 
A Dolphin For One

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Published by

Robyn Leatherman

Smashwords Edition

61,107 words

Copyright 2012 Robyn Leatherman

Edited by Kim Diehl

Cover design by Lindsay Kayser

Contact Lindsay for your own cover design at:

Lkkayser@gmail.com

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Disclaimer from the author: The names and characters in this work of fiction are in no way a reflection of any person, living or dead, that the author has any recollection of. Any names which correspond to any person is purely coincedental.

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this and every other Smashwords author.

*

In this YA novel, Kaileigh, who becomes orphaned during her teen years, bounces around state-funded foster care before she is finally placed with a couple who care about her well-being. Driven to never become anyone's obligation and to stand on her own, the teen aces her high school years and takes on a few night classes in music theory at the local college.

She spends her time being alone and organized: two features of her personality that suit her just fine.

With the learned trade of writing to fund a small but steady cash flow, Kaileigh buys a used Dolphin motor home from the lady down the street and hits the road once the state recognizes her eighteenth year milestone.

Through a series of adventures and mishaps, the young lady finds herself tapping at her laptop in the booth of an Italian restaurant and winds up getting more than a story and a plate of rigatoni when she meets the owner of the restaurant, who introduces Kaileigh to her pop star brother.

Unexpectedly, Kaileigh finds herself being not quite as alone as she had become accustomed.

*

A Dolphin for One

~~ * ~~

Chapter 1

As the only child of Ray and Dani Ross, Kaileigh sometimes thought about what it might be like to have someone around for bit of company, maybe some late night whispered conversations when sleep ran away and hid under the pine trees-when the Colorado skies turned that skybluepink and forced every living creature to rest for the following day. There had even been a few times when she wished for a brother to irritate her and steal the glory by cleaning the garage perfectly when she had done all the work.

But that was only sometimes. Most of the time, Kaileigh found herself quite contented in the fact that she was the center of her parents world and shared the spotlight with nobody else.

Ray and Dani enjoyed showing their love for the teenage girl and gave her everything they could; there may have been times when the family had to pinch corners or save up for certain things they wanted, but that never bothered Kaileigh. Growing up in the mountains, material possessions never rated high on her priority list anyhow.

Their daughter thought of herself as being practical, able to discern between the wants list and the needs list. It had actually been half a quarter's home schooling class in economics, taught by her mom in the upstairs laundry room-makeshift class room that her parents had designed right before she started kindergarten.

Home schooling had never been anything her parents planned in advance. They had, in fact, never even thought about it until they bought that house up on the Colorado hilltop in the middle of nowhere and it dawned on them that their daughter could be hurt on the playground several miles away or God forbid, the brakes on the school bus went out going around those steep inclines.

Without even discussing the matter, the couple simply began preparing the class room, bought a case of notebooks-and it was a done deal.

The way Dani looked at the situation, she worked at home anyway; her freelance writing had taken off and the work schedule allowed her to work around her family's needs. Kaileigh's education fit in just fine with a schedule like that.

*

The girl's eyes scanned her bedroom, over the plum-colored curtains, past the bookcase and the pair of guitars propped up in the corner. Blue eyes scanned for that one last item to stash inside her duffel bag; can't go camping without a book light! When she caught sight of it sticking out from under a pile of folded laundry on the end of her bed, Kaileigh scooped up the treasure and did her version of the Happy Dance.

She'd been looking forward to this trip for ages. Even though her parents had planned to go more than once over the last couple of years, something always forced her parents into postponing their vacation plans. Each time she heard the bad news, the duffle bag found its way back to the top shelf of her closet-along with dreams of sleeping under the stars and feeling the breeze blow across her nose.

But this time her family was really going on that camping trip, no doubt about it!

She'd known it was a for-sure deal when her mom announced that school would consist of two full days of non-stop home economics; time to fill plastic zip-top bags with trail mix, jerky and other snack foods the Ross clan loved.

Her dad had already gone to the trouble of crawling under their house; he dragged out the folding chairs and chest coolers. Once the tents were watertight and all the parts were collected into one container, Ray folded the tents back up and stowed them in their respective bags again. He was one of those dads who believed in making sure everything was in working order before leaving the house.

*

Dani stood in the door frame of her daughter's room, her back firmly planted against the cedar.

"So what are you wearing in the morning?"

Kaileigh's startled jump showed her mom that she had no idea her mom had been standing there; did she catch her performance in the hair brush a few minutes earlier?

Pointing to the brass chair in the corner of her room, Kaileigh showed her mom the chosen ensemble: jean shorts (otherwise known in the teen circle as jorts), a long sleeve yellow t-shirt with matching yellow socks, and of course, the pair of hiking boots she'd broken in long ago.

"Cool," her mom confirmed. "Might as well haul your stuff out and set it on the couch so Dad can pile it in the trailer. He's gone now to fill up the propane tanks and top of the tank on the truck; he's hoping to roll at daybreak. I might also warn you that he decided to bring his banjo."

Kaileigh stopped cold. "I thought he said I couldn't bring my guitar-what gives?"

Dani winked at her daughter and gave a swift nod toward the corner of her room. "Which one do you like most? Daddy never said _I_ couldn't bring one."

"That one," her daughter pointed to the acoustic guitar, the one she would be least sad about if anything happened to." "Thanks, Mom! You're the best."

"It's what I do," Dani waved as she made her way out of the room to sneak their secret into that overhead ledge in the trailer.

*

"Why do you insist on being so loud?" Kaileigh's unpainted fingertips fumbled around until they found the little lastic switch protruding from the back of the alarm clock and mechanically gave it the familiar flip. For a blissful three seconds, the teenager fell back into slumber.

As if some invisible creature poked her from underneath the bed, Kaileigh bolted straight out of the blue gingham comforter, her feet plunking down on the carpet in one fluid motion. She flipped the long dark hair from her face and grinned. Oh yeah. It was goin' down!

"Woo hoo! Vacation day, everyone – wakey, wakey!" The smile revealed perfect white teeth, compliments of the local orthodontist. On her last visit, she'd chosen the black and neon pink bands to reflect her inner rock-star.

Tripping her left foot on the lamp cord, Kaileigh darted right by the White Rabbit boy band poster she'd proudly displayed on her wall-instead of pausing to stare at Danny Montgomery, as she normally did before leaving her room Lead vocals and bassist, he and his pop group had earned the coveted Group of the Year award for three straight years. Every teenager in the nation knew who the guy was.

Instead of her normal pause, however, the girl burst out of her room to crane her neck up toward her parent's upstairs lofted bedroom.

"C'mon! The sun is almost up already, you sleepyheads," she hollered up.

No response.

"Mom?"

Nothing.

Kaileigh gave a look of disgust and shook her head; how could they sleep in today, of all days? That look of disgust quickly turned to a childish grin as she began tip-toeing up the staircase. She remembered jumping into the center of their bed as a little girl and shouting 'hiyegi', which means 'wake up' in the Cherokee language.

Each step widened the girl's grin as she made her way down the skinny hallway toward their room.

But the joke was on Kaileigh, because their room was empty, the bed had been made, and there was a note waiting on the comforter for her; it simply read, Meet us outside when you're ready. We have a surprise for you!

If she thought she could have gotten away with jumping down over the side of the lofted bedroom without breaking a leg, she probably would have opted for that maneuver. Instead, teenage feet raced back down the staircase and out the front door; once she'd firmly planted herself to the porch, her eyes found the surprise.

"No way!" she shrieked when her eyes fell on the matching neon green and white quads tethered to her dad's flatbed trailer.

"Aw, ya hear that, Mom? She doesn't want them. Guess we'll just have to take them back now," he teased.

His daughter raked one hand through her mop of hair and pointed one finger at him as she caught her breath.

"Not a chance, Mister! When did you do this? I am always with you!"

Ray Ross nodded. "Yea, but you haven't been with the Wilsons. I asked Mark to bring them home with him when he went into town a couple of weeks ago. They've been in his garage ever since, and then last night when I made a fuel run, I swung by and grabbed them. Sneaky, huh?" Her dad wiggled his eyebrows up and down, flashing that grin of his."

Kaileigh's grin turned completely upside down as a vision crept into the back of her mind.

"Ewwww...what about-"

Her words cut short, Dani knew exactly what was on her mind.

"He's been away at his uncle's ranch for a week and a half now. No, he didn't sit on them," came the assurance she needed to hear.

They were referring to the Wilson's teenage son, who, in Kaileigh's opinion, was a total idiot. She'd been turned off by the boy several months before, when she and her dad were rebuilding a transmission for Mr. Wilson.

"Hey, I don't wanna hafta get up," she called to the Village Idiot. "You wanna hand me that torque converter?"

He'd just stood there. Blankly staring first at her feet and then at the work bench. He had no clue what she was talking about and the girl rolled her blue eyes at him.

Puffing a strand of hair from her mouth, she called out a second time.

"Yo, it's that big round thing. Sitting next to all those shiny metal things on sticks," she mumbled.

He winced, wounded.

"Yeah? Well, don't be so smart."

He reached over and put his hand on the torque converter, glancing over at her first to double check that was the right thing.

She forced a smile.

It was too late when he realized it was actually a two-handed task, his shoulders snapping from the weight. He glanced in her direction to see if she'd caught it.

She had.

Her dad's voice brought her back to the quads.

"You gonna stand there all day or are we going camping?"

Chapter 2

"There is nothing in the whole world like my daddy's cheesey-eggs," Kaileigh reported out loud, rubbing her belly for emphasis.

Ray stood at the dish-washing station he'd invented the summer before; the bubbles splashed as the still-hot skillet hit the water, sizzling and popping while her mom refilled coffee mugs.

The teen pointed at her own mug.

"Don't forget about me!"

"Hit me, Mamma, one more time..." Dani sang off-key.

Her daughter held up one finger and mouthed the word, _NO_ , shaking her head with closed eyes and a scrunched up nose.

"What?" Dani laughed. "Can't a mom sing?"

"Not that!"

*

The Ross family camping vacation went down in the books as the highlight of their entire life thus far; between Ray's surprise of the quads and her mom remembering to pack everything including a couple of cans of campfire spaghetti sauce, to all the jokes and rounds of Scrabble, Kaileigh knew she would never forget the past week.

On that last night of their trip, the three pitched in to cook dinner together. Campfire spaghetti.

With supper eaten and dishes dried and nestled securely back into their proper totes, the Ross family retired to their camper table for a rousing game of Monopoly.

Mamma always asked the same set of questions before every game they played.

"Are we gonna use the ones for ones or for thousands? And do we have to go around once before we buy anything?"

Dad always answered the same way.

"We'll use them for thousands, and yeah. Go around once."

She smiled to herself; the comfort of familiarity with family was by far the best way to spend her night. She was also waiting for her mom to ask if they could take out personal loans from the bank.

She did.

And her dad pretended to think about it before answering that yeah, they could do that. Like he always did.

Chapter 3

The Ross family, loaded down with all their camping gear, pulled out from their rented spot in front of the lake after some of the happiest ten days they had ever spent together. No responsibilities, no stress. Nothing to fix, tote, or worry about. It had been the trip of a lifetime and they all agreed this would become an event they repeated once a year.

Ray looked in the rear view mirror at his daughter.

All she saw was his blue eyes peeping back at her as she listened to his every word.

"Let's keep the tents in good condition so it's not such an ordeal next year," he teased. "Or at least, let's keep them in a better place than I found them in this time around!"

Wincing, Kaileigh found herself pointing a finger at her dad. "Okay, that was not entirely my fault, ya know! You told me to pack em in and I did. How did I know you meant near the basement door and not at the back of the house? You must be specific with me, Dad," she teased right back. "And who was it that misplaced the brackets, anyhow... Mom?"

"Whoah! How did I get dragged into this? I only did what I was told to do." She slipped her hand in between the seat and door, fishing a candy bar of bribery to her daughter.

"Oh, I totally take Mom's side on this one, Pops. Totally," she chirped as she tapped thanks to the master briber in the front passenger seat.

Ray steered the truck, camper and 4-wheelers down the three-mile trail and out the main gates of the Rocky Mountain Wonderland Campground, glancing in the rear-view mirror for one last glance at what he was leaving behind. He let out a long breath.

"Sure wish we weren't heading back already. I sure could have stayed another week."

Dani peeled the sun visor down to shield the sunlight from her side of the window and pulled her seat belt into place, agreeing with her husband. "Me, too. I wasn't so sure how I'd do for so long out here, to be honest. But now that it's over, I wish it wasn't; I sure did take a few mental notes on stuff to bring-and not to bring-next year, though. For instance, maybe I didn't really need all that much string after all."

Before Ray could even open his mouth, Dani raised one hand and grinned. "I intended on hiking and finding tons of flowers to make bouquets out of. I would have needed a lot of string to hold all those flowers together, wouldn't I?"

"Three balls of the stuff, though?"

She opened her mouth to say something smart, but only laughed. "Yeah, like I said... mental notes for next year."

Thirty minutes later, Kaileigh fished through her bag to find the MP3 player her parents had given her a few weeks before to show their appreciation for how she'd helped them with the firewood hauling and post-hole digging. Not oblivious of the fact that mountain life could be tough, especially when they asked her to do as much as they did, an occasional spoiling of their daughter was something they both enjoyed when they manage fitting it in. Kaileigh's parents still would have gotten the gift for her, though, even if firewood chopping hadn't been involved.

While the adults talked between themselves, the teenager in the back of the truck slid down into her seat, lying on her back to enjoy her music. The tires rolling and vibrating over the mountainous roads lulled Kaileigh to sleep halfway into the fifth song.

Hearing her daughter's familiar light snore, Dani pulled her cell phone out and pulled up the camera function, switched it to the proper mode for snapping a photo in the cab of the truck. Snapping the shot, she turned the phone toward her husband. "Isn't she the most perfect kid in the world?"

Ray grinned. He had always been so proud of his daughter. She could chop wood with him, rebuild an engine and change brakes with the best of them–and still cleaned up mighty well for Sunday morning. Yes, indeed, his daughter was perfect in his eyes.

"Think I should email a copy of it to her when we stop for lunch?"

Laughing at how wife and daughter enjoyed their electronic games, such as texting one another when they were in the same vehicle, he just shook his head. "Yeah, she'd like that. She might get a shot of you when you least expect it, but she would probably do that anyhow," he added. "I seem to remember a few pictures floating around of a certain daddy who was sleeping."

"Ok, in my own defense, we had to do it!"

"Why can't you two just let me sleep in peace? Do you always have to decorate me and take pictures of it?

She grinned, looked out the window, and remembered the last time she and her daughter had decorated him in his sleep. Ray had relaxed himself into a nap in the living room, so she and Kaileigh lined up small stuffed animals on his chest and even placed a toothbrush across his cheek so lightly that he hadn't felt it. They'd taken the photo, removed the evidence, and nobody was any the wiser until the photos came back from the developer.

The couple rode in silence for a while, just enjoying the beautiful scenery the Colorado Rockies had to offer during the autumn months. The leaves on aspen trees turned into the most glorious golden tones, and against their white bark trunks, it was one of Dani's favorite parts of living in the Rockies.

Ray squinted past the tops of the mountains and commented that they'd probably broken camp just in time, judging from the dark clouds rolling in.

"I'm gonna stop at the next town we come to so we can clean off the windshield. These wipers are pretty well shot and if it starts to rain halfway home, all it's gonna do is smear," Ray mentioned to his wife. "Why can't I remember to get wipers any time we're in town?"

"For the same reason I can't remember that we're supposed to keep the baking soda changed in the fridge every six months, I guess."

Her husband nodded his head and tossed in a chuckle. "Yeah–or the water filter in the fridge."

Dani opened her purse for a scrap of paper and a pen. "You think I aughtta make a little shopping list now, while we're still thinking about all this stuff?"

"Nah,: came the reply. "We'll remember."

They looked at each other and nodded. "Sure we will," they affirmed in unison.

Just as both sets of eyes moved back toward the dirt road, Dani reached out to grab the panic bar, bracing her feet against the floor of the cab. "Ray!"

He'd seen them just a smidgen too late; a family of deer had made the split-second decision to cross the road at that specific point, pausing to glance up for a moment at the machinery making time toward them.

The first reaction that ran through Ray's mind was to stop the truck, followed by his stomping on the brakes. Rather than bringing the truck to a halt, the opposite reaction occurred as he sent the entire train of Ross camping gear skidding across the old gravel road. As the 4-door blue truck tires began to lose their grasp against the loose mountain roadway, Ray's grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Dani had been working a word-search puzzle and tossed the book to the floorboard; she turned her head toward the back seat, where her daughter had been suddenly jerked awake from her mid-morning nap.

"Kaileigh, buckle up, Honey!" Dani shouted through frightened eyes.

Just as her mother returned her gaze back to the road, she realized the fact that, the entire Ross crew would be tossed over the edge of the mountain pass, and in that same instant, the family felt the heavy jerk of their camper and quads pull them in a series of terrifying fish tailing for what seemed like an eternity.

Dust kicked up and thundered through their open windows, blinding Ray's vision. Having no sight on the road, he once again stomped on the brakes. They tires were no longer on the road.

The Ross family was airborne.

Chapter 4

The first thing Kaileigh sensed when she began to wake up was the immediate feeling of disconnection; she realized right away that she was lying in a bed she'd never been in before, The room smelled too...clean. Almost sterile. She knew there was no way she could be in her own home.

Because her eyes burned, she found it difficult to open them, but she forced herself to at least try. After a few long seconds, the girl gave up to the spinning ache in the brain, stepping in and back out of consciousness. With a dry mouth and every inch of her body feeling like a baseball bat had beaten her, she could only recognize one thought.

Where was she?

A sudden sensation of toppling over caused the girl's blood pressure to spike somewhat and she could feel her heart poundinging harder than when she'd run to her dad's truck with that load of firewood a few weeks earlier. Before the bruised and battered girl found herself unable to focus any more, her memory slipped back into another round of deep slumber.

Unaware of how long she'd been asleep, the teenager's eyelashes fluttered as distant sounds began the slow invitation back into the realm of the alert as her vision tiptoed into the first glimpses of light.

At the first sight of the medical staff, she felt her heart race once again; where was she and what had happened? Her parents!

Kaileigh's fingers instinctively reached for the pulsating pain in her left arm, and when she finally turned her head to look, found that it had been stabbed through. Literally. Sterile white bandages encircled her arm between the elbow and shoulder, blood stained the very center of the gauze, but her mind was a blank as much as it was throbbing; as her eyelids became so heavy that she couldn't keep them open any longer, Kaileigh drifted back to sleep.

It was the gentle tugging at her feet that woke her up several hours later; forcing her eyes open, the bruised teenager watched her day nurse changing her socks. Catching a glimpse of the pretty young girl's eyes fluttering open, the nurse tapped the patient's big toe.

The teen lifted her head slightly and attempted half a grin, but the ache in her jaw prevented anything very special. "Hi, she more questioned than stated. "What's going on?"

"Well, hey, there. Are you getting hungry yet?"

Looking around the white room, it slowly began to dawn on Kaileigh where she was, but the girl found herself unable to connect the dots; how did she get from the truck to some hospital? Her eyes caught on the television perched against the wall and suddenly was able to recall a conversation she'd had with her mother about how dangerous that looked; she brought back from her memory the fact neither one of them wanted to claim the chair under it at the doctor's office and then her mind went blank and the memory was gone. She allowed her eyes to dart around the room, taking in her surroundings as the nurse finished with her task of fitting the socks on her feet for her.

The nurse grinned. "That must be a pretty stupid question, huh? I bet you're just about starving."

Kaileigh just nodded an empty reply. Why couldn't she speak up?

The woman slid a hand under her head and pillow, fluffed it up and brought a small plastic pink cup close to her lips, bending the straw to fit in between her parched lips.

The cool liquid found its way down her throat and loosened her vocal chords somewhat-enough to ask where she was, anyway.

"You are on the third floor of the intensive care unit, and my name is Maria. Your bag is over in the closet, so if you want to look in it for anything, just let me know and I'll bring it over to you. But for now, the doctors would prefer that you don't try walking around without someone by your side. At least not until they've run a couple more tests on you," the woman informed her, and then added more discreetly, "that includes going to the bathroom, I'm afraid. But I promise not to look," she grinned.

Kaileigh sensed that the woman was nice, but she was deliberately avoiding the one question that Kaileigh wanted answered: what had happened and why was she here? Bringing a hand to her forehead, she realized that there was also a second question: _where were her parents_?

*

Dr. Jamison wheeled a stool over to Kaileigh's bed and spun around to lay her clipboard on the narrow brown table that every hospital in the nation uses to feed their patients on. The doctor wanted to smile, Kaileigh could see that. But she could also sense that had she smiled, her patient would have sensed the phony air. Kaileigh preferred the authentic and true look the doctor gave her. It was obvious this would be a stressful conversation.

"There's something you don't want to tell me, but I need to know what's going on. Can my parents come in to see me now? Are they getting coffee or something?" Kaileigh's voice was beginning to ring with a tinge of panic as she could feel herself growing more and more impatient.

Taking in a deep breath of air, the doctor placed a hand over the girl's hand. Glancing toward the nurse, Dr. Jamison alerted Maria to stand by the other side of the bed.

"Kaileigh, what is the last thing you remember before waking up here?"

Shaking her head, the teenager scrunched up her eyebrows and shook her head a bit. "Camping. We were camping, and we were on our way back home." As if someone had whispered a hint in her ear, the girl's eyes sprung open wide, her mouth opened, and she immediately asked if her parents were alright.

"I need to see them now!"

Well-rehearsed in the moments and days that were to come, Doctor Jamison allowed her young patient to panic momentarily as she read her body language and attempted to analyze how she might take the news.

The girl continued looking toward the hospital room door, as if she were expecting her parents to come dashing in to comfort her. Each second that did not happen caused Kaileigh's blood pressure to raise another point until she began screaming out for them.

Visibly shaken, the room nurse had to turn her back and pretend to organize something around the sink in the corner of the room; breaking news of this kind was never pleasant, especially when the recipient was someone so young.

Placing her clipboard off to the side, Dr. Jamison made eye contact with the girl to calm her down even a little as she struggled to keep her own set of emotions under control. The task of informing patients of their family loss was never easy; even after a couple of decades in practice, a doctor was, after all, still human in heart.

"I want you to know that my staff and I are at your disposal, Kaileigh, and we will try to help you in any way we can. But I do have to inform you that the accident you and your parents were in was terrible and you may have a lot of pain for a few weeks. We've already seen several bruises across your-"

"I don't care about bruises!! Where are my parents?"

Her training dictated that she keep constant eye contact with the patient who was about to be informed of the worst news a person could ever hear. And in a university class room, on paper during an exam, that works out just fine. However, when the realities of life place a doctor in that position, the rules seem to go out the window and each situation calls for a new set of protocol.

When eye contact had connected again, doctor and patient both knew where this conversation was heading. Kaileigh's bottom lip began to quiver and tears didn't even have time to well up before they began falling. Hands instinctively clutched the sterile bedding, pulling it around her face as she sobbed.

Without removing the blankets, the teenager asked, "Both of them?"

"Yes," was all Dr. Jamison replied, allowing a moment to take in a breath so her voice would not mirror her own sorrow. "I know you will have many questions as the hours and days pass by, and as I said, my staff and I will see you through this every step of the way, Kaileigh. Would you like me to call someone in your family to come and sit with you?"

Shaking her head no, she still had not removed the bedding from her face.

"There isn't anyone else. It was just the three of us."

*

The sky boasted a perfect shade of blue. So was Kaileigh's mood.

Eyes burning and throat tight, the newly orphaned teenage girl laid in her hospital bed, staring out the window at nothing at all and with no purpose in life.

Being attended to with pain and anxiety medication, having strange people parade in and out of her room every twenty minutes, her only interest was in being left alone.

Staring out the window seemed to both comfort and worsen her mood; the sunshine felt comforting on her face and yet it was the sunshine that she last shared with her parents.

Would she ever enjoy being outdoors again?

Kaileigh's brain felt numb; she meant no disrespect-but her mind and body were not hers to control today. She could hear the buzz of people speaking and packages of supplies being opened, smelled ointments and rubbing alcohol swabs, but reacted to none of it.

She felt like her life had somehow been placed on auto pilot, every bit of control stripped from her possession.

She couldn't have cared any less, though.

She had no life.

Chapter 5

Too heavy on the perfume. That was the only thought Kaileigh could process at the moment. A heavy-set woman in a plum-colored polyester pantsuit clicked her pen and scribbled something or another on the legal pad, apparently having done this many times before in her career.

"If your parents were smart enough to have all the proper insurances in order, that'll be all good and well enough for you, but they didn't have enough foresight about them to assign a caretaker for you in case they found their demise before your legal age, so now the department of social services has to step in and do that for them," she seemed to say the words almost as if she had been personally inconvenienced or something.

"Do your parents have any insurance that you know of? Home owners or life insurance?"  
"I don't know. I guess so. They have car insurance," Kaileigh offered.

"Of course they did, we all do. It's the law. Do they have filing cabinets or safety deposit boxes at the bank that you know of?"

The teenager sat open-mouthed and in thought for just a moment, trying to analyze whether she was taking the woman the right way, or if she was actually the most uncaring human ever placed on earth.

Maria, aware of this woman's snotty attitude, attempted to break the monotony up by tossing in a random question.

"Kaileigh, could we please take a break for a second or two?"

Then looking at the social worker, the floor nurse focused her glare on her clipboard. "I'd like to check my patient's vitals if you don't mind waiting in the hall for just a couple of minutes."

"Actually, I do mind. I have three other stops to make before my shift ends and I only have two more questions," she asserted as if she had the right to dictate the girl's medical attention.

The plump woman finished her paperwork, clicked the ball point pen in her chubby fingers, and paused to check her polished and obviously fake nails before pulling her short legs out from under the chair, freeing her backside from being pinned into the seat.

"By this time tomorrow, we should have someone assigned to your case. I will notify the nurse's station with your case worker's name and they can take it from there," she stated rather robotically and with zero affection or human feeling. "I'll leave you and your doctor with my card in case you've got any more questions."

_So that's how it happens_ , she told herself. _One minute I'm a person and the next I'm a case number._

None of this made any sense to her; this is what always happens to the other person, on the big screen, in books.

As if she were watching a nightmare being played out before her, the teenager looked up just in time to see the social worker's plump behind exiting the doorway.

The nurse grunted as soon as she'd left them alone. "Excuse me if this sounds rude, but I don't remember the last time I had to deal with someone who was that uncaring. Kaileigh, let me assure you that was not the right way to have said any of that. I am truly sorry the department sent her over, I'm actually going to make a complaint about her. That woman should either get out of this line of work or be placed in a rear office where all she does is push a pencil. That was just wrong," she assured.

"I don't want anyone getting in trouble."

"Your name won't even come up. This one is all on me."

The blank look on the girl's face indicated the truth: she still had no clue what was going to happen to her in the days and months to come.

"Can I sit down for a while and talk with you? I know it's not like what I have to say is the final word, but my cousin went through the system and she used to talk to me about it a lot. I won't say I know what you're going through, Kaileigh, because I don't. But maybe I can help," Maria smiled with a genuine, trustworthy warmth.

She needed someone to trust right now.

"I'm really scared," the girl confided.

"Of course you are!"

"That lady said I'll get a social worker and will have to go live in foster care. Why? My parents weren't renting our home, we own it. And according to what I hear in the movies, they say, life insurance pays off the bank if there is any balance; Mom and Dad's will had it set up so I would inherit everything. I can take care of myself, I'm not stupid."

"You're not stupid, not at all, anyone can see that just talking to you for three minutes. But what you are–is underage. You're only sixteen and a half so you have a year and a half to go before you can legally be cut free."

"Are they gonna take my house away?"

"Don't see how that can happen. It's been willed to you and probably goes into a trust fund along with the cash you'll have waiting when you turn eighteen."

She nodded. _How could this be happening_?

"So now what? I sleep here tonight, and then what happens tomorrow?"

"From what Mrs. Cranky Pants said," she grimaced, "the state will assign someone to help you get through all of this. You will probably be assigned with a female caseworker since you'll be alone with her for car rides and things like that."

Kaileigh nodded. "How many foster homes do you think I'll have to live in? Since tomorrow I go to a temporary house? That sounds weird, you know? Homes aren't supposed to be temporary."

Blowing out a breath, the nurse acknowledged that thought by nodding. "I know, I know. My cousin stayed in her first home for a couple of months if I remember right. That gives the state enough time to scan the system and locate a home that's close to where your own home is so ideally, you won't even have to change schools. You've had enough change to last a lifetime."

"School? I've always been home schooled. I know what to do for all my lessons; I used to go with my mom when we picked out the books and everything; can't I just continue home schooling?

Maria shook her head; "Afraid not, I don't think that's how it works. I'm pretty sure a parent, guardian, or a relative has to be the one who does the actual teaching–or at least overseeing the process. Can you imagine what a mess that would be if a bunch of kids just stopped going to school and nobody was responsible for making sure they were actually doing work?

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm just so scared! And I want to go home. When do you think someone will take me back up so I can get some of my stuff?"

"Soon. I'm sure everyone realizes that's where your clothes and belongings are. I wish none of this was happening to you. You're a good kid."

The pair sat in that sterile white room for several minutes, neither requiring conversation.

*

"Where's Gladys? I need to find her room!"

"Sir, I need to explain things to you before I take you in there-"

As the older man's voice intensified in panic, Kaileigh realized he certainly had become louder than three minutes before-forcing the girl to roll over in her hospital bed, her eyes glanced at the clock hanging next to the wall-mounted television. 2 am. One of the on-call doctors had been trying to explain several things for an older gentleman, apparently hard of hearing and obviously not educated very well. Kaileigh understood that the man's wife had been brought in because of chest pains, but he couldn't understand what the doctor was saying. Kaileigh wondered why the doctor didn't take the man down to the lobby and explain things in there, where the free coffee was located.

She promised herself that if the doctor didn't show the man where the coffee was in another minute and a half, she would make a java run herself.

When the man finally asked to see his wife for the seventeenth time, the doctor just sighed and gave in. Kaileigh rolled over in her bed, her gaze fixed on the street lights piercing her eyeballs from the parking lot.

Forehead scrunched up, she whispered sarcastically to herself, " _Oh, that's better_ ," thinking about how peaceful her bedroom at home would be right about now.

I want to be back up on top of my mountain, came the thought each time an ambulance siren screamed or when the voices over the hospital PA system drown out the beating of her own heart.

If only she could turn the hands of time back and persuade her parents to take in one more hour of vacation. Or take a different route home. Far too many scenarios played over and over in her mind, none of them able to erase the reality of her nightmare. This wasn't supposed to happen-not to her or her parents. And yet here she was.

Carts rattled up and down the hospital corridor. Feet covered with disposable blue slippers padded back and forth, the medical staff's version of muffling the sound of people walking around. An occasional laugh from one of the graveyard shift nurses reminded her that there might still be some joy left out there somewhere, but Kaileigh knew she wouldn't be finding her share of anything joyful tonight or even any time this week, for that matter.

