little kid could steal my heart, like Cassie has. I know you feel the same way about your little Geri and Christopher. It’s amazing to think Cassie will be starting junior high in a couple of years. Kids sure do grow up fast.

  I really wish we could all get together. We could have had a great time going on vacation somewhere, but its best we keep our distance. I feel bad I can’t tell you where we live, but you know I will never trust the Keepers.

 

  Justin put the letter down, unable to finish reading. He was feeling a pang of guilt. “Well, old buddy, I hate to tell you, but now, I am one of those Keepers.”

  Geri and Amy

  Geri and Amy waited in the outside recreational area of school to begin band practice. They were leaning up against the fence on the side of the school waiting for Mr. Keyes, their music teacher, to arrive.

  “Geri, we’re not walking home with Cassie. I don’t know why you even walked with her this morning.”

  “Well, Amy, you were supposed to be sick, remember? Who was I supposed to walk with? I also knew Cassie was really gloomy and I didn’t want her to be alone. It’s a shame Skye lives so far away. She doesn’t have anyone else.”

  “Linda Williams lives close to you guys. Why doesn’t she walk with her?”

  “Are you kidding? Linda is one of those snotty Royals, who’s trying to make Cassie’s life miserable. Mom got a call from Mrs. Williams inviting Cassie to Linda’s birthday party last week. Cassie tried to beg her way out of going, but Mom insisted she go, since she already bought a present and told Mrs. Williams she’d be there. Well, when Cassie walked over to her house, no one answered the door. She could hear the kids laughing inside, so she left. Poor Cassie was so embarrassed.

  “That’s terrible, but I guess I should have known better. It’d be really hard to break into that clique. I don’t think Cassie and Skye fit in with them, anyway. They’re way too cool.”

  Just then, the junior high track team came out to use the south field. The senior high used the north field for practice.

  “Ooh, Geri, there’s Brian and Kevin in their track suits. Don’t they look cute?” Amy turned toward Geri, but Geri wasn’t watching Brian or Kevin. She had her eyes on the 8th and 9th graders, especially Teddy Kane.

  “Geri, who are you looking at?”

  “Um . . . what do you mean? Oh, yeah, Brian and Kevin look real cute out there.”

  “Oh no, you don’t; you were watching Teddy, weren’t you?”

  “Yeah, he caught my eye.” Geri blushed and started to giggle. I kind of like Zach Edwards and Ricky Simpson, too.”

  “Geraldine Keaton, what’s gotten into you? I don’t think I know you anymore. I think Cassie’s giving you ideas.”

  “Heck no, I’ve had these ideas for a long time.” Geri giggled again, “I bumped into Zach yesterday on my way to math class.” Geri closed her eyes and shivered as if she were cold. “I thought I was going to die!”

  “Oh, wow, you are so . . . lucky. He is so cool. It’s a shame he’s a farmer, though. Ricky’s a cutie, too, with all that red hair and freckles, but Teddy is my favorite. He’s really smart and oh, so dreamy. He’s going to look a lot like Todd when he’s older.”

  The girls watched as the boys started their laps around the track. Mr. Keyes finally came out and told the band to line up in the middle of the field. They were going to practice some marching formations. The girls started to cross the track as Zach and Teddy started racing to see who would get to the girls first.

  “Hey, Teddy,” Amy called out, smiling coyly.

  The boys slowed down and let the girls pass.

  “Hi, Amy . . . Geri,” Teddy said, with a shy smile, “what’s up?”

  “Oh,” Geri said, stepping in front of Amy, “we’re getting ready to look like a bunch of idiots, by trying to play our instruments and march at the same time.”

  The boys started to laugh.

  “There’s no way you could ever look like an idiot, Geri,” Zach said with a smile and started to walk up to her.

  “Hey,” Teddy yelled, as he grabbed Zach’s arm. “You stay away from her.”

  “You’d better let go of me, you jerk, or I’ll rearrange your face.”

  Mr. D’s whistle put a halt to the would-be fight. “Okay, boys, you two will do three extra laps for fighting. Let the girls pass and get going right now.”

  “Thanks a lot, punk,” Teddy said as he let go of Zach’s arm.

  “Any time . . . you reject.”

  The boys took off down the track and the girls joined the rest of the band.

  “Wow, that was fun,” Geri giggled to Amy.

  But Amy wasn’t laughing. “I thought I told you I liked Teddy.”

  “I know . . . you did.” Geri smiled and glanced back over to where the boys were running. She was going to really like junior high.

  Eligibility Day

  It was Sunday morning and Cassie was walking down the stairs, as Chris entered the front door. He smiled at her, said good morning, and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Cassie’s wrist began to tingle and she looked down at her bracelet. The mother-of-pearl was glowing a beautiful pale blue.

  “What now?” She asked out loud.

  Marion was seated on the bench at the bottom of the stairs, near the den, anticipating Cassie’s entrance.

  “Well, sweetheart, now it begins. Today is your Eligibility Day.” Marion got up and walked toward the stairs. “What color is your bracelet glowing?”

  “It’s hard to tell, but it looks like a pale blue.” She came down the rest of the stairs to show Marion her bracelet.

  “Umm, yes, I would call that blue. Here, this is for you.” Marion handed Cassie a bag full of little scarves. “I’m sure you’ve seen the other girls wearing these wrist scarves. Today you’re going to find out why they’re so popular here in Parkerville. We’ll have a little talk after breakfast.”

  ***

  At the Kane residence, Margie was busy in the kitchen. Todd was dressed and ready to go walk Skye and her aunt to church, when Margie stopped him.

  “Hold on there, young man. I need your help this morning.”

  “Mom, I gotta go, Skye will be waiting for me!” Todd almost pleaded.

  “Skye can wait. I need you to help move my piano bench. We’re going to load it onto Jake’s truck and take it to church. The church bench is broken again.”

  “Oh . . . no, were the Peach sisters sitting on it? Mom, they should never be allowed to sit on anything together! It was them, wasn’t it?”

  “Now, Todd, when did I ever teach you to be unkind? Well, yes, they were practicing a duet when it broke. They’ve offered to buy a new one, but in the meantime, I offered to loan them mine. Now don’t give me any trouble over this. Your father’s back isn’t too good. I don’t want him lifting anything for a while.” Margie was trying to be stern and not smile, but it looked like she was about to lose it.

  “How did Dad hurt his back?” Todd asked innocently.

  “Well, your father happened to be at the church doing some electrical work, when they, uh . . . fell,” Margie stammered.

  “Okay and he helped them up . . . by himself? Or did they need the crane again?”

  “Alright, that’s e
nough,” Margie quietly laughed. “Jake's here! Now I want you to help him carry the bench out to the truck, then come back in and help carry these pies out for pot luck.”

  Todd heaved a huge sigh. Nothing was going right for him these past two days. What next?

  As Jake and Todd carried the bench out to the truck, Sara and Skye walked by and waved to them. Skye felt a tingling under her bracelet and rubbed her wrist, but they kept on walking. Skye hoped Todd would catch up, but it didn’t look promising.

  “Well, it looks like the Peach sisters have been at the church organ again. Margie is loaning her piano bench out. They better get a sturdier bench this time,” Sara thought out loud.

  “Oh, the Peach Sisters are in my homeroom. They helped me with one of my assignments. They’re really nice girls.”

  “Yes, they’re very good natured and they love to play the piano. Their mother and father just can’t afford to buy them one, so the Reverend lets them come to the church and play. Unfortunately, they’ve gone through a few benches. But no one complains, we just get a new one. But I think this time it should be oak . . . definitely oak.”

  Skye raised one eyebrow and kept on walking, all the while adjusting her wrist scarf.

  “Aunt Sara, this scarf you gave me is pretty, but it’s a little annoying. It makes my wrist tingle a little. Why do all the girls wear them?”

  “Well, I thought maybe we could talk about that with Marion. She’s better at explaining these things than I am.”

  Skye gave her aunt a bewildered look, as they approached the church steps.

  Michael was walking with his family when he saw them. He noticed Todd wasn’t with them, so he whispered something to his mother and rushed over to Skye.

  “Hey, Skye . . . Mrs. Davis, mind if I walk in with you two?

  “No not at all,” Skye said, and shrugged.

  “Of course, Michael, we’d enjoy your company,” Sara added.

  Michael fell in with them, as they walked into church together. Her wrist started to tingle again under her bracelet, but she tried not to think about it.

  Mr. Figg appeared out of nowhere and surprised Sara, as he wished them a good morning.

  When Skye approached their row, she rested her hand on the back of the pew. Her wrist was still tingling so she lifted the scarf a little to find out why. That’s when she discovered the ivory colored center of the bracelet had now turned a pale blue. She started to say something, but her aunt hurried up to her, pushing the wrist scarf back over the bracelet.

  “What’s going on?” Skye whispered.

  Sara whispered back to Skye, “We’ll talk after church . . . with Marion.”

  As they all sat together in the same pew, Skye wondered what Todd would say or do, when he saw her sitting with Michael. She instinctively scratched the wrist scarf, as she turned to smile at Michael.

  She glanced over at Cassie who wasn’t missing a thing. She and Chris were staring at them. Chris looked to the back of the church and saw Todd standing, glaring at Michael. Unfortunately, there was no more room in the pew.

  Todd walked over and sat with his family, looking straight ahead during the entire service, never looking once at Skye, Cassie, or Chris.

  Cassie enjoyed the whole scene. She sat with a smile on her face during the whole service. Chris kept nudging her, but ended up with a big grin on his face as well. Cassie also kept fidgeting with her bracelet, as it was practically buzzing.

  All Skye could think about during the entire service was what she was going to do after the service. She wanted to join her friends, as always, but how could she bring Michael over to the table with Todd and Chris? She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings!

  After the service, Mr. Figg leaned over and asked Skye and Michael if they would like to join Sara and him for potluck? Feeling a little trapped, she accepted, saying that she hardly ever sat with her aunt. Michael smiled and also accepted.

  When the service was over, Skye and Michael got their plates and joined her aunt and Mr. Figg at their table. Cassie noticed this and went over to ask if she could join them.

  Todd, who was still furious, told Chris he needed to talk.

  Cassie sat down next to Skye and tried to get her attention away from Michael.

  “Skye,” Cassie whispered, “we need to talk.”

  Skye lifted her wrist slightly and gave it a little shake. “I know,” she whispered back. Let’s go to the restroom.”

  ***

  Luanne Root was fixing her hair, when the girls came through the door.

  “I guess today’s the big day, huh?” Luanne quipped as the girls stood impatiently in front of the mirror. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” she said to the reflection of Cassie’s eyes in the mirror.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Skye intervened, “Cassie, this is Luanne Root. I’m sure you’ve seen her at H’ours. And, Luanne, this is Cassie . . .”

  “Evans, yeah, I know,” Luanne broke in, as she finished putting on her lipstick. She turned to face the girls. “So, have you figured it all out yet?”

  “Figured out what?” Skye asked.

  Luanne looked down and smiled, knowing full well the newbies didn’t know what was going on. “Oh, cut out the innocent act. I’m not falling for it. You two are causing trouble all over town and you both know it.”