Her mind traced the images of her parents that week: her dad whipping out that banjo of his and singing goofy renditions of his favorite classic country songs. Her mom hiking up the side of that hill to grab those weird stones for her rock garden back in their yard.

That was the night they sat around playing Monopoly. She let Mom cheat when Dad didn't see her on his Boardwalk property. Even though he had three houses on it.

*

Sunlight poked at Kaileigh's eyes, but they had already been open for a while. With little sleep, the teenager cursed the mild headache coming on; the morning nurse found Kaileigh rubbing her temples and made a mental note to offer some pain reliever.

"Kaileigh, can I get you to eat some breakfast this morning? Waffles and turkey bacon?"

Without having to turn her head, she knew it was Maria.

"Ya know, I think I better take you up on that. Thanks, Maria," Kaileigh answered. The shuffling behind her back said the day nurse hadn't gone anywhere.

"The only thing I did all night was cry. Look out this window and cry."

"I'd be lying to you if I said it would be the last night you did that, but it will eventually get better. When my mom died, I kept it inside for the longest time. A year or two. And then it just hit me and almost brought me down. When you finally get settled, you need to let yourself really deal with this, Kaileigh. Even in small doses in the shower, every day for the next year of your life."

Maria sat down on the bed behind the girl, smoothing her hand over her back as she spoke. She realized this could be her own daughter laying there; someone had to step up to the plate and become this girl's confidant.

Tears made their way over the girl's cheeks as she listened to Maria, her shoulders heaving from the sorrow; Kaileigh could feel herself letting go, even though she wanted to keep it inside a little longer.

"I have a feeling this is going to be one of the longest days of my life, between finding out where I'm going to live and dealing with the purple lady again. And at some point today I've got to say goodbye to my mom and dad," she squeaked out under her knotted breath. "I just don't think I can do that, Maria."

"If you would feel safer having someone with you when you have to go through all of this, I'll make sure someone covers me on the floor and I'll be right here with you. An adult who has your best interests in mind should be here anyway, and the state still hasn't sent anyone over for you."

The visible look of relief on Kaileigh's face answered Maria's question without words. "You would do that for me?"

"Duh, of course I would! My own daughter graduated a couple of years ago, but I can't even imagine her having to live through a situation like this. I would like to think someone would give her guidance and just be a friend to see her through everything; it scares me to even think about it and now here you are–living that situation. So yeah, Kaileigh. I'll be there for you if that's what you want."

"I'm gonna be meeting so many new people-how will I know who to trust and who's just doing their job? I don't wanna go talking to someone and realize too late that they didn't even care. Not that I really even care to open up to anyone right now anyway," she mumbled.

"You'll know. Don't assume someone has your best interests at heart and be careful. Just like you probably do when you meet anyone new," Maria advised.

Sitting up in her bed, the teenager nodded her head, stood up, placed both hands on the wall-mount air cooler under the window, and leaned forward until she could see her own reflection in the glass.

It was a knock at the hospital room door that paused their conversation.

Dr. Jamison entered, clipboard in hand just as she had the day before. "Miss Ross, did you sleep last night or did my staff keep you awake all night with their hijinks and midnight donut runs?"

If she was trying to make her smile, it wasn't working.

First of all, Kaileigh didn't feel like playing games or being involved in anyone else's hijinks-whatever that meant- and as for stuffing herself with donuts the night before making funeral arrangements for both of her parents? The newly-orphaned girl didn't find the remark very comical.

Kaileigh stared straight ahead and didn't want to even look at the doctor; she might be a great physician, but the woman lacked a personality.

"Look. My entire life has just been uprooted and I don't even know where I'll be sleeping tonight. Everything I own is now the topic of discussion with people I have never even met, and the next time I see my parents they will be in boxes. And you march in here cracking jokes and want to know if I've been cramming donuts down my throat all night? No. I have not. And now I will probably never want to eat another one for the rest of my life, thanks to your little joke," she almost snarled when she finally turned to look her in the face.

Maria moved to the girl's side and shook her head at the doctor, as if to say that she should just allow the girl to blow off all the steam she needed to; defending herself wouldn't help this situation and the girl had no experience in dealing with situations like this.

Therapy in dealing with her loss would come in the near future, but for now, raising her voice and lashing out was all the therapy Kaileigh had at her disposal.

Pursing her lips together, the doctor smacked them audibly.

"Okay. I deserved that one. I'll be honest with you: I have never dealt with a situation like this before. Trying to be funny was a bad attempt in trying to break the ice and I apologize. May I please try this again, Miss Ross?"

Feeling a bit ashamed of herself for being so rude, Kaileigh unfolded her arms and let them fall to her sides, but she wasn't ready to say anything yet. Her guard had been put on alert and she intended for it to remain intact for a while to come, but when she turned her face toward Maria, the girl allowed herself to take a seat on the edge of the bed. Her gaze planted on the cold white floor tile, Kaileigh indicated that she would listen to what the doctor had to say.

"You must have a lot of questions about what's going to happen next-and to be honest, I don't have all the answers. But I'm willing to answer what I can and find someone to take the ones I don't know. Deal?"

What else could Dr. Jamison say to convince the broken teenager that she wasn't some clod without one ounce of emotion?

With the air growing thicker by the second, it was Maria who broke the silence by suggesting that she grab some cold sodas.

"I'll be right back with some ice and cups if I can track down that cart lady. I swear she installed turbo chargers on that thing," she teased. "Never can find her when I'm thirsty," she told them on the way out the door.

Dr. Jamison glanced around the room for a stool to sit on, making sure she kept herself at an acceptable distance from her young patient, demonstrating a measure of apology. In all the years medical practice, she had never encountered a young patient with the set of problems Kaileigh faced. She found herself second-guessing her own training and wondering how she could call attention to this important part of being a physician.

"Is it okay if I sit for a while? I don't want to make you any more uncomfortable than I already have, and it's really alright if you kick me out of here," she grinned over the reading glasses resting at the tip of her nose.

Allowing herself to glance over at the grinning doctor, Kaileigh shrugged her shoulders, not ready to give in-or give up what little control she felt she had at the moment.

"I guess."

"I realize this is all coming at you very quickly, and although I hate to get to the matters at hand, the truth is-you don't have an awful lot of time to think things through. Have you spoken to anyone about your parents remains?" Catching herself, the doctor backtracked immediately by holding up one hand and closing her eyes. Why did I say that, he seemed to be scolding himself?

The girl might have been only sixteen, but she spoke in more mature tones as she told Dr. Jamison it was really ok.

"I'm sorry, too. I know you're just doing your job. I do have a lot of questions, actually. Like where am I going to be living and how do I do everything–I don't even know what has to be done, let alone how to do it. Saying that I'm scared right now would be an understatement."

"Can't say I blame you for that; but from what is being relayed to me from the department of social services, you will be appointed a social worker through the state who will walk you through what has to be done. The...final plans for your parents, all the legal stuff and paperwork. I believe someone is supposed to be here before noon to get the ball rolling for you. Have you found a few minutes to organize your thoughts yet?"

She had not. The Accident had only happened a couple of days before, and the first day of admittance into the hospital, her time had been spent in and out of consciousness.

Once Maria poured the cold sodas into the trademark flimsy plastic pink cups and handed them out, she made certain the door to Kaileigh's room had been shut so they could speak without others walking by and hearing their conversation.

"Just overheard a phone call at the desk. Someone by the name of Kate something will be here at 11:30 for you. Thought you'd like a heads-up," Maria offered as she grabbed the chair in the corner to join the powwow.

Running a hand through her dark hair, Kaileigh nodded. "So I guess this is where it all starts, huh? Three days ago I was having the time of my life. Today, it pretty much feels like the end of my life."

*

The young social worker opened her burgundy-colored briefcase in faux-crocodile, pulled out a stack of papers clipped together and two pens, then pulled her PDA out and punched a few buttons on it before setting it down on the narrow hospital table.

"Before we get started, I want you to have one of my cards. My email address is down at the bottom and that's my number at the office, feel free to contact me at either one whenever you've got questions as we go along with everything. No question is dumb; I want you to know that. Sometimes even I don't ask things because I'm afraid of looking naive, so don't follow my example and educate yourself when you're unsure about something," she smiled and continued quickly, "In the next few days, I'm going to get a crash course in Kaileigh 101; if you feel like I'm being invasive just say so and I'll back up. But before we get started, I feel it's only fair that you get a shot at me. So do you have any questions about me that you'd like to know?"

The invitation to quiz her social worker completely threw the teen off guard.

"Are you kidding?"

Kate laughed and wiggled both hands if front of herself. "No, not at all! I'm an open book, what do ya want to know?"

"Well," Kaileigh thought. "Let's start with the easy stuff first. Where did you grow up, do you have brothers and sisters, and how long have you been doing this work?"

"I grew up in Saskatchewan with my aunt and uncle and several of my cousins, I do have two brothers and one sister that I have never met, and I have been an active social worker for three years now. I say active, because I don't really count the seven boring months I sat at a desk as a pencil pusher as being actually active."

"Huh," Kaileigh grunted with her chin scrunched up. "You're an interesting deck of cards, aren't you? What if I want to ask stuff about you later on? Is this my only free shot?"

"Feel free to ask whenever they come to you."

"Fair enough. Well, I know we can't just rattle on forever like nothing's wrong...what are you supposed to help me do? Cause I have no idea what's going on or what anyone expects of me," she glanced over at Maria and added, "Like I've already said, I'm really scared."

"I know you are. You should be-this is nothing a person ever prepares for. It's not fair and unfortunately, some people will expect you to just know what to do or what to expect next, and that's where I come in. I'm here to bridge the gap between what you need to know with what you already have down. Is there anything in particular you want to know first?"

Voice cracking and tears rolling from her eyes, Kaileigh asked what would become of her parents.

"I'll be helping you the whole way. Everything's going to hit you all at once, I'm not going to lie to you. I'll be checking you out of here today and introduce you to your foster home–which you will not stay in for any longer than two weeks while my supervisor finds you a more stable setting, and we will also be visiting with a funeral home this afternoon. Am I throwing this at you too quickly?"

"Yes. But I need to know what's coming. How am I supposed to pay for... everything?"

Kate explained that the state has funding to assist with a partial payment, but the question still remains as to whether or not her parents had burial or life insurance. "There will be a rather large portion that will remain unpaid once the state chips in, but I have already spoken with Manzola's Funeral Home and explained the situation to the owner. He and his wife want to donate the rest of the payment for you so you don't need to worry about that expense at all. It won't even come up in conversation."

Picking at the hem on her t shirt, the girl could only nod her head a brush away tears that flowed faster than she could keep them cleared from her cheeks.

"Thank you. Do you know where I'll be tonight?"

"Yes. You're going to stay with the Harmans. They currently have three other kids, so you'll have to share a room with another girl. But like I said, it won't be for more than two weeks."

"What about all my stuff? When can I go home again?"

"If you'd like to go tomorrow morning, we can certainly do that. There is the issue of school; which grade are you in this year?"

"We do year-round school at my house, you know–home school. I still read and do stuff even in the summertime because I want to graduate early; Mom keeps track of everything for me," she mumbled through more tears. "Are they going to make me start public school now?"

Nodding her head yes, Kate explained that the state has its own set of rules, and students must be trained either by someone related to them, a legal guargian or enroll in the public school system.

"I realize you are recognized as legally able to simply quit school since you are sixteen, but I hope you choose not to do that."

"No way. My parents didn't raise a quitter; I wouldn't wipe out their memory by doing that. I would want them to be proud of me."

The woman unclipped the stack of papers and clicked her pen. "Well, then, we have to begin somewhere. The sooner we get started, the sooner I get to spring you outta here," she reminded the girl.

*

With a final swipe of the pen across the release forms, the teenager was a free bird.

"I'm going to miss you, Kaileigh," Maria frowned as she reached into a pocket on her scrubs shirt. "This is my card with my cell number and email on the back. You need anything, you get ahold of me. And I better hear from you anyhow, you hear me?"

Tears temporarily blinded the girl's vision but she reached out to hug her new friend anyway.

"Thanks for everything you've done and for being so nice to me. I won't ever forget it, I promise," she wept, soaking a spot in Maria's hair with tears.

The nurse broke the hug to look straight into the social worker's eyes. "You will take good care of this girl." It was a statement, not a question.

"I will. We've got a special one here," she assured Maria with a tug of her thumb in Kaileigh's direction.

Disguising her sad face, Maria gave a quick look out the girl's room for the hospital volunteer with the wheelchair. When she saw the boy, she held her hand up and waved him toward the room.

"Oh, come on," Kaileigh whined, mostly embarrassed because the volunteer was a teenage boy. And far from ugly.

Kate eyeballed her young client; she knew why Kaileigh was whining and had to agree with her.

Sensing her apprehension, the boy wiggled his chair. "I'll pop a wheelie in the elevator," he teased.

"Aw, geeze," she whined, lowering herself into the wheelie-seat. "Really not necessary, guys," she reiterated just in case anyone missed it the first time around.

The volunteer spun her around and for the first time in several days, Kaileigh felt a normal teenager surge of excitement.

Once he'd backed her into the elevator, she glanced down the hall, where Maria stood, waving and holding her hand to her ear in the universal Call Me gesture.

Nodding her head as the cold metal doors began to meet in the middle, Kaileigh waved goodbye to the woman who had been so good to her and shown so much kindness for the past three days of her life.

*

Once the volunteer had wheeled the chair away from Kaileigh and made sure she had all her belongings with her, the boy couldn't help but ask, "So what did ya think of that elevator wheelie?"

"I can honestly say it was the first one I have ever experienced," she laughed. "Thanks."

Once he was out of earshot, the teenager turned to Kate. "I totally thought he was joking when we were still in the room!"

"Apparently Maria knew he'd actually do it, judging from the way she rolled her eyes," Kate observed with an elbow to the girl's ribs.

The blacktop under their feet crunched in spots where they stepped on leaves here and there; Kaileigh noticed a large cowboy-looking man sitting on the tailgate of his truck while he talked on his cell phone. She tried not to listen in as they walked by, but his accent was difficult to ignore. He might have looked like a cowboy, but his accent pointed to his ranch being somewhere in Germany.

Half-way across the parking lot, Kate pointed her finger toward a white SUV.

"It's the fifth one down, that white one," she told Kaileigh.

Lifting her keys, she unlocked the doors.

Beep, beep.

Keys in the ignition, Kate stalled for a few moments before letting Kaileigh know that their first stop would be Manzola's Funeral Home

"I feel bad about having to do this to you, but it has to be done. They're sort of like family. My grandparents and theirs were close friends; so our families grew up together. They're good people, and when I explained your situation to them, they were eager to help you out. I know I should have asked you first, but, well, all of this has just been moving so quickly, you know? I apologize if I stepped out of line. Are you mad at me?"

With a puzzled expression across her face, the teenager shook her head.

"No, why would I be mad? I am so scared right now-I have no idea what's going on or what I'm supposed to do, so if someone wants to help me out here, I'm fine with that. I've never done–this-before, but I know it can be expensive. Thank you," she strained out before the tears escaped once again. "So what did they say to you? I mean, is there anything I should know before we get there?'

Kate thought for a minute.

"Well, as far as the business side of things go, you won't ever see a bill for any of this. They're going to cover it all. So on the personal side, you might keep in mind that they are very generous people and keep your manners intact. Please and thank you go a long way with these people, especially when it comes from your heart."

"That won't be a problem; I haven't even met them yet and already I feel attached to them."

"Uhm, they're going to show you some different...options... that are available to you. It might be a nice gesture on your part not to choose the most expensive of them, even though they will be shown to you."

Kaileigh nodded her understanding.

"I wasn't raised with that proverbial golden spoon, ya know what I mean? My parents taught me the value of a dollar, so I understand what your friends are doing for me," she assured Kate.

*

Mr. Manzola and his miniature beehive hairdo-wearing wife sat across the desk from Kate and Kaileigh; the tears clouded the pamphlets and booklets the couple were trying to share with the girl, but she did not want to hear about anything dealing with the subject of death.

Kaileigh made a conscious effort to give an occasional nod during their conversation or offer the flip of a booklet to indicate she was trying to pay attention. Glancing up a few times to make eye contact, she hoped it would impress her appreciation for their genrosity.

Pen in hand, Mr. Manzola marked a box on this form, scribbled something on another one. "How many death certificates would you like me to order for you, Miss Ross?"

"Sorry to have to ask you this, Miss Ross, but would you please just double check to make sure everything is correct on both of the death certificates?

"Would you like one copy of each death certificate to be embossed and laminated, Miss Ross?"

"Miss Ross, would you please sign here for release of the death certificates?"

The phrase, _death certificate_ , being repeated time after time had the teenager in a near-state of hysteria and Kate had to excuse the two of them to the ladies room for a few moments.

The two females disappeared down a hallway lined in tall glass vases stuffed with pure white calla lilies and baby's breath, one vase after the other in the same arrangement.

"I can't do this! I'm going to throw up. Or pass out. I can't do this," she whispered once the restoom door closed behind them..

"The worst part is almost over, Honey. You can do this. You can. There are just a few papers left to sign and then we can go. I can even grab us some take out or a pizza and we can go sit in the park once this is all over and done with, if that's what you want to do."

The teenager's stomach turned again, barely enough time to empty what little breakfast she had managed to get down into the toilet.

"Kate, I just want to go home," she moaned.

*

The social worker turned onto Third Street and made her way down a few blocks of middle-class looking ranch style homes before pulling over to the curb.

"See that house in the middle? The gray brick with the flower garden?"

"Yeah. They know I'm coming, right? This won't be a surprise or anything?"

"I was here early this morning, got a tour of the place. They're expecting you. Your bedroom has pink curtains," she mentioned off the cuff.

"Gross. I'm glad this is just a two-week skit in that case."

Kate chuckled. "Ready?"

"Nope."

Silence took hold of the vehicle and gripped the passengers for a full minute before Kaileigh let a drop of water ripple the conversational bucket.

"I really don't want to talk about my parents. And I don't feel like I need to discuss what we talked about at Manzola's with these people, either. Not like I'm going to start making demands or anything, but I would like to make this clear from the get-go: I'm not discussing any of it with anyone but you. And Maria," she added with a look in her eye that proved she was serious.

"It won't be a problem. I will absolutely advise the Harmans about that and if they even mention it I want you to tell me right away. You do have the right to be private about this. That's why we left my phone number with the Manzolas as a contact for the arrangements and not the Harman's number, remember?"

"Okay. So what is this going to be like? Hi, where's the room–cause it isn't my room–oh, and by the way, leave me alone?"

Kate grinned. She understood the sentiment well enough; nobody wants to feel like a burden or an intrusion into a stranger's home.

"Well, not quite," she grinned. "We ring the bell, introduce you since they have already met with me, and since they've been at this for several years, they probably have some routine they go through, whether it's to show you right off where the room is or to go over rules of the house, or whatever."

"Oh, come on. Rules of the house? I'm not some unruly drug-taking kid who ran away from home and got busted in a crack house!"

"No, and they may realize that and not give you the third degree. Only one way to find out, right?"

Kaileigh slunk down deeper into the front seat, the scowl on her face demonstrating how she was feeling about this entire thing.

"I know this stinks, Kaileigh. It's not fair and you shouldn't have to be living through this. But you are. Bottom line, you are living this horrible nightmare. If you let me, I'll help you through it."

Nodding, the teenage girl wiped at fresh tears. "Have I mentioned that I'm scared?"

*

Introductions accomplished and the ice having been broken, Mrs. Bea Harman motioned for her guests to have a seat on the faded gold plaid couch.

"We've been told that you won't be staying with us for very long, but feel free to make yourself at home for the time that you are here," she invited with a slow southern drawl. "We enjoy having the company that you young ones bring us."

Sal, her balding husband without a drawl, offered a grin; he was missing two teeth. Somehow it didn't seem out of place, seeing as how he was sporting a nice dingy yellow stain on his polo shirt. What was that? Mustard from last year's bar-b-que? she had to wonder.

Bea chattered on about some dry erase board she had Sal hang up in the kitchen, boasting that it had "a full two months' worth of communication" on there.

"Impressive," Kaileigh announced, although she really was not. No matter, her comment apparently pleased the misguided Bea, since she then went into a grand education concerning the proper way any respectable woman stocks her pantry.

Kaileigh's smile came from the fact that she was thinking such talk wasn't first-date material and should have been saved back for at least day three. It was difficult to keep the giggles inside, so when Bea finally cracked what she thought to be a funny thought, Kaileigh was all too eager to let that giggle out.

After a thirty-minute Intro To Harman Life, the couple dismissed themselves to the kitchen to refill the saccharin-laced iced tea pitcher.

Kate leaned over and whispered, "So? What do ya think?"

"I got this," came her reply. "She's sort of like Carol Brady meets Ma Kettle."

The social worker had to stifle a snort while she laughed at that image. "Oh, my gosh! Okay, I'm going to be laughing all day now!"

"You can go ahead and leave whenever you want. Maybe I can get her to show me the room I'm going to stay in, and you can say something to old Sal there about that request of mine?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem. So you're good to go?"

"Now or never, right? Deep breaths, one foot in front of the other," Kaileigh mumbled.

"Don't break a mirror, watch the cracks in the sidewalk," the girl was cut short as Bea entered the room with a metal tray from the mid-60s. It was covered with cookies.

The woman has no idea what she is even talking about, Kaileigh thought.

"I'd like to take a couple of those cookies with me, but I need to get moving and head back to the office," Kate announced as she stood up from the couch. "Bea, if you would escort Kaileigh to her room, I'll just go over a few last-minute things with Sal and be on my way. Kaileigh has my card and I've already told her she may certainly call me if she needs anything, as I also mentioned to you this morning," she added.

With the invitation to give her a see-ya-later hug, Kate reminded Kaileigh, "Be here around 9:30 in the morning."

"I can't wait to get some clean clothes," she hugged back; three minutes later, the girl watched the state appointed vehicle slide down the street and pass the house she would call home for the next fourteen days.

Another tear fell unannounced as the teenage girl felt the full reality of her situation yet once again.

Chapter 6

"Don't put it there," the short girl snapped as her hands reached up to the cords on her red hoodie before they rested back on her hips. The scowl on the girl's face caused Kaileigh concern only because the dirty looks weren't necessary. A simple _Could You Find Another Place For Tha_ t would have sufficed.

Kaileigh pointed to the closet.

"Nope."

She gestured to the floor at the end of her bed.

"Pile all your crap on your bed or sell it on eBay, I don't care, but I don't want it in the closet and it's definitely not going to trip me by being on the floor."

"Duly noted," Kaileigh let the bully know, staring her straight in her eyes.

"And even if you thought about tattling to Miss Bea, it wouldn't do you any good; that broad is so strung out on vicodin she wouldn't do anything but offer you another homemade cupcake. And Sal? He's a lazy old fart and needs the state's money. He isn't doing anything to rock his money train. Right now, I'm their Golden Child. I've been here for seven months and all I need is two more til I'm out on my own. I've got it made and you're not screwing it up, "she laid the law out to Kaileigh.

Tossing her bleach-blonde locks and shoving the bedroom door open with her shoulder; the girl gave Kaileigh one last nasty look on the way out.

Sitting on her twin bed with the green polka-dotted comforter, her eyes were drawn to the pink curtains Kate warned her about.

Life was grand.

*

Over their flapjack breakfast, Kaileigh endured the Harmans' doting comments over the Golden Child and kept a steady eye on the clock hanging on the wall.

"How many kids have you brought into your home over the years?" Kaileigh tossed into conversation, although she couldn't have cared less what the answer was. Anything to change the record and talk about something else. Jungle rot, fish eyes, anything would have been a better conversation topic as far as she was concerned.

Eager to escape the table, Kaileigh offered to wash the dishes so Bea and Sal could find a rerun of their favorite game show on TV. Because gosh knows how important it is to begin the day with the Pyramid.

Running a hot stream of dish water, the girl drizzled a bit of thin green dish soap under the water and watched the bubbles pile up. With the hand-crocheted dish rag, she scrubbed each plate and fork as slowly as she could just to eat up a few extra minutes and then ran the rag over the stove top, counters and table in an effort to plow through a few more. Almost desperate enough to grab the broom, her eyes fell on the microwave clock. Nine twenty-seven.

"Yes," she said audibly, chugging out of the kitchen and into her borrowed room, where she grabbed her bag off the end of the bed. "Kate should be here in just a seond," she let the Harmans know. "I'll just wait on the porch for her."

"Okay, let us know when you leave," Sal requested.

Barely out the door, the prisoner turned her head and reported, "Here she is!"

_Click_. She was officially out of the house.

"So how's the roomie?" Kate inquired.

Without missing a beat, Kaileigh asked if she had ever seen Bride of Chucky.

"Sorry. Just make the best of it, you'll be gone soon. My supervisor is looking into a home on the other side of town that she feels might be better suited for you. I didn't get any of the details, but apparently, this lady home schools, too. And according to all the state mandated laws, it would allow you to stay in your home schooling arrangement since the mother would be your guardian. Sound likes something you'd like me to check out for you?"

"How soon can ya get over there?"

Chapter 7

Flowers graced the entry into the funeral home, and the thought popped in Kaileigh's head for the second time in a week that there were too many of them. Pretty flowers can't remove one ounce of pain in a person's heart, but the kindness the Manzola family had shown her outweighed their sense of décor.

Mrs. Manzola seated herself behind the giant desk and motioned for Kaileigh to take a seat, sliding a large manila envelope in her direction.

The glass felt cold to her touch as Kaileigh's fingers slid over the glass-reminding her about the contents inside the envelope.

She knew. She didn't want to look.

"I understand your week has been very difficult, Kaileigh, and if there is anything at all we can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask. I also understand how difficult this will be for you, but I do need to ask that you open the envelope and make sure the documents are correct."

Appreciative of how Mrs. Manzola chose her words, the envelope pressed against her fingers, allowing Kaileigh to drag out proof positive that she was now legally a sixteen-year-old orphan.

As the breath caught in her throat, she found that the tears were too heavy to hold back.

*

Tracing the edge of each urn, fingers running up and over the lids and sides, she found herself numb to the fact that she held what was left of her parents in her lap.

Kate drove towards the mountains without the radio on, allowing the girl in the seat next to her some time to gather a few thoughts together before she turned the key to an empty home, affording the space she needed without barraging her with a bunch of nonsensical words she wouldn't have heard anyway.

Things like this don't happen to you. It happens to the guy on the news or that family in the movies, in the newspaper. But it doesn't happen to you. And especially not to a teenage girl who loved her parents as much as Kaileigh did.

*

Kate waited until she could drive no farther into the mountains without instructions before deciding to interrupt her passenger's disappearance into her own thoughts; how did these people memorize all these winding roads with no signs?

"I need to stop at the next turn-off, Kaileigh. Any advice on a good spot?"

Recognizing the urgent look on Kate's face, she realized that it had been a long drive already and they'd stopped for drinks before heading up the hill.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Go up about half a mile and off to the right; theres an old road with a turnaround area. Hunters go in there sometimes to do whatever they do, and there is a pretty good potty spot back in there," she grinned. "If you don't mind squirrels watching you."

The Colorado skies floated a few fluffy clouds overhead, Kaileigh noticed through the sunroof. It was a typical day like this one that she and her dad would have been stacking firewood in the wood ring to ready the house for the next storm.

Remembering the first time her dad let her drive the family car on this stretch of road, her mind brought back his smile, the color of his eyes. The way he would rearrange words to every song on the radio just to make her laugh.

Why didn't I pay more attention to him when he showed me how to do stuff around the house? Why did I always think there would be time to catch it later on?

Thumbs pressed into her eye sockets, the girl sobbed internally until they pulled to the side of the road for their potty break. Allowing her shoulders to heave in Kate's absence, she remembered her parents that last morning on their camping trip. Her mom singing off key. Campfire spaghetti. Swimming in the lake. Monopoly and dad's cheesy eggs. Gone, gone forever and she couldn't tell them one last time how much she loved them, how she thought they were the best people on earth.

It wasn't fair!

Kate overheard the girl's sobs a few feet from the vehicle and paused for a moment. She deserved a few moments to grieve; this was the child's first time back home since the accident. In a way, she could identify with Dr. Jamison right about now. They just can't train a social worker for this. No time spent in a class room or training seminar equals on-the-job training.

*

Kaileigh topped the last step of the porch. "See that plank over there? The one that hasn't been stained yet?"

Kate looked. "Yeah."

"My mom and I were out here a few weeks ago-we were going to sweep off the deck, and apparently that one plank was weak. My mom fell right through it. She was holding a glass tumbler with ice water in it and I ran over to make sure she was okay, make sure the glass hadn't broken," she chuckled. "But it hadn't and she was alright. Scared us both to death but she was okay. Dad replaced the plank but we just hadn't gotten around to staining it."

The girl walked over to the center of the deck and with her eyes straight ahead, she took in the view of the entire Sangre De Cristo mountain range. "When there's a storm coming in, we always see it coming over the peaks. There's plenty of time to refill the firewood ring, long as you pay attention to those peaks right there. That was my chore. Or whatever you call it. Mom didn't really give me any chores to speak of. I just kind of helped do stuff, ya know?"

The woman didn't know. She came from a rather structured home of eight children.

"How am I supposed to turn that key and go inside, knowing full well they won't be in there?"

Turning her face towards the woman standing next to her in the Rocky Mountain air, all she could do was let herself share the pain; this load had already proven too heavy for one teenage girl to carry all by herself.

"It's just not fair."

Chapter 8

Kate followed the young girl into her saltbox style home; the first thing she noticed was the high ceilings and loft. Her mother had cleverly arranged the furniture in the living room to create two sitting areas, one of them being near the wood burning stove in the corner. She noticed a bit of ash on the bricks underneath the stove and saw the inside glass panel coated in a yellowish smoke film. Mr. Ross had placed a metal bucket with a small shovel off to the side of the stove; it was still half way filled.

She watched the girl disappear through a door and assumed it was her bedroom, so Kate took a seat on the sofa and allowed her eyes to wander around.

A large red tapestry hung on the wall above a tan loveseat opposite the wood burning stove and she noticed coming through the front door that their kitchen featured a small round table and three bamboo chairs with just enough room to accommodate someone who was cooking and a couple of others to grab drinks or things in cabinets. In other words, small yet perfect for the Ross family.

Cabinets under the TV undoubtedly housed several videos from their daughter's childhood and Kate smiled, wondering what she had been into as a little girl.

Drawers opened and shut in the other room, the toilet flushed.

Lifting her head, Kate was drawn to the plants hanging off the wrought iron doodads on the loft overhang.

Kaileigh popped her head out the door, "Help yourself to the fridge, I could go for a root beer if you don't mind," the girl smiled weakly.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, that sounds good. Your home is pretty, Kaileigh. I can understand why you love it so much," she told her, grateful the quiet zone had been broken through and there was some dialogue going again.

Kate opened the fridge. "Hey, I love this old wheel with your mom's pans!"

"Yeah? My dad actually made that for her. She really wanted one but they cost an arm and a leg, so Dad went to that kitchen supply place in the mall and checked one of theirs out so he could snag a pattern to copy. He came home and made one for less than seven bucks. My mom's always been proud of that thing."

Kate handed her the can of soda.

"Well, she was always proud of it, anyhow. At what point will I stop referring them in the present tense?"

The girl was asking legitimate question and Kate had no answer.

Chapter 9

Ten days after the newly orphaned teenager met the Harmans and their Golden Child, Kaileigh was more than happy to pack her duffle bags and tote them out to the SUV she was becoming so familiar with.

"You have no idea how glad I am to be out of that place," she beamed soon as her seat belt clicked. "I was unaware that one human being could be that mean-just downright mean for no good reason," she shook her whole body as if warding off the chills of the memory. "That girl will never marry, and if she does, I certainly hope she never reproduces!"

Kate chuckled.

"So this next family is what we like to call normal, right?"

Kate tilted her eyebrows. "Well, I hope so," she started slowly as the vehicle paused at the yield sign. "I'm the one who said the Harman's home would be a decent place, remember?"

Kaileigh held up her hand. "They were fine. I could have stayed with them for a few more months as long as I also had a pair of ear buds and plenty of music to play in the background. It was that insane girl that blew the deal. You didn't have any control over her."

The social worker nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well..."

"This new house will at least help me get my school work back into motion. I'm glad to have something else to concentrate on again, ya know? Do you think they'll let me jump back into it? I'm not used to taking summers off so I'm hoping they let me plow on through."

Kate grinned. This girl wasn't like the others that were for sure.

"Talk to these people about it; I bet they'll be more than happy to let you get back into it. Like you said, if nothing else, jumping back into school work might be viewed as your own personal therapy and road to healing after–everything. They've got to support at least that much, you know what I mean?

*

Ding, dong.

The doorbell played the first ten notes in its own rendition of Fur Elise, sending a wave of nervousness through the girl's spinal cord. What if this turned out to be a giant bust and the state had to locate another home-in Iceland?

Whispering, Kaileigh leaned over to the woman standing next to her. "This porch is amazing, isn't it? I wonder if they'll let me sit out her on the swing with my laptop. And look at that stained glass! Holy cow, that's gorgeous!"

"Just wait until you see the back yard. I was going to let you find out for yourself, but they have a swimming pool. I'm talking about a real pool, in the ground."

The girl's mouth dropped. "Seriously?"

Nodding, Kate informed her that when she saw the kitchen, she may even be inspired to learn how to cook.

She turned to Kate and did a little jig. "I hope nobody's in the bathroom, I have to pee!"

"You have your own private bathroom here," Kate let her know.

"I was almost to the point of being banned to do my business in the back yard at the Harman's house," she shivered. "I certainly will miss that girl. Not."

Almost caught giggling right there on the massive front porch, the doorknob began to turn.

When the heavy oak door swung open, and there stood a slender woman wearing a designer dress and heels. Her coral red lipstick encased a toothy smile that probably paid a good portion of some dentist's car, she thought.

A perfectly manicured hand reached out to grab Kaileigh's bag for her. As their hands met, Kaileigh felt the woman's hands, and they were soft; there was a maid involved in this picture, she was sure of it.

"Good morning, Kaileigh! I am so happy to have you here," the woman beamed. "Please come on inside and make yourself comfortable. I have some refreshments in the dining room, if you wouldn't mind going in there first," she guided them through the well-decorated home that could have been the subject of some episode of MTV's Teen Cribs.

The young girl's eyes couldn't decide what to look at first; fine China lined the China cupboard and glass doo-dads graced the shelves, although Kaileigh was quite certain this family did not refer to them as doo-dads.

Mrs. Dawson's dining room table had already been prepared with a tray of individual bites of cheesecake on those fancy toothpicks. Their coffee mugs were most likely designer.

"I wasn't sure if you'd rather have tea or coffee," she apologized, "so I made both. And if you'd rather have iced tea or juice," she told Kaileigh, "help yourself to the refrigerator."

"No! This is great," she replied, not trying to appear overly eager to destroy half of those cheesecake bites all by herself.

"I understand you are a home schooled student."

"Yes, ma'am. Since kindergarten. Actually," she paused, "I'm glad you brought it up, because I'm really hoping you'll allow me to continue with the schedule I've had until recently,"

"Part of the benefits of home schooling is having a flexible schedule; I'm sure it won't be a problem. What is your routine?"

Explaining that she had been on a course to early graduation and had chosen to year-round school, the concept intrigued Mrs. Dawson.

"I've heard of students doing that, but have yet to actually meet one. Until now," she smiled. "I don't see any reason at all why we shouldn't pick right back up where you left off. Whatever you will need, anything at all, you make a list and we'll go visit the home school supply store tomorrow."

Appreciation painted the teen's face as she poured half a cup of coffee before looking up. "Is it alright if I have coffee here? I didn't even think to ask before I poured it."

She laughed in a perfect tone. "You certainly may, dear."

Kate grinned, pleased that this home appeared to be a fine fit.

As the last of the cheesecake disappeared, Mrs. Dawson offered to give Kaileigh a tour of her new home, pausing here or there to tell a tale of how she had come to own this particular painting or which vacation it was when her family bought that vase, not giving the details out of vanity, but so the girl would appreciate her new surroundings.

"The bathroom in the hallway is a bit small, so it's mainly used for guests, but is of course, not off limits for family," Mrs. Dawson informed her as they whisked by on the way to show off her own bedroom suite.

Once her back was turned on the pair behind herself, Kaileigh looked at Kate and mouthed the word, "suite", feigning as if she would pass out right there on the spot.

With pursed lips to stifle a giggle, Kate elbowed the girl.

And what a suite, indeed, the teenager girl's expression screeched.

"Whoah, I've never seen a bedroom that had its own living room!"

Amused, the homeowner escorted her into the master bath suite, enjoying Kaileigh's reaction.

Chuckling, Kaileigh inquired, "Uhm, can I ask why you have two bathtubs in the same room?"

Tilting her head, the woman glanced around to see what the girl was talking about.

"Oh, no," she smiled. "The tub with the blue Mexican tiles is actually our personal Jacuzzi, but don't worry. Yours is outside next to the pool," she mentioned so casually, as if every household had several of them built-in like they were standard or simply part of the building code, like toilets.

Kaileigh tried hard not to squeal or start jumping around like a squirrel on crack.

"And at the end of the hallway, you will find your bedroom, Kaileigh. We'll stay right here in your greeting room to let you go take a peep at it," Mrs. Dawson waved once the trio had made their way to the lower level of the home.

The girl padded down the ceramic tiled hallway, taking in the glass and porcelain sconces gracing the walls. The small Welcome, Kaileigh sign on the door handle told her she was in the right place as her hand pushed the door, already ajar.

An audible gasp escaped her lips and Mrs. Dawson smiled, relieved the girl's accommodations were acceptable.

Lush baby blue carpeting invited her in to walls of robin's egg blue and a large window bordered with a white lace curtain. Three fluffy sea-green pillows on the queen-sized bed called to the teen and begged her to sit down. She complied.

She spied the cherry wood roll-top desk; "is there an electrical outlet behind there for my laptop?" she wondered.

Just as quickly as she felt elated with her new surroundings, her heart also found a new low; she wouldn't even be here if her parents had not been in that accident.

When she didn't return within a few minutes, the women found her sitting at the desk.

Kate placed a hand of comfort on her back. "You alright?"

Without even moving, she nodded. "My parents would be so appreciative of how well I'm being taken care of. They would advise me not to take it for granted and to show my gratitude every day," she turned to Mrs. Dawson. "So thank you," she squeaked out.

Chapter 10

Maria's laugh made Kaileigh smile. "It was great talking to you, too! Mrs. Dawson thinks I should get a cell phone, so we'll see where that one goes. Her son says I have to be the last teenage girl on planet earth without one, but I keep telling the guy that I never had any use for one before now."

Nodding, obviously to the questions posed on the other side of the phone, Kaileigh glanced over at the floral calendar hanging on the wall. "Yep, it's circled in bright green. I'll be there a few minutes early so we can talk some more. Uh-huh. Awesome, see ya then. Bye."

"I think it's nice that your nurse has taken a liking to you," Mrs. Dawson smiled in her perfect June Cleaver meets Lovey. Howell manner.

"Me, too. She was a big help to me-you know...at first. She was the first adult I interacted with, and I'm not even sure if she understands how she pretty much pulled me through the worst days of my whole life," the girl's mind wandered off.

"Tell you what," Mrs. Dawson changed the subject. "The boys are gone and it's just us girls. How about you and I go shopping? We could hit the mall and still be back in plenty of time for me to cool the credit cards down before my husband gets home," she winked.

*

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in those," Mrs. Dawson pointed to a different pair of shoes. "Maybe I'm just getting old, I don't know," she kidded. "Or maybe I've just been buying things for a teenage boy for so long that I'm out of touch with what you girls are doing and wearing these days. I prefer option B," she smiled.

Kaileigh smiled. "You aren't old! To be honest, I've always reached for hiking boots first just because I've lived in the mountains my entire life. I could probably use a pair of nice sandals now that the weather is perking up again."

"Tell you what, you get whatever you want and I'll be over in the purse area. Just come and get me when you're ready to check out and we'll head on over and get that cell phone taken care of."

The girl returned to the shoes in front of herself, shaking her head. These people spend more money than anyone I've ever met, she whispered out loud.

*

Tri-County Cellular was the best place to shop, according to the Dawson family; they only carried high-end devices and as far as accessories went, this place had things in stock that even the internet didn't carry yet.

Why did Kaileigh think they would wind up anywhere else?

By the day's end, Kaileigh waved a hand about the massive pile of everything the Dawsons had been buying for her over the past week.

"The school supplies, yes, I can warrant that. And maybe a portion of the clothing But a fancy cell phone and all this other stuff? Mrs. Dawson, I still haven't received my parent's life insurance money yet. I don't know when I will be able to repay you for all of this," she admitted.

The woman placed a warm palm on the girl's knee. "Oh, no, Dear. I'm afraid you misunderstood somehow; I'm just having fun shopping with you. These are my gifts to you." Mrs. Dawson smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles in her pants and continued. "My husband and I were only able to have one child, and that's why we decided a few years back to get into foster care. But it seems like all we've had around here for a really long time are boys. I let the powers that be know how much it would mean to me to foster a nice young girl sometime, and here you are," she smiled.

Kaileigh understood now.

"I'd consider it a personal favor if you would allow me to maybe spoil you. At least for a little while," she patted her knee again and started for the girl's bedroom door.

Before she exited the room, Mrs. Dawson turned around. "I would like you call me Judith, if you're comfortable with that."

Kaileigh nodded. Thank you. For everything."

Before the door closed, she added, "Good night, Judith."

*

Peter Dawson laughed and yanked one of the overstuffed sofa pillows up and over his head, hurling it at Kaileigh's.

"You're an idiot!"

The girl dodged the pillow. "Is that all you got?"

"Come over here, let me help you with that, you hopeless thing, you. You're a complete failure as a teenage girl, you do know that, don't you?" he teased.

"I thank you for your support," she replied dryly before she plopped down next to him and forked over her new cellular device as well as the operator's manual.

Peter smirked. "Uhm, no. We don't need that," her foster-brother informed her as he held up a hand to the booklet. "You have seriously never owned a cell phone in your entire life, have you?"

"Ya know, the answer is still gonna be the same no matter how many times you ask me," Kaileigh smirked. "So show me the wonders of the royal communication device before us, O Wise One."

*

"The money is yours," the state-appointed attorney explained to the girl, "but you will not have access to it until you turn eighteen years of age. Once the insurance claim has cleared, your signature will automatically deposit the funds into your bank account. You will receive a notice for the annual taxes that will be due on the property, just as your parents did, which you will be required to keep up to date just as they had."

Attentive to each word, the heir to the Ross estate tilted her head, as if she would hear the man better with her eyes squinted just so.

"I just want to be clear. I'm not going to lose my parent's home, am I?"

The attorney shook his head, tapped the tip of a ball point pen against the desk blotter. "No. Not at all. In fact, the only way the home will not be yours is if you decide to sell it, which you may do when you turn eighteen."

"Oh, no. No way. I won't ever sell that place; my parents put so much into it and we built a lot of really great memories there," she teared up again. "You mentioned something about signing some paperwork earlier? Could we go ahead and get that done now?"

Kaileigh signed on the proverbial dotted line in order to inherit all her parents belongings and assets; the long road to emotional recovery had not even begun and yet with the last stroke of that ball point pen, Kaileigh entered into the world of adulthood long before she should have.

*

Summer months behind her, Kaileigh stood at the Dawson's stovetop with ladle in hand, dipping out a portion of chili into each of the bowls lined up on the granite counter.

Snowflakes danced over the empty swimming pool out back, dotting the black tarpaulin in patches while Peter moved the edge of a knife to scoot the pile of chopped white onion to the other side of the butcher block; the boy made room for the next pile as he reached over to grab another onion.

"Mom," he called out. "How many should I cut up in here?"

Kaileigh set the lid over the chili, placing the filled bowls on the tray that Judith had provided and asked, "Did you hear about who's coming through on a concert tour in a couple of weeks?"

Peter shook his head. "You won't be able to get tickets though. No way. I bet they sell out within fifteen minutes."

The girl clucked at him. "Why you gotta be like that? Pop a girl's balloon, why don't ya," she teased only partially.

"White Rabbit hasn't toured this area for over a year; do you have any idea how fast those things are gonna go?"

Smiling and pointing at herself, Kaileigh grinned. "Duh! Teenager girl right here! I'm well aware of the situation at hand."

Judith poked the silver plated tongs down into the bowl of shredded cheddar cheese and passed it to her husband. "I could use the corn chips when they're free," she mentioned to whoever currently had them.

"Over here," Peter answered. "Hey, Mom. Pop quiz: who's going to be in concert and who thinks they're going?"

Kaileigh gave his a typical sisterly glare and Judith grimaced. "Oooh, let me take a stab in the dark here. Kaileigh is just chomping at the bit to see that group of banjo-playing gentlemen down at the veteran's building. Am I right?"

Wincing, the girl shook her head. "Close but no banana."

Jack Dawson was the attorney in representation of the veteran's group; they recently required his services when a cargo truck skidded out of control and slammed through their parking lot, creaming and destroying their double entrance doors the afternoon before their banjo playing contest. Behind closed doors, it had become a household joke.

"Well, then. Which adorable group of young men will be gracing our fair city?"

"White Rabbit!" Peter pretended to be a screaming meemie teenage girl, waving a linen napkin over his head "Mark and Scott, notice me, notice me!" he laughed.

"Please," Kaileigh responded dryly. "Do you think I would do that? Really." She crumbled a few corn chips over her chili. "Everyone knows its Danny that's the hottest!"

Judith laughed. "Oh, now we know!"

Jack finished the bite in his mouth and washed it down with a gulp of ice cold beer. "Peter, how's that history assignment coming along," he changed the subject.

"It's going. I wish it was gone, though. Mom really socked it to me on this one."

Judith grinned; she took pride in the tough assignments, because she felt that it showed how much she valued a good education, even though her son was gaining that education at home. A few years back, when she had first begun to home school their son, several people within the Dawson's social circle scoffed at the idea of Peter learning anything of much value at home. Judith's own sister pictured Peter in the swimming pool during school hours instead of seeing him with his nose behind a book.

"He's done so well, in fact," his mother boasted, "I was thinking we could watch a couple of pay-per-view movies tonight after supper. "And Kaileigh gets first choice."

Peter objected. "But I'm the one with onion-scented hands over here!"

His sidekick stuck her tongue out at him. "Then I guess you and your stinky mitts should get used to staying home with family instead of going out with girlfriends, huh?"

Before she realized what she'd said, it had already tumbled out.

Jack winced and pointed his fork toward Peter. "Ouch. She got ya on that one, Peter-Boy."

Whew, she thought to herself. Nobody caught that. I gotta be more careful; this is not my family. I am simply a guest in this home. A paid guest. That's all, she reminded herself while she chimed in with the assault on Peter.

*

Judith pulled the tortoise-shell hairbrush through her short blonde hair once again, waiting for Jack to come back into their master suite bedroom. When she heard the familiar sound of the dresser drawer shut from his walk-in closet she set the brush back down on the tray in the center of her vanity and turned around.

Holding both hands out in front of herself, she grinned. "Let me see them!"

Jack locked their bedroom door and handed his wife a white envelope with the words Premier Sound Productions written in fancy black lettering across the front.

She opened the flap and pulled out two front center tickets to the White Rabbit concert; "You've gotten a lot of perks with the job, but this is one the kids can finally appreciate! I would have died if my dad could have done something like this for me," she reflected.

"Just happened to be at the right place at the right time is all," Jack reminded his impressed wife. "Don't smudge them-from what I hear, there won't be any more."

Once the tickets were safe and sound within the walls of their suite safe, Jack turned to Judith. "When should I tell them?"

"They're good kids. You wanna know what my vote is?"

Jack's palms warmed as he rubbed them together and made his Sinister Stan face. "String them along?"

"You know it!" his wife teased.

Chapter 11

Kaileigh scooped up another shovelful of snow and chucked it to the side. And another scoop followed by yet another one. It might have been the first time she cursed the long sidewalk leading up to the beautiful stained glass front door. When she moved her frostbitten eyes upward toward the house, she noticed that her throat felt sore from breathing in all that cold air.

Thinking of the peppermint tea in the cupboard kept her moving until Peter swung the door open.

"Kai! Phone," he called. "It's for you."

When the girl reached the entrance and began to kick her boots off, Peter told her to hang her coat up, he would finish the walk."

"Awesome, thanks," she patted him on the arm.

Pressing the receiver to her frozen ear, she acknowledged her caller. "Hello, this is Kaileigh."

"Yes? No, I have not. Yes, this is just fine. Hang on a second so I can get some paper and a pencil," she responded and disappeared into the kitchen. Returning to the dining room, Kaileigh took down some notes and ended the call by thanking whoever it was she spoke with.

Swaying her head back and forth a few times, the teenager popped her neck in both directions.

Judith winced. "I have never been able to do that."

Kaileigh motioned for her to come sit at the table with her.

"You have a minute or two?"

"Sure do, what's up?"

"Well, I just answered a call from one of the counselors at the community college. I filled out one of those cards the last time I was at the mall just out of curiosity-well, that, and they were giving free hot pretzels if you filled the card out, "she admitted. "Anyhow, I spaced it out. But they just called me."

"And?"

"Well, there's a brand new class the college is starting. I might be interested in enrolling."

Kaileigh looked over the notes she had taken from the phone call to find the price and duration of the class again and turned the paper around so Judith could take a look.

"Hmmm," she mumbled. "Well, it would be a good experience for you, having always been in a home education environment. And if you're seriously considering a future in writing, this would be right up your alley."

"I know my mom made a pretty good living with it and she passed a lot of her skills on to me. I've already published a few things, so I'm pretty confident that I can make a living with itlike my mom did. You don't think it would be a waste of my time or resources to take the class, do you?"

"Are you kidding? Of course not. Why don't you go to the college and talk to someone in admissions about it? I could go with you and just sit out in the lobby," she volunteered.

"I was kind of hoping you would say that. She has me scheduled for an appointment on Thursday morning at ten-thirty. Does it make a difference what I wear to something like this?"

Judith's head perked up.

"Come with me," Judith beckoned.

*

"Miss Ross?"

Kaileigh followed the woman into an office cubicle, where a folder containing her information and class flyers had already been labeled with her name.

"I understand you are a home schooled high school student. Can you tell me about your education background and why you find this class appealing?"

"Yes, ma'am. My mother began to educate me by the time I was three; since she worked from home and I was the only child, my introduction to the alphabet and phonetics began at an early age ."

"And what was your mother's occupation when you were younger?"

"A freelance writer. She wrote several novels and three books of children's literature, plus countless magazine articles."

A spark of interest showed through on the counselor's face. "Oh, my! Does she still write?"

Licking her lips nervously, Kaileigh glanced down to her lap. "I'm sure she would be if she were still alive. My parents passed away in an auto accident several months ago."

"Oh, please excuse me. When I saw you with-"she looked over toward the lobby. "I naturally assumed-"

"Its okay," Kaileigh assured the woman."Mrs. Dawson and I get that a lot, actually."

"I'm going to put myself out there and make another assumption-hopefully I get it right this time," she sheepishly started. "that you intend to carry on your mother's freelance work. These two courses would make a perfect partnering experience to help jumpstart your career."

Kaileigh wondered if she should say anything, opting to speak up at this point in the conversation. "My writing career has already begun. I self-published a novel as one of my mother's assignments for English class; she edited the work for my basic grade, but one of her old friends in the business owed her a favor so it got a free line and copy edit as well. I've also published for a magazine and have been working on my second novel."

The woman leaned her entire back against her chair in order to take in the whole picture sitting in front of her; this girl was not your average ordinary teenager. This young lady must become part of the educational pull in this institution, the counselor had written all over her face.

The look pleased Kaileigh.

*

Peter knocked on her door. "Kai, mom made spaghetti and meatballs. I even cut up fruit for your salad, just the way you like it."

No response.

"C'mon, Kai. I'll eat your meatballs if you don't hurry it up."

No response.

Peter twisted the girl's doorknob and opened the door slightly, peeped inside. She was napping.

He grinned, shut the door behind himself and sat down on the bed next to her, leaning over to wiggle her on the upper arm.

"Dude. Get up, you sack of laziness."

Startled, Kaileigh realized he was in her room. On her bed.

Combining a firm shove along with an equally as firm "Ewww, gross! Get out of here," she motioned with a hand. "You're like a brother or something! I'll be up in a minute, k?"

"Suit yourself," he shrugged. "Milk or iced tea?"

*

Custom stained glass sconces housed the series of lowlight green bulbs, casting the familiar glow over the dining room table. Her eyes grazed the table: spaghetti and meatballs, breadsticks, salad. She smelled some kind of dessert coming from the breakfast bar and it caused her belly to growl.

"Beast," Peter teased, returning the shove she'd given him only moments before.

"I can't help it if your mom's cooking is so awesome," she defended herself.

Jack's cell phone rang just as he sat down to the table. "I should probably take that," he apologized, fishing it from his slacks pocket. "But I'm not going to," he announced as he walked it into the kitchen. The family heard it rattle around on the counter as it continued to ring.

Peter took his share of the soft breadsticks and passed the oval basket on to his father as he sat down to eat.

Jack could contain himself no longer. "Isn't anyone going to fill me in with how the appointment went today?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

Fork swirling into her plate of pasta, she used the other hand to take in a drink of iced tea before beginning her tale.

"The lady was real nice; she thought you were my mom," she said offhand to Judith. "So I had to kinda fill her in on that whole thing, but she didn't linger on anything, so it was actually not very awkward. Then after she explained about what the course offered, she mentioned another one that pretty much goes with that course and compliments it, so I may decide to enroll in both."

The talkative teen stopped long enough to shove that forkful of pasta into her face.

The Dawsons continued eating, aware of the fact that she was nowhere near finished with the story.

"There are a couple of positive aspects involved if I take both courses. For one, the college will cut me a break on the tuition if I take them both, since they're being offered for the first time this semester."

Another forkful.

"The second thing is-I can actually use the courses as credit toward my high school credits, which would add to the old graduating early theory."

"Sounds like you might have already made your mind up," Jack observed.

"Maybe," the teen grinned. "So what do you think so far?"

"So far it sounds good; there are few gaps to fill in here and there, but so far, so good," he nodded.

Peter raised his hand as if they were in class. "When do they start and what about your day classes?"

Tilting her head and bugging her eyes out at him, she wanted to punch him smack in the arm.

"Good question," Judith added.

Sensing the fact that Peter had stressed day classes, Kaileigh attempted to smooth that fact over by quickly adding ,"Nothing will interfere with my high school program. If anything, the extra schooling will only enhance my educational experience," she grinned heartily, hoping she had diverted the inevitable question she just knew would rear its ugly head at any second.

"What are you not wanting to say?"

Judith had caught on. Dang it!

"Okay. Here's the deal," Kaileigh came clean and laid her fork over the half-eaten pile of pasta.

"Each one of the classes is an hour long and they are also held at night. They're night classes." There. It was all out in the open. She waited with her breath held until someone-anyone said something-anything-to break the uncomfortable whirring of the ceiling fan.

"Which nights?" came the first inquiry.

Picking up the fork again, Kaileigh sliced through one of the meatballs before answering, "Monday and Thursday and both of the classes begin at 6:30."

Grimacing, Peter clutched his heart and groaned. "And I was getting worked up for nothing!"

Kaileigh stopped in her tracks. "Huh?"

"All this time I've been holding my breath to find out if our Friday night pizza schedule was in jeopardy!"

Jack raised a hand to his forehead as if he had a thought coming on. "I guess my main concern here is actually two-fold. First of all, your own safety. Night classes in themselves don't really bother me, but to be honest, Kaileigh, you should look in the mirror. You are an attractive young lady; I'd be very upset if anything happened."

"I agree with you on that," his wife chimed in. "However, Jack, we both know the parking lot has plenty of good lighting and the college does have security guards that patrol it regularly."

Staying out of it for the moment, the young lady at the center of the conversation built another spaghetti tornado on her fork, shoved it in her mouth and let them work it out between themselves first.

Peter offered the girl some more Parmesan cheese.

"And of course," Jack added, "there's the issue of grades, which are very important. While I have every reason to believe you are fully capable of managing just two more classes, I would remind you that there is driving time to and from the school as well."

"I don't mind dropping her off," Peter offered casually. "You know, until you get your own wheels," he shrugged.

Kaileigh had been chewing on her bottom lip, not sure if she was supposed to interject or not, but opted to stay silent just in case.

Judith folded her linen napkin, setting it next to her plate. "Tell you what. How about you let the two of us talk about it tonight and we will have a final decision in the morning. Peter, would you please bring in dessert?"

Smiling her best, Kaileigh thanked the Dawsons for being so concerned and for trying their best to make sure she made sound decisions before offering to clear the table of their plates."

"Nice way to suck up," Peter winked.

Chapter 12

The heels of Judith's expensive leather shoes clicked a quick rhythm as they followed the ambitious girl down the college hallway and past the gallery of plaques, where every Dean the community college had ever employed found a place of prominence.

The look on Judith's face screamed out that she should have worn sneakers instead of high heels.

One hand on the entrance door, the teen flipped around to say something to Judith, but grinned once she saw how far behind she actually was.

"C'mon, slowpoke," she teased, poking her tongue out.

"Yes, Ma'am," came the reply as Judith brought the edge of her hand up to the right side of her forehead in a salute. "On my way!"

The student behind the admissions desk smiled when she recognized Kaileigh. "Hey, I remember you from about a week ago! Have you decided to join us after all?"

*

Judith gave her lipstick a quick touch-up at the red light, glancing over at Kaileigh as she did.

"I think this calls for an ice cream stop, what do you think?"

Scrunching her nose up and tuning the radio to a station that came in clearly, the youngest of the pair suggested, "Hey, why don't we stop off and get an ice cream cake to share with the guys instead of hoarding all the fun for ourselves?"

"Ice cream cake...I have not had one of those in years-now that sounds great! Long as we're being bad, though, why don't we stop and grab a bag of burgers and fries to go with it?"

The teenager girl cupped a hand to her left ear. "Huh? How's that? Can't hear you."

Tossing her head back just so, Judith laughed.

"Wait! I need to get my phone so I can record this moment. Nobody will believe I didn't bury your body and clone you with an alien if we bring all that junk food into the house!"

Grimacing, she asked, "Am I really that bad?"

"Yup."

*

Peter collected the dinner plates after going on about his mother being the only person alive who makes her family eat off actual dinner plates when all they're scarfing down are burgers from a take-out joint.

"The way I see it," Jack sided with his wife, "if we let her have her way about how we eat dinner, maybe she'll let us eat like kings every night!" he winked at his wife.

Crossing her arms, she just shook her head.

"If you two will take care of the dishes, please, Dad and I can have just a moment to ourselves."

"Gross, Mom. We just ate," Peter overexaggerated fake chills.

Jack waited until the kids disappeared before he reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket; he fanned the envelope across his face.

"This will go down in the books as one of those proverbial Kodak moments you always hear about," he proclaimed.

Judith agreed; she squirmed in her seat as they both waited for the kids to return to the dining room.

Hearing the girl yelp out with a "Hey, cut it out already," the Dawsons laughed as Peter chased after Kaileigh with a dish towel, snapping her with the tail end of it.

The girl sat down in an effort to save her backside. "That's not fair," she announced.

"Why not?" Peter wanted to know. "Just because you don't know how to do it?"

She grinned. "Precisely."

"So what's everyone planning on doing this weekend," Jack steered the conversation in his own direction,

Peter shrugged? "Me and the guys were thinking about going to the movies. The weather should be breaking tomorrow so we might go over to Robby's and work on his car if it's cool with his dad. Of course," he tapped a finger on the dining table, "if my dream lady comes knocking at the front door, though, Robby's on his own!"

"Aw," his foster-sister chimed in. "That is so cute...but how many times do I have to tell you that Big Bird is not a girl?"

"Do you really want me to snap you again?"

Laughing, Jack sort of leaned back in his chair. "Sounds like you're both going to be too busy to use these, then," he said casually, fanning himself with the envelope.

Peter scoffed. "You taking Mom to the opera or some lame musical again?" His hands lifted, mocking spirit fingers. "What an awesome evening. Don't stay out too late, you two," he yawned.

"Kaileigh giggled. "I've never been to a play. I think it would be cool to go, but the opera is another story. I'd probably get kicked out of the place for laughing. Do they really wear those big hats with horns?"

The kids leaned in closer together and raised their voices in a mock opera, raising their hands higher and higher.

"Well, actually, I was thinking the two of you might want what's in here," Jack told them.

"It's a trick, Kai," Peter advised when she reached out for the envelope. "Go in quick-yank and run," he advised with a smirk.

Kaileigh reached out for the envelope with cautious precision, keeping one eye on Mr. Dawson and the other on the flap of the envelope.

Another wave of excitement plastered across both his face and his wife's.

"You're making me a little apprehensive over here," she admitted before going in for the dive.

When the concert tickets slid out the top of the envelope; Kaileigh zeroed in on the White Rabbit band emblem. An instinctive clamp over her mouth restrained what she felt bubbling up inside.

Jack held them out to her, granting permission to actually touch them.

Plucking the tickets out of Jack's hand ever so carefully, the girl allowed her eyes to continue bugging out as Peter leaned over her shoulder to get a better look. "No way! How did you pull this off?"

Jack grinned and blew on his fingernails, rubbed them on his shirt. "I'm a genius, that's how."

His skeptical son glanced at him with a look of uncertainty. "Uh-huh."

"Well, I don't care if he had to rub Bigfoot's feet to get them-I'm gonna get to see Danny in person!" Kaileigh's arms wrapped around Jack's neck for the world's most sincere hug ever.