  “Luanne,” Cassie began carefully, “I don’t really know you and I doubt very much if you really know us, but you shouldn’t listen to everything you hear.”

  “Well, I know for certain she’s playing with Michael’s feelings, and I’m not going to stand by and see him get hurt.”

  Now Luanne turned her attention to Skye. “You hurt him and you’ll have to answer to me.” With that, Luanne turned and pushed her way out the door.

  Cassie and Skye stood silently for a moment.

  “Are we really causing so much trouble?

  “No, Skye, we’re not the problem. I think Luanne likes Michael and she’s just jealous. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Cassie pointed to a small couch in the corner. “Let’s go over there and talk.”

  The girls took a seat as Cassie drew a laminated card out of her purse and handed it to Skye.

  “Look at this. It has a graph of different colors, with the meaning for each shade.”

  Skye studied the card for a moment and looked up at Cassie. “What’s this for?”

  “The bracelets, the bracelets change color.”

  “They tingle, too. Did you notice that?”

  “Yeah, and it’s been really hard to pretend nothing’s going on. I know Chris knows, but I don’t know what to do. He just keeps giving me that silly grin of his, like he’s waiting for me to talk about it.”

  “So, that’s why Michael kept staring at my wrist.”

  “But, Skye, there’s more. Mrs. Keaton told me a little about it this morning when she gave me this card. The bracelets change color, as a sort of warning or something. The colors have something to do with the feelings we’re having. Look what it says:

  From Beige to Yellow, your feelings are mellow.

  Darker the blue, deeper feelings for you.

  Pink is for Passion, but when it turns red,

  The sooner you'll wed.

  Purple is Love.

  When blue and red combine, your love will soon shine.

  Beware of Black and Grey; advice would be to run away.

  White is always Good and Pure; wonderful blessings will be yours.

  When it turns clear, beware; death is near.

  “Oh, my,” Skye said, still looking at the card. “Why didn’t anyone tell us?”

  “Mrs. Keaton called it the Secret of Parkerville. No one from the outside is supposed to know, so she couldn’t tell me until I was eligible. Did your aunt tell you, when she gave you your wrist scarf?”

  “No, she just said it was a gift and all the girls wear them. Well, now we know why, but it would’ve been nice to
know the reason a little sooner.”

  Cassie pulled the scarf away from her bracelet. “Okay, now it’s that same beige color it always is, but when I saw Chris this morning, it was a pale blue.”

  Cassie took the card from Skye. “I guess its right. I’m not in love with Chris, but I really like him. What about you?”

  “It was pale blue for Michael, too. I didn’t get a chance to check to see what it looks like around Todd.” Skye paused, “I’m sure he’s a lot bluer than Michael.”

  Cassie bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Oh, this is going to be very interesting.”

  Pete and Louie

  After the potluck, the girls met with Marion and Sara. Marion gave Skye her own card to keep. They were all eager to listen to Marion describe her experiences as a teenager and enjoyed the questions that were posed by the two girls, who were about to enter a new phase in their lives.

  Everyone returned home and Cassie helped Marion clean up the kitchen and put away their leftovers from the potluck. Loretta Parker called to say she picked up one of Marion’s bowls by mistake, so Cassie volunteered to go get it. She wanted an excuse to go for a walk alone and think about all she’d learned that day.

  It was late afternoon and the air was cool and crisp. Cassie had pulled a sweater on before going out. She was enjoying her walk to the Parker’s house, when she heard voices coming up behind her yelling, “Ellie, Ellie.”

  Cassie turned and saw Peter Parker and Louie Mateo closing in on her.

  “What’s wrong, Ellie? Don’t you know what day this is,” Louie said with a big smile.

  “I know my name’s not Ellie,” Cassie said, a little agitated, while her bracelet got tighter and tighter.

  “Of course it is, Ellie”, Pete said, as he tried to grab her wrist scarf.

  “Oh, I get it,” Cassie sighed. “This is about my eligibility.”

  “Eligible and ripe for the taking,” Louie kidded, as he succeeded in pulling off the scarf.

  “Do either one of you know how lame you sound? Ellie… really? Did you ever graduate from kindergarten?” Cassie smirked.

  Her remark didn’t stop Louie or Pete from continuing to be idiots.

  “Get away from me,” Cassie yelled, as she hid her bracelet under the sleeve of her sweater. “It’s Sunday and you can’t bother me.”

  “Oh, gee, are we bothering you,” Pete said, as he kept trying to grab Cassie’s hand.

  “Knock it off . . . right now!” Cassie yelled, as her eyes burned bright blue.

  “Oh, we’re really scared, aren’t we, Pete?” Louie said, pretending to shake as he moved behind Cassie, with Pete still in front. Seeing Cassie’s eyes change color made a chill go down Pete’s back, but he didn’t want to show any fear. “You know, Cassie, I believe we could have a really good time together. You’re a real turn-on, and if you’re lucky, I may even take you to the Harvest Dance.”

  “Hey, what about me?” Louie yelled, touching the back of Cassie’s hair. “We could have a nice quiet dinner at my dad’s restaurant. We have a couple of private rooms there, if you know what I mean?”

  “Okay, Pete, you can go home now,” Linda Williams sang out as she walked up the drive. “Your dad’s looking for you two.”

  “Gees, Linda, you’re such a killjoy,” Pete said, a bit disappointed, but still watching Cassie. “Come on, Lou, dad must need help with the barbeque.”

  The boy’s left and Linda started to walk toward Cassie, with Marion’s bowl.

  "Thanks Linda, I can’t believe they were acting like that.”

  “Oh, this is nothing, just wait until tomorrow. You’re going to regret ever coming to our town.” Linda shoved the bowl into Cassie’s hands, turned around, and started back down the drive.

  “Hey, Linda, wait a minute, what did I ever do to you? Why are you treating me like this?”

  Linda looked back over her shoulder as she walked and said, “Because you’re not welcome here. You’re an outsider.” She walked to the door of the house where Cindy, Connie, Paula, and Vicki were waiting, giggling and glaring at Cassie.

  Cassie turned around and headed back home. She walked through the front door, placed the bowl on the bench next to the stairwell, and started up the stairs to her room. Chris came around the corner and saw the anger on her face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, nothing, I’m just getting accustomed to this wonderful town!” Cassie ran up the stairs and slammed her door.

  Marion heard the door slam and walked over to the bench to pick up the bowl. She turned back toward Chris and glared at him.

  “I swear, I didn’t do a thing,” Chris said, as he walked toward his mother.

  “I know you didn’t, but I’m sure some of your friends did. Why do the boys always act like renegades, the moment a girl becomes eligible. I guess some things never change.”

  The Library

  Cassie made her way to the fountain, alone. She was deep in thought and didn’t want to be around Geri and Amy’s constant giggling. She had a lot of questions and she wanted to find some answers.

  Skye and Carol Jean were chattering away, when Cassie finally arrived.

  “Well, we’re finally eligible. I now realize the importance of these stupid wrist scarves,” Cassie said as she fell in next to Skye.

  “Yeah, I’m getting a little tired of all the boys snickering as they hurry past us,” Skye added.

  “Don’t worry, it’ll die down. In a few weeks everyone will be talking about the Harvest Dance, then all the holidays begin. You guys will be old news by then,” Carol Jean was trying to ease their minds.

  “You’re right, Carol Jean, I can’t wait for Halloween,” Cassie said with a big smile. “Does anyone have a party?”

  Carol Jean stopped dead in her tracks. “First of all, Halloween isn’t a holiday. It’s just a horrible, scary night.” She looked around and lowered her voice, “and we’re not allowed to even mention it, anymore.” Then she suddenly changed the subject, “So, how do you like it at P’ville High so far?” Carol Jean looked around, as if someone might be listening. “You know, we’d better walk faster or we might be late for school.”

  “O . . . kay,” Cassie began, glancing at Skye, “school’s alright and I really like most of the teachers, especially Miss Sweet. She really is nice and sweet. Her name suits her perfectly.”

  “Well, I could do without Miss Hatfield,” Skye cut in, “she’s a little mean.”

  “No one has ever liked Hateful Hatfield,” Carol Jean cut in, slowing her pace a little.

  “You know, and this is probably just a coincidence, but have you noticed how our math teacher, Mr. Green, seems to wear something green every day? Does that seem odd to you?” Cassie asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed, too,” Skye added, “but I had a teacher named Green in my last school, who did the same thing. Hey, maybe they’re related?” she laughed.

  “Oh, I doubt that,” Carol Jean cut in, “our teachers don’t have relatives.” Carol Jean looked up a little anxious. “Come on, we need to get to school.”

  “And what about the Asian kids in my homeroom? Their last names are Bradford and Campbell.”

  “Hey, enough talk about people and holidays . . . did you guys get your poems written for English class?”

  “Yes,” both girls responded. Cassie gave Skye her ‘this is strange and let’s talk later’ look as they finally arrived at school.

  ***

  Cassie found it hard to concentrate all day in class, thinking about all the things about Parkerville she wanted to question. She couldn’t wait for the last bell to ring at the end of school. She met up with Skye at the front door and asked her to walk with her downtown, but without Carol Jean.

  “What’s up?” Skye asked as they made their way toward the fountain.

 
“I’m sorry, but things here are just not adding up and my curiosity is killing me. All day I kept thinking about going to the library to look up some stuff in the old newspapers. I’d also like to find a telephone book with all its pages. There are a lot of strange things going on and I want to look into it.”

  “What are you talking about . . . what things?”

  “Well, first of all, the Baker Sisters had an older sister who disappeared with her father. Mrs. Keaton seemed very secretive and wouldn’t talk about it. I want to see if there’s anything in the newspapers.”

  “But if it’s a secret, would it even be in the paper?” Skye stopped and wasn’t sure if she wanted to go. “Why don’t we go to my house instead? We can drink some hot chocolate and talk about Todd and Chris.”

  “No, Skye, we have to investigate this. I also found out Mrs. Keaton is an orphan, too. She hasn’t said a word about it to me, though. Wouldn’t you think that would be a big deal, since I’m an orphan, too? Don’t you think that’s odd?”

  “Not really, but I think you’re acting a little odd.”

  “And what about the teachers? I never see any of them outside of school. Don’t you think we’d see at least one of them . . . somewhere? This is a very small town.”

  “It’s a lot bigger than Bright Springs,” Skye interjected, “but maybe they all live in the city. There’s nothing odd about that.”

  “Oh, yeah, I asked Miss Sweet if she shops in Marshall City, since she wears the cutest dresses, but she said she never leaves Parkerville. I’ve been in all the dress shops here and I’ve never seen any dresses styled like hers. They all have that 30’s look. I’d love to have one.”

  “Maybe she makes them. I make a lot of my own clothes. Cassie, I think you’re trying too hard to find something wrong with this place. I like it here and I just want to go home.”

  “Oh, no you don’t, you want to go with me to the library.”

  The girls entered the town square and walked over to the fountain, trying to find a marker that would lead them to the library. They didn’t see one, so they went up to the clock tower and studied the map on the base.