The teenage girl didn't dare move her eyes from the pair of tickets when she told Peter, "We're gonna have to leave early, cause I am not gonna be late for this thing!"

"Hey, whoah, wait! Who said I'd take you to this thing, anyhow? There is a whole lot of assumption flying around this room, don't you think?"

"I'll do all your chores for two weeks!"

"Two weeks?" Peter yawned again. "How generous."

He wasn't going to make the begging easy on her, but Kaileigh happened to need those tickets-and an escort-more than she required air itself, and she would be darned if she would give up!

"Well, I guess I should ask you a question right about now, Peter. Where will every girl within a three county spread be on this night?" she flicked the ticket envelope with the tips of her fingers.

"I already know what I'm wearing," he confirmed.

*

Her unpainted nails filed through the mass of costume jewelry stashed in the wicker basket on her dresser, occasionally pulling a piece or two out to lay it across the three outfits she'd narrowed her attire down to for the concert.

It was at times such as this one that Kaileigh desperately wished for a best friend, a cousin, an anyone with half a girly streak; the truth was, she needed someone to help her decide what to wear.

"Ugh," she groaned. Her eyes rested on the blue dress.

Kaileigh, snatched up her new phone and punched in Kate's number before plopping herself down on the edge of her bed.

Ring, ring.

"This is Kate," the answering machine recited.

"Hey, it's Kaileigh. Everything's great, but I have a question to ask you. Don't laugh, but I could use some fashion advice. Can you call me back tonight if you're not busy? Thanks."

"Ye gads, I'm becoming that girl," she shuddered at her own reflection in the mirror. "What has happened to you, Kai?"

Catching a reflection of the clothing she'd laid out on her bed, she turned back around. "Why would I wear a dress to a concert? I don't even like wearing them for church! It's not like anyone's gonna be looking at me, for crying in the mud!"

*

The car keys dangling in front of her, Kaileigh bobbed her head up and down. "I'm so excited!"

"I'm still having difficulty believing you've never been to a concert before. How can you be a seventeen year old teenager in this country and never been to a concert? It's abnormal," Peter reminded her again.

"It's pretty easy when you're a home schooled girl who lives in the mountains and your only mode of transportation is your dad," she reminded him.

Peter scanned the room. "Do you have the tickets?"

Patting the pocket in her jeans, she nodded. "Of course! Right here!"

"You put them in your pocket? What if they rip?"

Rolling her eyes, the girl pointed over to the breakfast bar. "It might be my first time, but I'm not dumb."

"Nicely played. Well grab your purse and let's do this thing!"

"Not taking my purse. Kate gave me some concert tips that made sense. For instance, a purse: if I take it, I could either lose it or have the thing stolen, and she said the people even look through it coming into the arena. None of those options are especially appealing to me."

"So where do you carry everything, then," Peter wanted to know.

"Kate is a barrel of unknown tricks, I tell ya! She loaned me this cool gadget that attaches to-well," she motioned toward her chest. "It attaches under a girl's clothes and is just the right size for ID, cash and a debit card-even lip gloss! And everyone keeps their phone in their pocket, so that takes care of the camera I was going to take," she finished explaining while her jacket zipped up around her neck.

"Huh. I never knew. So...there are girls just wandering around town with secret hidden compartments on them? Interesting," he thought out loud. "No sign? I thought every girl took a sign," Peter shook his head in an afterthought.

"Ya know, so did I. Again, it's Kate's wisdom I'm working from here. Apparently, signs are bulky, get bent by the time the main act performs, and they tick off the people behind you. Personally, I just want to go and have a good time. It's not like White Rabbit is going to be there with the intention specifically impressing Miss Kaileigh Ross," she laughed.

Jack, who had been listening to the kids and their conversation, reached into his back pocket and handed each of them some money.

The girl shook her head. "Oh, no. You've already given me the ticket."

Refusing to accept her response, Jack grabbed her hand and placed the bills in her palm, folded her fingers around them. It's your very first show and I don't have a daughter of my own. Let me do this. Get a really cool t-shirt," he winked.

Squealing, Kaileigh hugged the man while Peter snatched his share of the cash his father offered and shoved it in his wallet. "Thanks, Dad. See ya later."

Jack touched his son's arm. "You keep an eye on her. Wait outside the ladies room for her, you hear me?"

"I got this, Dad. Don't worry. I won't let anyone else touch her," he promised.

*

"I can't believe we're finally here!"

Rolling his eyes, Peter followed his foster sister's bouncing steps, flashing their tickets at the security checkpoint.

"Kai! Hang on there, cowboy," he called after her as the big guy in a rent-a-cop uniform scanned the pair of tickets. Peter could have easily gotten in without the tickets since Dufus seemed to be more interested in the three lovely ladies standing over by one of the merch tables. Jail bait, Peter shook his head, snapping the tickets stubs back.

"Kaileigh, come here," he motioned. Handing her one of the stubs, the more seasoned concert-attender advised her to keep it in her back pocket.

"If you get up to go pee or get something to drink, they'll make you prove you paid to get inside the venue, so don't lose this."

The girl crammed it into her back pocket, just as directed, only to dart off again when her eyes caught sight of one of White Rabbit's merch tables that had been set up in front of the tall venue windows.

One of the many rent-a-cops took a step back, keeping his glaring vision on the girl; Venue Shoplifters Subject to Prosecution, so read all the posted signs.

When her neon green sneakers halted in front of the table, her eyes scanned back and forth, searching for that one perfect t-shirt, the one that would become proof of her existence in the same room that Danny Montgomery had been in.

She required a specific shirt, one that commanded attention...and-

"Yes!", the girl squealed out, pointing at the board. "Right there-that's the shirt!"

Biting her bottom lip and hopping from foot to foot as she waited for her turn with the vendor, Peter couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Why all the commotion," he inquired once he'd packed in behind her.

"I don't want my shirt to be gone by the time I get up there!"

After an eternity in Kaileigh's mind, the merch guy smiled at her.

"What can I grab ya?"

Her fingers shot straight out in a beeline toward her shirt.

With the desire of one thousand girls, she couldn't peel her eyes from the black shirt or the ironed-on decal of her favorite five young men in their best rocker poses.

"I'll take that one, medium, please!" she told the guy as she continued eyeballing the prized shirt and the signature hand-drawn bunny with the words White Rabbit spelled out in neon pink cursive lettering.

She watched the guy rummage through a few cardboard boxes and a couple of plastic totes, her anxiety rising each time he pulled up another to search through.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he shook his head. "I only have one left and its a small. That's our most popular shirt, so it sells out pretty quick at shows.

Kaileigh groaned audibly, clutching her fists and shaking them in anguish.

"See anything else you like?"

She had already begun to feel the sting of every girl in line behind herself while she tried like crazy to find an equally awesome shirt.

The guy snapped his fingers.

"Hey! Lemme check something real quick. Hang on," he grinned, stepping back in front of the merch tables.

Grabbing the shirt off the display, he checked the tag and turned back to Kaileigh.

"It's a large, but this is the shirt, yeah? It's yours if you want it!"

Yanking thirty-five dollars out of her pocket, Kaileigh thrust it toward him, bouncing from one foot to the other in pure teenage giddiness.

When she'd thanked the guy and snatched her new prized possession from his hands, she turned to see the familiar face grinning at her.

"Peter! Look at this shirt! It's the most amazing shirt ever!"

Shaking his head and jerking a thumb toward the giant entrance into the stadium itself, he just laughed.

"C'mon, Spaz,: he grinned. "Let's grab our seat."

"Okay, but hang on a second," she told him, yanking the new shirt over her head. Once her head popped out at the top, she met the look on his face. "What? I don't want someone snatching it away from me, do I?"

*

A hand against Kaileigh's elbow urged her forward through the crowd, navigating her farther and farther, using the girl as his shield to get through the masses.

"Hey," she turned and asked over the rising clatter of shuffling feet and squealing teenage girls, "I'm not your personal armor, you know!" She punched him in the arm and conrinued to bounce down the stairs until the stage became well within her vision; she noticed the long rectangular platform and smiled. Danny would have plenty of room to move around up there, and she hoped they would push and tease each other the way she'd seen them do in concert videos over the Internet.

Turning around, she looked at Peter and squealed.

He rolled his eyes at her and smiled, continued guiding her down the steps toward the front row, smack in the center of the stage.

Peter nudged her. "Take a picture of the stage so you can show everyone how close you were."

"You can do that?"

He looked at her; his expression alone informed the girl that she really needed to get out more.

"This is unbelievable! It's almost too much to take in!" The seventeen year old girl raked an exhilarated hand through her long, dark mane of hair and scanned the crowd after she slid her phone back into her pocket.

"Have you seen any girls you want yet?" she poked at Peter.

Running over the list of the many White Rabbit songs in her mind, Kaileigh had been hoping all week that they would sing her current favorite song of theirs-Crazy.

It happened to be her personal anthem because it was all about how life can get pretty crazy, but you just gotta keep pushing throught it, how you gotta make it no matter what. She felt an obvious connection with the lyrics the first time she listened to it on their CD and it had instantly become her favorite, her mantra.

When the girls standing next to her began to cry and shriek, Kaileigh made an uncomfortable face but followed their eyes to the cause and grinned when she saw the massive screen behind the stage.

Scotty was tweeting messages to the audience!

" _Hey, everyone! Who's ready to party?_ " it read.

Of course, the message earned the desired reaction of a deafening roar of the crowd, and as Kaileigh looked around, she couldn't help but scream herself.

"Wooo!"

Seconds later, another message popped up onscreen: " _Send us some love! Text us at 45843 right now-let's see what you've got!"_

Two thousand cells phones instantly ripped out of pockets as girls frantically attempted to send texts and tweets before the person standing next to them could get theirs out. The sound of cell phone keys clicking echoed through the venue.

Kaileigh glanced back up at the screen and burst out laughing at the next message. She turned her head toward Peter, who just groaned.

"Oh no, you gotta be kidding..."

" _Cluck like a chicken if you love Danny!_ "

Hands tucked up underneath her armpits, Kaileigh clucked for dear life, her head bobbing in and out along with thousands of other teenage girls.

Peter rolled his eyes at her and shook his head, but the grin was still there as he whipped out his cell phone and set the video in motion.

"You are so weird, but this might come in handy one day," he mumbled out loud.

"Peter," the chicken clucker paused. "Do you think they're already here?"

"Uh, yeah. Haven't you ever heard of sound checks?" came the response. "Hey, check it out-look up there," he gave a nod of his head toward the balcony area.

Following the path his eyes had taken, Kaileigh found what he was staring at: the large VIP section overhead in the upper level of the arena.

And in all their glory, there stood all five members of White Rabbit! Only a few people had discovered they were standing in there, watching the crowd.

She raised her arm and waved emphatically, jumping up and down. She found herself suddenly very happy that Kate talked her out of wearing that blue dress and heels as her sneakers solidly hit the floor.

"Peter! Ahhh," she grabbed his arm and screamed again, this time, joining in with several others who'd discovered the band in the box. As section by section caught on to what was happening overhead, the entire arena began cheering, a deafening experience for the first-timers present.

Kaileigh's eyes spied the left hand side of the arena beginning to do the wave; raising her arms into the air, she and Peter joined in with the chant that had also begun.

White Rabbit! White Rabbit! White Rabbit!

Peter watched his foster-sister scream along with all the other fans, his hand found the center of her back and when she turned around, he grinned. "Having a good time so far?

Her smile was the only reply she had to give the boy.

Strobe lights swept across the crowded auditorium and the boy band disappeared from their VIP box, leaving the screaming masses no other choice but to return their attention toward the stage.

"If you need to go the restroom, now would be a good time," Peter almost yelled in her ear.

"I'm good," she yelled back. "Kate told me not to eat or drink anything for a couple of hours before the show started so I wouldn't miss anything."

Boom!

The auditorium thundered into darkness as the sounds of drums slowly filled the arena, faster and faster until every foot inside the venue was stomping and every pair of hands were clapping.

Kaileigh screamed when the warm-up act-a group of three ball capped teenage boys-mounted the stage, each one dressed in a combination of red and white attire and bright red high top sneakers.

Large and bright enough to scare off a UFO, the spotlight flashed green and yellow tones on the center of the stage as one of the young men lifted his microphone to his lips and smiled.

Kaileigh could see every crinkle of his clothing and she squealed along with the other five thousand girls present as he called out, "Who's ready to have some fun tonight?"

Chapter 13

Stage lights flashed in sync with the thousands of clapping hands and shouts of adoration as the boy band waved their final good-byes to the audience.

A single white light swept the crowd back and forth, deliberately pausing here or there and causing anyone in the general area to jump, scream or make themselves known.

On the third sweep of the crowd, a voice echoed through the overhead speakers.

"Who's our biggest fan tonight? We're looking for you!"

With the venue erupting into a massive array of hands flagging the spotlight back to their side of the arena, the moment everyone had waited weeks for finally arrived as the sweeping light suddenly transformed into multi-colored strobe lights flickering onstage and blended in time with the fog machine's rising visual effect.

When the fog disappeared, there stood the five members of White Rabbit, each stationed with their respective instruments.

Kaileigh's eyes scanned the figures until she found Danny Montgomery; she felt her heart do a little flip-flop.

"Hello, Colorado! Who's ready to party?"

_This is actually happening-front row-I'm really in front of Danny_!

Kaileigh closed her eyes and reopened them just to make sure; yes, there he was!

A deep bass drum accompanied by the bass line began a steady rhythm set the crowd into hysteria; those who had actually taken the time to sit down sprang back to their feet.

It was the jab to Kaileigh's ribcage that brought her into a reality check when she turned her head toward the source of her discomfort and locked eyes with a red-headed teenage girl.

Giving her the benefit of the doubt, Kaileigh returned her attention back to the stage, still watching the girl from the corner of her eye.

Assuming it had only been accidental, she let her guard back down-only to feel the same girl overtaking Kaileigh's personal space bubble by shoving her aside in the already-packed-like-sardines arena in an effort to gain a few extra inches for little sister's enjoyment.

Valiant effort, but I don't think so, Kailiegh thought as she stared the redhead in the eyes.

Sensing that Kaileigh would prove to be a stone statue, the redhead turned her attempt at extra space elsewhere.

Bursts of purple helped Kaileigh forget all about the rude girl only inches away, when Danny's arm reached up into the air, fist-pumping to the drum beat.

"Let's go!" he shouted.

Every beat of the drums pulsated in time with Kaileigh's heart and by the third song, her legs had already begun throbbing from the constant jumping up and down. She ignored the sore throat when Adam and Scotty pointed out into the audience and turned their attention toward the center of the stage and looked down.

Kailiegh had been swaying her phone in unsuccessful attempts of grabbing the perfect picture; when Adam saw the phone, he paused with a huge smile for his adoring fan.

"Thank you!" she shouted, giving the thumbs-up.

Peter smacked her on the upper arm.

"Way to go," he commended the rookie.

"He smiled at me!"

Kaileigh's grin only widened with the redhead's obvious disgust at the perfect shot.

*

"Thank you, everyone, for coming out tonight," Danny shouted into his microphone before gulping a drink from a bottle of water. "I know we've already taken up your entire evening, but could we play just one more song for you?"

Oh, Danny! As if you even needed to ask!

Had Kaileigh not already been rendered half-deaf from her spot so near to the amplifiers, the next round of applause and shouting would have done the trick as the next pop number was introduced.

"This is one of our brand new songs and you'll be able to own it when our next record drops in ten days," Danny revealed. "It's called Just You and we hope you like it."

Second verse into their new hit, Scotty smacked Danny, giving a nod of his head just behind Kaileigh. Both boys grinned, but it was Danny who pointed and winked.

When Kaileigh turned around to see what was up, she couldn't help but grin herself at the pair of girls just behind her a couple of rows-they wore giant bunny ears and held up a We Y U Danny sign.

Why didn't I think of bunny ears, she wondered.

Picking out whatever words she could from the chorus, the teen began singing along with her five favorite boys in all the entire world, swaying to the beat of the music with both arms stretched out above her head when for the second time that night, she felt a stray hand placed on her lower back. Her waaay lower back.

Snapping her head around once again to find the culprit, Kaileigh frowned that some pervert would be stealing precious time away from White Rabbit just as their show was apparently beginning to wind down!

"Personal space, people," she shouted into thin air, returning her focus back on the stage just in time to catch Adam in a full-on rocker move.

Snap!

_And that's my new laptop background_ , she grinned into the phone screen.

*

"Oh. My. Gosh," the half-deaf, tingling teenager squealed to Peter on their way out to the lower hallway of the arena. "Did that really just happen?"

"You had a good time, huh?"

"What-are you kidding? This has been the best night of my life!"

Kailiegh left her foster brother's side when she caught sight of a group of boys off to the side in the parking lot; they each wore the signature White Rabbit Official Street Team hoodie and a couple of them had slung a backpack over their shoulders.

Turning back to Peter, she motioned for him to join her at the window.

"Look! Can we go talk to them?"

Before he even had the chance to reply, Kaileigh and every other girl in the venue knew the answer to that question as three security officers could already be seen escorting several overly-eager fans away from the boys and their tour bus.

"Oh, well, they probably would have been gone by the time we got down there, anyhow," she wanted to believe.

Kaileigh followed Peter out of the venue; once the cool evening air hit her in the face, it suddenly dawned on her how stuffy the inside of the building had become since they entered a few hours earlier.

Speaking over his shoulder, Peter called for Kaileigh to put a move on.

"I'm starving, you wanna stop and get some food?" Before waiting for an answer, he added, "No way am I waiting to eat til we get home-it'll be past one and mom will raise Cain if we raid the fridge at that hour."

"Yeah, but I want a burger," she requested, searching for the car.

*

Peter pressed the brake pedal, halting for the red light.

"So what did ya think? Was it everything you thought it would be?"

"It was unbelievable! It's gonna be hard to beat this night even if I see a hundred more shows; never again will I ever have seats that good!"Scrolling through all the pictures she'd taken, Kaileigh turned the CD player down just a tad. "My head is throbbing, but it was totally worth it!"

Nodding his head to the music, Peter agreed with her. "I know what you mean! I've never been that close, either, Dad really scored some awesome tickets, huh? Oh, hey," he remembered. "When we stop to eat, I'll show you all the shots I got. Remember when Adam and Scotty jumped off that blue box?"

"Yeah...," she grinned.

"I had my video running for the entire thing. Even caught the part when Scott and Danny tossed their guitars back and forth."

Kaileigh squealed for the nine hundredth time that night. "You did not! Are you serious? This was the best night of my life," she reconfirmed for anyone who wanted to know.

"Then from where I stand, you owe me a little something," he grinned, looking at her out of the corner of his right eye.

"Dude. I owe you nada," she teased, assigning a new background for her cell phone before catching sight of the fast food sign up ahead. "Go there," Kaileigh pointed. "Bigger Burgers are better."

*

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as that first bite eased its way down her throat.

Peter dipped a fry into his upside down soda lid he'd piled high with ketchup, watching the girl across the table from him. "You enjoying that over there?"

"Mhmm," she nodded. "I certainly am. So fork over the phone already, I can't take it any more."

Wiping his fingers across his jeans, he lifted up a bit and reached his hand down into his left-hand pocket.

"I'll send everything over to your email address," he offered. "Ok, starting here," he instructed, handing the goods over and snatching it back when he saw that she'd just licked her fingers.

"Nooo, that's gross, girl! At least wipe them on a napkin, you eager little wretch," he grinned.

"Fine," Kaileigh groaned. She snatched up a napkin, wiping each fingertip before placing her palm up for the prize.

Scrolling through, grinning at this one and laughing at that one, she turned the phone around to show him a couple of them, commending him on what great shots he'd taken.

"I still cannot believe we were that close and I never even got to meet him," she thought out loud. "But I will meet him, some day. It'll just have to be another show."

Chapter 14

Kate moved her phone to the other ear and laughed when her young friend related the way Adam stole Scotty's water bottle and then squirt him with it onstage.

"Ha, yeah-he got him square in the middle of his back. Totally took Scotty by surprise!"

"Those seats were unbelievable, I bet it was loud," Kate mentioned. "Did anyone toss guitar picks? My cousin used to have a jar filled with ones she got from shows."

Kaileigh glanced over to her dresser. "Yep," she grinned. "I got two!"

"Those pictures you sent me were amazing-when you sent me that first one of the stage before the show, I didn't realize you took it from your seat until I got the rest of them. They were sold out, weren't they?"

Kailiegh nodded even though Kate couldn't see her. "Yeah! It's really a miracle that we even got tickets at all. Peter's dad gets a massive gold button for this one!"

Talking about the crowd, Kaileigh mentioned, "Someone out there felt the need to cop a feel of my backside a couple of times, but everytime I tried to bust the creep, I couldn't tell who it was." Laughing about it, Kaileigh changed the subject back to Danny.

"The whole night was like a dream. You pin posters of a guy in your room and you know he's a real person, but then you stand there in front of him and it blows your mind! I'm almost glad we didn't get to meet them out there at their tour bus...I probably would have made a fool out of myself."

Giggling about how awkward that would have been, Kate reminded her about their appointment the following Tuesday so copies of her night class grades could be stowed away in her files.

"Or you could just drop them by, whatever," Kate ammended. "I wouldn't mind seeing your new t-shirt anyhow."

*

Peter's voice trailed downstairs into Kaileigh's open bedroom door.

"Yo! Are you ready for class? Mom and Dad are going to that dinner party, so I'm gonna drop you off on my way to the mall."

Checking her eyeliner one more time, she reached for her books and bag before hollering back, "Yeah, I've been ready for fifteen minutes. Hey, grab me an apple, will ya?"

Peter grabbed two and poked one in his own jacket pocket.

"I'll be in the car."

*

Flashing his headlights, Kaileigh spied Peter in the parking lot two and a half hours later.

Winching from both the load in her arms and the freezing car door handle, Kaileigh tossed her bag into the back seat and plopped herself into the leather seat.

"Oh, man, it is so cold out there!" she announced as her fingers instinctly found the seat belt. "What did you do at the mall?"

"Eh, not much. Brady didn't show so me and the other guys just walked around and whatever. You know that new Greek food place in the corner of the food court? Well, it's not there anymore."

Not a fan of Greek cuisine, the teenager shrugged her shoulders. "How come?"

"Some delivery truck ran into the rear of the building and smashed in a big section of the wall. Like, when we were there."

She turned her face toward Peter, now suddenly interested in Greek cuisine. "Serious?"

In true teenager male form, he reported, "Yeah! Me and the guys were getting pretzels-oh,here," he reached on his side of the dash and handed her a large soft pretzel. "It's probably not hot anymore and I spaced the cheese, but hey. Anyhow, so we were getting something to eat and all of a sudden, there's this BAM! People were screaming and running everywhere, it was pretty wild."

Eyes wide and fingers ripping into the pretzel, Kaileigh peppered her chauffeur with questions before thanking him for the snack.

"So did anyone get hurt?"

He shook his head. "Beats me, they cleared the place out pretty quick after that." Changing the subject, Peter flipped his right-hand blinker to turn into the driveway and asked, "Your new shirt fit alright?"

She glanced down. "Yeah, it's a little baggy, but I'd rather have it kinda big versus so tight that I couldn't wear the thing."

Joining her on the front porch with house keys in hand, "Yep. You know, I was kinda thinking about something. You might consider showing some thanks that I even took you to that show;" he almost cautioned her, bumping the door open with a hip. With a toss of his keys into the porcelain dish on the entry table, Peter looked Kaileigh in the eye. "And I think you aughtta be nice to me. You know, show me how much you appreciate being able to go," he said in tones a bit too gruffly for her taste.

"For real? Don't be weird," she mumbled, placing her hands on his forearm in an attempt to push her way down the hallway.

In an instant, she felt the sting of his palms pressing her shoulders against the wall, his onion ring breath warm in her face.

Choosing to defuse the situation, Kaileigh rolled her eyes and laughed at the boy when what she wanted was to scream for someone to come yank this moron off her.

"Like I said a minute ago, Peter. Don't be weird. What are you thinking?"

With one hand, the girl shoved his hands free and snatched her bag back up off the floor. Half way down the hall, she turned. "You wouldn't have done something so stupid if your parents were around."

The look on Peter's face told her she'd said something he didn't appreciate, but it was the way he charged at her, yanked her by a wrist as she turned away from him that made the message clear.

"You would be smart to keep your mouth shut about this-you wouldn't want to risk losing all of this," he warned her with a wave of his arm.

"Certainly not. I'm having the time of my life."

Her next comment was the slam of her bedroom door and a click of the lock.

Chapter 15

Ring, ring.

"Kaileigh! You called on a weekend for once. How's it going?"

"Uhm, not so good, actually. Is there somewhere we can meet just so I can run a few things by you?"

Taken by surprise, Kate asked, "Have you been hurt?"

Wishing that maybe she had called to report a broken arm or leg, Kaileigh held a sad voice in check and tried to smile through the receiver. "No, I'm fine. I just, uhm, need to talk."

"Of course. But now you have me worried. How soon can you meet me somewhere?"

Kaileigh looked down at her wrist. "There's a bus that stops a couple blocks away and I'm ready to fly."

*

Kate pulled her car into the parking spot in front of the pastry shop, already scanning tables as she made her way through the glass door etched in cupcakes.

It took only a few seconds for her to see Kaileigh in that neon green hoodie of hers.

"Hey, it's good to see ya!"

Startled out of her own thinking, the girl's heart skipped a beat."You scared me."

"I haven't heard from you since the concert. Do you need some help getting ready for a skiing vacation now?"

"No. Kate, I think I might have a problem. With Peter," she mumbled.

Sliding her purse and herself on the bench seat, Kate gave her that look. "Has he hurt you?"

"No, nothing like that. Not really. I mean," she stalled, "not yet. Maybe. I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk to you first."

Kate held up a finger to her young friend while the waitress brought coffee and took their order.

"It didn't start until a couple of months ago. Just before the concert, actually."

"Kaileigh! You've been dealing with abuse for a couple of months now? Why didn't you say something-call and leave a message-send up smoke signals...something?"

Shaking her dark head, the young girl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Guess I figured he was just joking around at first. You know, playing. So I just brushed it off and chalked it up to boys being boys."

"I didn't have any brothers. Or boyfriends," she smirked. "How was I supposed to know when he started really meaning it?"

Kate flashed a look of deep concern and touched Kaileigh's hand. "What do you mean?"

"Last night I figured it out. He really means it."

Repeating herself, Kate asked again, with a more firm tone to her voice, "What do you mean?"

The teen looked down at the table, apparently avoiding eye contact; Kate watched as she slowly pushed up one of her sleeves, exposing the truth.

Gasping audibly, Kate moved the coffee cups to the side so she could examine the wrist, turning it over so she could see it better.

Dark plum and green, the bruising looked tender to the touch.

"He did this to you?" Kate's eyes welled up with angry tears. "Have you told anyone else yet?"

"No! I don't want to make this guy mad at me! I shouldn't have said anything."

"No! Just the other way around, Kaileigh! You should have brought this to my attention right away! This kind of behavior has to stop. Does he have any girlfriends that you know of? What if you're not the only one who's gotten a taste of...this?"

Nodding her head, she almost whispered, "Yeah, a few, I guess. He doesn't really bring them around the house though."

The social worker in Kate rose to the surface as she pulled her cell phone out.

"What are you doing?" the teenager panicked, yanking her sleeve back down to cover the evidence. "No way, Kate! I knew I should have kept my face shut," she mumbled, fear rising to the top.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kate could tell that the woman behind the counter had been waiting to bring their plates of cherry danish; she nodded her head that it was okay.

"I shouldn't have gone to that stupid concert with him. I am so stupid. Whose hand did I think touched my backside that night? I am so dumb!"

Kate tried to conceal her anger with the Dawson boy, but in this line of work, she had seen many predators and to her, they were all the same. Scum.

"This is in no way your fault, Kaileigh! He has to be accountable for his actions. You do know that, don't you?"

The teen shook her head. "No way," she affiirmed with a nervous stutter. "And besides, I really like the Dawsons. They don't need this."

"And I suppose you do?" Kate retorted.

Silence picked at them as they picked at their snack.

*

Ding, dong.

Jack Dawson folded his Saturday morning newspaper in half and laid it on the French leather ottoman, adjusting his shirt and pants as he approached the front door of his home.

"Good morning, Officers," Mr. Dawson greeted the men with a toothy smile, motioned for them to enter his domain. "It's cold out there, come on inside. What can I do for you?"

Noticing that someone stood behind them on the lower step, he recognized Kate's face and smiled, albeit in a most confused manner. "What is this about?"

Instantly the demeanor of his expression turned to one of horror. "Has something happened to Kaileigh? I thought she was going to breakfast with friends from the college." His raised voice brought Judith in from the kitchen.

Drying her hands on a dish towel, Judith rushed toward the door with it still damp in her hands. "What's going on?"

When nobody spoke up, one of the officers stepped aside so Kate could be included in the conversation.

"Maybe we could sit down first?" she suggested. "Kaileigh didn't meet with friends this morning, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson; she had breakfast with me. And I saw something. Kaileigh's right wrist has been bruised all the way around and I've taken the liberty of taking her to the hospital for x-rays."

Gasping for air, Judith clutched at her chest. "Oh, No! I need to get there right away," she announced just as she began to stand up.

"That's not a good idea, Mrs. Dawson," Kate advised the woman, "because she won't be coming back to your home."

"I don't understand," Jack said in his deeper attorney-voice. "Are you suggesting that either Judith or myself had anything to do with this? We adore that gi-"

He was cut short when Kate shook her head, eyebrows raised high. Shaking a hand flattened out in front of herself, Kate took a deep breath. "No, Mr. Dawson! In no way is anyone at all suggesting such a thing."

The taller officer asked him to please remain seated.

"Then what's going on?" his wife wanted to know.

Mr. Dawson the attorney, very much different than Jack the husband, asked his wife to please not say one more word and allow him to handle this "situation".

Folding the dish towel and her hands all at the same time, both went directly into her lap and her mouth shut in one swift motion.

Kate cleared her throat. "This is a very difficult thing for me to say to you both, but I have reason to believe that it's your son we need to speak with."

Jack's eyes rolled and he scoffed. "Oh, please. Those two have been like brother and sister since she came to live with us. We would have seen it, had there been any hanky-panky between them," he grinned, as if these adults had invaded his home on a Saturday morning to alert him to some high school crush gone sour.

"I'm afraid this is serious," the officer told Mr. Dawson the attorney. "Would you please show us to your son's room?"

*

Peter Dawson sat in the hard chair opposite the interviewing officer, in the smallest room the kid could imagine. White walls forced him to look only at the interviewer, but the boy had listened to his father's over stories over the years and knew that suspects had often been accused of doing horrendous things they had in fact been innocent of-simply due to their nervous demeanor in the interrogation room.

He kept his eyes focused squarely on the man at the tiny desk and spoke only when directly spoken to-another life lesson learned by carefully listening to his father.