  “I guess they don’t have a library in town. I don’t see anything,” Cassie said a little dejected.

  “Try the old willow tree,” a voice rang out.

  “Who said that?” Skye asked as she turned around. “I don’t see anyone. The streets are empty.”

  Cassie started to walk around the circumference of the clock tower, looking for the person who called out to them. At the back of the tower was a little walkway, camouflaged by hedges and trees. There was a little sign on a pole, which stated, “Willow’s Way.”

  “Look at this, Skye; it’s not much more than a path.”

  The girls looked down the dark path, as the trees and hedges on the sides had mingled together, making a tunnel effect over it.

  “I’m not going down there,” Skye said cautiously.

  “Oh, come on, Skye, I get the feeling we’re supposed to follow this path.”

  “No, I get the feeling we need to run for our lives.”

  “Oh, please?” Cassie pleaded, as she started down the path.

  The path was made up of different shapes of terra cotta bricks. At the beginning of the path, the bricks were dark red and plain, but further down the path they began to change colors. The bricks went from red to orange to pale pink, ending in a circle of white. Some were plain, while others had colorful markings, or gold letters and numbers engraved in them.

  “Look, Cassie, some of these look like family crests, like you see in on those shields in England.”

  “You’re right. That’s just what I was thinking.”

  Both girls were bent over trying to make out the crests. There were just tiny shafts of light coming down through the trees, making it hard to see. Out of nowhere, a strong gust of air blew past the girls, blowing their hair into their faces and ruffling their skirts.

  “Whoa, what was that?” Cassie asked, as she held her skirt down. “It was as if someone . . .”

  “Don’t say it,” Skye pleaded.

  “Someone or something just ran past us.”

  “Okay, time to go,” Skye said as she turned to go back, but Cassie grabbed her arm.

  “Where’s your sense of adventure? We can’t go back now.”

  The girls continued down the winding path until they rounded a corner and faced a huge willow tree in front of them. The old tree’s branches were entwined with the hedges and trees next to it, making a dome effect in front. A door was carved into the massive trunk, bearing a big brass handle.

  Cassie looked back at Skye and smiled. “This must be it.”

  It took both girls to open the wide, thick door. As they peered into the opening, they saw a man with a pen, seated behind a big oak desk.

  “Welcome to the library, girls, and how may I be of service to you?”

  ***

  Carol Jean was agitated, walking home alone. She wondered where the girls could be, when she saw Will and Freddie coming out of the front door of H’ours.

  “Hey, Will, did you see Cassie and Skye go by here?”

  “Freddie, did you hear someone say something to me?” Will asked, looking around, pretending to be confused. “I thought I heard a voice, but I don’t see anyone around here worth talking to.”

  “Nope, no one but Carol Jean.”

  “Good grief, Freddie, where’s your brain?” Will reached over and slapped the back of his head. “I didn’t want her to know I can see her. Are you just plain stupid?”

  “No, I’m not stupid! How am I supposed to know when you’re playing around?” Freddie looked over at Carol Jean and yelled out, “Those girls were walking around the clock tower, looking for something. I was watching them through the window.”

  “Freddie! I’m gonna beat the tar out of you . . . you lame brain. We don’t talk to the likes of Miss Snooty, Carol Jean Myers.

  Carol Jean shrugged her shoulders and started to walk around the tower. After a few moments, she came back around the front. “Well, they’re not around there,” she said to herself angrily, “maybe they just went home without me.”

  ***

  Inside the library, Cassie went up to the desk and asked the man if they had a catalogue of old newspapers. He directed them to a room down some stairs.

  “Everything you need is right in there, Miss Cassie.”

  The girls walked down the stairs and into the room. It was cluttered with shelves of old books and photo albums. Piles of old newspapers were lined up along the walls. There was also a big overstuffed sofa along one wall, next to a fireplace, with a big deer head hanging over it.

  “Okay, where do you think we should start?” Skye asked sitting down on the sofa.

  “Gosh, I don’t know. There’s so much stuff to look at, I don’t know where to begin.”

  Cassie started to rifle through the newspapers and Skye did the same. After a couple of hours, they were exhausted and about to give up. Cassie put back the pile of newspapers she had been looking through, and told Skye it was useless.

  “I’m sorry, Skye, we might as well leave . . . there isn’t anything here. This has been just a big waste of time.” But as she turned to leave, she yelled out in pain, “Ouch! My bracelet just bit me.”

  “Are you kidding? bracelets don’t bite; at least I don’t think they do.” Skye held up her wrist and examined her own bracelet. “You must have gotten pinched a little by the latch.”

  “Well, whatever it was, it hurt.” Cassie removed the wrist scarf and looked at her bracelet, noticing the mother of pearl was glowing. As she moved around the room, it would glow brighter in certain areas.

  “I think my bracelet is trying to tell me something.”

  Skye joined Cassie in trying to find out where the bracelet was leading them. It seemed the glow was brightest near a big photo album lying i
n the corner of the room. The girls carried it to the coffee table in front of the sofa. It was covered with dust and cobwebs. It hadn’t been opened in years. They released the fastener and the book flew open.

  They were looking at a photo of the Baker Family. The three girls were dressed up in their finest attire. Their mother was seated on a chair and the father stood next to her, with his pipe in hand. The two older girls stood in front of their father, next to the chair, while little Bernadette sat on a stool between them.

  As soon as the girls had studied the photo and realized who the people were, the page flipped to another photo. The older girls were now teenagers and there were two handsome young men, each one standing next to the two older girls, while Bernadette stood in the middle.

  The page flipped again. This time it was a photo of just Bernadette and her male escort. They were teenagers and dressed to go out.

  “I was good looking back then, wouldn’t you say,” a male voice said from behind them.

  The girls looked behind them, expecting to see the man who was behind the desk, but to their surprise, no one was there.

  “Okay,” Skye whispered, “is it time to go now?”

  “Oh, please don’t go, Skye, I’ve waited so long to talk to you both,” the voice said, begging the girls to stay.

  This was enough to make the girls run for the door, but the door slammed shut, locking them in.

  “Please, whoever you are, this really isn’t very funny and how do you know our names?”

  “I know all about you, Cassie. I even know why you came here.”

  “If you know so much about us, why don’t you come out where we can see you?” Cassie said was getting tired of this game.

  “My name is . . . Elwood . . . Elwood P. Dowd and I courted Bernadette Baker for a while in the late 20’s. We were teenagers and we were in love. That’s me in the photo.”

  “Elwood P. Dowd? Gosh, that name sounds really familiar,” Skye, mused. “But where are you now . . . in this room?”

  “Wait a minute. That’s from a movie; so what’s your real name?” Skye asked.

  “Oh all right, it’s Nelson and I’m right here.”

  The girls turned around and saw the man who had been seated at the desk, only now he was hovering over the fireplace.

  “How are you doing that?” Cassie asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

  “Now, don’t get upset . . . I’m a ghost.”

  Both girls screamed at the same time and tried once more to open the door.

  “Please, don’t be frightened, I can answer all your questions.”

  “Oh stars and garters, that always happens, I don’t seem to get anywhere these days.” Nelson said sadly.

  But the girls were able to open the door this time and ran out of the room. They headed down the path and past the town square, Skye running one way and Cassie the other, each girl anxious to get home.

  Cassie was worried about the time, as she saw the Parker House coming up on her left. She prayed no one was outside. She finally reached her house and ran through the kitchen door, nearly running over Geri, who was hanging up her jacket.

  “What’s wrong, Cassie, and why were you running?”

  “I think I saw a ghost, that’s what’s wrong,” Cassie replied, nearly out of breath.

  “Oh, Cassie, you’re so funny. There’s no such thing as ghosts. I thought you’d be late, since I didn’t see you with Carol Jean.”

  “But I am late. It’s got to be about 7 or 8 o’clock. I was afraid your mom would be worried about me.”

  “Cassie, what’s wrong with you. It’s only 4:30. We just got out of school.

  Cassie looked up at the clock on the wall, as a chill went straight through her. “No way,” she said out loud.

  The Fountain

  Sara put down the novel she was reading, and was just getting up to get some coffee, when she heard a knock at her door.

  “Oh, good heavens, who can that be?” Sara walked to the front door and peeked through the side window. To her surprise she saw Marion. She opened the door and smiled, as Marion flew past her in a huff.

  “Well, hello to you, too,” Sara said, as she watched Marion walk around the room, making sure they were alone. “What’s up?”

  Marion heaved a heavy sigh. “Did Skye tell you about the ghost they saw in that secret library yesterday?”

  “Oh, yes, we had quite a little talk about it.”

  “Is that all? Aren’t you the least bit concerned about this?”

  “Not really. They probably don’t believe what happened, anyway. Come on, a ghost? Who would believe them? We have to just play it down and they’ll forget all about it. Want some coffee?”

  “Coffee?” Marion questioned, as she kept pacing around. “How can we just sit here drinking coffee when these girls are starting to discover secrets that could have waited?”

  “Well, are we really surprised they have these talents? Didn’t we expect it? We did talk about this before the girls arrived, you know.”

  “Yes, yes, I know; I guess I’m just getting a little nervous.” Marion took off her jacket and followed Sara into the kitchen. “As I remember, it took us nearly a year after we got control of our bracelets. It’s just been a little over a month for them. I don’t think that’s fair.”

  “ Marion, take a seat and relax. It’s not the end of the world. We’re still in control.”

  “Oh, really, is that what you think? Remember all the things we were able to do back then? Hearing about Cassie and Skye’s little adventure brought back all those memories of the fun we used to have.”

  “Yes, we did have a great time, but we’re grown women and we’ve both been married. We can’t go back.”

  “Why not?” Marion asked, as she searched through her purse and pulled out her old bracelet. “I’m going to put it back on and go to that old library.”

  “Marion!” Sara exclaimed in horror, “you can’t do that. We were told never to put the bracelets on again after we married. We were supposed to destroy them.”

  “I know what we were supposed to do, but I don’t care; I have to try.” Marion snapped on her bracelet and both women cringed, not knowing what would happen. “You see nothing to worry about. Now, let’s walk over to the clock tower and see if we can find that little path.”

  “Wait a second.” Sara said and rushed upstairs. When she came back down, she had her own bracelet back on.

  Marion rolled her eyes. “I’ll bet if we asked, every single woman our age in Parkerville, still have their bracelets.”

  Marion slipped her jacket back on and pulled the sleeve over her bracelet, hoping no one would see it, and the two women took off for the fountain. They resembled undercover agents, as they kept looking over their shoulders and glancing down all the streets they had to cross.

  “There it is,” Marion whispered as they walked into the town square.”

  “Yep, that’s it alright,” Sara, whispered back, trying not to laugh. “Do you think it’s safe to walk around it?”

  “I don’t see anyone around. At least, I don’t see anyone watching us. School doesn’t get out for a while, so I think we should be all right. Try not to draw anyone’s attention,” Marion said, as she started to slink across the courtyard.

  “Marion, is that you?” Beth Johnson called out. “Yoo hoo, Marion,” Beth yelled again, as she ran across the street. “We found that design of wallpaper you were looking for.”

  Sara quickly shoved her hand with the bracelet deep down inside her coat pocket.

  “Oh, wonderful, Beth,” Marion said, glancing back at Sara. “We only have a few minutes, though.”

  Marion, with Sara in tow, followed Beth into the store. She gave her “okay” for the wallpaper and tried her best to break away, but Beth was bored and wanted desperately to talk to someone.

  ***<
br />
  Cassie and Skye were walking down High School Lane toward the town square. Carol Jean was a little miffed with the girls, since they left her behind the day before, so she stayed behind.

  Cassie was humming and had a big smile on her face. It was at that point when Skye remembered Joshua was working at the feed store.

  “We’re not stopping at the feed store . . . are we?”

  “Well, I thought I might drop in, but you could go into H’ours and share a soda with Michael.”

  “He’s not working today, he has track.”

  “Oh, I see, you’ve memorized Michael’s schedule. Things are beginning to look up. I was feeling sorry for that poor boy.”

  "Don't read too much into this, Cassie, I just know he has track.”

  ***

  The afternoon was slipping away, when Sara finally blurted out she forgot she had a roast in the oven and needed to be going. Marion let out a sigh of relief and thanked Beth for her time. The two women then rushed out the door.

  “Oh, Sara, I thought she would never stop talking. We don’t have a lot of time now, since school’s probably already out.”

  The women walked over to the clock tower and stopped in front of it, pretending to look at the map.

  “Is anyone watching?” Marion asked as she pulled her wrist out of her sleeve. “Oh look, Sara, my bracelet is glowing. I can hardly believe it!”

  “Mine too.” Sara said, as she smiled at Marion, “let’s see if we can find that path.”

  The women started to walk around the tower, as Sara and Marion’s bracelets began to shine and turn all the colors of the rainbow.

  Cassie and Skye had just arrived at the fountain and were about to head their separate ways home, when they noticed Marion and Sara disappear around the clock tower.

  "I wonder what that’s all about," Cassie turned to ask Skye.

  "It looks like they're going to that haunted library, but this is really odd, when I mentioned it to Aunt Sara, she acted like she’d never heard of it."

  "Come on, Skye, let’s follow them."

  "No, you go by yourself. I’ve had enough of that place."

  Cassie grabbed Skye’s arm and dragged her over to the tower.

  "We have to find out if that library is real or not. I’m going to be pretty mad if these people are just playing games with us."

  The girls started to slowly walk around the clock tower, not wanting to be seen by Marion or Sara. As soon as the women were out of sight, they heard loud screams resonating from around the bend. The girls picked up speed and found themselves walking through a wall of magenta smoke, which smelled of peppermint, but no one was in sight. Not only were the women gone, but the path and the Willow Way sign were nowhere to be seen. The girls ran around to the front of the tower, completely confused and not knowing what to do.

  "Gees Cassie, what do you think happened? Where's my aunt?"

  "I don’t know they just disappeared."

  Cassie started to walk away, but noticed a small flash of light coming from the map of Parkerville. The sun was hitting the marble stone in just the right way.

  "Skye, we did search this map the other day for the location of the library . . . didn’t we?"

  "Yeah, but we couldn’t find it," Skye said softly, as she kept turning around looking for her aunt.

  "Well, it’s on there now, big as life. Look . . . Public Library. It’s just about a block down Civic Lane near Pansy. I don’t even remember seeing a Civic Lane there, did you?"

  Skye was now sitting on the bench at the bottom of the clock tower, staring into space.

  Cassie walked over to Pansy Lane and found a street sign for Civic Lane, right behind.

  "I swear I’ve never seen this street before, but I guess there’s a lot we haven’t seen in Parkerville. Do you want to chance going to the public library? I doubt if there’s any ghosts in there," Cassie shouted toward Skye.

  Skye stood up and shouted back, "Maybe tomorrow or some other day, but for right now. I need to run home and see if I can find my aunt. Aren’t you even a little bit worried about Mrs. Keaton?"

  "Sure, I am, but for some strange reason, I feel like everything's alright."

  "Well, that’s just great for you, but for me, I need to find my aunt!" With that, Skye took off running for home.

  The urge to find the library was strong, but Cassie fought her desire to go. She started off down Pansy, glancing back at the sign with Civic Lane written on it, wondering if it would still be there tomorrow.

  Peppermint Secrets

  "I’m going to flip. I am positively going to flip, if Aunt Sara’s not home,” Skye repeated to herself.

  Skye was walking as fast as her legs could carry her down Honeysuckle to the Davis house. She was mumbling to herself over and over as Marabelle watched from across the street.

  As she walked in the back door of the kitchen, all was quiet. She was about to yell out for her aunt, when she saw the most curious sight . . . a pink, dusty handprint on the kitchen table. She walked over to examine it further, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw her aunt standing in front of the paneled hallway.

  Her aunt seemed to be oblivious to everything around her or she would have heard the back door open and close.

  Skye kept quiet, not understanding what was going on and not wanting to disturb her. She was about to giggle at her aunt’s strange behavior, when she began to act a little strange. Sara stretched her hand up and opened her fingers wide. All of a sudden, short pink flames shot out of her fingertips. She took her index finger and ran it down a section of the panel and it opened. She quickly went inside, as the panel closed behind her.

  Skye stood dumbstruck. She wasn’t sure what she should do at this point. She walked over to the paneling and instinctively ran her hands over it to try to find the opening, but there was none.

  She was about to pound on the paneling and call out for her aunt, but something told her not to. She backed up against the opposite wall and waited.

  I can’t let Aunt Sara know I saw her, she thought to herself.

  She walked back into the kitchen and out the door to the picnic table. Once there, she sat down and cupped her face in her hands. She couldn’t think of what to do, but she knew she had to talk to Cassie as soon as possible.

  ***

  Cassie ran down Honeysuckle, glancing again at the Parker house. She ran in through the back door, as an intense peppermint smell stung her nose. She heard a noise in the den and found Mrs. Keaton slumped over in the overstuffed chair. There were also a few puffs of purple smoke lingering near the ceiling.

  “Mrs. Keaton, are you alright?”

  “Oh, it’s you, Cassie; why, yes, I’m fine,” Marion said, as she straightened up and tried to smooth down her dress, which caused more colored smoke to start swirling around her. “How are you, dear, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine, thanks,” Cassie replied, walking toward her, “but you might want to take a look at your hair?”

  “My hair . . . oh, let me see?” Marion said as she staggered to the big mirror over the desk. “Oh, my,” was all she could say, as she lowered herself back into the chair.

  Cassie walked up behind her, amazed at the huge bush of blond hair in front of her, streaked with what looked like pink and purple powder. But mostly, the smell of peppermint was overwhelming.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Cassie asked, trying very hard not to laugh.

  “No, not right now, dear,” Marion, said, trying desperately to avoid Cassie’s eyes in the mirror. “I do think I need to go up and take a shower, though. We’ll talk about this later . . . okay?”

  Marion was in the hallway and up the stairs, before Cassie had a chance to comment. Cassie started walking around, wondering what had happened. Chris and Justin wouldn’t
be home for an hour and she knew Geri had made plans to go to Amy’s house after school. She was all-alone.

  At the far side of the den was a bookcase with a glass door. Cassie walked over to open it, but the door was locked. Inside, she could see a couple of beautiful old leather Bibles, along with some other antique looking books.

  “These books must be priceless. I guess that’s why they’re locked up.” But as Cassie looked closer, she saw three Parkerville High School yearbooks. One was labeled 1965 and the other two were from 1943 and 1941.

  “Oh, I’ve got to see those,” Cassie said to herself as she rummaged through the drawers, looking for the key. After a few minutes, she gave up. Where’s the key? Just for fun, she touched her bracelet and asked it to find the key for her. To her amazement, the bracelet started to glow a soft yellow. As she walked around the room the color kept getting brighter and changing color. As she walked up to the clock on the opposite wall, the color was an emerald green. She searched the clock until she found a little drawer hidden on the side. There she found the key.

  “Voila!” she whispered, “you can’t hide stuff from me anymore.”

  She unlocked the bookcase and pulled out Chris’ yearbook. She opened the book to the first page, which was entitled, From Your Special Someone. The writing was feminine, with flowers and hearts drawn in the margins, and at the bottom of the page, it was signed, Amanda. Cassie scanned through the written page, controlling her urge to rip it to pieces.

  “And this girl made it through high school? I guess they don’t teach grammar at P’ville High.” She was boiling mad at all the romantic innuendo, so she flipped to the senior section.

  She found Joshua first. Each senior had his or her own page. Black and red magic markers had transformed Joshua’s face. He now had bushy red eyebrows, a big red mustache and beard, and black glasses. There were also many animal and body references written across the page.

  “Oh, Chris, I hoped you were more mature than this,” she said, a little disappointed, but she still couldn’t help but laugh at the hilarious photo in front of her.

  She flipped farther back and found Todd’s photo, with Chris’ photo on the opposite page. “Wow, these two could be movie stars. No wonder they were so popular in school.”

  Cassie spent a few more moments looking through the class and sports photos, when she realized she was running out of time. As she started to close the book, she came across the teacher’s section. They had smaller photos, and she read some of the funny quips Chris had written under their names.

  She looked at the clock, judging how much time she had left. She replaced Chris’ book and took out the one from 1943. She really liked the difference in this book. The photos were smaller and had decorative frames hand drawn around them. She didn’t have much trouble finding Mrs. Keaton, since the senior class was considerably smaller. Her name was etched in under her photo by hand as Marion Marie Cooper. She was a beautiful teenager, with her blond hair piled high on her head. She was wearing a royal blue cashmere sweater, with a gold ribbon around her neck. There was a smaller photo near the bottom of the page, showing her as the Prom Queen.

  She found Cookie a few pages back. She was flawless. Her long reddish blond hair fell softly over her right shoulder and she wore a big white orchid over her ear. The name etched below was Edith “Cookie” Parker-Morgan. She wore a teal cashmere sweater, and she had the same gold ribbon around her neck. Cookie had written, “We’ll always be best friends,” under her name.

  “So, Cookie is a Parker. Good grief, that’s a shock,” Cassie whispered to herself.”

  She was about to close the book, when she glanced at the previous page. She was now staring at the teenage face of her mother.

  “Mom, is that you?” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me you lived in Parkerville?”

  It was a beautiful photo. Her cashmere sweater was bright pink, with the same gold ribbon around her neck, as well. Her blond hair hung down over her shoulders in a soft pageboy. Her name was etched in as Helene Allison Logan and it was signed, Best friends forever.

  Just then, Cassie heard Mrs. Keaton’s bathroom door open and close. She had to get the book back in its place, before she was caught. She flipped through the book again, looking at all the old hairstyles, when she came to a page that amazed her.

  “I knew it! I’ve got to tell Skye about this.”

  She was just replacing the key, when Marion came down the stairs.

  Cassie turned on the TV and slid into the armchair, trying to look comfortable. As she watched the color TV come on, a thought ran through her mind, did they have color photos back then?

  Carol Jean Loses It

  Cassie woke up with the memory of Mrs. Keaton sitting in the den. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud. By the time Marion had made it downstairs, Justin and Chris had already come through the back door. Marion greeted her husband and son, as if nothing unusual had happened.