"Of course," Peter answered in his most polite voice. "Kaileigh and I spent lots of time together. As you know, she was our foster child." He corrected himself. "My parent's foster care client."

"Where did those scratches on your neck come from, Peter?"

In a flash, the teenager's hand reached up and touched them, as if he knew they were there and had forgotten about them.

"Funny thing about scratches, the person who puts them there takes part of you away when they leave."

Peter swallowed.

"Is there anything you would like to add to this discussion, Peter?"
Chapter 16

The plump woman's voice could have very well been an alien version of that goat cartoon that used to be on air a couple of years ago, Kailiegh thought to herself. Just the mental image it planted in her head brought a wide grin to her face as she watched the lady search for the pencil that she'd poked behind her ear.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," and there she dove back into the file cabinet.

Since when do we file pencils anyhow? And this is who the state put in charge of my case?

The girl thought about saying something, but just as Kaileigh opened her mouth and raised her hand, the man one cubicle over stood up, looming his head over their shared wall like a balloon.

"S'cuse me, Paula. Do you have any more paper clips I could get from ya?"

The woman pulled her glasses down from the top of her head, wiggling the pencil free from behind her ear. "Oh, gracious me! There it is."

With one hand, she grabbed the pencil and with the other, opened her drawer to fish around for the container of clips. "Here you are, Ralph. You can have them, I've got more."

As if she had just taken half his case load home wither for the weekend, Ralph sprouted way too big a smile for simply inheriting a container of paper clips.

Kaileigh shut her eyes and rolled them around under closed lids, hoping against all odds that she wouldn't be in that cubicle when she reopened them.

Didn't work out that way, though.

Once she had fished through the stack of file folders on the left side of her desk, the woman smiled at Kaileigh. "Yes. You need those forms, don't you? Such an important and historic event in a youngster's life, isn't it? Have you studied the driver's manual from cover to cover?

"Nodding, the girl replied, "Oh, yes, Ma'am! Dave and Jenna have both been diligent about quizzing me on the points they feel will be on the exam, and they have been very generous about volunteering their car for me to practice with."

"Very good. Now you just take these forms with you and have them sign everything. This form," she pointed out, "guarentees that in the event of an accident, they assume all the responsibility to cover the repair bills and hospitalization of the other party. Not all foster care kids get this privilege, you know," she winked, pushing her chubby cheeks up under her glasses.

"Thank you, Ma'am. Jenna and I will be hitting the high school this afternoon for my enrollment papers. Do you need me to bring any verification back to you from the school?"

"No, but we will need all these forms back from the DMV-and signed, so we can make our copies. And remember, you won't be able to get your license without proof that you've taken the driving class and passed it."

"Yes, Ma'am," Kaileigh assured her.

*

Jenna turned the car radio down when Kaileigh exited the department of social services' rear door.

"I got 'em," came the report. "You know, if you let me drive to Alaska tonight, we won't have to keep track of the paperwork for several months. Why not just get it over and done with all at once?"

Jenna laughed out loud. "I'm game! Is this a girl's trip or are we gonna stop by and get Dave?"

"We should probably invite him. He carries the wallet."

Jenna laughed again. "Yeah, I forgot about that!"

"Listen," Kaileigh started. "I want you to know how much I appreciate you guys helping me get my license. I know you don't have to."

"Dave and I talked it over and we both agreed we'd kick ourselves later if we didn't help you get this done."

"Well, I vote we stop by the house, grab some lunch and head on over to the school and get you enrolled already. Are you up for all of this in one day?"

The teenager nodded. "You know, maybe the home school thing has been my only gig, but who knows? I just might like this, too. After all," Kaileigh nodded more to assure herself than anyone else, "I've had a pretty good time at the college, haven't I?"

Jenna agreed. "Never know if you don't try, right? And look at it this way: if you don't like it, you're a senior this year anyhow and it'll all be over soon enough anyhow. Especially with your extra credits."

"I still remember kindergarden. Kinda hard to believe I'm almost finished," she reflected.

Chapter 17

With her head bobbing this way and that to the rhythm of the pop music easing its way from the car radio, Kaileigh's grin affirmed that she liked the boy band she was listening to.

Kate checked the rear-view mirror in the state-issued SUV and had to laugh out loud as she watched her young client having so much fun this early in the morning; giving in to the moment, Kate adjusted her plastic green-trimmed sunglasses and belted out the chorus at the next red light inging more than a little off key.

Neither of them seemed to care that the elderly man in the pickup next to them was frowning at the pair of females; he rolled his window up halfway in a silent protest to their silliness.

Once they'd finished the last "Oh yeah!", Kaileigh took it upon herself to lean into the radio and turn the volume down, enhancing their speaking ability.

"I'm starving. And I have to go. Yeah," she rolled her eyes before Kate could ask. "Again."

"Look over there, " Kate pointed through the windshield. The Waffle Emporium boasted a rather large Grand Opening sign written in black lettering on a peach-tinted background banner; fresh sod lines could be seen in the insta-lawn in front of the newly constructed building, currently used to amuse a set of twin toddlers. Their parents were talking to another couple, occasionally glancing down to make certain the children were still within arm's reach.

"Heck, yeah! I didn't think they were opening til next weekend- and check it out-there's not even a line!," the teen almost shouted as Kate flipped her right-hand blinker on.

A semi-loud "Woo Hoo!" slipped from the younger passenger's mouth when they pulled into the parking spot. A snap of the belt buckle and she was opening the door before Kate even shut off the engine.

"Let's do this!"

As the double glass doors opened, a tall woman sporting the traditional burgundy Waffle Emporium hostess uniform greeted them and seated the pair in seats only three rows from the restroom.

"Perfect," Kate smiled.

Kaileigh nodded her departure to her guardian of the moment before the menus even hit the table.

*

Kate's fork picked up another bite of food, rolling it in a dab of warm pecan syrup before shoving it in her mouth.

"Oh, my gosh, this is so good," the youngest diner moaned in pure edible ecstasy between mouthfuls of her French toast.

"Mmm," agreed her companion, closing her eyes for emphasis. "I could eat here every day."

After the waitress filled their coffee cups for the second time, she offered to leave the rest of the pot with them.

Kaileigh waited for the dishes to be cleared from the table before she cut to the chase.

"I guess you have to ask me a whole bunch of questions, so let's just get it done and over with so we can enjoy the rest of the day. You have to ask me how I'm 'feeling' today and how I'm 'coping' with everything that life has scooped at my feet. Am I close?"

"No fair. You looked at my worksheet," Kate teased. She knew her client was an intelligent young lady and she wished that her life wasn't what it was. She also wished that even half of her of her clients were half as much fun as this girl; most of the teenagers Kate had been assigned to mentor were stubborn or downright rude to her.

Kaileigh sipped at her coffee and then added, "I also know that you have to leave a few comments about how I've been dealing specifically with the past year, right?"

Kate nodded; there wasn't any reason to put this off, and the girl was right. If they just got the paperwork out of their way, the day would be more enjoyable.

"They want me to fill up as many boxes and lines as you will permit me to."

As far as social workers went, Kate had proven to the only one who'd earned the girl's trust and respect. The others seemed to be in it only to demonstrate authority and showed virtually zero affection for the human race at all; Kaileigh referred to people such as these as 'Paycheck Collectors'.

Clearing her throat as if she were to begin a college dissertation on the ecological repercussion of nuclear pollution, the young Ross girl held her chin up as she began to lay all her cards out on the table.

"OK, so here's the deal. You might wanna grab that pen," she nodded to the ballpoint with a cool panda bear print. "First of all, your supervisors usually have generalized categorizes for their questions, right?"

Kate nodded, amused with the too-mature-for-her-age girl. Her parents had trained her very well and would ironically have been proud of her and the way she is handling this situation, she reflected.

"Oh, do they?" she asked, knowing full well that Kaileigh was correct. "How's that?"

She scrunched up her nose and just cocked her head to the side."Really?"

Kate had to give it up and chuckled at how well Kaileigh hit the target so accurately.

The teenager continued. "After a year of this, I'm pretty sure I get it by now. Number One is the obligatory _how are you today_ -the here and now to get the client rolling so the can act like they care what the reply will be in order to get to the Number Two category, which is the _how have you been since our last visit_ category. The chit-chat ensues for a while until the inevitable third category will rear its head when the _what are your plans for the future_ category pops up. How am I doing here, Chief?"

"I'd say you've pretty much got me scared. You gonna take my job?"

"No way, Scooter! I couldn't deal with all the idiots."

Not really sure where to go from that point, Kate could identify with that last statement.

"You know...maybe I should just hand you all the paperwork and let you fill it out yourself." She paused for a moment and tapped her pen against the stack of papers. "All kidding aside, Kaileigh,you should have pride in yourself for being such in intelligent, articulate young lady. You're like hanging out with my kid sister and sometimes I forget that I'm on a payroll when I'm with you."

Grinning, the girl nodded. "Ditto. You're not so bad, either."

Sensing the business side of their breakfast, the waitress came to retrieve the empty pot and left a plate of complimentary mini cinnamon rolls in its place, setting both of them back a few more calories.

*

Kate's SUV pulled up to the house on the hill as it had done a few times before. She left the keys dangling in the ignition as she helped Kaileigh carry empty boxes into the house.

With a foot propping the front door open for Kate, the pair climbed the staircase to the lofted bedroom and piled the empty boxes on the bed. On her parent's bed.

"I thought we could just box a few things up this time. You know, stuff they really never really used or wore all that much. That kind of thing. Maybe move my room up here," Kaileigh grinned. "They always said when their knees went, I could have it anyways."

"You okay with doing this?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I gotta at least try sorting through Mom and Dad's stuff if I wanna live here ever again."

Kate agreed, asking "So you're going to resume your old life, then? Have you thought about how you'll make a living way up here?"

"Well, since you asked," Kaileigh turned to her purse, "This might be of interest to you. I was waiting for the right time to tell you."

"You frighten me," she teased before taking the paper from her hands. "Kaileigh! This is from Crawley and Nate Publishing!"

"Well, are you gonna read it or what?"

Kate returned her eyes to the letter in her hand, her expression changing from confusion to sheer excitement as her eyes scanned the first sheet once more. A giggle escaping her lips, Kate pulled the second sheet of paper forward.

Kaileigh brought her hands together over her mouth in a nervous attempt to correctly read Kate's reaction to the letter, and looked pleased when the grin exploded into pure joy.

"How long have you known?"

"Three days. I haven't even told Dave and Jenna yet. I kinda wanted to tell someone for the first time up here. In Mom's house. Just seems right, I guess," she looked around.

Kate folded the letter up and returned it to the envelope, handed it back to the young lady in front of her. "This is incredible! A three book contract? That's fantastic! You said you were 'working' on something-but I had no clue you could do this!"

"I submitted the manuscript I've been working on finally got some feedback–told you my mom made a living with her writing; did you think I was playing when I said I could, too?"

Shaking her head, Kate assured her, "No. I believed everything you told me about your mom-but you're so young! It didn't seem plausible to me that you could already be following in her footsteps, I guess. I'm just so blown away!

"I am, too! So what do you think? This is pretty cool, huh?"

Hugging Kaileigh, she laughed. "Yeah, this is cool! Way cool! It's very cool!"

Chapter 18

"Hey, Kaileigh, you have any plans for the day?" Jenna called to her from the kitchen. "I wanna do something instead of just sitting in the house."

The teenager leaned out her bedroom door. "Yeah, I've been so preoccupied school, I could use some recreation in my life. What do you feel like doing?"

"Yard sales!"

Tackling the local newspaper, Jenna called out addresses while Kaileigh wrote them down.

"Looks like Lucinda's got one today, too. We can just walk down to her place; I've been meaning to introduce you to her anyhow. One thing with her sales, though," Jenna warned, "never leave without the wagon when you go, because that lady always has something you can't live without."

Kaileigh's eyebrows tightened. "What does she have so much of?"

"Crafting supplies. She and her late husband owned that big craft supply store out on the highway for years. Put all their kids through college on it. When Lyle died, she was done." Jenna motioned for the girl to follow her out to the garage to fetch the oversized plastic wagon. "Little by little, she's been letting stuff go for pretty cheap." Remembering last summer, Jenna snapped her fingers. "Ya know, Dave got a rock tumbler from her and stashed it in the garage. We should have him drag that thing out and see what all it does. You ever use one of those things before?"

Kaileigh and her mother had spent many an afternoon doing crafting activities together in that mountain salt-box; they'd quilted and beaded and painted, created wildflower arrangements they'd pressed later to use in their bookmark creations. They hadn't exactly played with a rock tumbler before, however.

The left rear wheel on the small wagon felt like it needed to be tightened; the girl made a mental note to check it out later on.

Jenna unlatched the side gate on the back yard and held it open for her younger friend to get through. "Hey, I just thought about something. Why don't we go to that flea market over in Beckwin? Won't take more than what-forty-five minutes to get there."

Nodding her head in agreement, Kaileigh led the way down the sidewalk. "Yeah, sounds like fun. I've never been there before. My family used to go to auctions a lot but I've never been to a flea market in my life."

Jenna grabbed Kaileigh's arm, pretending like the girl was terminally ill. "How have you lived without flea markets?"

She laughed. "I try to remind you people: I was raised in the mountains and we did not have all this stuff in the middle of where. You should come up with me and Kate sometime and see my house. I guarantee you'll fall in love with the solitude and quiet."

"Eh, I like the mall and grocery store within throwing distance,"

Lucinda waved at Jenna and her friend when she heard the wagon rolling along the sidewalk.

"A good morning to you both," the short Asian woman greeted them. "I see you have high hopes this morning, Jenna," she pointed toward the wagon.

"I do! Lucinda, this is our new friend, Kaileigh. She's going to finish up her high school year with us and I've been meaning to bring her on down to meet you. Dave and I have spoken about you around the house, so Kaileigh, this is Lucinda. Lucinda, please meet Kaileigh."

The polite girl extended her hand to shake the woman's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Lucinda," she told her straight in the eye.

The woman's eyes widened as she held her own small, withered hand out to take Kaileigh's. She placed the other hand on top, encasing the young lady's hand in hers. "So! You are our young neighborhood author, aren't you? Jenna's done nothing but brag about you and now I get the chance to congratulate you myself! Come, take a look around," the woman invited.

Jenna waved at another neighbor and said hello; the girl with the wagon realized how much this neighborhood meant to her once she had seen how many people she knew from the area, This neighborhood meant as much to Jenna as the mountains and trees meant to Kaileigh.

She smiled at the connection she'd just made.

"Hey, wagon master," Jenna called her from her own little world of family trees. "Look what I have dibbs on!"

"You know how to use a sewing machine?"

"Not yet, but Lucinda said it comes with unlimited lessons, so I figure it's a pretty good deal! I'm so excited!Come help me decide which bundle of fabric to get," Jenna almost squealed/

Once the pair had settled up with Lucinda, the woman stared at Kaileigh for a moment before speaking.

"Jenna tells me you're thinking about buying a car."

"Yes, ma'am; it's going to be awhile, though, because I don't really want to touch what I have in the bank," she explained.

"I might have a proposition for you, young lady. How would you like to earn some money for that car by helping an old lady around her house?"

*

Dave leaned back in his overstuffed faux leather recliner.

"So I hear someone's on the way to her own car pretty soon," he said out loud.

Jenna grinned.

"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous, though. Think she'll like me enough to keep me on long enough to get a whole car paid off?"

"Lucinda? Oh gosh, yeah! Once you really start to know her, you'll hate to leave her house at the end of the day. When does she want you to start?"

"She said she'd make up a list of everything she wants done while I'm in school this week and Saturday whenever I'm ready, I can just go over. What do you suppose I'll be doing for her, anyway?"

Dave pointed the remote and clicked.

"Well, I've noticed that she's kinda let her yard go lately. Maybe she's having a hard time stooping or getting on her knees, so I bet there's gonna be some yard work for sure. And maybe help in her basement."

Jenna popped out from behind the kitchen wall, where she was making taco salads. "I bet you'll be helping her get organized for the next yard sale!"

Chapter 19

"Now, if you find anything on that list you don't want to do, I want you to let me know," Lucinda reminded her new worker.

"Oh, no, this is fine. I grew up in the mountains, so I've spent many days chopping and stacking firewood, hauling stuff around our property for my parents. There isn't much I can't do, really. My dad taught me how to work hard," she confirmed.

"That's wonderful. When I was a little girl, my father spent most of his time making a living for the family and rarely had time for us girls. I come from a traditonal way of life," she sipped at her tea. "What do the kids today call it? Old school?"

"Ha ha, yeah. That's what they say. How many siblings do you have?"

Lucinda pushed herself away from the table and motioned for Kaileigh to follow her. "I have only one sister, but my aunt ran off and deserted her family, so my mother took them in. Cousins by blood but brothers and sisters in the heart," she recollected, passing a family photograph to Kaileigh. "All together there were nine of us, plus my parents. Other families saw ours as a spectacle at times, since most families in our area generally have only one or two children."

"Are you still close with all of them?"

Running a finger along the frame of the family photograph, she nodded. "Yes, for the most part. We've all moved around and don't see each other very often anymore. It has become too difficult for all of our families to get together in one place at the same time. Now that would make a great family photograph," the older woman nodded.

"Do you have a computer?" the girl inquired of her. "You could Skype."

Lucinda's eyes squinted. "We could what?"

"Skype! Think of it as a technology that transforms the screen of a computer into a television screen. If your family members have the same program in their computer, you can actually make a video telephone call with them. You could see and hear your family on the computer screen. It's really incredible!"

Lucinda cocked her head to one side. "I don't have a computer, but I would buy one if I could see my sister with it!" Shaking her head, the woman returned the frame. "Incredible," she mumbled. "Well, shall we get back to our list?"

*

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Kaileigh squirmed in the uncomfortable wooden high school seat-desk combo, waiting for that bell to ring her deliverance from the day's enslavement to the educational institution. Her eyes glanced down occasionally to her to-do list, running over the items and mentally adding to it here and there. The teacher's mouth was moving, but all she heard was something similar to Charlie Brown's teacher in the Peanuts.

Lucinda would be waiting with her own full list of chores to get started on, and her plan was getting at least a few of them marked off the list before the mandatory study for tomorrow's Organization and Life Skills class; she needed the extra credits from those night classes if she intended to get out of this place mid-term. And she did have every intention to graduate early.

Kaileigh's eraser-topped pencil gently bounced against an open notebook. Realizing that her teacher had asked her a question, but she had missed it, the girl smiled back at him.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. K. Would you please repeat that for me?"

Her smile was genuine and owning up to the fact that she'd been taken off guard, her history teacher nodded..

"I was assigning your midterm essay project. You might want to write this down," he suggested with a hint of a grin. "What do you feel is the greatest historic moment of Alexander the Great's rule in Greece and why do you feel this way?" Mr. K turned his attention to the rest of the class as he finished up with, "As always, I'll be looking for a running list of the sources you glean your information from on the final sheet of paper. This essay will count for one-half of your semester's grade, so let's make it count."

Once the majority of the class had shoved their way out of his class, Kaileigh approached her teacher's desk.

"I'm really sorry about that. Spacing out, I' mean. I've just got so much on my mind, but I really was paying attention for the most part," shew assured him. "And thanks for my assignment; Alexander is one of my favorite historical people, so this will be a snap."

Mr. K acknowledged her busy schedule and commented on how he'd been aware of her extra curricular activities over at the community college.

"You are to be commended; once in a great while, a student passes my door and I know in my gut that student will lead a very productive life after graduation. You're one of the rare students I have that gut feeling about. If there is any way I can help you, I trust you'll give me that privilege."

"Absolutely! Thanks for the offer, I might have to take you up on that; maybe you can help me count up all the credits I've earned so far. I'm aiming for an early graduation," she told him flat-out.

"Yeah, I can get that done for you; give me a couple of days to get that information rounded up and we'll go from there."

To seal their deal, the girl extended her hand and they shook on it. "I sure do appreciate the help, but for now, gotta run. I have to study for a test before I go to work"

Taken back, Mr. K had to shake his head. "You also have a job?"

"Oh, it's nothing that stressful. I'm working for a neighbor lady, house and yard work mostly." The girl thanked her teacher again and made her farewell.

As the over-achieving teen exited, Mr. K shook his head again; it was young adults like her that reaffirmed his faith in the next generation. If anyone could have claimed a rotten deck of cards being dealt to them as an excuse for being a sluff in life, it would have been that girl right there.

*

Shaking the last bits of debris from Lucinda's throw rug, Kaileigh laughed at the punchline of the older lady's joke. "That's cute," she laughed with her neck craned to the left in an effort to choke out the dust flying off the rug. "Did your nephew tell you a lot of jokes the last time you saw him?"

"Oh, he sure did; he thought a few of them were a lot more comical than I did, to tell you the truth," Lucinda winked.

Folding the throw rug into thirds, Kaileigh laid it across her forearm, and glanced to the other side of Lucinda's back porch. "I'm gonna put this back in place," she let her know.

"Tell you what. I'll go in with you and we can have a little break."

Deciding on lemonade and sugar cookies, they went over the list of chores, running lines through each task already perofrmed.

"I can't believe how much you've already gottten done, my dear. This work has been piling up forever, you just come over and-," she clapped her hands together, "it's done!"

The young helper just grinned. It wasn't that big a deal, she thought to her self.

"Now, if you notice, last on the list is the garage. We don't have to tackle it today, but I'd really like to begin cleaning ip up sometime within a week if we can."

"Sure. You need me to move some boxes or something?"

Lucinda finished her bite of cookie. "Yes, there are a few heavy boxes, but I have another job hidden in there," she grimaced. "My husband and I used to travel around in a motor home we bought back in the 70s and it's been sitting in there ever since he passed. It needs cleaning up and probably a bunch of other things," she rolled her eyes. "Who knows what's wrong with it by now?"

The girl's heartbeat increased at the thought of getting her hands greasy again. It had been almost a year since her last brake job!

Not wanting to sound overly eager, Kaileigh waited a couple of seconds before inquiring, "What would you like me to do with the motor home?"

Lucinda shrugged her shoulders, scrunched her lips up and just shook her head. "Oh, I don"t know what you could do with that thing. Tidy it up for me and get ready to sell it, I suppose. Guess we should start with moving all that junk around it-sort and separate all of it. I'm not even sure what's out there anymore," she chuckled. "Kaileigh, we may have to organize another yard sale."

As the woman's voice trailed off in the back of Kaileigh's mind, she began whirling around a few ideas on how she could be the one who purchased that thing from Lucinda.

*

Jenna raised one hand in the air. "I win! I told ya she'd have you help her with another yard sale!"

Her husband shook his head. "Items must be reproducing in her basement; there is no other explanation for how that lady always finds more stuff to sell."

"Yeah, well, the neighbors say she can keep it coming," Jenna interrupted. "And so do I. Half of our home décor is Lucinda's stuff!"

While they tried to declare the fate of the neighborhood, Kaileigh only thought of that Dolphin in the garage down the street. Lucinda had opened the side door and let her take a look inside so she could see what the woman was calling 'a mess'; in all reality, though, Kaileigh only saw a few years worth of dust and dead flies inside the thing. The fridge had been ajar, so even that didn't need much more than a good bleach cleaning. The wheels turned in her head; she wondered how difficult it would be to actually drive-and how hard the Buchanans would laugh at her if they knew she desperately wanted to ask Lucinda about buying it.

Chapter 20

Jenna demonstrated a genuine interest in what the kids were learning in schools these days as her butcher's knife chopped celery stalks and carrots for their chicken pot pie.

"I don't know anything at all about the math you guys do. Not that math was ever my strong point," she grinned. "My teacher pretty much failed me in math once we got past division. Fractions were about the pinnacle of my expertise, really."

Agreeing that math is the devil, the student told her, "I get stuck at anything beyond addition, so you're a genius compared to me. Hey, you wanna hear what we talked about in our social studies class today?"

Jenna smiled her answer.

"You ever hear about freegans or freeganism lifestyles?"

"Uhm, are those people who troll the internet for free things?"

The student laughed. "No, not quite. They're people who eat food items that pretty much anyone who isn't either homeless or starving to death would consider inedible. According to this filmstrip we watched, some of these people take dumpster diving to the extreme. They pull out stuff that's old and moldy, have been sitting out in those hot bins in the sun for five days, in the rain, and then yank it out and stuff it in their faces."

Jenna's face completely scrunched up, displaying her opinion of this activity.

"Isn't that dangerous? I bet they get pretty sick doing that."

"Yeah, you would think so, but we even read about this couple who lives in some other country-I don't remember exactly where, cause I really tried to block out the details-but this couple even picks up road kill and takes it home to eat."

"And there went my appetite," Jenna grimaced with another chop of her knife. "That is just so... "

"Nasty?" Kaileigh filled in her blank.

Jenna shivered.

"But you wanna hear something funny, though?"

"Yeah, let's funny it up. Real quick, or I might lose my breakfast."

"One of the cheerleaders had to be excused from class because she started making baby barf noises. The whole class thought she was gonna puke right there in the fourth row! It was quite comical, actually," she reported with a huge grin plastered across her smirking face. "Personally, I thought the lecture was worth it just so we could see Miss Perky on the verge of tossing cookies."

Jenna placed a bottom crust into the rectangular glass baking dish. "Speaking of school, how's the night gig going?"

Blowing out a breath, the young student buried her head in her hands. "Juggling all the classes is difficult, but to be honest, it's not the night classes that are getting to me, though."

"You having problems with one of the instructors?" Jenna asked, then popped her head up quickly when another thought entered her head. "Is some guy harassing you?"

Holding up a hand in front of herself, the teen shook her head. "Nah, nothing like that. I'm just so burned out on high school, I can't wait until it's all over and done with already. There are other things I wanna be doing. Know what I mean?"

"You're not an average teenager, either, Kaileigh. I bet you are getting a little tired of it," she agreed, pouring a batch of pot pie ingredients over the crust.

Kaileigh tore out the assignment she'd been working on in her notebook, folded the paper back on the perforation to remove the jagged edge and told Jenna, "I don't mean to complain. At least I get out early, right?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to find out when you graduate! We are definitely celebrating that night! Oh, hey, guess what Lucinda called me about while you were at school today? Apparently you have another task on the list."

The girl popped a sour cream chip in her mouth. "What's on the agenda?"

"Shopping. She was asking me questions about computers of all things. And Skyping," she chuckled.

"Fun! But do you think you could go along with us? I mean, that's an awful lot of money to spend kind of spur of the moment, don't you think? I'd hate for her to buy something just because I like it myself. I'm definitely no computer expert." Kaileigh explained.

"I agree, that is a lot of money. I was thinking about it, and the only reason she wants one is so she can keep in touch with her family and maybe experiment with the internet or play a game of cards. She has never even seen email before."

Kaileigh brought a hand to her chin and mulled the situation over. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Jenna nodded. "I think so. Tablet?"

"Exactly. Much cheaper and it fits her needs better. And when we teach her how to download books, it'll blow her mind," the teenager grinned.

*

Ring!

Students scrambled down each aisle as backpacks bounced against knees and each other, blending in with whoops of joy and talk of plans for the upcoming weekend. Conversations weaved in and out the opened windows of Mr. K's Social Studies class room as his eyes moved from student to student, smiling and waving at ths one and that until Kaileigh finally made her way to the front.

Mr. K held out a long white envelope. "I've gathered the goods, Miss Ross. You are practically a free bird."

She cocked her head to one side, raked a hand through her long dark hair to get it out of her eyes as she bent down to plant the backpack firmly on the industrial tile floor, buffed to a dull shine.

"What is this?"

"Your walking papers."

A pair of blue eyes grew larger than normal as the girl read over each number. "No way," she grinned. "Is this for real?"

"I'm afraid so. I believe the best student this room has seen in a couple of years just might be walking out that door for the final time here pretty quick. You look surprised."

Kaileigh bobbed her head up and down. "I am! I'd been hoping those night classes would pay off in the long run-but I figured it would be the long run," she stammered. Another look at the paperwork and she grinned. "Wow, this is nuts!"

*

Dave and Jenna handed their dinner plates to Kaileigh so she could take them to the sink with her own.

"Thank you, Darlin'," Dave told her with an exaggerated southern drawl. "Them was some mighty fine vittles."

Jenna stopped folding her napkin to stare at him. "Who are you and whaat have you done with my husband?"

He laughed. "We got some new guy today at work. He actually talks that way."

Kaileigh grimaced. "I'm sorry you have to work with one of the Beverly Hillbillies," she teased. "But ice cream makes everything better-you guys want chocolate fudge or the strawberry?"

Dave nodded. "Yes."

Kaileigh sat three bowls down on the table and, produced the envelope containing her grades.She slid it to the center of the table.

"And what is that?" Dave inquired through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Open it and find out."

Jenna reached out and grabbed the mystery envelope, making a face at Kaileigh. "Have we won the almighty jackpot?"

"I know I have," came her answer.

Squinting and with her head turned to the side, Kaileigh could tell that Jenna's concentrated look meant she was soaking in the full meaning of what her eyes found on the sheet of paper.

"Oh, Kai! This is incredible! You did it!"

Passing the news to Dave, she jumped up from her seat, ran around to the other side of the table and hugged Kailiegh around the neck. "I am so proud of you!"

"So are you just done, then?" Dave wantd to know. He looked confused and yet delighted all at the same time.

Kaileigh yanked the spoon from her mouth. "No, not yet. But I'm dangerously close now. Mr. K said I lack another twenty-five hours."

Jenna's head popped up a bit. "That's only three or four more days!"

"Pretty much! I won't have to deal with the rest of senior year, which rocks, because that means I can spend more time down at Lucinda's and earn some real cash for my get-away car," she only half teased.

"Have we narrowed it down to what you want to get? Car or golf cart? Green or blue?"

Kaileigh glanced at Dave and Jenna, pausing before openening and then shutting her mouth real quick.

"Uh-oh," Dave groaned. "I know that look. What's the hang-up? You want the pickup truck we drove by the other day, don't ya? Well, if that's the one you really want, we can take a loo-"

Kaileigh cut him off. "Well, I might have found something, but I'm scared to say what."

Dave shook his head. "Between the two of us, we can get it running. You know you can use the garage and the tools, and if we need to get a motor, we'll just send Jenna out for one," he grinned.

She snorted."Yeah, right. I am the last person on earth you want to send after car parts," Jenna reminded them.

"Well, when do we get to see it?"

"Soon as I talk to you guys about something."

Jenna's face reflected a look of hesitation, so Dave asked the question: "What's on your mind?"

"You know how I'm gonna be eighteen in about six months? I've been thinking about that lately."

Jenna'es eyed began to well up with tears. "Kai, we want you to know that's just a number. Please don't think we're changing the locks the night before. This has become your home over the past few months. Or your home away from home, anyhow," she ammended. "We were kind hoping you would feel the same way."

"Oh, I do! If it hadn't of been for you guys, I don't know how I would have made it this last stretch. But ever since I got that letter from Crawley and Nate, I've been wondering about things. You know I'm keeping the mountain house, that's a no-brainer. But I don't know if I'm really ready to live up there all by myself just yet, which has set my mind into motion. You know, just thinking about different options."