  Skye had called Cassie minutes after Marion came down the stairs. She spoke with a muffled voice.

  “Aunt Sara is here and she’s fine, as far as I can tell, but we need to talk in private. I hope we can find some time to talk at school, without Carol Jean around. I hope she isn’t upset with us, since we keep putting her off.”

  There was a short pause and Cassie could hear the receiver being jostled, “I’ll be right there, Aunt Sara,” Skye yelled. “Cassie,” Skye resumed in her muffled voice, “I don’t think we should talk about this over the phone.”

  Cassie stretched and slid out of bed, full of anticipation. It was only 5:00 a.m., but she couldn’t sleep. She hoped Skye knew what really happened at the fountain, since Marion never said a word and deliberately avoided her the rest of the evening.

  The house seemed empty, when Cassie walked into the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and some toast, and sat down at the table to read a couple chapters from her history book. Mr. Keaton walked through, saying he had an early docket and needed to get to work before the sun came up. She smiled and said good morning, as he ran out the door. She made a few notes in her notebook and realized it was nearly 7:00 a.m.

  Mrs. Keaton hurried into the kitchen to start breakfast. She was wearing her robe and slippers.

  “Oh, goodness, Cassie, I’ve overslept. I’m glad Geri stayed overnight with Amy. I’ll get you something to eat right away.”

  “Don’t worry; I made some tea and toast. I’m not really hungry anyway.”

  Marion slid into one of the chairs, holding her head in her hands. “That’s wonderful, dear, have a nice day at school.”

  Cassie smiled and went out the back door, not wanting to embarrass her. Chris was sitting on the front porch, when Cassie started walking down the driveway.

  “Hey, Cassie, wait up.”

  She stopped and turned to watch Chris jump off the porch and run up to her.

  “Are you sure you have the time? I’ve hardly seen you in the last couple of days.”

  “Yeah, that pre-law exam was a killer. I had to give it my full attention, but it paid off. My professor called me last night with the good news. Did I miss anything around here?”

  “Oh, no,” Cassie lied, as she tried not to laugh, “nothing worth talking about, but I did miss spending time with you.”

  Chris smiled and grabbed Cassie’s hand, pulling her toward him, sharing a kiss before he continued. “Can I walk you to the fountain? I have a late class today.”

  “Sure, that sounds great.”

  Chris was listening to Cassie, but soon his attention was drawn to the Parker House, as they walked by. Cassie could tell he was upset with his friend, Pete.

  “I wish I would have seen those jerks harassing you. I would have punched their lights out.”

  “Its okay, Chris, you can’t be with me twenty-four hours a day. I have to find my own way around here, but I promise you, I won’t be so dumb the next time they’re around.”

/>   ***

  Skye was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her aunt to finish cooking breakfast. She’d only wanted some cereal, something quick so she could dart out the door and meet up with Cassie. She watched her aunt for any indication of the intrigue she’d displayed the day before, but there was nothing unusual about her this morning. Sara had her back turned, while scrambling eggs, as she chatted. Then she stopped, with her back to Skye, she said, “What’s wrong?”

  Startled, Skye’s eyes grew large as she stared at Sara’s back.

  “No, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, dear. I just feel I know you so well; I can detect a change in you this morning. Is something wrong?”

  “Um, no, nothing’s wrong. I’m just caught up in my thoughts this morning and I really need to get going. Thanks for wanting to make me a nice breakfast, but I promised to meet Cassie and . . .”

  “You know, sweetie,” Sara broke in, “while Marion and I were shopping yesterday, I saw the cutest dress for you. I believe it was in the Boutique. You should stop by and take a look. It was pink with a drop down waist.”

  “Sure, okay, I’ll look for it,” Skye said, finishing her breakfast. She got up, kissed her aunt, and rushed out the door.

  Carol Jean met up with Skye at the end of the driveway. Neither girl was in the mood for conversation.

  Skye looked over at the Kane house as they passed by. Todd was not leaning against the column on the front porch with his cup. She missed that, but she knew she’d see him later, so on they went.

  “So, what are you doing after school today?” Carol Jean asked a little agitated.

  “Nothing special,” Skye said quietly.

  ***

  At the fountain, Cassie was enjoying her time with Chris, waiting for Skye to arrive, but her mind was miles away. When Skye and Carol Jean finally arrived, Chris walked Cassie over to the girls.

  “You girls be careful,” Chris said one last time, before he headed off to his bus stop.

  “What’s going on with Chris?” Skye asked.

  “Oh, he’s just worried about our eligibility. I told him we’d be fine.”

  Carol Jean couldn’t stand it any longer. She finally erupted. “What about me? Do either of you really care about me? You guys walked home without me yesterday and I had no idea where you were. Are you getting ready to cut me loose, so I can slink back into the woodwork?”

  Skye stopped in her tracks. “Gosh, Carol Jean, I’m so sorry. We didn’t mean . . .”

  “What! You didn’t mean to leave me hanging after school? Or you didn’t mean to be friends with a plain, ordinary girl like me? Or are you both just mean?”

  “No,” Cassie broke in, “we just had something important to take care of yesterday and . . .”

  “But too important for me. I get it! Don’t worry, I won’t be tagging along and holding you girls back anymore.” With that Carol Jean hurried off down the sidewalk.

  Skye and Cassie felt terrible as they made their way to school. They never meant to hurt Carol Jean. They said their goodbyes and went to their homerooms.

  ***

  As Cassie walked to her seat, the shortness of her skirt wasn’t lost on the boys in the room, nor with Miss Sweet.

  “My goodness, Cassie, that’s a pretty little skirt you’re wearing.”

  “Why, thank you, Miss Sweet, it’s one of my favorites.”

  Just then the PA system came on with the morning salute to the flag and everyone stood up and placed their hands over their hearts, to the sound of “I pledge allegiance to the flag . . .”

  After the students took their seats, and all the announcements were finished, Miss Sweet began her roll call. She got a “here” from every student, until she got to Marabelle.

  “Marabelle Fludge,” she called out again. Has anyone seen Marabelle? This is the fourth day this month she’s been out, and I haven’t gotten a call from her mother.”

  “Who really cares,” a voice rang out from the back of the room, causing the others to laugh.”

  “Well, I care, I’m her homeroom teacher. I have to send a report to the principal, but I don’t know why she isn’t here. It messes up my report. Don’t you see?”

  Just as Miss Sweet was about to take her seat, she was called away. She looked back at Cassie, as she picked up a stack of papers. “That sweet little girl is going to get into trouble today for wearing that short skirt. I’m so glad it won’t be me,” she whispered to herself. “Miss Prim will be her downfall.”

  She asked Carston to watch over the room and started down the hallway. “I wonder if I’m supposed to feel concern for that child. I almost feel a little sad. How odd!”

  Skye and Cassie met at lunch with the other girls and all anyone could talk about was the upcoming dance. They were huddled at the lunch table laughing and talking about how much fun it will be, and who they want to dance with, and who has a crush on who.

  Skye hadn’t even thought about Carol Jean, until she saw her sitting by herself in a corner of the lunchroom. She gave her a quizzical look and then continued to discuss the dance with the other girls.

  “Aw, what’s the matter?” Marabelle said, feigning sympathy. “Did little cutie pie and blondie decide to dump you, CJ?”

  “No, I just decided I needed a break from them. Leave me alone, Marabelle, and why are you even here? The school’s been peaceful all morning. Why did you have to show up now? Why don’t you just go back home!”

  “They’re serving sloppy Joes today and it’s my favorite, so I decided to show up for lunch. I’ll just mosey on home after I eat. But, hey, I’m the best friend you’ve got in this town, CJ, and don’t you forget it! I will never abandon you.”

  “You’re the best friend I’ve got? Oh, dear Lord, if I wasn’t depressed before, I sure am now.” That’s a social death sentence in this town!”

  Marabelle raised an eyebrow at Carol Jean. She wasn’t quite sure, but she thought she might have just been insulted.

  “Hey, I don’t think I like what you just said. What did you mean by that?”

  “Oh, just leave me alone. Go hound someone else. You’ve got a whole school to torture, so go find someone new.”

  With that Carol Jean got up with her tray and dragged herself over to another table, leaving Marabelle watching her in an ominous way.

  Michael paid for his lunch and looked over at a forlorn Carol Jean. He decided to join her.

  “Mind if I sit here?”

  “No, I don’t care.” Carol Jean answered miserably.

  Michael tried to start up a conversation. “So, how come you’re not sitting over there with your friends? Are you mad at them or something?”

  “Something,” Carol Jean said, offhandedly.

  “Look, if I’m intruding, I’ll leave.”

  “Oh, don’t leave, Michael. I’m sorry. If you leave, Attila the Hun over there will come over again and sit next to me. I couldn’t handle that. So please stay.”

  Michael looked over at Marabelle, who immediately gave him the evil eye, then smirked like she knew something he didn’t.

  “Skye and I just had a little disagreement this morning, that’s all. No biggie. I’ll get over it . . . someday.” Carol Jean heaved a huge sigh.

  “Skye said something that hurt your feelings?” Michael said a little surprised. “I mean Skye, of all people?”

  “Yes, dear sweet little Skye over there. Miss perfection hurt my feelings! Is it really that hard to believe she’s not as perfect as everyone thinks she is!” Carol Jean was getting loud now.

  Michael didn’t like anyone talking about Skye, even though he knew Carol Jean and Skye were friends.

  “Look, Carol Jean, I can see something’s upset you and maybe you’d rather be left alone.” Michael got up and beat a hasty retreat to a
nother table.

  Carol Jean turned away from the miss popularity table and was left staring at a smirking Marabelle. This was too much. She got up, took her tray to a trashcan, dumped the food, and slammed the tray down as she headed out the door.

  Skye immediately got up and went after her. “Wait a minute, Carol Jean, can’t we talk? I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m so sorry.”

  “You just don’t get it, do you?” Carol Jean almost whispered.

  “No, I don’t get it. I thought we were friends. I tried to find you at the end of school, but Cassie needed my help.

  “That’s just fine! I’m a loner. I’ve always been a loner and I don’t need friends like you. I don’t need anyone.” Carol Jean turned on her heal and quickly walked away, leaving a bewildered Skye staring after her.

  A Trip to the Office

  The rest of the day passed slowly, but final period had arrived and both girls were about to face a new dilemma.

  Cassie had gotten through the whole day without a teacher mentioning her short skirt. She walked into her study hall with a big smile, until see saw the teacher.

  Oh, no, how could I forget about Miss Prim? She was always careful to dress conservatively on Wednesday’s, since she had her for study hall. Cassie quickly took her seat, hoping no one had noticed her.

  “Miss Evans, please approach my desk!”

  The whispering and snickering that followed was the usual for the kids in this study hall.

  “Miss Evans, I assumed that you were a lady. Perhaps my assumption was in error. Apparently you’ve gotten away, or should I say, thought you had gotten away with this inappropriate attire throughout the day. Well, I am here to rectify this situation immediately. You will report at once to the principal’s office.”

  Cassie turned and walked out of the room, knowing arguing would be useless.

  She dragged herself through the halls and down to the principal’s office. She went through the glass doors and took a seat across from the service counter.

  Meanwhile, Skye was busy doing homework in another study hall, when the PA system came on calling her down to the office, as well.

  She walked through the glass doors, taking a seat next to Cassie. They smiled at each other. Skye knew full well why Cassie was there. The mystery was . . . why was she there?

  Mr. Scott came out of his office. He walked over to both girls and asked Skye to come with him. Skye gave a little smile to Cassie, shrugged, and followed him.

  He went behind his desk and sat down, then motioned for Skye to take a seat.

  “Skye, I just received a call from your aunt. Your sister is having some problems and needs you. It has something to do with the baby she’s having, I assume. Your aunt was not quite clear. She’s having Jake Sanders pick you up at the front door. Now Skye, don’t leave the school until you see Jake’s truck. The all-clear alarm won’t go off for another half hour. Skye, are you listening to me?”

  Skye walked out of the principal’s office in a daze.

  The look on her face told Cassie something was up, something very serious.

  “Skye, what is it? What happened?”

  “It’s my sister, Julie. Oh, dear God, Cassie; she’s in trouble and she needs me!” Skye suddenly came to her senses and ran out of the office door.

  Cassie was right behind her, with Mr. Scott hollering for her to return.

  Skye stood at the school doors straining to see Jake’s truck. It was nowhere in sight, as she paced impatiently while Cassie tried to calm her down.

  “Come on, Skye, she’ll be alright.”

  Suddenly, Skye stopped pacing, taking one last look up the street for any sign of Jake’s truck. She looked at Cassie, as Cassie’s eyes widened knowing what she was thinking.

  Everything seemed to happen at once. Mr. Scott came out of the office and asked Cassie to come back in. Skye slammed open the school doors and ran down the steps with Cassie right behind her. Carol Jean was coming down the hall when she saw Skye and Cassie dash out the doors. She knew something was wrong. It had to be something really important for them to run out like that.

  Carol Jean dropped the papers she’d been carrying and ran out the doors behind them, with Mr. Scott and the office staff yelling.

  “Skye! This is insane! We’ve got to go back! Please stop!” Cassie yelled as she tried to catch up with her.

  “I don’t care about the rules! My sister needs me, okay? I can outrun any idiot who tries to catch me! Go back if you want to. It’s okay, I’ll understand.”

  ***

  Geri and her friends were outside, leaning against the fence, waiting for Mr. Keyes to start band practice. Amy began jumping up and down, pointing toward the street, unable to speak.

  Geri turned and watched in disbelief, as Skye and Cassie went running by, with Carol Jean not far behind.

  “Cassie! What do you think you’re doing,” Geri yelled as she ran to the gate.

  Zach and Teddy were passing by on the track, when they heard Geri cry out. Zach stopped short, forcing Teddy to run into his back.

  “Get off of me, jerk; I’ve got to get Joshua. Cassie and Skye are running!” Zach pushed Teddy away and ran toward the gate.

  Teddy jumped up following Zach, just in time to glimpse Skye running ahead of Cassie, turning down Newport Lane. “Good grief, I need to get Todd.”

  Amy and a group of other junior high girls were squealing and screaming. Geri ran back to the fence and yelled, “Come on girls, we’ve got to help Cassie and Skye. I’ve got a plan.”

  Out on the upper school field, football practice was in session. Michael had the football and was about to make a pass, when he heard the commotion on the junior high side. A couple of the boys on the junior high track team ran by yelling that Skye and Cassie were dodging and are “up for grabs.” He dropped the football and started for the gate, along with the rest of the team. Their coach blew his whistle over and over, but no one listened.

  The Chase was on!

  Zach was running as fast as he could to the feed store. He wasn’t sure when the bus came in from Marshall City, but he knew that there wasn’t much time. When he finally made it to the store and told Joshua, he fell onto a sack of grain, completely out of breath. Joshua jumped on his bike and took off.

  As Skye and Cassie reached Cedar Avenue, they could see Will and Freddie sitting on their porch, with their fishing gear strewn all around them.

  “You sure this 4 lb. test line is strong enough for trout? Don’t you think we should go for the 8 lb.?” Will asked as he pulled on the line, causing it to tangle.

  “I may not know much, but I know my fishing line. We’ve always used 4 lb. for trout. Now what are you doing with that line? You’re gonna get that all tangled up, if you don’t watch it.”

  Freddie walked over toward Will, tripping over the tackle box . . . scattering lures, fishhooks, and sinkers everywhere. He went down in a heap, completely tangling them both.

  It was at that opportune moment when the girls went running by. The two young men sat on the porch and watched.

  “Gosh, Will, I sure wish I had a chance to catch one of those new girls.” Freddie laughed as he watched Carol Jean come around the corner. “That one there, I’d probably throw back. It’s a wonder she don’t chase after us,” Freddie laughed, as he hit Will on the back of his head.

  "I want nothin’ to do with her," Will said, as he watched her run by. “Absolutely nothin’."

  "Oh, yeah, right," Freddie, said, eyeing Will, “I forgot she doesn’t exist. But I sure wish those new girls weren’t so smart. I wonder when they become eligible. Should be soon, don’t ya think?”

  “I think your right, Freddie, and when that happens . . . watch out, cause I’ll be right there to catch one of them.” Will laughed, but suddenly looked over at his cousin. “Of course, Chris or Todd would make mincemeat of out us if w
e did. Don’t know for sure if it’d be worth it.”

  After a few minutes, the boys from the track team, football team, and band came running around the corner.

  “Will you look at that,” Freddie said, a little confused. “Is the school using the town streets for practice now? I think I’m gonna complain. Why do we have a perfectly good track at the school, if they don’t use it?”

  Freddie shook his head in disgust and went back to work, untangling himself from the fishing line. Will just kept his eyes on Carol Jean.

  The city bus was just coming down the street, headed for the town square. Chris and Todd were talking when they heard the bus driver remark, “Hey, what’s going on? Well, would you look at those three girls! Are they crazy?”

  Everyone looked out the bus windows and saw Skye, Cassie, and Carol Jean running for their lives, with an unusual swarm of boys not far behind.

  “Chris! We’ve got to get off this bus!”

  “I’m right behind you!”

  Todd ran to the back of the bus and opened the back door, while the driver screeched to a stop and yelled at them.

  They jumped off and started to run in an effort to catch up with the rest.

  “What’s gotten into them, Chris?” Todd yelled his face ashened with fear.

  “I don’t know, but this doesn’t look good,” Chris replied, picking up speed. For the first time, Chris realized just how much he cared for Cassie, and knew he didn’t want to lose her.

  ***

  Rose Baker was at her usual stand by the curtains when she heard a commotion outside. Up the street she saw three girls being chased by a hoard of boys.

  “Oh, dear Lord! Sister! Sister, hurry! Bernadette, would you get your great butt in here! Skye and Cassie are being harassed. We’ve got to help them.”

  Bernadette came into the hallway, just as Rose was dashing out the front door.

  “Rose, are you insane?” Bernadette screamed.

  “We’ve got to help Cassie and Skye! Come on!”

  Bernadette grabbed her broom and ran out after Rose, swinging it in the air. “I’ll save you, Cassandra. Don’t be afraid. Rose and I will fight off these evil boys.”

  Rose ran into the street just as Skye, Cassie, and Carol Jean reached the front of their house. Quickly, Rose let them through, and then tried to form a barrier with her body. Bernadette ran up to her and gave her one end of the broom. It was an awesome sight to see Rose and Bernadette Baker, legs and arms spread out as far as they’d go, holding the broom, and forming a human barrier.

  “Leave those girl’s alone, you scoundrels!” Bernadette screamed.

  Rose dropped the broom and began skidding sideways back and forth across the street, arms spread out to try to keep the boys back, while Bernadette began swinging the broom around in circles.

  The boys stopped short, for just a second, at the incredible sight before them. Then they took off again, running around the sisters and skirting them any way they could. Rose was grabbing shirttails and hats as the boys ran by; while poor Bernadette fell down in a dizzy heap, counting out loud the number of evil doers she was able to hit as they ran by.

  Skye and Cassie turned the corner to Skye’s street. The sound behind them was deafening and Skye thought she heard Todd’s voice urging her to run faster.

  Joshua was speeding down Rose Street, when he saw the runners turning down Honeysuckle. He took a shortcut by riding down the alley, behind the houses on Honeysuckle, knowing he would get to Skye’s house before the rest. As he sped along, he came up behind a couple dozen or so junior high girls, who ran in front of him, causing him to detour onto the Fludge property.

  As he drove across the Fludge’s backyard to the front of the house, Marabelle stepped off the porch directly in front of him. He had a split-second decision to make . . . the holly bush or Marabelle. He chose the holly.

  “What the hell are you doing on my property, you stupid farmer?” Marabelle yelled as she pulled the bike out of the bush.

  Joshua crawled out, trying to minimize the scratches he was receiving from the sharp leaves.

  “Just passing through, ma’am. Sorry about the bush.” Joshua brushed off his clothes and reached back into the bush to retrieve his hat.

  “What do you mean by ma’am? I’m not a ma’am, you idiot, I’m a girl.”

  “Oh . . . sorry.” Joshua gave Marabelle a big grin as he ran toward the street. “Could’ve fooled me.”

  “Get back here!” Marabelle yelled, lumbering behind him. “I’m not finished with you. If you want a chance at me, I’ll be more than glad to give you a chance!”

  This remark seemed to make Joshua run a little faster.

  When Marabelle reached the front yard, she froze at the sight of Skye and Cassie, running down the street toward her.

  “Homer!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “Get down here quick. Skye MacKenna’s coming for a visit.” She didn’t have to look back, as she could hear her brother stumbling down the stairs.

  Just up the street, Carol Jean was doing her part by tripping a few of the boys she knew were over eighteen. She knew they weren’t after her, so she had no fear where that was concerned, but she felt she had let Skye down earlier. She had made a big deal out of nothing. Skye wanted to talk to her and she acted like a big jerk. All this she thought to herself, as she tripped another football player.

  The next thing she knew, someone had grabbed her from behind and was holding on to her for dear life. She held in her breath as the person tried to kiss her and reached for her bracelet.

  “No! No!” She screamed as she struggled with the unknown assailant.

  Finally, tired of wrestling with him, she wrenched herself away by twisting her leg around his and knocking him down. Then, she was off, not even turning to see who it was.

  Will was spread-eagled on the ground, watching Carol Jean run down the road. He was relieved she hadn’t looked back.

  The girls passed the Kane house just as Margie, hearing all of the commotion, came out onto the porch.

  She watched in horror as she saw Skye and Cassie run by, followed by an assortment of high school boys. Her fear subsided, when she saw Todd gaining on everyone to reach Skye.

  But Todd saw something else at the end of the street. Something that was incomprehensible. Homer Fludge was standing like a huge boulder at the entrance to Skye’s house. There was no way he was going to let Skye pass. He stood transfixed with a huge smile on his face.