"I'm sorry, Kai," Jenna held her feelings back as well as she could. "We knew this conversation would eventually come up, but we didn't think it would be for several more months. I guess you just kind of surprised me."

Nodding, the high school senior folded her hands on the table and took in a full breath; Jenna had become her surrogate mother.

"I'm just starting to think about what I want to do with myself. Igrew up figuring I'd be on that hill forever, never really even thought about my future plans, let alone leaving the mountains. Knowing I have a real chance at my writing as a means of support is huge; my mom used to say that it's a portable income. No matter where you are, you have a job. I may as well take advantage of some of the cash my parents left me and see what's out there, right?" Kaileigh tested the water and when she felt that there would be no tidal wave, added, "Do you think California would be any fun to go check out?"

Silence filled the kitchen for a second or two before Dave finished rubbing his chin.

"I'm trying to think...my aunt and uncle lived somewhere close the Redwood Forest out there. He made all kinds of stuff out of the wood. Clocks, trunks, a couple of cabinets," he reflected to his childhood. "And who doesn't wanna go see Disney Land, right?"

"Well, yeah! It would be awesome to have my picture taken with Mickey and Minnie, get it all framed and whatever. So do you think I could do it? Go there all by myself?"

Jenna bit her bottom lip and stood to go wash out her ice cream bowl. She is not my child, she looked like she was repeating in her own head.

Working off his wife's unspoken cue to handle the conversation, Dave asked, "Have you ever flown before? How long are you thinking about prowling around out there?"

Glancing out of the corner of her eye at Jenna, the teenager shook her head and lowered her voice just a bit. "No, I haven't ever flown, but I wasn't thinking of just going for a couple of weeks, either."

He nodded an understanding of where this was heading.

"That car I was thinking about? Not exactly a car. Lucinda wants to turn loose of her old motor home, and if I could get someone to help me give it the once-over to see if it would be worth it..." she begged with her expression.

"Well, I did not see that one coming. But I'll help get it road-ready. You sure this is what you want?"

She offered a nervous grin, twisted her napkin in half and in half once more. "No. Not really," she admitted. "But if I don't try, I'll always wonder, ya know what I mean?"

Dave leaned in and rested his elbows on the table, looked Kaileigh in her eyes as he told her, "I have faith in you. I believe you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Jenna shared that sentiment with her husband. She just didn't want to let go.

*

"So you want to know about the Dolphin, huh?"

"I do. I was wondering if there was anything wrong with the power train."

Lucinda leaned her head to one side. "What is a power train? I don't know if it even has one of those."

Kaileigh grinned. "Every vehicle has one. That's the term used to group both the motor and the transmission together as one working unit."

Shaking her head, the older Asian lady responded by holding her hands up in front of herself. "I have no clue what you're even talking about, but goodness me, if you know anyone who is interested in it, send them my direction. I certainly won't be driving it. My husband always did the driving. I was just along for the ride," she smiled. "I did that well."

Feeling some pressure off her shoulders, Kaileigh sat up just a bit taller in her seat and announced that she was the interested party.

"You are? What in the world would you do with it?"

Supplying the run-down she had given the evening before to Dave and Jenna, Lucinda tapped at her lower lip with her skinny pointer finger.

"I think the keys are inside one of the drawers in the motor home itself," she thought out loud. "We were going to start on the garage today anyway, so let's get to it," Lucinda suggested. "I'm tickled to know you might be taking it over. What do the Buchanans think about your plan?"

"Jenna and I haven't really talked about it all that much. I just sprang it on them last night. Dave, though? He seems to be in favor so far. But I guess the real question lies with you: are you willing to sell it to me? I realize you must have an awful lot of memories tied up with it, so if you want to hang on to it, please don't feel like I'll be upset."

"I thought about selling it last year, actually; the only reason I didn't go through with it is because nobody could even get close enough to look at the thing," she confessed. "So let's open that door and see what we've got to work with, shall we?"

Kaileigh saw exactly what the woman was talking about; her garage could easily be featured on an episode of Hoarders. Mystery solved about where the endless yard sales were coming from, she chuckled internally.

"Oh, we can dig through this-" she almost said _mess_ , but instead opted for the word, _situation_. "Where should we begin?"

Kaileigh would have begun anywhere-she was going to be the proud owner of this baby when they were all finished!

The woman lifted a hand to her temples to ward off the oncoming headache; "You've got me," she answered truthfully.

Chapter 21

"No" Kaileigh answered from under a pile of laundry. "There's so much stuff in there, it's gonna take a whole month just getting all of it out of the garage, sorted, organized and priced for the next sale. Lucinda was saying that with the motor home out of there, she can just keep tables spread out with sale items spread out all the time-just reorganized and moved around. I'm kinda surprised she's not any more attached to the thing, but then again, I still haven't even seen inside it or under the hood yet. Let's see how attached I get to it after I get to check it out," Kaileigh warned herself out loud.

Dave dug into the yellow laundry basket, joining the teenager who had already been folding her own laundry for the past few minutes.

"Ya know, Kai, Jenna and I have been talking this whole thing over, and the more we talk about it, the more we want to share our thoughts with you."

"I'm not gonna lie, Dave. It's not like this field trip of mine isn't scaring the shorts offa me. But I may never have this chance ever again, and I am coming back here. I have a home waiting and friends who love me. I will be back."

Yanking three towels out of his basket and laying them across his knee, Dave agreed with her. "You're young, and that can sometimes be a two-edged sword," he warned honestly. "We just feel like we should give you some sound advice to think over, that's all. And I want to take you out in the Dolphin a whole bunch of times before you finally hit the road. All alone. On the freeway. By yourself. Out there."

"Okay, okay," she grinned. "I get it already." She knew he was right, though.

"Let's just hope it runs or at least let's hope we can fix whatever's gone wrong with it for a little less than a gold mine," Dave wished out loud. "So has Lucinda mentioned anything about the condition of it yet?"

"All I've heard so far is that she was the passenger and did little more than roll the windows down when it got stuffy," she groaned. "When I asked about the condition of the power train, she didn't think it had one, if that gives you any indication."

They made faces at one another before discussing the many possibilities they could encounter with the vehicle.

"There are the more obvious things like brakes, changing all the fluids and filters, and a new battery just for good measure. But I was also thinking," Kaileigh mentioned, "it might also be a pretty good idea if we went ahead with a full tune-up, including changing out all the plug wires, ya know what I mean? May as well just do it all while we're in there."

"I pray there's no rod knock or burning oil," Dave inserted over the t-shirt he folded.

Kaileigh groaned. "If we have to replace the engine, thats gonna knock me back some."

"I don't remember Lucinda's husband. It's kind of hard to say whether or not he maintained it, ya know? But she's a pretty smart gal, and I can't see her being married to an idiot. I'm sure it's gonna be all good," he assured.

*

It was on a Thursday morning when Kaileigh and three other students stood in the Principal's main office, each one deciding how they would like to receive their early diplomas. They were allowed three options to choose from: a traditional cap and gown photo with the faculty standing behind the student as Mr. Johnson handed the diploma over, it could be mailed to the student's home, or the student and their parents-or guardians-could come to the school and sign for the document in the office the following day.

Three students opted to sign in the office the following day, while the fourth student chose to have his diploma mailed; he had a dental appointment and said he would just want to go home and sleep after the "funny gas".

"Just make sure you place it inside a steel binder so the post office doesn't mangle it in the mail," he teased.

Mr. Johnson promised he would make certain it arrived safely, patting each of the new high school graduates on their shoulders as the exited his office.

"Four more entering the work force;" Kaileigh overheard him saying to his secretary. "Let's just hope we've prepared them well for what they're about to meet out there."

*

A bit of jacket fleece accompanied Kaileigh's fingers as they popped out of her pocket and began to drum an anxious beat on the leg of her blue jeans.

The woman grinned and nodded; yes, that was that. "According to our work log, you have earned the last payment."

Yes! The 1979 Toyota Dolphin motor home now belonged to Miss Kaileigh Ross, high school graduate, published author and traveling adventurer. It was official.

Lucinda scooted the envelope with the title across the table, past the two China platters of homemade pastry they'd been snacking on while going over the payment log.

"So. Are you scared, nervous, or just plain old excited to see all of us in your rear-view mirrors?"

Kaileigh shook her head a bit, attempting to clear out the cobwebs forming. She'd just finished buying her very own home on wheels!

"Kinda all the above?" Blowing out a breath, she looked out the kitchen window, beyond the little garden, and and into the blue skies overhead. "It's just so weird," she mumbled. "None of this would even be happening if Mom and Dad were still here. It would have been so different, you know what I mean?"

Lucinda understood.

"You better expect me to call you up on that computer thing from time to time!"

"We can Skype any time you want to, I promise," Kaileigh wiped at the corner of her mouth. "Guess I have a bunch to get done. I'm thinking about leaving next week. Tuesday, maybe. Promised Dave I wouldn't take off on a busy weekend," she grinned.

The girl shut the front door to Lucinda's home and turned her head down the street toward The Buchanan's home. There it sat, in front of their house at the curb: her get away chariot. "Scared and excited, yeah," she mumbled to herself as she ambled down the sidewalk. "But I'm not going to be happy seeing any of you in the rear-view mirrors."

*

The goodbyes said, the phone calls made, and the motor home given the final once-over; it was time for Kaileigh to hit the road.

With pursed lips, Jenna raised a hand to wave goodbye, although her eyes were so blurred by the tears that she could scarcely even see Kaileigh as the keys slid into the ignition

Chapter 22

Turning off highway fifteen, just off the Barstow/Mohave junction exit, Kaileigh was pleased with herself for the impeccable timing of arriving mid-afternoon in the town of Yerma; she would have the rest of the day to relax and explore the town, even find more postcards for her scrapbook.

The first business she spied was the cutest diner off to the side of the frontage road. Pulling the motor home up to the side of the café, Kaileigh ran a hair brush through her mop and spruced her make-up just a tad before grabbing her bag and locking up.

Seated toward the rear of the diner, the young traveler allowed her eyes to take in every cranny of the establishment, noticing the polka dotted valances and the cute multi colored dinnerware.

An older woman in a pink and white waitress uniform handed the girl a worn menu.

"You're new around here," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I'm just passing through. Thought this place looked cute from the outside, and now I'm really glad I decided to stop in," Kaileigh smiled back. "I love the polka dots."

"Oh yeah? I made those myself," the waitress beamed. "Got the material for free, in exchange for letting the 4-H kids use the parking lot for their car wash."

Folding the menu, Kaileigh asked, "Oh, so I take it you own the diner yourself?"

Holding a hand over her chest, the waitress nodded. "Sure do! Well, me and the most handsome old man on earth," she boasted with a turn of her head. Over the semi-empty diner, the waitress called out to the man who obviously held down the cooking end of the establishment.

One cheeseburger and order of fries later, Kaileigh found herself fishing around in her bag for her cell phone to check her email and text messages.

" _Remember that kid who popped a wheelie with you in the elevator_ ," Maria's text message read. " _He got caught in the linen closet yesterday sleeping in one of the sheet-collecting bins–who would even want to sleep in there? Needless to say,_ " Maria continued, " _He is no longer part of the third floor team. Where are you? Miss ya!"_

Kaileigh pulled out two one-dollar bills and slid them under the empty soda glass on her way to the cash register.

The waitress had already placed a slice of their famous peanut butter pie in a to-go container, saying it was on the house.

"Thank you both for such a great dinner. G'night," she waved as the little bell tinkled over the glass door.

Feeling more like a nap than getting behind the wheel, Kaileigh continued down the frontage road for a few miles, driving by the town's tiny high school.

She wondered in passing at their graduating seniors and what their plans for the future were and whether or not many of them would work hard at making their dreams become a reality.

The city limit sign informed the traveller that she was about to spend the night in the small town of Yermo, California. Pulling her Dolphin into a narrow entrance at the rear of what she assumed was the city's only park, she circled around until the nose pointed inward under a patch of trees in the far end of the parking lot.

Kaileigh removed the keys from the ignition and took a look around. She'd been doing that a lot lately-looking around at things.

"Perfect," she told herself, flipping through the stack of postcards she'd intended to weed through. Some for her own scrapbook, some going back to Colorado. One of them reminded her of Lucinda; she made a mental note to video call the older woman and let her know the trip could be counted as a success.

"I'm going to fall asleep in California tonight!" the young lady squealed.

*

Plunking her toothbrush down into its holder and snapping the germ-retarding lid around the bristles, Kaileigh changed out of her pajamas and checked the mirror for dark circles under her eyes. Satisfied with the reflection, navy blue painted fingernails grabbed the makeup bag; she plopped it down on the table andpoured a cup of coffee, flipped the switch under the counter, adjusted the CD player's volume and sat down to paint her face all in one fluid motion. An important day waited for her.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!"

Peeking out the curtain to stare at the sky-as she had done about twelve times already-she wanted to double and triple check that the weather had agreed to hold up for her California debut.

*

Town after town and mile after mile, the Dolphin cruised deeper into the heart of California, taking Kaileigh even closer to the destination she'd circled on the map.

Chapter 23

Starving for a great lasagna, Kaileigh pulled her phone out to search for the nearest Italian restaurant; narrowing the list by eliminating the most expensive ones right away, Le Petit Risorante et Café won the coin toss, luring the starving traveler with the incentives of not only being the least expensive menu but also the closest in distance.

Appreciating GPS yet another day, she found herself drawn into the parking lot of an upscale-looking eatery in a nice part of town; the green and white striped awnings added an elegant touch, as did the large wooden bins of wildflowers situated outside the restaurant on an enclosed patio area.

Kailiegh instantly fell in love with the surroundings as she opened the double glass etched doors that read in fancy lettering, _The Montgomery Building_. The aroma yanked at her feet, willing her to move forward.

An auburn-headed woman at the door introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Meg. Welcome to my restaurant-would you like to have a window seat?" She gave a little wave of her hand. "As you can see, we're a bit free at the moment," she smiled.

The restaurant owner walked Kaileigh toward the rear of the dining room and seated Kaileigh in the corner booth she'd requested.

"Would you mind terribly if I worked on my laptop while I eat?" she asked.

"Of no, of course not! I have a strong wifi connection for my customers-I encourage you to use all that you need. I'll be back with a basket of fresh bread sticks and that iced tea. Would you prefer white or whole wheat?"

*

Appreciating how the delicate chandeliers hung from the exposed beams overhead, Kaileigh's eyes followed the intricate light patterns across the floor, she had been observing a young couple several tables to her left and imagined herself in that young lady's place. Averting her eyes back to her own table, she also couldn't help but wonder how an Italian restaurant could possibly lay out such sparkling white linens and lace at each table; this lady must have an excellent laundry service, Kaileigh thought to herself.

As Meg filled the iced tea glass, Kaileigh asked if she wouldn't like to sit down for a few minutes with her.

"I mean," she stammered, embarrassed for taking that leap of courage, "unless you have things to do."

Learning that a science-fiction convention across town at the fair grounds most likely borrowed most of Meg's customers for the evening, she told Kaileigh she was happy to have someone to talk to for a while.

"My brother, Daniel, he stops by every once in a great while, but he's busy with his own life, of course, so we mainly do the hit and miss game at home. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Meg and Kaileigh hit it off right away, gabbing in between bites of lasagna and salad, Meg's attending to the occasional customer, and checking on her cooking staff in the kitchen.

By the night's end, Kaileigh's word count on her manuscript could have been higher, but she needed the time speaking with an actual human being. The voices in my head only go so far, she laughed to herself.

Learning that she was a new resident in town, Meg inquired about Kaileigh's housing and which side of town she landed in.

"I'm a motor home dweller," she said with a soft declaration. "There's that RV place past the highway-you probably know the place. They have great rates, the couple that runs it seems to be decent and it's easy to get in and out of. It's been pretty cool having all my stuff with me, but I have to admit that in the beginning it was kinda hard getting used to being all crammed up in such a small space."

"I can imagine so," Meg agreed. "How long before you think you'll start looking at apartments?"

Kaileigh shook her head. "Oh, I have no clue. I'm probably a long way off from that step. I'd like to get to know the area first, you know, make sure I'm really going to stick around for a little while. That's the best part about being a writer-the job is portable and doesn't take up much room, either."

Not wanting to get overly personal with someone she had just met, Meg asked if she was able to really support herself with her writing.

"Well, I guess you could say I cheated in a way. My mother was a very productive writer, well known and had tons of contacts. She taught me the craft, introduced me to influential people who gave me a helping hand up the ladder. So yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones. I've got two books published, working on the third one, but most of my steady income comes from magazine articles and short stories. Contests help, too."

Impressed with the resume the young traveling author possessed, Meg continued getting to know the young lady who'd just blown into town.

Kaileigh glanced out the window and clicked the start button on her laptop to start shutting it down.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Meg. It's been fun just sitting here and talking and getting to know you. I'd love to come back another time if you'll let me back in, and I promise not to take up your entire evening next time."

"You kept me company, too! Please do come back. We'll call this corner booth the author's corner and it shall be yours for now on," the restaurant owner declared happily. "How do you like that?"

Cocking her head to the side, Kaileigh just looked at her. "Really?"

"I open at nine-thirty for brunch. My pastry chef is to die for, so you wont regret it, I promise."

Stepping into the side door of her mobile abode, Kaileigh drove back to the RV park and changed into her jammies. The second her eyes spied the tea bag jar, she remembered something and pulled out her cell phone.

Ring, ring.

"Lucinda? Yeah, it's me. I got in last night, sorry I'm just calling. Yeah, it ran great! Uh-huh. Okay, let me tell you all about it-ready?"

Hanging up the phone a few minutes later, the young lady felt like a seasoned traveler. Seasoned and yet she had no clue what her day would bring tomorrow...

*

Over cinnamon rolls, Kaileigh and Meg swapped secrets about their trades, educating one another on the dos and don'ts of their professions.

Apples and bananas, coffee and cakes. Ink and paper, SEO ratings and blogs. They went through the entire gamut by noon; before they knew it, a week had passed by with the corner booth occupied every day.

"Are you really sure you don't mind my being in here so much? I didn't come in here with the intention of taking the place over, Meg. I kind of feel bad for the intrusion."

"No! I've enjoyed you being here. And if you remember, I invited you to come back," she reminded her new friend. "Besides, I got to thinking about something last night after I got home. Well, it's my brother's idea, actually, so if you don't like it, you can blame him," she grinned. "It's a business proposition."

Kaileigh nodded. "I'm always in the business mode, whatcha got for me?"

"Well, Daniel reminded me for the one hundredth time that my menus haven't been updated in almost two years. I've been meaning to, but I don't have time to get to the printer for one thing. And I wasn't all that excited with the last place I went to, so I've just been putting it off."

"So you want me to design a new set of menus?"

"I do. Should I tell you what my brother came up with as a payment plan now or do you want me to wait to insult you?" A slight blush appeared in Meg's cheeks, embarrassed to even mention it.

"It can't be all that bad, let me hear it," Kaileigh leaned forward and crossed her arms across her chest, elbows on the table.

"Daniel was thinking: since you're new in town and all, how about I pay you in meals? All you can eat, whatever you want, for a whole year?"

Kaileigh's mough fell. "Serious?"

Meg's blush deepened as she began to shake her head. "I told him that was ridiculous!"

"No! It's not at all! I'm just floored that you would be so generous in your offer. A whole year, are you sure?"

Blowing out a deep breath of relief, Meg's mood lightened. "I was so embarrassed to offer your payment in food; I kept telling him that you weren't holding up a Will Work For Food sign when you came in that first night!"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I can pack in the grub. You just might be looking for loophole to cancel our agreement about month number three! So...should we make a separate menu just for the wines? We could attach a smaller wine selections menu right in the center of the main menu," the writer began to pitch.

Chapter 24

The zipper on Kaileigh's laptop bag seemed to offer a series of good morning wishes as she rolled the zipper back around the edge and lifted the top back. Flipping the straps off as she had done hundreds of times before, the young woman already smelled the coffee. When her eyes caught sight of someone's legs standing right next to her table, she smiled, knowing it would Meg attached to them.

"Go ahead and get set up, we don't want this slurping up over the sides of the mug and ruining your work," she offered.

Kaileigh finished setting up shop there in the corner booth and Meg slid the coffee mug into place, taking the bench opposite her friend.

"I'm so glad you've been coming in every day," she began. "It used to be so boring and impersonal most of the time People coming and going, some not even saying thanks, much less hanging around so we could get to know each other. I only have a handful of customers who I've actually gotten to know halfway decently."

"Yeah, well, I guess I was just brought up in a small town where we all knew one another and it's just what we did. Hung around and got to know each other, I mean." She looked around to make certain nobody was listening before adding, "No offense, but this is California...aren't people, uhm,...different here?"

Meg nodded her head. "Yeah, the social community here isn't like anything you're used to, that's for sure. We do seem to have that busy air about the way we do things, I suppose. Especially here in the bigger cities."

Just then, the tiny brass bells over the front entrance jingled, sending Meg into automatic store-owner mode; her feet found the floor almost before her body had time to catch up.

"Good morning, everyone!"

A small boy's voice, inquiring about Meg's famous filled doughnut holes, seemed muffled over by the adults who wanted to fill their own orders and seemed to be paying very little attention–if any–to him.

This made Kaileigh frown. Who ever heard of standing a little kid in front of an enormous display of delicious pastries and not expecting half the fun being centered around that child's reaction? This whole coming to California thing might have been an expensive mistake, she told herself as she reached for the mug.

But here she was, and for today, she would be working out of this spacious corner booth with the dark red table top. Today and probably for a lot of tomorrows, the new author figured as she planted her green and black ear buds firmly into place and flipped the switch on her MP3 player to locate one of her favorite White Rabbit play lists as she disappeared into her own little world.

*

Had she not glanced down to the lower right-hand corner of her computer screen, she would never have guessed that it was already eleven-thirty; had she really been writing for more than two and a half hours already?

Curious, she hit the word count option. Another 2,730 words. Excellent!

Stretching her arms without drawing attention to herself, Kaileigh rolled her head around to adjust her neck. A small pop told her to try the other direction now, but it was a no-go. _Darn_.

The rumble in her belly reminded her to go wash her hands; Meg would be bringing something warm and yummy to the table any time now. For the umpteenth time, Kaileigh was grateful to have support and permission to use the table as her personal office space. She could work from the quarters of her motor home-and had done that for a while-but this new arrangement was just so much more comfortable, being able to use a toilet bigger than a thimble was a definite plus, she grinned to herself as she made her way to the ladies room.

On the way back from the restroom, Kaileigh glanced over toward the cash register. An edge of excitement washed over her when she noticed that the stack of books Meg kept stocked for her was down to just a couple of copies; one more advantage for writing in the corner booth.

Making a mental note to replenish her books tomorrow, a fresh cup of coffee and a large cinnamon roll appeared on the table next to her computer.

"How are you doing this morning, Mrs. Renault? Has your husband returned from LA yet?" Meg was making her rounds and visiting with a few of her regular customers.

Kaileigh didn't think she had it in her DNA to do that, being talkative with people she didn't even know and striking up conversations with just whomever happened to stand in front of her. She much preferred to manipulate the conversations she created in her books. When a character tipped a situation or their words in an uncomfortable direction, she always had the option of hitting the backspace button.

It made things easier that way.

And much more comfortable.

Being in full control of her characters somehow made Kaileigh feel like she could actually take control of those pesky day-to-day situations in her own life, although she had never found the opportunity to really give anyone the chance to get close enough to try that theory out.

*

Meg plopped down at the booth table and began penciling out her shopping list for both her own kitchen at home as well as the one she would need for the restaurant, waiting for her friend to finish typing.

"So you wanna come over to my place tonight and help me perfect this new sauce I'm thinking about trying out for the Chesterfield wedding? They're inviting a few guests who are pretty high profile and I want to make a good impression...call it extra advertising, I guess. So are you in?"

The invitation caught Kaileigh off guard; being invited to live in this corner of her restaurant was one thing, but to enter Meg's inner sanctum, her home, was another thing altogether. For Kaileigh, the invitation was nothing less than a stamp of approval, confirmation of trust.

She wiggled around in her seat for a moment, trying to think of a valid excuse for not accepting the invitation while Meg continued with her list-making, but found herself coming up empty with a good excuse.

"Uhm, I-uhm, yeah, I guess..."

Meg didn't even look up. "Eh, it's no big deal. All that will be there are the two of us and my brother. He won't bother us, though;he's been working late hours for a week now. I kinda need to have someone around who won't mind me feeding them samples of food all night, and he's been on one of his kicks lately. You know how guys are into that whole no carbs on every third day or whatever thing they do...it gets annoying is all I know, and I keep telling him that I own a restaurant, I need him to just take a spoonful of–" she trailed off as Kaileigh wondered if she should really go. She'd been into a groove all by herself in her tiny living quarters, sure. But it would be a nice change to spend an evening with people in a real house; Meg's brother was probably a nice kid and would be spending his time playing video games or basketball in the driveway, so he probably wouldn't even be in their way.

"Yeah, that actually sounds like fun. To be honest, it would be nice to spend some time after dark somewhere other than in the Dolphin."

Meg looked up over the rim of her reading glasses and grinned, pointed at Kaileigh's laptop with the tip of her pencil. "Feel free to bring your lil buddy and keep working, I know how it is. If I'm not cooking, I'm testing out new recipes in my head or combining fresh herbs on charts somewhere in the back of my mind."

"Pretty much how it works for me, too.

"So that's a yes?"

Kaileigh nodded her head in agreement. "It's a big yes. Anything you want me to bring?"

"Nope. I'm gonna stop by the market on my way home, so make your way on over around eight. I already gave the kitchen a heads-up that I'll be taking off early for my weekly experimentation," she chuckled before shifting gears back to the upcoming catering event. "I wonder if the Chesterfields could be talked into a different menu selection?"

They sat together in the corner booth while three couples and a dinner party of five munched away on their suppers; the sound of clinking silverware and wine glasses the perfect companions.

Chapter 25

Her finger flipped the left-hand blinker, steering the rig into its proper lane. Traffic streamed by slow and steady, the tail end of rush hour on a mid-week evening. She wondered how many of them had ever eaten Meg's food as the light turned red. Or how many had seen her tapping away in the corner booth, carving out the world's next best seller.

After she'd switched the radio station twice and sang to half of her favorite songs these days, the light turned green and Kaileigh pressed down on the gas pedal.

"You gotta be kidding," she moaned. The red check engine light flashed on the dashboard, reminding her to add that oil she'd forgotten to buy. She turned the radio off to listen to the engine and gave a glance around real quick to see if there were any auto supply houses in the area. Of course not, Kaileigh groaned in her head.

"Darn it," came the mumble. She knew better than to let her oil get so low; her dad taught her that much when she was eight years old.

Meg's house wasn't more than ten minutes away, so she kept a careful eye on the dashboard clock to make sure she wasn't pushing it past the point of no return. She just had to get to Meg's and maybe her kid brother would go run an errand for her if she gave him some gas money.

As the motor home crept down the upscale neighborhood street toward Meg's house, Kaileigh could feel her face flushing a shade just this side of red; what an embarrassment she was. Opting to park on the street instead of in her driveway, she lulled the smoking monstrosity to a stop at the curb and turned the key. The smoke was impossible to ignore, but she was even more mortified to get out and own up to the obvious situation at hand-still, she shoved the door open and popped the hood, waving the burnt smell out of her face. Oil splatter all over the engine told the tale; she hadn't run out of oil-but developed a leak. Her hand yanked the dipstick out of its cylinder and there was barely even a dribble still left on it.

"Dang, dang, and double dang ," she groaned out loud. But at least the smoke had dissipated and the entire neighborhood hadn't seen the show, which was a huge plus in her opinion.

Ding dong.

The door bell rang out, but when nobody answered, she cracked the door open and hollered inside. "Meg? It's me."

Her friend's hand waved her on in from the hallway. The phone propped up between her shoulder and chin alerted Kaileigh to enter silently.

"No, Max. Please don't let him do that; we need him for the Chesterfield wedding and for the museum opening next month."

Kaileigh knew she must be talking to the kitchen staff of hers.

"Okay, yes, that's fine. Give him a full week if that's what he needs, just make him happy so he doesn't walk!" She looked at her friend and rolled her eyes as she mocked a strangulation of her cell phone.

"Alright, yes, you, too. Thank you, Max. I'm gonna owe you after this one. Yes, again," she confirmed before they ended their conversation.

"That great pastry decorator I was bragging about the other day? Yeah, he pretty much tossed a big old monkey wrench into my schedule tonight by asking for the weekend of the wedding so he can go on vacation. As if nobody within a ten mile radius of the place is not aware of how imperative it is for that weekend to go off without a hitch-and he wants to head off on a vacation," Meg announced with a generous flailing of her arms. "So I had to tell Max to bribe him the following week with a whole week off, paid, if he gets too snooty about things, just so he doesn't quit on me. What a headache!"

Kaileigh grinned; she hadn't exactly shown up at the right time, since she arrived needing a favor granted.

"Sounds like the situation is under control, though. Max is pretty good about talking to the staff back there, right? So what have ya got going on in the kitchen–you start anything yet?"

"Eh, sorta-then the phone rang. I'm anxious for you to try the lemon garlic pesto and a Bolognese that I'm still trying to tweak. I'm really not sure if the bride is going to go for it because of the color-" she looked at Kaileigh, who looked puzzled. "You know–red sauce with a white wedding gown?"

"Ah! Gotcha!"

"Yeah. But ya know, I'm kind of hoping she'll go for it, at least in a small quantity for the other guests, because I'd like to stand back and hear what everyone has to say about it. If it's all good, I'd like to make a special dish using this one. You know-give it some fancy name and promote it with coupons for half off or whatever til it takes off. That's where you come in. You need to help me figure out the exact recipe; I've been fiddling around with it for a couple of weeks now and every batch is starting to taste like the one before it."

"I'm always in the mood for your cooking, so bring it on!"

Kaileigh noticed the furniture in the family room; two sofas bordered the fireplace and an oversized recliner positioned in the corner probably caught sunlight most of the day, she figured. Perfect light for snuggling up with a book and watching the rain fall, she thought to herself.

"Hey, Meg. I like what you did in here," she called out to her friend, who had disappeared into the kitchen already.

"Thanks, but I didn't do it. My brother did. He's actually pretty handy about stuff like that–and he even cleaned the floors as he moved everything, can you believe that? Now if I could just get him to swing by and get the dry cleaning, I might think about keeping him," she winked.

Following the sound of the food processor, Kaileigh made her way to the kitchen after snagging a lollipop from the glass dish on the entry table.

"So where is this elusive brother of yours, anyhow? I don't think the guy even exists."

"Oh yeah, I guess you haven't met him yet, huh? I lose track of who has and who hasn't. I'm sure the list of who wants to is as long as my arm," Meg told her with a grin. "It's a pain sometimes, but what can ya do, ya know?"

Kaileigh didn't know. She was an only child.

Nodding toward the food processor, she inquired about the contents. "Is that the bolognie sauce?"

Meg stopped in her tracks so she could give a proper laugh at that one. "Bolognese sauce-bowl-oh-knees sauce!"

Slapping her own forehead, Kaileigh joined in with the laughing. "Oh, good grief. I'm glad I didn't say that in front of anyone else! When you mentioned me eating that earlier, I have to tell ya-I wasn't that excited about it!"

"I would think not," Meg wiped at her eyes. "That sounds pretty gross-I'm beginning to give second thoughts about this whole thing now-the last thing anyone wants to eat at a wedding party is a bowl of runny bolognie," she grinned.

"How about that lemon and garlic stuff? That sounds pretty amazing. And it sounds familiar, too."

"But that's the thing. It sounds like normal everyday food. If I want to promote something new, it's gotta be different. See why I needed you tonight? We've only got two weeks to perfect this-and I still have to get it down just right so I can pitch it to the Chesterfields and let them sample a little bit of it. I have a feeling it's gonna be a long night...you don't have anywhere else you need to be, do ya?"

Kaileigh sat down, folded her arms on the table and smiled a huge phony toothy grin. "Yeah, about that. I sort of have a problem that requires immediate attention unless you want another roommate for a while."

Once Meg heard about her friend's predicament, she immediately offered to have her mechanic come tow it to the shop.

"No way! Do you know how expensive that would be? I'll do it myself!"

Meg's jaw dropped. "You gotta be kidding me; you're going to fix it-like, with your own hands?"

Nodding her head, Kaileigh held her hand out in front of herself, palm side down, and looked at her fingernails before curling them under and polishing them on her shirt. "Absolutely! My dad taught me how to do just about everything before-well, he taught me a lot. And by the way, you fix a sandwich, but you repair a vehicle," she corrected.

"I'm impressed. And you fix a card game-but you prepare a sandwich," she corrected back with a grin of her own.

"Duly noted. So it's cool if I use your garage then? I really hate to ask you for such a favor-I mean, you've already been so generous with me already, it's embarrassing to even have to ask for this on top of everything else," she apologized. "I swear the place will be clean when the job is done."

"It's all good, do we need to push it into the garage?"

"Nah. I can pull it in. And thanks. Really."

Meg cocked her head to the side. "Well, that takes care of one of us. Now back to the whole sauce thing."

*

"Don't be silly, Kai. You're sleeping in the house, it's not like we don't have the room for you. We have a guest house and two rooms inside, so pick which one you want. If it was me, though, I'd do the one with the blue wallpaper, just 'cause Daniel works into the wee hours of the morning and you can probably imagine how loud he can get. His office is supposedly soundproof, but sometimes I can still hear him in there."

Kaileigh was curious about what her brother would be doing that would cause this supposed commotion, but figured it would be rude to come on out and ask her about it, so she simply nodded and let it go.

"Well, you live here, so you should know. Blue wallpaper it shall be. You sure your brother won't mind an extra house guest?"

"For crying out loud, I'm just gonna have to introduce you two already, and then you'll see. He's just a kid brother, not a tyrant," she teased. "When you jump in the shower, try the shampoo and conditioner that's in the cupboard. I picked it up a couple of months ago when the boys let me go on the road with them We were in so many places, I don't even remember where I got it, but man-is that some good stuff!"

"Sounds like the two of you are pretty close," she let herself say out loud. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. But then," she grinned to lighten her own mind, "I would have had to share my candy, so it's probably for the best that I grew up by myself, right?"

"No doubt!"
Chapter 26

"Meg, you're such a lifesaver," Kaileigh let her know as she handed the car keys back to her friend. "There's no way I could have taken the motor home down there for the parts. Sorry for making you late this morning, though," she grimaced.

"No biggie. I'm not exactly looking forward to the mess with Max and Mister Vacation." She made a face in emphasis of her disapproval of the demanding employee she knew she would eventually have to face.

The hood on the Dolphin had already been popped when Meg stepped into the garage.

"How do you know it's a leak and not just out of oil?"

Pointing under the hood, Kaileigh motioned to the obvious mess all over the engine. "If the oil pan was just empty, like I'd run out, it wouldn't be slung all over the place," she started in with her explanation. "When the motor was running, the fan blades were spinning,' she swirled with a finger, "and the valve cover–which is this right here," she pointed out, "below this cover is a cam seal, and when the seal popped out, it caused this eruption you see here."

Meg, obviously taken back by her friend's automotive knowledge, nodded her approval. "That's pretty cool. I don't know of one other female who knows this kind of stuff. You should teach my brother about this-he takes his car in to the shop all the time," she laughed. "And speaking of shop, I better scoot. The house is unlocked, so make yourself at home and don't be shy about going inside to eat or whatever. Text me later and let me know how you're getting along, okay? Just holler if there's anything you need. Oh, and Daniel's got a radio in here somewhere, so just prowl around and turn it on."

"I owe you big time," she reminded Meg for the third time.

"Stop!" was the last word Meg said before she backed her own car out of the oversized garage and waved good-bye.

Inside her motor home, Kaileigh had packed a tote full of her dad's tools and had stratgically stowed them away under the dining benches; always being prepared by keeping a few basic tools in the vehicle was a lesson he had impressed on his daughter early in her training as an apprentice technician. As she dug toward the bottom and pulled out the sockets, she let her mind wander back to an afternoon in mid-summer when they'd gone to gather firewood down in the canyon below their house. She remembered how Ray let her drive the truck that last mile home, down the driveway-and she also remembered the look on her mom's face when she saw who was in the driver's seat.

Kaileigh smiled so the tears wouldn't find a way of making an unwanted appearance. Not so early in the day, she told herself as she hopped out of the motor home. I have work to do.

Remembering all the work she'd put in to even own this home on wheels, she felt a surge of pride swelling up inside herself.

I have no choice but to make a go of this, she told herself. If I fail, it's all for nothing.

Removing the air cleaner and valve cover, Kaileigh lifted the pieces of the old cam seal out of the head where they had fallen in and continued by spraying all the old parts with a can of brake cleaner to shine them up from the oil and debris caked all over them.

With a few cranks of the wrench, Kaileigh set her hands on auto pilot and allowed her head to float along with other thoughts as the radio played in the background.

I really need to get those ads written for the store opening and find out what my deadlines are on the articels for the outdoor life magazine, she thought.

Kaileigh knew she'd been in the right place at the right time on those jobs; sometimes she wondered why she had taken such a leap of faith and left the only home she had ever known, but each time she made even one more contact in the publishing field, it was one more nail in her box of confidence.

Laying under the motor home, Kaileigh heard a car with a sweet engine making its way down the street; once the tires rolled up the long driveway, the girl grimaced. A pair of expensive-looking sneakers strolled toward her.

She made no attempt to crawl out and greet the person, not looking the way she did. Besides, it wasn't her home and she felt a bit awkward meeting Meg's brother this way; she stayed put and continued with the task at hand.

"Uhm, excuse me?" Came a masculine voice. "Danny around?"

Calling out from under the center of the motor home, the girl was glad she hadn't busted her butt to crawl out. "Nope, sorry. I would say I could take a message, but you'd probably be better off writing one down for him," she grunted out as she attempted to loosen a stubborn bolt. "I think there's a pad of paper over on the bench," she advised the unknown voice.

"Okay. Thanks. Could you just let him know Scott dropped by? We need to come to a decision on those dates for next month."

"Sure thing," Kaileigh grunted again, not really listening to the guy. Hope he wrote all that down, she thought to herself as the car backed out of the driveway.

She groaned audibly when she saw the car had been a candy apple blue Mustang; I sure hope you come back again, she thought. To the car, not the boy.

The genius idea blew through her mind that she aught to ask around and find out if this state had any good car shows coming up, then had to chuckle to herself almost immediately after thinking about it. It's California and cars. These people probably have a car show once a month, she grinned.

With the oil changed, engine de-greased and the hood dropped, the girl unwrapped a roll of blue shop towels and snagged one, glancing around for the waterless hand cleaning gel.

With hands clean enough to touch her phone, the young woman punched several buttons and hit send as she climbed into the side door of her home on wheels. She grabbed a soda from her fridge, sat down at the small table and finished cleaning her fingers.

Ping.

Kaileigh read Meg's reply and giggled.

_Max wore an extra tight pair of pants and ripped out the seat when he bent over to pick up a bucket of sauce from the cooler_ , the text read.

" _Glad I missed that one_ ," she text back. " _BTW, your brother's friend, Scott, dropped by earlier and left a message. It's written down."_

Meg let her friend know she would be bringing some more taste-testing for the evening and asked Kaileigh to stay one more night. "Would you mind cooking up a pot of that pasta I left in the glass jar on the counter?" was her only request.

The garage returned to its clean state and motor home pulled out, Kaileigh parked the banan cream pie colored vehicle around to the side of the garage on the gravel and congratulated herself on a job well done.

"Shower time," she said out loud.

*

The young women were laughing out loud when they heard the front door open and close.

"Sounds like a girl party is happening tonight," they heard the voice say; apparently, the owner of the voice was occupied in hanging up a jacket or flipping his shoes off on the large rust-colored shoe mat under the coat rack.

Meg drank another sip of her hot tea and waved to her friend. "Finally!" she told her. "Daniel, come here and meet Kaileigh!"

The voice answered, saying, "Yes, finally! I had begun to think my sister was making you up."

Entering the kitchen, Kaileigh sat her spoon down in the spoon rest and turned to meet her friend's brother.

Danny Montgomery extended a hand and smiled. "Hi! I'm real glad to meet you," he gave an exaggerated look around Kaileigh to his sister, who just flipped both hands out to her sides and apologized. "Meggie's told me a lot about you, so welcome to the house."

He strolled over to the fridge and stared into it. "Sis, feed me. I am starving." The door closed and he rubbed his belly-which Kaileigh could tell was firm enough to scrub clothes on.

Kaileigh hoped nobody else caught the fact that her knees were about to melt; she wanted to say something, but knew that I love you, I have loved you for years and every poster you have ever posed for is in my possession and by the way do you remember me from your show a while back?–I was the screaming girl you touched would probably not be very appropriate. And would also most likely get her evicted from the house. A restraint order could even become a part of the deal.

So she instead chose to stand frozen in her shoes and continue smiling like a complete idiot.

Meg punched Daniel in the arm. "What are ya hungry for?"

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Kaileigh. "I don't know. What are you two cooking right now? Cause it smells pretty good and I just might want some of it," the handsome young man warned them before heading off into the living room.

The second Danny rounded the corner of the room and she was certain he was out of earshot, Kaileigh turned to Meg with a look of terror in her eyes.

"I am going to shoot you! Why did you not tell me your brother was Danny Montgomery? I about peed myself when he walked in the kitchen!" Kaileigh whispered.

Meg moved her head to one side and grunted, rolled her eyes and offered a slight chuckle. "I did. I told you his name. I guess I didn't mention his last name because you already knew my last name...and well, he is my brother-and siblings generally have the same last name, don't they? I mean, would you call your brother by his first and last name when you're talking about him to a friend?"

Well, she had a point.

"No, I guess not. But you always called him Daniel."

"Yeah. That's the name on his birth certificate," his sister shrugged, as it was a matter of public knowledge.

Shaking her skull, Kaileigh could still not wrap her mind around the fact that she had become close friends with the sister of her celebrity crush and had no clue.

Before the girl knew what was happening, Meg had enveloped Kaileigh in a tight bear hug; when they let go, the tears in her friend's eyes brought a knot to Kaileigh's belly.

"Did I do something wrong? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Kaileigh gasped, suddenly feeling a rush of shame for making such a big deal over her brother. "I shouldn't have said anything–I didn't mean you deliberately kept information from me!"

Meg shook her head. "No, it's not that at all!"

"Then what's wrong? I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings. Meg. I should have thought before I opend my big mou-"

Kaileigh couldn't finish that apology because Meg interrupted with, "I have always been so guarded with people. Usually females only become my friend to get at my brother or one of the other guys in his band. And all this time, you were my friend just because you liked me for me! Do you have any idea how much that means to me? I have a real honest-to-goodness friend!"

*

Meg poked the intercom button and waited for the familiar voice.

"Whaddup?"

"Two things, actually. We've got a plate ready for you if you want to come spend a few minutes with us. The second thing is-well, I'll ask you when you come to eat," Meg warned her brother.

He cleared his throat and paused a second before saying anything back.

"Why do you do that to me?"

She laughed and turned to Kaileigh, who stood with both hands in her hair and a look of fright on her face.

"Why did you do that?"

Meg shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought you said you wanted to see the studio," she looked confused. "It's just another room in the house, not a secret passage into Atlantis, ya know."

Kaileigh shook her head, the look on her face unsure of what to say next.

Meg shook a finger at her.

"Don't go getting all weird on me. You're my friend and I want you to feel totally at home when you're here. He's just a guy."

Kailiegh knew she was right; it was foolish to act like this wasn't happening. She was standing in Danny Montgomery's home and only down the hall from where he was busily at work on his next record. But what's more important, she reminded herself, is the fact that I have made a new friend in Meg and she's the reason I'm even here.

Taking in a full breath to compose herself, Kaileigh's grin spread across her face once again.

"Oh, I know all that-but you called him before I finished the salad," she tried to cover herself.

"Uh-huh," Meg smirked. "Don't get all weird on me, okay?"

Kaileigh heard music playing, skipping, and rewinding as Danny opened the door. "Hang on, I'm just about ready," he called down the hallway.

Turning back to her friend, Meg grinned. "That usually means we have about twenty more minutes, so you have plenty of time to get that salad finished up. I try to call him a few minutes before I'm actually ready for him," she reached for the plates. "Ya know, it's been fun having you around the past couple of nights. Danny's not here all the time and when he is home, he's in there," she frowned.

Kaileigh nodded. "I bet that's why you spend so much time at the restaurant, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess we're both workaholics. But then again," she looked at Kaileigh, "so are you."

"Who is what?"

The ladies turned to see Danny leaned up against the doorway, hands on his head in an effort to pop his neck.

Meg explained that they had been discussing the fact that all three of them found great pleasure in their line of work; each in a completely different area of life, and yet somehow interconnecting.

Danny piled his plate high with pasta and told Kaileigh that he'd never met a book author before.

"How do you get ideas for your books?"

"Everything," she chuckled, "inspires some sort of storyline in this head of mine. The real problem is not starting a new book every time I get a new idea."

Meg stirred the sauce, turned off the heat and poured it into a serving dish.

"I have the ladle," Kailigh mentioned as she set the salad bowl down on the table next to Danny and took her seat on the other side of the table.

"So how many books do you have started, then?" he wanted to know.

Rolling her eyes and thinking about the question, she mumbled to herself before telling him that she currently had seven books in the works.

"You're kidding," he smiled. "How do you keep them straight in your head?"

Kaileigh sipped at her iced tea and then looked him in the eye.

"How do you manage to remember all your music and all that choreography for tour?"

"Ah, gotcha," the lightbulb flickered. "I couldn't think of that much to write all in one place. No way could I write a book."

She poked a fork into her food. "See, I could never write songs, because there is no way I could condense all I want to say into four minutes."

Just then the oven timer buzzed; Danny held up a hand when his sister began to stand up.

"No, sit. I'll grab it," he said before she had a chance to protest.

Taking the opportunity while his back had turned from the table, Meg grinned at her friend and made googly eyes at her, pointing to both Kaileigh and her brother.

In an attempt to at least try looking like she had no clue what Meg was talking about, she leaned her head to one side, held both palms up and shook her head.

Meg just rolled her eyes.

Removing the fresh bread from the oven, Danny glanced back to the table. "Did you already grab the butter?"

*

Click.

With the dishwasher running, Danny grabbed the empty coffee pot to fill it with water for the next morning while Kaileigh cleaned the table.

"Daniel, you ought to show Kai the studio," his sister suggested. "You said I could hear that one chorus,

anyway, remember?"

"Uh...okay," he stammered. "Lemme go straighten up in there real quick, though."

Meg watched him walk out into the hallway, shaking her head.

"Straighten up? Yeah, right," she rolled her eyes. "He's just hiding a project he doesn't want anyone to look at yet."

Raising an eyebrow, Kaileigh rinsed the cloth she had been using to clean the table. "Or maybe he didn't want me in there, did you ever think of that?"

"Actually, no. The other day he mentioned that I'd been talking about you so much, he wanted to meet you and show his studio off. He doesn't allow just anyone in there, and if he doesn't mention it, I don't bring it up," Meg told her matter-of-factly.

"Okay, come on in," he called.

*

"Whoaaah," Kaileigh managed to stammer three or four times before she could think of anything else to say. "This is incredible! I've never seen anything like this in my entire life...just...wow," she mumbled. "I don't even know what to look at first."

Meg pulled a chair out from under one of the countertops and plopped down into it; impressive as her brother's home recording studio was, she'd already seen it a hundred times.

"So show her what all this stuff does," Meg suggested, glad that Kaileigh looked like she was into the equipment.

Shrugging as if it was no big deal, Danny asked her what she wanted to check out first.

Kaileigh grinned. "Are you serious? I have no idea-just show me around!"

"Uhm, okay." He scanned the room, unsure where to begin the tour.

"I know-Let's say your're in here writing a new song, right? You have the lyrics, so now what do you do next?"

Daniel nodded. "Okay, yeah. Well, sometimes I write with the beat in my head, and when that happens, the first thing I'll do is sit down over there," he pointed to the smaller keyboard. "I usually start on that one, just to get a feel for the new intro-it can be a challenge to create music that's different from anything else we've put together. I'll just sit here for sometimes an hour or so until I get a feel for the words and music to gel together. I guess I'm kind of a pain in the butt from what the guys say, 'cause by the time they get to hear something I've written, I almost know how I want it to sound already."

"But Scotty writes a few songs, too, doesn't he? Or at least he did on the last couple of records," she interjected.

Meg laughed. "Yeah, and when he gets into a writing mode, I tend to camp out more at the restaurant, because two headstrong musicians in one studio isn't pretty. Well, not when it's in your house, anyway."

Daniel continued his tour by demonstrating the synthesizer, letting his guest flip a few switches and hit a couple of buttons along the way.

"This is so cool," she affirmed, but Danny kept catching her eyes scanning the rack of guitars hanging on the wall.

"Do you play?" he nodded toward the wall.

"Some," she nodded.

"So grab one, show me what you're made of," he invited.

Kaileigh raised one eyebrow. "Really?"

She made her way over to the eggplant-colored wall, her eyes widening as they landed on a '73 Gibson Wine Red Les Paul custom vintage guitar.

Her fingers reached out for it but halted inches away. Her eyes flit over to Danny for permission to touch.

Grinning, he had poked one hand in his jeans pocket. "Yeah, go for it," he encouraged the girl who had easily secured herself a spot on his friends list.

Wasting no time, Kaileigh scooted a chair closer to the rack, began to run her fingers over the smooth surface, her eyes closing as if she were petting a rare animal. When she opened them, a nervous streak raced through her veins; This thing is so shiny, her own reflection advised her that she should be very careful with the amazing piece of musical beauty that she held in her hands.

When she glanced around the room, Danny knew she must be looking for a cable to plug into.

"Over here," he pointed behind himself, taking a step to the left and reaching out to take the lead, plugging it into the Line 6 amplifier.

Slipping on the headphones, Kaileigh's eyes closed as her fingers made their way across the fret board and strings, automatically playing the tune they were so accustomed to: the introduction to her favorite White Rabbit song, Crazy.

Danny's mouth dropped, his eyes jumped back toward his sister, and he continued gawking at the girl holding his favorite guitar.

Kaileigh played for the better part of two minutes before remembering she was a guest and opened her eyes to see a pair of wide smiles looking back at her.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Danny asked her.

"Uhm, gymnastics? Eat soup with a fork? Drive blindfolded?" she grinned back.

Meg shook her head and watched her brother help Kaileigh put all the equipment put away.

"All I know is, the guys better watch their back, cause they could be replaced in a snap," his sister teased.

Kaileigh scrunched her eyebrows up. "Yeah, right."

"No. That was really good, I didn't know you even played. You should sit in with us some time," he invited.

Eager to change the subject, Kaileigh eyeballed a set of three highly decorated masks hanging on the oposite wall.

"Where did you get those?"

Danny rattled on about how he and the guys had toured in Australia and a fan brought them as a gift; they were hand-painted and supposedly had something to do with different Australian tribes. He continued on and Meg slipped out of the studio for a few moments to grab a refill on her coffee mug.

Neither of them even knew she'd left the room.

*

Daniel had been noticing the clock on the wall and wanted to shoot the stupid thing; most people tried to get to sleep before one in the morning.

"Well, kids, you continue along you musical journey here, but I'm gonna grab a few zzzs," his sister stood, leaning to the left and then the right to adjust her back. "This old crow needs her beauty rest, ya know."

A quick glance down at her watch caused Kaileigh to frown. "I'm sorry! I was having so much fun, I wasn't even paying attention to the time. I better get home myself," she apologized, not wanting the night to come to a close.

"Uh, no you don't." Meg wasn't asking; the tone of her voice left no wiggle room for discussion. "You're sleeping here tonight. Just hit the guest room again, you don't need to go driving this late when you're just gonna wind up back here in the morning anyhow."

Kaileigh looked at her friend. "I am?"

"Have you already forgetton that you were helping me lug all those supplies from the Utensil Warehouse back to the restaruant?" Meg reminded her.

"Oh yeah! That's tomorrow? Good thing you reminded me," she blushed. "Thanks for letting me hang out with you, it was really a lot of fun," she hugged Danny, hoping that was okay.

"Hey, any time," he hugged her right back.

*

With her back pressed up against the headboard of the queen size bed, Kaileigh intertwined her fingers around the front of her knees and snugged them closer to her chest, deep in thought.

Danny is just an ordinary guy, she reasoned. An ordinary guy with a pretty awesome job.

No longer feeling the urge to go into some random fangirling episode at the mention of his name, Kaileigh slid her legs down under the comforter and snuggled down into one of the giant pillows, content with life.

As sleep began to claim the portion of her brain that never seemed to pause, a piece of the puzzle slid into place and Kaileigh opened here eyes a bit when the reality hit her: when Danny's friend stopped by for him? That was Scotty from the band!

Suddenly pleased with herself that her first introduction to the guy had not been made with axel grease smeared all over her face, she had a second thought just as fast. Why was she making such a big deal about this?

Chapter 27

Ring, ring.

Kaileigh ignored the phone, as if it would stop if she just didn't look down. If it's important, she figured, they'll leave a message.

By the time her phone had rung for the third time, Kaileigh found herself almost ready to sling the thing out her motor home window, then remembered the fact that she did leave her calling card with a few select people-and she could be slinging out the job offer of a lifetime along with a phone she might not want to replace. She'd best be for picking up if it rang again, she decided, returning to her root beer and e-mail.

Lucinda's new found appreciation for the electronic age showed itself in Kaileigh's inbox; Jenna had apparently been successful in teaching her the joy of attachments and now the girl would never miss Lucinda's kitties and the numerous poses their mamma felt were so adorable.

Kaileigh finished sending all her replies, closed the lid on her digital work station and reached overhead to the ledge where she kept her deck of playing cards stashed, all in one fluid motion.

Whoosh! The Dolphin rocked with each blast of wind that gusted through the park, blowing occasionally more than just a nice breeze through her windows.

Flipping seven cards face down, she began a new game, content just listening to the radio and flipping cards all by herself. As a parting gift, Lucinda left two new decks of cards and a book of a hundred and fifty ways to play Solitaire.

"I had no idea you could play so many variations of this game," she confessed to her older friend. But the girl had mastered Lady of the House and felt the great need to gain control over The Scarecrow-although that particular variation required a lot more space than her tiny table afforded her.

Ring, ring.

That number. Again.

"Hello?"

Danny! How did he get my number?

"Hey, are you busy?

Her eyes fell to the table and the cards. "Nothing I couldn't get out of," she grinned. "Why? What's up?"

"Uhm, I was just thinking that if you weren't doing anything, maybe you could help me change my oil."

Maybe Kaileigh wasn't a pro when it came to things like guys or what to do and say around them, but she was pretty sure Danny wasn't exactly thinking about the oil in his car.

"You want me to change your oil at six-forty five in the evening?"

When he didn't answer right away, Kaileigh blew into the phone.

"Yo. Are you still there?"

"Uhm, yeah, I just, uhm..."

"...feel the need to become a skilled oil-changer," the girl rolled her eyes. "While this is an essential part of car ownership, I'm failing to see what's so crucial about learning how to tackle this project right now," she questioned.

"Cause I can't get to it in the morning. I have to walk my frog," he slapped himself upside his own head.

This time it was Kaileigh who took a moment of silence, doing so with slightly bulged out eyes and running her tongue under her bottom lip, trying to figure out how she could at least try and save this conversation.

"So you wanna help a guy out or what?"

Feeling his smile over her phone, she nodded and rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I'll be over in a bit. Do you already have everything we need?"

Danny paused. "Uhm, well, that depends. What do we need?"

Loooking around the motor home for the secret camera that had obviously been placed somewhere in there just to capture this moment on film, she shook her head.

"Danny? Do you have a new filter?"

"Isn't there already one on there?"

Grimacing as if someone had just run a nail down a chalkboard, Kaileigh closed her eyes.

"Which weight have you been using?"

"Oh! I can press about 200, but what's that got to do with-"

Kaileigh shivered. Really?

"Please don't touch your car until I get there, okay?"

*

The girl killed her ignition and left the keys dangling from the switch; when her fingers ran through her thick mane of hair, she had to shake her head. What would it even matter what her hair looked like once she crawled out from under Danny's Camaro?

Reaching for the lip gloss she kept stashed in the empty cigarette tray, she figured, Eh, what the heck?

Tap, tap.

Danny stood at the door, grinning and holding an unopened can of root beer.

Returning the grin, Kaileigh's tummy gave way like when an elevator moves; before she could even turn to grab the plastic bag off the passenger's seat, he had the door open.

"Here ya go," Danny held the can out to her. "Consider this partial payment for the late night lesson in proper automotive care."

Impossible to resist that grin, Kaileigh shook her head as she accepted the soda.

"Here, I'll trade ya," she exchanged soda for plastic bag.

He peeked inside. "What's this?"

"You did call about an oil change, am I right? This is your oil change," Kaileigh informed the young man, finding it beyond her ability to ignore his freshly-showered closeness. "I stopped off and got everything we'll need."

A look of surprise on his face, Danny leaned closer to her as she attempted to shut the door to her motor home.

"How did you know what to get?"

"C'mon, rock star," she tugged her head toward the garage. "You're about to become an apprentice."

*

Dipping his fingers into the container of hand cleaner along, the pair of mechanics rubbed the orange goo into the stubborn spots.

"Where's the closest place we can make a run for the kitty litter?"

Chuckling over the fact that the apprentice had accidentally tipped over the oil pan, he shrugged his answer. "Won't it wait? We could have Meggie grab some on the way home."

A look of horror struck him in the eye.

"And just leave an oil spill? You nuts or something?"

Danny's eyes met hers. "Don't move," he warned, lifting a gooey finger toward her face.

Kaileigh's eyes bugged out just a bit, but she found comfort in the way that her rock star rubbed a greasy streak on her cheek until it lifted enough to remove with a rag.

"There, that's better."

And there was that grin she found so impossible to ignore. Again.

Hoping he did't notice that she couldn't even breathe, her eyes attempted to rip from his but they refused to budge until she heard her phone ring.

"Well, that's awkward," she grinned over the White Rabbit ringtone.

"No, I think it's cool," he assured the blushing young lady.

Turning her back to hide her reddening cheeks, she opened the phone to shut it up.

"Hi, Meg. Uhm, what am I doing?"

Danny spoke over her shoulder, "None of your buiness, you busy body," he teased his sister.

Meg laughed. "You're hanging out with my brother! That's awesome, now I won't have to chase you down. Have you guys eaten yet?"

Kaileigh tipped the phone to the side and mouthed, are you hungry?

"We're starving, what did you have in mind?"

Returning the phone to her pocket, she faced Danny again. "You two eat at the weirdest hours, you do know that, don't you?"

"Ah, you'll get used to it," he winked. "You'll become a nightowl in no time at all."

That grin of his promised Kaileigh he was right.

Chapter 28

Danny padded barefoot out of his room, out into the hallway and into the kitchen where his sister stood, looking like she wanted to pull her hair out.

"Why don't you just get someone to come over and help you with the extra work load? You have too much to get done in the next week anyhow, what with the Chesterfield account; I'd do it, no problem, but the only thing I can do in the kitchen is eat. If you want me to plow through everything you make for the wedding, I can help you there, but..." he wasn't even able to finish that offer for his dear sister, since she cut him off.

"Uhm, thanks but no thanks," she almost laughed. "You may be right But I don't know who I trust to horse around in my house while I'm not here." She glanced over at Daniel, who was pretending to be intensely involved in reading the newspaper, which he never had done before.

"What about one of our many cousins?"

Playing along with where she knew this was heading, she rolled her eyes. "Sure, we'll get a new alarm system while we're at it," she recollected from the last time they'd invited relatives over for an extended visit.

"How about I take out an ad in the paper? You have it right there," she nodded with her head. "Turn over to the classifieds and I'll call right now." She reached into her pocket for her cell phone.

"Hey, hang on a second," Daniel suggested, as if he had just had a sudden spark of genius. "What about Kaileigh? We both trust her and she's already familiar with the kitchen and most of your recipes, right?"

Meg placed her hands on her hips.

"When are you just gonna say it?"

Daniel's doe-in-the-headlights look was adorable.

"Whaddaya mean by that?"

"Puulllease. This thing you have for Kaileigh. When are you just gonna tell the girl you like her?"

"Not planning on saying anything at all. And what makes you think there's anything to say anyhow?"

"Are you serious? I watch you all the time and I know when there's something up in that little mind of yours. Besides, you get all goofy around her."

"Look, Meggie. I'm not doing this to her. She doesn't need or deserve it. You know the paparazzi would eat her alive. I won't let it happen. Not to her."

"You're seriously going to risk her turning away because you don't think she'can handle being with you? For such a smart guy, Daniel, that's a pretty dumb thing for you to think."

Meg turned her back and continued placing bags of pasta into her cupboard, turning each bag so the front faced outward.

Daniel folded the newspaper, left it on the table and walked out the sliding doors to the deck. Hands on the railing, the young man tried to focus on work, but it proved impossible to erase the girl from his mind.

Maybe Meg was right. Maybe he should let Kaileigh know he at least appreciated having her around. He didn't want her to stop coming by.

*

Looking over Meg's shoulder toward the familiar jingling of the bell over the door, the young writer blushed when her eyes fell into Danny's. "Yeah, we're great. Just please don't rat me out to that brother of yours, okay?" With a nod of her head, she alerted Meg that he'd dropped by to the restaurant to see her.

He held up a hand and offered a nod of his head to Kaileigh; little did she know that his heart did the same flip-flop as hers when their eyes met.