  Joshua was leaning against the Davis’ tree in the front yard, with an even bigger smile.

  Skye and Cassie both knew they were in deep trouble, but they had to keep running.

  There was a familiar truck in the Davis’ driveway. Mac was leaning up against it, with an anxious Sara standing by him. She was yelling at Homer and she’d never been this angry before in her life.

  All of a sudden, Skye and Cassie stopped. They were in front of Skye’s house, just ten feet from Homer. Skye spread her arms out like a bird about to fly.

  “Don’t anyone come near us!” Skye shouted, with tears running down her cheeks.

  But just as the boys slowly started toward the girls, out of nowhere came Geri and her friends.

  “Come on girls,” Geri yelled.

  All the junior high girls came running toward Skye and Cassie, surrounding them. They formed a double circle with their backs to Skye and Cassie and their arms linked folded across their chests. There were at least two- dozen girls guarding them, with determined looks on their faces.

  No one knew what to do, as Chris and Todd heaved a sigh of relief.

  “So, you think you little thirteen year olds are gonna to stop me from having my dreams come true? Skye is going to be mine and no one . . . and I do mean, no one, is going to stop me!” Homer yelled.

  “But that’s your dream, Homer, not mine. I don’t want you, and if you come anywhere near me . . . I’ll hate you forever.”


  Skye’s bracelet was getting tight and she looked under the wrist scarf, it was turning dark.

  Once again she turned her attention back to Homer. “My sister needs me. This is a family emergency and I’m leaving with Mac. And no one . . . and I mean no one is going to stop me!” Skye said, with a look of defiance on her face.

  Sara walked over to Homer, who was extremely confused and angry. His parents had walked out of the house and stood next to Marabelle.

  “Homer,” Sara spoke quietly, “go back into your house, son. There’s nothing here for you. What are you going to do? Run down all of these little girls . . . and for what? Skye doesn’t want you Homer. She likes you as a friend, but you might just lose that, if you do something crazy.”

  Sara’s last remark startled Homer back into reality. “Oh, I don’t want that! I don’t want to lose Skye’s friendship and I sure don’t want her to hate me. I don’t want anyone to hate me!” With that, Homer turned around and sadly walked across the street into his yard.

  “You big stupid wimp!” Marabelle yelled, walking away behind him.

  Mac casually walked over to the little girls surrounding Skye and Cassie. He looked into the crowd of boys and said, “Anybody want to mess with me?”

  Some of the boys backed away, while others just turned and started to walk back up the street.

  Cassie was grateful the attention was all on Skye. She looked over at Joshua and noticed something odd in the tree above his head. The bird feeder, hanging in the tree, was moving in the direction of Skye and Mac.

  Todd slowly walked toward Skye, as the all-clear alarm went off,

  “You alright?” Todd asked tenderly.

  “I’m okay . . . thanks,” Skye said as she walked over to Sara. “Okay, what happened? How’s Julie?”

  “Mac showed up here over an hour ago,” Sara said in a sad voice. “He said Julie was in bad shape and needed you. He’s here to drive you back. I’ve packed a few things for you, but, I don’t know how long you’ll be there, sweetie.”

  While Skye was talking to Sara, Mac walked over to Todd. “Just thought you should know, pal, Skye ain’t comin’ back.”

  Todd was just about knocked off his feet with this statement. “What do you mean? Just how bad is Skye’s sister?”

  “You know something, pal, that ain’t none of your business, and don’t even think of coming into my territory. You can’t even imagine how sorry you’d be.”

  Todd rolled his eyes at this, shoved Mac out of the way, and walked over to Skye.

  Skye had finished her conversation with her aunt, and Sara left to go back into the house.

  “Skye, I’m sorry about your sister,” Todd said anxiously. “I hope she’ll be alright.”

  “It’s all so strange. My aunt’s been trying to call her ever since Mac showed up. There’s a constant busy signal. I don’t know, but maybe one of the kids knocked the phone off the hook and they haven’t discovered it yet. I’m so scared.”

  Todd looked over at Mac leaning against his truck. He had a sarcastic grin on his face.

  “I don’t trust that guy. I think he’s up to something, but I hope your sister’s okay. Just please tell me you’re coming back.”

  Skye gave Todd a puzzled look. “Of course, I’ll be back. I love it here. I love everything about this weird, crazy little town.”

  Inside the house, Sara was talking to someone on the phone. “Yes, I know, but there’s nothing I can do. No, I don’t trust him, either. It’s just strange that I can’t get hold of Julie. Of course, I’ll do everything I can to make sure she comes back. It took me long enough to get her here in the first place, so I’m not going to lose her now. I’d better go, but I’ll keep in touch.”

  Carol Jean came over to Skye. She didn’t say anything at first . . . she just hugged her. “I’m really sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

  “Its okay, when the chips were down, you really came through. I can’t believe you left the school when it wasn’t safe.”

  “It was safe for me, or so I thought.” Carol Jean looked down the street now wishing she had turned to see who her admirer had been.

  The junior high girls were still surrounding Cassie, who was taking turns watching Chris and Joshua. She also glanced at the bird feeder, which was now moving in her direction. Geri hadn’t taken her eyes off her big brother and Cassie was keeping an eye on Joshua, who was still leaning against the tree with a smile on his face. That nerve-racking, heart-melting smile! She peeked under her wrist scarf to see what color was tingling underneath.

  Cassie glanced at Chris and smiled, then smiled back at Joshua.

  “Hi, guys, I didn’t expect to see either of you so early in the day. Is something wrong?” She walked over to Geri and gave her a hug. “I won’t forget this, Geri. Skye and I owe you big time.”

  “That’s okay, Cassie. We girls have to stick together, remember?” Geri turned and pointed her finger at Chris. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Cassie and Skye are new, and you and Todd need to give them a break.”

  All the other girls sounded their agreement, glaring at Chris.

  “Hey, I didn’t do anything. I was only here to protect the girls from the likes of him.” Chris nodded his head toward Joshua. “I was on my way home from school. What’s his excuse?”

  Now the girls turned their attention to Joshua.

  “Yeah, you were trying to get to Cassie before Chris. Weren’t you?” Amy accused. “It’s a good thing we ran you off the road.”

  Joshua just smiled. “Guilty as charged, little darlin’.”

  Amy blushed and began to giggle. “You’re so terrible, Joshua Edwards.” She looked down and shuffled her feet, “I can certainly see where your brother gets it.”

  “Amy!” Geri shouted. “I think we need to go home. I think everyone needs to go home.”

  “Come on, Geri, I’ll walk with you,” Chris offered as the circle of girls started to break up. He put his hand out to Cassie. “You coming?”

  “Well, Chris, I’d really like to find out what’s going on with Skye. I’ll come home after things settle down a little . . . okay?”

  “Fine.” Chris looked over at Joshua and then back at Cassie. “So, don’t be late for dinner.”

  Chris grabbed Geri’s arm and started to walk home.

  “Don’t be late for dinner?” Geri snickered.

  “Oh, knock it off, squirt. Just keep walking.”

  Cassie watched as Chris and Geri walked up the street. She was waiting for Joshua to speak.

  “Okay, Skye’s out of danger,” Joshua began, as he stepped away from the tree, “but it looks like you’re still stuck right in the middle, darlin’.”

  Just then a horn sounded and Jake’s truck made its way down the street. Everyone got out of the way. Jake pulled up in front of the Davis’ house and jumped out.

  “What the heck is going on here? I’ve had the devil’s own time trying to get through back there. One of those crazy Baker sisters jumped on the hood of my truck. I had to drag her off and then she wouldn’t let go of me. What’s everybody doing here? And Skye, where were you? I came to pick you up at the school, missy, and you weren’t there!”

  “I’m sorry, Jake,” Skye, said sheepishly, “I couldn’t wait.”

  “So it seems. Well, is your aunt ready?”

  “Ready, ready for what?” Mac came forward at this.

  “Why, I’m following you two back to Bright Springs, with Sara in tow.”

  “Wait a minute, no, that’s not necessary!” Mac seemed uneasy.

  Sara came up behind Mac with a small bag for Skye and one for herself. “It most certainly is necessary, Mac Brennan! Julie is my niece, too! And I’ll decide whether or not she needs me . . . not you.”

  Mac looked a little upset with this new turn of events. To top it all off, Skye seemed to be ignoring him, while she said goodbye to that jerk, Todd. He was losing patience with all of this. He was just going to come into tow
n and quietly take Skye away.

  “Hey, I gotta go, so I’ll see you when I get back, whenever that is,” Skye said sadly to Todd. She would have liked to kiss Todd goodbye, but it was better this way. Too much had happened and she didn’t want to make a scene.

  Michael was standing against a tree. He smiled and just waved to her.

  Todd reached out to just barely touch her hand, and then walked away. As Todd walked passed Mac, who was glaring at him with his arms folded across his chest, Todd had one last thing to say.

  “You can take her back with you for her sister’s sake, but you’ll never make her love you.”

  Mac just shook his head and put Skye’s bag in the truck.

  It was finally Cassie’s turn to say goodbye to her new best friend. She walked up to her, trying desperately not to cry. “What am I going to do without you?”

  The girls hugged, as both had tears running down their faces.

  “Oh, Skye, promise me you’ll call and let me know what’s going on. I’ll say a prayer for your sister.”

  “Don’t worry,” Skye sobbed as she put her hand on her friend’s cheek, “everything will be fine. Now, you promise me you won’t go out running without me.”

  “You can count on that,” Cassie laughed, wiping the tears away.

  Mac helped Skye into his truck, while Sara got into Jake’s. Mac slowly backed out of the driveway as Skye waved to everyone . . . and then they were off.

  As Jake started driving away with Sara he said, “You better make sure that girl comes back, it took a lot to get those two here.”

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be back, and Mac will be dealt with. If this is a trick, I’ll stay with Julie and send Skye home.”

  “Good!” was all Jake had to say.

  Mac drove slowly and carefully out of Parkerville. He smiled to himself and put his arm around Skye. Skye just looked straight ahead with tears running down her cheeks.

  “How bad is Julie, Mac?”

  “Don’t worry, seeing you will fix her right up.”

 

  After the Chase

  The Baker sisters sat stunned in their living room, not saying much to one another. Rose sat demurely in her high-backed, Elizabethan chair, while Bernadette sat on the sofa.

  “Shall I get us some tea?” Bernadette asked gently.

  “I just don’t understand! We were out there dodging down the street, free as birds! Not one, not even one man approached us!”

  Well, Rose, there was that nice man who pulled you off his truck. It’s too bad he was in such a hurry, though. He hardly spoke to either of us.”

  “Yes, the way he grabbed me around the waist and just hauled me off his truck. Oh, my goodness, those rough hands of his . . . those strong, rough, masculine hands. Hands that have known hard work, hands that have . . .”

  “Stop, Rose, please,” Bernadette interrupted, putting her hands over her ears. “I mustn’t hear such things. Maybe I should get us some tea.”

  Rose stood up abruptly and started pacing. “What’s wrong with us? He had a chance to claim one of us. Have we got cooties?” A tear trickled down Rose’s cheek.

  “First of all… ,” came a booming voice from the doorway.

  “Mother!” both women shouted, as Bernadette snapped to attention. Rose turned to see their mother approaching them in her wheelchair.

  “As I started to say, outside of making fools of yourselves, there are no men in this town who want you or ever will want you. But most of all, it was not your place to ever interfere in this town’s ridiculous and loathsome tomfoolery. Where are your brains?” Wilhelmina was animated now and extremely angry.

  “Mother you shouldn’t be out of bed. You’re getting yourself all upset . . . over nothing, really.” Rose went to her mother and tried to turn the wheelchair around.

  Wilhelmina brought her cane down sharply on Rose’s foot, causing her to scream in agony. “I’m not finished!”

  She proceeded into the far end of the living room and quickly spun her chair around to face the frightened women.

  “You have no idea what a spectacle you two made of yourselves today! I can barely stand to look at you . . . either of you. Have you learned nothing in all these years? Have I not tried to keep you both safe?”

  “But Mother we were just . . .” Rose started.

  “Silence! I won’t be interrupted. I don’t care what your motives were. It makes no difference. We have a standing in this community . . . well, we did have. And no thanks to you two, they will probably run us out of town on a rail!”

  “Well, not really, Mother, we’re heroes. We’ve had people drop by and congratulate us for thinking so quickly,” Bernadette countered.

  “Heroes! Don’t make me laugh. You two never do anything right. You are two of the most useless human beings I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe I brought you both into this world. I’ll be doing penance for that in the next life, that’s for sure. You are both . . .”

  “That’s enough, Mother! I’ve had just about enough of your verbal abuse. I am not a useless human being, and if you truly believe I am, it’s your fault . . . not mine. You’ve kept us in this house all these years and taught us nothing but fear. Well, that’s over! I’m not afraid anymore.” Rose got up from her chair and walked toward the front door.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” Wilhelmina scolded.

  “Out . . . anywhere but here,” Rose said in a frantic voice. “Coming, Bernadette?”

  “Listen to me, you nincompoop, I’ve kept you and your sister in a safe perimeter all your lives, and now you want to break that?” Wilhelmina huffed.

  “Safe from what, Mother? Men . . . neighbors . . . picnics . . . dances . . . fun?” Rose walked toward her mother, as she spit out the words.

  “How dare you speak to me like that? How dare you!” Wilhelmina spat back.

  “You know, Mother dear, I really can’t stand the sight of you for one more minute. I need to get out of this house, now!” Rose grabbed her purse and started once more for the door.

  She turned back to look at her sister. “Bernadette, are you coming with me or not?”

  Bernadette sat on her couch, nervously playing with her beads.

  Wilhelmina looked to her younger daughter for some kind of obedience.

  “Oh, dear,” Bernadette began, “oh dear, dear, dear, dear.” She smothered her face in her beads and started to rock back and forth.

  “Bernadette!” Wilhelmina yelled, slamming her cane on the hardwood floor.

  “Yes, Mother?” Bernadette said, as she shot up in her chair. “Can we bring you something from Burgers? I’ve heard they make a very nice fish sandwich?”

  “No, they don’t,” Rose cut in, “they only make burgers.”

  “Oh, no,” Bernadette replied, as she ran to get her wrap. “I have it on good authority they have a wonderful sandwich made of fish. What type of fish, I couldn’t tell you, but we both know mother can’t eat hamburger. She’d be up all night with stomach problems.”

  Rose ran after Bernadette, still arguing about the fish, as they slammed the front door behind them.

  ***

  Cassie and Joshua were sitting in front of the fountain talking, when Rose and Bernadette bristled past them. Bernadette had covered her head with a wool scarf and Rose held a big oriental fan, covering most of her face.

  “Bernadette, is that you?” Cassie called out.

  Both women froze in their tracks, afraid to even turn to see who had recognized them.

  “She called for you, Bernadette, not me,” Rose whispered. “I’m going to run into the store for a couple things, while you find out what she wants.”

  Rose walked quickly toward Mr. Simpson’s store. She went up the wooden steps and across the porch, knocking a checkerboard off a table, as one man was making his move. She hurried by, apologizing thro
ugh her fan.

  Cassie walked over to a frozen Bernadette and asked if she was all right.

  “Go away,” Bernadette whispered, “I don’t want anyone looking at me?”

  “Okay, but it might be better if we sit down on that bench over there.”

  “Is anyone looking?”

  “No, just me.”

  Bernadette gave Cassie her hand as she slowly raised her right foot, taking slow giant steps toward the bench. After they were seated, she opened her scarf. “Do you think anyone noticed?”

  “No, of course not,” Cassie said, trying not to laugh. She realized how frightened this poor woman really was, as she held onto her cold, shaking hand.

  “Oh, Bernadette, you don’t have to be frightened. The all clear has already gone off. We have until 9 o’clock before the next alarm.”

  “Cassandra, is that you?” Bernadette turned, looking into Cassie’s face. “Oh, happy day, it is you. Oh, Cassandra, I feel so much better.”

  The men, who were playing checkers, were astonished to see Rose. They knew exactly who she was and wondered what on earth could have made her leave the safety of her home.

  Rose was walking around the store, when Billy Simpson startled her by saying, “Hello, Rose, nice to see you.”

  Rose just waved her hand, “Yes, nice to see you, too,” in an offhanded way. She was too busy walking and looking up and down the aisles of all the new products. Then, toward the back of the store, she saw a mirror. For some reason it attracted her and she continued toward it.

  She approached the mirror and took a good look at herself. She slowly put a trembling right hand up to her face and traced her forehead down along her cheekbone, ending at her lips. Tears ran down her face as she looked at a woman she did not recognize.

  Billy came up in back of her and looked into the mirror at Rose. Very softly he said, “It’s nice to see you Rose, it’s been a long time.”

  “I don’t look like this in our mirrors,” she said quietly. “I’m . . . well, I’m younger. I don’t have so many lines and I’m much prettier.”

  “Sometimes we see what we want to see in a mirror, but it never reflects what we are inside.”

  “Yes, yes, you’re right, Billy. I guess I need to get out more.”

  “That would be so nice, Rose.”

  “I will. I will make a point to walk around town at least once a day, or maybe once a week . . . or a month. Thank you, Billy, thank you so much!” Rose patted his hand and walked back to the front of the store. She waved to him and walked outside.

  The two men at the checkerboard acknowledged her by tipping their hats. She nodded and walked back down the steps and over to Cassie and Bernadette.

  Bernadette gave Rose a big smile, when she saw her coming toward them from Simpson’s store.

  “We’re perfectly safe, Rose. The all-clear alarm went off at 4 o’clock, so we still have over 5 hours left to enjoy being outside and watching all the people walking about . . . free and happy.”

  Rose looked around and noticed how peaceful everyone seemed to be. “Oh my, isn’t it beautiful here?” She glanced over at Joshua, who was walking toward them. “Is that your beau?”

  “One of them,” Cassie whispered with a giggle. “Joshua, would you mind if we take these lovely ladies to Burgers? I’ll bet they haven’t been in there in years.”

  “Oh my, yes. It’s been a long time since a gentleman took me to dinner,” Rose said. “My sister and I would be forever grateful.”

  The foursome entered the burger bar, as all eyes turned toward them and a hush fell over the room. Bernadette bent down into a slow royal curtsy, then quickly jumped back up on her feet shouting, “Hello, everyone. We’ve come to eat burgers.”

  The whole place exploded in laughter, as everyone came over to congratulate the sisters for finally coming outdoors.

  After a while, Cassie noticed it was nearly 6:30 and she had to get back home before dinner. Joshua offered to walk the ladies home, so Cassie could get home on time.

  The sisters waited by the fountain, as Cassie and Joshua kissed goodbye.

  ***

  “Where have you been? You should have been home hours ago. You do realize these little games you’re playing are going to get you into a lot of trouble one of these days.” Chris attacked Cassie as she entered the kitchen from the side door. “You’re really lucky you didn’t get caught today. If it wasn’t for Geri and her friends, you’d be walking down the aisle with that stupid farmer.”

  “Oh, come on, Chris, Joshua would never take advantage of me. He was there to protect me.”

  “Protect you! Are you crazy?” Chris yelled as he threw his arms in the air. “I was there to protect you . . . from him.”

  “Oh, good grief, Chris, you were still running down the street. If Joshua was the monster you make him out to be, he could have certainly gotten past a few junior high girls.”

  “You just don’t get it, do you? Any one of those guys out there today could have caught you. You’re supposed to be smart; Cassie, but you nearly ruined it for all of us.

  Cassie stood in front of him, staring into his eyes. “You really do care about me, don’t you? It’s not just a revenge thing against Joshua, is it?”

  Chris cleared his throat, looking down, “Of course I care about you.” He gave a little laugh and looked back up. “We all care about you. No one wants to see you get married the first couple of months in town. And . . . I was just as worried about Skye.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, we’re both fine. At least I am. I’m not so sure about Skye.” Cassie started to turn to leave. “I’ll just go up and change out of these sweaty clothes. Oh and please don’t say anything to your mom. Of course, she probably heard about the whole thing before it even happened.”

  Cassie left Chris standing in the kitchen, regretting he didn’t tell Cassie how he really felt about her.

  Just then, Marion came rushing in out of breath. “Is she alright? I was with Mrs. Mateo. I was helping her decorate her family room. Louie came home, but didn’t say anything. He just smiled, said hi to me, and then ran up the stairs laughing. I didn’t find out until we turned on the TV.”

  “Yeah, she’s fine,” Chris, said, heaving a sigh, as he walked out of the room.

  Marion placed her handbag on the counter as she watched him leave.

  “Humm, he seems a little upset.” She walked over to the stairwell. “Geri!” she yelled. “Geri, come down here.” Marion smiled as she walked back into the kitchen. “Now, I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  ***

  Cassie was in her room, getting ready to do some homework, when her phone rang. It was the call she had been hoping for.

  “Hi, Cassie, it’s Skye. We’re back! Jake just dropped us off, so I’m back in my own wonderful room. Everything is fine and Julie is healthy and still pregnant.

  “Oh, gosh, Skye, I’m so glad you called. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep just thinking about you and your sister. Was it a false alarm?”

  “No, it was a lying, no-good farmer named Mac. He made the whole thing up, and to make matters worse, he’d taken the phone off the hook downstairs in the basement. Gees, anything to get me back to Bright Springs. One thing is for sure; I’ll never speak to that guy again. Mac is now completely out of my life.

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it. He’s caused enough trouble for you and your family.

  “Gees, if I ever leave here again permanently, I want to . . .”

  That’s all Skye got out before she could say another word, as she looked toward her bedroom doorway. She was astonished to see a little old man in a black suit, staring at her.

  “Excuse me, Miss,” he said, while humbly removing his hat and holding it in his hands.

  “Uh, Cassie, a small gentleman is standing in my doorway,” Skye whispered over t
he phone.

  “That’s funny, because I also see a little gentleman standing in my bedroom doorway,” Cassie replied calmly.

  When they described the little old man to each one other, he seemed to be in two places at once.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” both girls asked.

  “Much!” the little man said.

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