"Oh, yeah," Meg apologized. "I forgot to mention to you that he called earlier. He and the guys are having dinner here tonight-and your presence was specifically requested. You don't have to if you don't-"

Kaileigh sat up a bit taller in the booth. "Really?"

The second jinging of the bell alerted the arrival of the remaining band members. Danny nodded at the guys, leaving them to find a table; his sights were on the rear of the restaurant, and he wasn't searching for his sister.

"Hey," he smiled at Kailiegh. "You're gonna have dinner with us, right?"

Shutting her laptop down, she couldn't hide her excitement at his request.

"Yeah, I was just waiting for you," she grinned at his sister. "I gotta make a run out to the Dolphin real quick, so save me a place?"

Meg pointed to the computer. "Just leave it on my desk if that's all you were going out for," she offered. "In fact, I can just take it back with me, I was headed back there in a minute anyhow."

Kaileigh's grin tickled Danny; he held out an arm for his dinner date.

"I'll take it back myself," she made a face and held her palms face up, showing how dirty they were. "I've been turning inky pages and stuff, so I need to wash up anyhow."

Danny frowned. "Fine, I'll go back empty-armed.

"You're still saving me a place, though, right?"

He leaned his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess I'll try to save one back," he teased.

*

Meg turned the glowing OPEN sign in the window to the off position, flipped the sign on the front and locked the door. Breathing deeply, she knew the restaruant would get loud at this point, as it always did when the guys ate together.

"Alright, boys, the place is yours now. Bring the roof down."

A young cook poked his head out just far enough to call out, "Is it request time yet?"

Scotty stood at the same time as Adam and Danny; they'd done this so many times, it came as second nature as they began moving a few tables back.

Kailiegh wasn't sure if she needed to get up or stay pinned securely to her seat, so she only moved her eyes as they followed the guys rearranging furniture and toting dishes back to the kitchen.

Meg had propped herself up near the cash register, waiting for them to finish their routine.

"Someone better explain this to Kai, cause she looks a little confused," she finally blurt out to whoever wanted to take it from there.

Adam nodded to the confused one.

"We do this every couple of months when we're not on the road. It's our way of paying Meg back for feeding us all the time," he winked. "You ready for an acoustic show?"

Holy cow, was she ready!

Adam held one hand up and announced, "Okay, but we have to institute rules this time cause now we have a lady in the house!"

Meg opened her mouth in protest.

"Sorry, Meggie. You know what I mean."

She opened her mouth again but shut it just as fast and made a face. Sometimes it wasn't worth getting into it with Adam, she grinned.

"Yeah, like no pantsing each other with a lady in the room," Scotty advised and then glanced back to Kaileigh. "Not that we've ever done that before."

Of course not, she giggled to herself.

Meg waved a hand across the room at the apparent only real lady in the room and pointed at her iced tea glass.

Kaileigh grabbed hers, ready for a refill.

"How come you never told me about this?" she wanted to know.

Meg shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Slipped my mind, I guess. They're funny, aren't they?" She filled both glasses with more ice and handed them to her friend. "They used to do this every once in a while, but over the past year it's become more frequent. Are you having a good night so far?"

Setting the tea pitcher back down on the counter, she nodded her head. "Yeah! I didn't know people actually did stuff like this."

"I think it comes from when we were kids," Meg confided. "Our uncle had a Mexican restaurant and he would always close it down for holidays, invite friends and family. Everyone would bring tons of food and we'd play music and dance and sing and laugh until people were falling over tired. Daniel was pretty sad when he died-he was Daniel's favorite member of our family."

Nodding, Kaileigh turned her attention back to the group of guys, now huddled and ready to do their thing, whatever that would prove to be.

Clapping his hands, Adam alerted the kitchen staff that they were about to begin and someone banged on the bottom of a cooking pot in reply, combined with random kitchen staff shouts of woo hoo.

Three songs into their acoustic freebie family show, Danny scanned the crowd in search of someone who would come sit up close for a slow song they'd been working on for a few months. Setting the chair front and center, he pulled Kaileigh's hand forward. Truth be told, he didn't need to coax her very much.

Each of the guys encircled her, singing their lines and making her blush; Meg held up an imaginary camera and clicked a few shots when her friend began to squirm, laughing when Kaileigh made faces at her.

As the last line came to a close, Danny escorted his girl back to her seat, where his sister waited for her. Meg leaned over and whispered, "I'm not supposed to know someone likes you. But I think it's a little too late to keep the cat in the bag at this point."

*

Once the floors were cleaned and Meg's furniture had been placed back in their proper places, Adam double-checked the rear door of the restaurant.

"All clear, Meggie, it's clean back here and all locked up," he reported as he wiggled into his jacket. "Thanks for letting us invade your place one more time."

"Always my pleasure," she assured the young musician, tapping off a couple more lights and heading for the front door, where her brother was already waiting on the other side for her. It made her grin, how Daniel would stand outside in full-on protective big brother mode when they played there-considering the numerous times she'd walked right out that door unescorted and yet somehow still lived another day.

Meg poked him in the side as she passed him, shooting him a smirk. "Just because you're bigger than me doesn't mean I'm not still older than you, Mr. Protective." she teases, making him roll his eyes.

Kaileigh hugged the last of the guys and tucked her laptop bag under her arm, followed Meg outside as she locked up.

A siren blared in the distance as Danny walked the girls around to the rear of the restaurant where they were parked.

Looking around Meg, he flashed that million-dollar grin. "So did you have a good time tonight?"

"Are you serious? It was one of the best nights of my life-that was so much fun!"

Reaching the Dolphin first; they all waited for the motor to turn over and waved their good byes as the girl's tail lights glowed down the street.

Meg elbowed her brother and walked away grinning.

"What?" he blushed.

Chapter 29

Blowing out a breath of air, Meg opened the last drawer of her dresser and searched through the contents.

Focusing her attention on the old redwood box her uncle made when she was little, Meg knew it couldn't be in there and continued to scan her bedroom frantically.

"Daniel! Where's that camera we were using the other day? I need it for the Chesterfield wedding-I want to send them a few selections to choose from. Daniel, are you even in the house?" Meg quit the search for the camera, opting instead for a search of the brother. He generally knew where everything had been placed.

She found that he had fallen asleep on the sofa in his recording studio as a result of having stayed up the night before with Scott and a large pizza; the sleeper sofa ensured that he wouldn't even have to worry about trudging from the studio to his bedroom.

"You boys are young enough, you don't need a sleeper sofa," Meg interjected when Daniel announced that he'd just bought one. She could just imagine what his studio would look like, had she permitted them to go nuts; the image wasn't good.

All teasing aside, though, Meg was actually proud of her brother and how well he took care of that room. Pleased with his work ethic and standards for his music, he took great pride in his home studio as well. He signed many a deal in that room, met a few greats in the business in there, listened to several songs for very first time sitting on that sofa-and he had also eaten a lot of dust in there, taking it in the proverbial shorts.

The headphones snuggled up around her brother's ears persuaded Meg to just leave the guy alone; he was up against a couple of deadlines and she knew he would be needing any extra rest he could grab, whenever he could grab it.

Turning, Meg figured she would rip the kitchen upside down and finally find that stupid camera all by herself, opting to let the man sleep.

One cabinet after the other, drawer by drawer, and still no camera.

Drumming her fingertips on the countertop, Meg looked up to see Daniel raking a hand through his hair and yawning.

"Whacha doing, Sis?"

"Good! I'm glad you woke up-I've ripped this place apart looking for that camera we picked up last month. Have you seen it?"

"Yep. I used it the other day when the guys were over," he chuckled. "Black mail photo-op: poolside," he grinned.

Meg stared at him. "Nice story, Where is it?"

Her brother lifted one eyebrow. "Testy for first thing in the morning, aren't we?"

"Sorry, I have just ripped the place apart searching for that stupid thing. So where is it?"

"I left it on the wet bar in the guest house. Lemme go get it, I need some fresh air to wake up anyhow."

*

Flip.

After a couple of steps, it hit the sleepy pop star that the lights hadn't turned on.

_Flip_. And _flip_ _back the other way_.

Danny's eyes roamed around the guest house living room for the nearest lamp. He would just change the light bulb later on in the day when he was fully awake.

He felt under the lamp shade for the little knob and gave it a twist.

Nothing.

"Seriously? How many bulbs have blown in this place?" Danny complained all the way over to the hallway, where he flipped the switch on the wall.

And nothing.

"Of course," he groaned. "Cause I really have the time for this right now."

Just to make sure a fuse had blown, he flipped switch after switch, room after room.

Rolling his cocoa colored eyes after his light inspection had come to a finish, the singing sensation remembered the reason he even came out to the guest house-Meg's camera.

Stepping barefooted out the door, Danny padded down the red brick walkway, a path from the guest quarters back to the main house; he paused twice to wiggle a small pebble free from the sole of his foot and once back inside his own home, found his sister at the coffee pot, pouring two fresh cups.

"Yes! You're awesome, thank you, sir," she reached for the camera as she passed him a cup of wake-up juice. "Here, I'll trade ya."

"Yeah, no sweat, but you are not going to enjoy what you're about to hear," her brother warned.

Her eyes darted down to the camera in her hand. "Oh, no! Did you drop it?" Grimacing, she looked for signs of ruination.

"Nope, it's not the camera. We've got some kind of an electrical problem going on out there. The front part of the house is completely gone, but for whatever reason, the bedroom and quarter bath are fine. So which one of us has more time to handle this one?"

Meg passed a hand in front of her face. "Can't be that bad. Did you even check the fuse box? It's probably something we can fix by flipping a switch or two," Meg dismissed. "You wake up, I'll go check it out."

*

The battleship grey metal box hanging on the wall of the laundry room certainly didn't prove to be their friend that morning; the breakers had indeed not been flipped and were in fact, all completely in tact.

"Dang dang dang diggity dang it!" Meg sputtered with a non-happy slam of the breaker box door, latching it securely.

Thoughts of the Chesterfield wedding and Danny's busy schedule with the video and upcoming tour paraded in her brain, reminding her that neither of them really had the time to deal with a foul ball.

Storming back up the bricks that both she and her brother had just trudged over, Meg made her way back into the sliding glass doors off the back deck, heading straight for the phone book.

Danny saw the look on her face and didn't ask.

Flipping the yellow pages, Meg ran a finger down the advertisements until she found what she was looking for. Electricians

With phone book and cell phone in hand, she joined her brother at the table.

"It's gonna be a quick fix. In and out. An hour, tops. Right?"

Her brother finished his sip at the tall blue ceramic mug and shook his head. "Yeah, we'll go with that version. I guess you don't' remember last summer when your restaurant-"

She held up a finger, not wanting to relive that moment in time. "Yeah, yeah. Let's not go back there right now, huh?"

Meg was not in the mood to bring back the memory of her business being invaded with those two bumbling idiot electricians; shivers ran down her spine as the vision of the older one with palsy not only knocked over a fresh pot of marinara sauce with his tool belt, but just remembering those shaking hands nearing her breaker box sent her into convulsions.

"We'll skip the father and son duo this time," she mumbled, her finger still running down the ads.

Stopping at the half-page ad, Meg turned the book around for her brother's approval. "What about these guys?"

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, give 'em a call."

Ring, ring.

"Pro Lighting, this is Angela. How can I make your day bright?"

Wincing, Meg was suddenly proud that she never forced her employees to answer the phone with some cheesey greeting.

"Hi. I'm going to be needing some help in our guest house. Looks like the front half of the house is dead."

"Well, that's no good," the receptionist chimed in, far too cheery-toned this early in the morning. "If I can get your information, we can get a customer card established for you over the phone."

Meg rattled out her name, rank and serial number, hoping this wasn't going to turn into some circus. She heard Angela clicking away at her keyboard on the other end'

"Alright, Miss Montgomery, it looks like I can send our technician, Joe, over to get this problem solved for you. He's got a couple of calls in your area tomorrow; if someone could be at the home when he arrives, would that work out okay for you? Or would you rather we send someone out right away?"

Meg sat up a bit taller. "No. Actually, tomorrow would work out much better for us. Any idea when we can expect him?"

"Not really, I'm sorry. It pretty much depends on how involved those other two calls become. But if you would like, I can give you a courtesy call once he's finished with the call before yours so you have a heads-up that he's heading your way," the receptionist offered.

"Yes, that would be great. I'd really appreciate it if you could do that for me."

The cell phone snapped shut; Danny busied himself at the coffee pot.

"So what's the dealio?"

Meg blew out a breath. "Remember when you asked which one of us was the least busy?"

*

The look on Meg's face told Kaileigh that her friend could pass out at any second. Danny waited for his sister to ring up a customer's bill before he handed over a few sheets of paper and shook his head. They were both flapping their arms around and speaking in rather animated gestures with each other, so she opted to pop in her earbuds and continue working on that article for the children's magazine.

When she'd finished the section on good manners and proper grooming, she sensed that she was no longer alone and removed one earbud.

"Good morning, buddy ole pal of friend of mine that I love so much!" Meg sat a platter of cheesecake down on the café table and scooted it closer to Kaileigh and her laptop. "Fresh strawberries. I sliced them myself and gave them just a dusting of sugared cinnamon."

Kaileigh squinted at her friend. :Okay, what's up?"

"Up? What are you talking about?"

She knew something was brewing; fresh strawberries? Buddy old pal?

Meg, do you have another wedding you need help with? You don't have to butter me up, ya know. But next time, I'll take raspberries, if you're taking advanced orders," she warned, dipping a finger into the cheese cake.

"Uhm, now that you mention it, there might be one thing I need help with, Actually it's kinda more like both Daniel and I need you to come to the rescue for us."

"Yeah, sure. I'll do it."

"You don't know what it is. What if I needed you to stand out on the front lawn so the paparazzi can take pictures of you in a bikini?"

"Then I would wear a chimpanzee mask so nobody would know it was me."

They both laughed.

"It's the guest house. The contractor is telling us that we need someone to live in it for the next week to monitor a few things, and we just don't have it in the schedule to stop everything and just stay in that house for a full week. I mean, one or the other of us could go in there and turn the lights on and off , yeah, but, well," Meg stammered, "Daniel thought this would be easier."

"And you guys want me to stay in the house for you and check the list for any problems that come up and keep an eye on the place." Kaileigh fjinished for her, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Meg waited for her friend to start the backing up button.

"You have internet in there?"

"Uhm, wifi, yeah."

"When do ya want me to head over and where's the list? I'd love to hang out for a week in a real house and shower in a real stall for a while," she grinned. "What took you so long to finally ask me? Scared of me or something?"

Meg relaxed. "No, I had to talk Daniel into the idea. You know how he is," she winked. "Geeze, Kai. You're a lifesaver on this one! It's going to be so awesome knowing you're right there! The contractor will probably be there until like 3, so if you want to head over before he takes off ,he can show you what to look for."

Kaileigh tapped a few keys on the laptop. "Not a problem, buddy ole pal of mine," she grinned without even looking up.

*

Ring, ring.

Daniel picked up on the first ring. "Yeah?"

"Done. She'll be heading on over in a while. Oh, and make sure the wifi is working out there for her," Meg added before they hung up.

"Awesome! Hey, do you think it would be okay if I buy some groceries and get the place stocked up for her? At least some drinks and snacks? I assume she's having supper with us, right?" Daniel fidgeted with his hair, hopping around his home studio.

"Don't go overboard though, and make her feel all weird about it, though."

Daniel shoved the phone back in his pocket and after he'd finished his air-guitar victory routine and searched around for where he'd laid his car keys.

It was time to go shopping.

*

The banana cream colored Dolphin moved into its usual parking spot on the large gravel area beside the Montgomery's three-car garage. Removing her keys from the ignition and hanging them on the small golden hook, Kaileigh snatched up her bag and moved it next to her purse. I'll come back for my stuff later on, she planned.

The men lugging tool boxes around the yard looked busy; some carried hoses of some sort, a couple of them looked like supervisors, pointing here or there and holding what she assumed were blueprints, and most of them wore leather tool belts around their waists.

"Hi," Kaileigh approached one of the men, "I'm supposed to speak with a man by the name of Joe."

The man nodded, turned and pointed toward an extremely slim man wearing a neon yellow hard hat.

Kaileigh giggled to herself, Sure hope Joe doesn't turn sideways and get mistaken for a slab of lumber...

"Thank you," she told him.

_Joe, where did you buy your metabolism?_ , Kaileigh grinned as she got closer to the stick figure.

"Excuse me? Joe?"

The skinny man flipped himself around effortlessly, his facial features emphasizing the comical look she'd seen from afar; his tiny eyes, almost crossed, distracted her from remembering why she was there in the first place.

"I'm Meg's friend, I'm going to be living in the guest house to...keep an eye on things?" she stammered, trying not to stare and yet maintain eye contact all at the same time.

He stuck his hand out to shake hers, and as they made contact, she wondered how such a weak handshake could possibly carry out so many of the large-scale jobs Meg had talked about.

Joe spoke in an even more comical voice than what Kaileigh was expecting to come forth from his mouth as he boomed out with the most decisively baritone she'd ever heard.

"Well, we meet at last." Joe boomed. "Danny, Meg and I got a checklist put together of their main concerns and of mine, as well, and I just wanted to make sure that whoever is going to be in the home knows what to watch out for," he explained as the pair dodged a large spool of electrical wire and a few boxes that appeared to contain connectors and the such that Joe's partner set out on the lawn, and made their way into the guest house.

Joe poked a skinny finger at the lime green sheet of paper, running through things she thought were pretty much common sense things to do before he jumped into the more intricate details of what his team would be doing next.

"Meg said the front part of the house is dead; have they already shown you the three rooms that are actually working? It might be easier to get things rolling that way."

Joe concentrated for just a moment and nodded.

"Alright, I believe the best place to start will be getting up in the attic and taking a look at the junction boxes, see what we have going on there. Do you know if there is an interior attic entrance?"

"Uhm, Yeah. Right there," she pointed.

Joe turned to grab his ladder.

"You can just relax for a little while, if you have something to do around the house, don't let us keep you from it," he wanted the girl to know.

Kaileigh figured she might as well use her time to finish up that article as long as her mind was still focused on it, so she found her way back to the Dolphin. Grabbing a tote bag with extra clothing and personal items, she slung her purse over her shoulder and managed to shut the side door with her backside as she waddled back with a full load to her new temporary abode.

*

Joe emerged half an hour later, one hand filled with some of the old wiring he'd already stripped out.

"We have us a little problem with the wiring, that's for sure. This place was probably built sometime in the 60s, because the electrician used the old aluminum wiring. Code today requires copper. See, right here? The aluminum wiring gets so hot, it will eventually heat up, melt and break off. That can cause a house fire, which we don't want to happen, obviously," Joe explained.

Kaileigh opened the fridge and offered him and his workers a soda.

Popping the tab on his can, Joe told her, "I was able to isolate the problem between two junction boxes up in the attic, so the next step is tracing the wires from the bad box to the live box. At this point, I have bad news for the home owner. In order to pass code, this entire place is going to have ot be re-wired. It's illegal for me to just go in and repair aluminum wiring because it's unsafe and again, it's not up to code. In fact, I don't' even own aluminum wiring, even if I were to have the desire to repair it and lose my license in the process."

Kaileigh gasped, sensing this would be one costly job. "I know my friends will want to know how long this is going to take and what they can expect to pay for it."

Joe, already writing out an estimate, replied that the process of rewiring an entire home this size would require him to bring on two additional workers, but it should take no longer than two to three days."

"I'll let them know. How soon will you be able to begin?"

"How's Monday morning sound? I have a job out of town the next two days, so I will let the office know not to schedule me with anything other jobs until this is finished to the home owner's satisfaction."

Kaileigh said she would relay the information and have them get back with his office by morning, half wondering if she ought to take notes for Meg and Danny or if Joe would leave a detailed report. Figuring he would be professional enough for the latter, she inclined her ear back to his explanation of what was going on.

"I'm going to crawl back up into the attic and I need you to do is listen to where I'm crawling around; I'll give a couple of knocks on the flooring. Soon as you hear my knock, I need you to locate the nearest outlet on the wall-it will probably be either this one or...that one," Joe pointed out.

"Now, if you see any bulging of the sheetrock or you see the wall beginning to rip at all, just holler up and I'll have to ease off.," he paused. "That's not good."

Duh, Kaileigh thought.

"I assume you've cut the main breaker?" she laughed. Can't hurt to ask, she thought to herself.

Joe rubbed his chin. "Ah, so you're familiar with basic household maintenance, then?" he inquired.

"Yeah, some," she nodded her head. My daddy didn't raise an idiot.

*

The now comfortable house guest punched the last of the buttons: _I'm all settled in and met Joe, went over everything. See ya later–and PS, thanks for the goodies!_

Send.

Snuggling down into the fluffy sea foam-tinted sofa, Kaileigh dropped her cell phone next to her on the cushion and rested her head back, closed her eyes and let the sounds of contractors lull her into just this side of a nap state.

*

Kaileigh rubbed her belly and puffed her cheeks out. "Holy cow, I cannot keep this up. You are so gonna fatten me up if you continue stuffing my face with all this delicious food!"

"Well, in my defense, I do own a restaurant. When you signed up to be my friend, you got the whole package...including the extra calories. I guess you'll have to finally break down and start using that pool out there," Meg suggested.

"And once again, shall I remind you that is never going to happen?"

Danny lifted an eyebrow. "Never?"

Meg waved a hand. "Don't worry about him. He's seen girls in bathing suits before."

"Never seen me. And he's not going to, either."

"Okay," he laughed out loud. "I am sitting right here, ya know!"

"I'll tell you what." his sister continued as if he were invisible. "We'll have to plan on a pool takeover for a day he's going to be out of town."

Kaileigh lifted her glass and agreed to that, poking her tongue out at Danny "I'm not scared of you," she teased.

Watching Kaileigh toss her head back as she laughed about the day's events eased Meg into appreciating the thought that there was no doubt she was the one for her brother.

"So," Meg changed the subject, "What do you think of Pro Lighting? Think they're professional or pro fools?"

"Nah, I think you'll get a good deal; that Joe guy seems real nice, and when I was laying down on the sofa, I wasn't sleeping or anything, just waiting for a couple of texts, and he was trying to be quiet, like he was being polite or whatever. And when he was talking to his workers, he was real nice to them, too. He seems okay to me." Thinking again, Kaileigh asked if they saw that paperwork she'd left for them on the counter.

"Yeah," Meg and Danny said at the same time.

"He was telling me it wouldn't take more than two or three days to get the problem worked out, so I'll be outta your hair pretty quick," Kaileigh announced.

That wasn't what either Danny or Meg were looking forward to hearing; the mutual hope was getting the girl to stay on in the guest house indefinitely.

"Eh, nobody's in a hurry to see you go. Heck, we were even thinking about having you fitted for a maid's uniform and looked online for those cool orthopedic shoes so you'd be comfy climbing the stairs and tending to the garden," Meg batted her eyelashes at her friend.

"Hey, wait a minute," Danny got in on the conversation. "I bet we could find you a feather duster in different colors so you could have one for every day of the week!"

Kaileigh finished chewing her bite, taking her time as if neither of them has spoken a word. She set her fork down and looked at them both.

"A feather duster for every day of the week? You want my services seven days a week? Are you insane? I must have every other Tuesday afternoon off," she teased right back.

Danny grinned. "You're hired if you wash windows."

Chapter 30

"Well, it all depends on whether or not we can get all the extras rounded up or not," Danny relayed to Scott over the phone. "Yeah, I know. Yeah, I'm with you, man! Okay, I'll see what I can do; you just make sure we don't lose that studio time. See you at 7 sharp."

Danny ran a stressed palm through his thick blond hair. "I hate it when this happens!" he moaned out loud to nobody in particular. The door to his recording studio, half-opened, carried his voice down the hall to where Meg stood at the window.

She stopped watering the vines long enough to ask, "What do you hate, brother of mine?"

Danny moaned again, only louder this time since he had an audience who might lend a round of sympathy.

He rolled himself, chair and all, and poked his head out the door. "We lost our extras for the video tonight. Somehow the casting company scheduled the same girls for Ricky Joe's video that ironically is also being filmed tonight-and the girls promised to me happen to be all the way in a corn field somewhere in Iowa right as we speak. That better be one heck of a video or that boys going to hear from me," he only half teased.

"I need 3 girls ASAP, Sis! Have any friends who aren't doing anything tonight?"

"One of my kitchen girls is off tonight, I bet she would be thrilled if you called her, and if you really need me, I'll lend a hand. I bet Kai would help out, so how's that for short notice help?" Meg finished watering her vines and asked if Daniel wanted that phone number.

"Hi, is this Susan? This is Meg's brother, Danny Montgomery. How are you today? Haha, yeah, it's really me," he forced himself to chuckle into the cell phone. "Hey, if you're not busy tonight..."

Cramming the phone in his pocket again, the pop star hoped this would turn out at least half way decent; he knew he could count on his sister and Kaileigh but he'd never even met this Susan.

*

With his hand placed firmly in the center of Kaileigh's back, his eyes focused deeply into hers. They tried not to laugh at the fact that the first victim didn't work out. Once Meg and her brother posed for the shot, she busted out laughing. She simply could not be that close to her brother and not feel like smacking him or plucking out nose hairs just for the fun of it!

"Okay, this really isn't right," she declared after only a minute. "Cut!" she called, breaking away from him.

"That was just weird," Danny agreed. "Not gonna try that ever again..." he flicked his hands as if he was flinging off all the girl cooties. "Kind of try to never choke on anything around me, cause you're not getting CPR from this guy if you do," he forewarned in front of everyone.

Laughing at their antics, the production crew; figured that Kaileigh was the next closest in height to Meg, so the director wasted no time in showing her the mark to stand on.

"Alright, let's get this done tonight, gang," he instructed. "We don't need to keep the studio booked for another session."

So there stood Kaileigh. In the arms of her friend's brother. Never mind the fact that she felt butterflies in her tummy-tonight, this was all about lending her friend support. This one was for fun.

"And action!"

A slow beating of a drum bounced off the studio walls, and Kaileigh felt the fan begin to spin on their left-hand side just out of screen-shot; Danny's hand slid from her back to her shoulder just as one of the crew hands directed the fog machine to slowly make its way up their legs.

"Huh," the video girl thought to herself. "So that's how it's done."

Danny continued to gaze into his friend's eyes until he finished singing the first few words of the newest White Rabbit hit single; with the entire studio glaring at them with their critical Business Eyes, there was no inclination to do any more than become the video actress and take the directions she'd learned only minutes before filming began.

The sheer fright of realizing how many people would be seeing this thing had the girl more than happy that she was buried under three pounds of theater make-up and a rather large hat. She did hope, however, that she got to keep the outfit; what a cool keepsake to take back home to Colorado and show off to Kate and Maria some day!

*

"Who's hungry?" Scott called out "I just saw what catering brought in and I'm ready for a sammich!"

Meg raised one weary hand. "Scotty, if you bring me a plate, I'll give you a free dinner at the restaurant," she tried to bribe him.

The twenty-three year old drummer hopped up from the bean bag chair in the corner and gave her the thumbs up, although Meg fed him at least twice a week anyhow.

Danny's feet, propped up and shoeless, wiggled their way into some serious toe-popping; his eyes closed and head resting against the back of the sofa in the sound room.

"Hey, Marv, just play it back one time, would ya? I'm just not a hundred percent on that ending yet."

Marv would replay it again and again, fifty times if that's what made the man happy; White Rabbit made him a million plus sales on that last record alone, so he would stay all night if need be.

Scotty knocked on the window separating the rooms and gave the _whaddup_ look at Marv, who shook his head and pointed to Danny.

As if he hadn't seen his friend, Scotty responded with his signature thumbs up. He stuffed the last of his sammich into his face and made trip number two to the caterer's tables.

"Okay, I've got it. It's the bridge that's got me bugged. Let's grab something to eat real quick, we'll shoot this one more time, and I'm golden," he punched the band's sound engineer in the shoulder with that grin plastered on his face. Marv knew that grin: it was his Lightbulb Moment, and Marv knew his money-maker was working out yet another mastermind touch.

"Someone better tell me there's still some pepper jack cheese out there or I'm gonna-" Danny announced as he bounced out of the sound room.

Adam smacked the back of his head and then ducked in case his friend retaliated. "Or you're gonna what?"

*

Kaileigh took her place on the taped-out X once again, admiring Danny in his working mode. He is nothing like this at home, Kaileigh noted, reflecting on his recording studio at home and the few times he'd dragged her and Meg in to listen to a demo or help him decide if this or that sounded better.

Narrowing her eyes for the beginning of her part, she realized as the boom mics lowered into place, "I _'ve never really seen Danny at work."_

Lights faded from the top of the studio, fog rose from the bottom, and White Rabbit filled the gaps in between; drawing everyone in the room into every word and every beat of the drums.

One-thirty in the morning arrived along with a fresh cart of coffee, but the deed finally found its happy ending and White Rabbit proclaimed another satisfied video under their belts.

"Bed time!" Scotty announced with a fist in the air. "I'm gonna go crash for twenty-four hours so don't call me unless there's a large sausage pizza and a twelve pack of something with an extremely high caffeine content involved!" He high-fived his band mates and exited the studio, stopping by the caterer's pastry cart on the way down the hall.

Chapter 31

Danny scratched a hand through his hair before giving his sister the other piece of information the repairman lowered on him earlier in the afternoon.

"Joe mentioned that it's not good on a house to just sit empty, and he suggested renting it out-but I am vehemently against that idea. Last thing we want is some kook patrolling the grounds with a camera, ya know?"

Meg pursed her lips together and shook her head as she reached over to pull her brother closer in for a hug. "Ugh, being a grown-up stinks sometimes," she moaned.

With sour looks plastered on their faces, Meg and Danny glanced out their kitchen window toward the guest house.

"I've been thinking this over all day and one solution keeps screaming in my ear. It's been the most obvious solution from day one, and I can't believe neither one of us thought about it until now. Neither of us want to rent the place out to a stranger. None of your friends need a place to stay, that's for sure. I refuse to invite any member of my staff live with me. Who is the next obvious choice?"

Danny ran both palms down the length of his jeans and shook his head. "Nope. Unlike you, I don't wanna go there; you know I adore the ground she walks on, but...."

Meg shot her brother a sour look.

"Hey," he snapped. "I don't want her getting hurt!"

"Look, I think she should just stay on in the guest house, permanently It makes the most sense and you know I'm right. What's your problem?"

Danny moved his eyes to the floor, shook his head. "And I've told you before that I don't want her getting hurt. She's...different. Not used to the life we live, ya know what I mean?"

She nodded. She knew. "You like her?"

"Of course I do. She's awesome."

Meg waited until he lifted his eyes back up. "Do you _like_ her?"

Danny ran his hand back down the length of his jeans and bit his bottom lip while he thought of how to word his next sentence.

"Okay, yeah. So maybe I do. Do you think she knows?"

Meg rolled her eyes.

Danny grinned but the blush on his cheeks told her that he didn't want to look her in the eye.

"You can make this work. Take it slow, okay?"

*

Setting her coffee mug back on the rack Kaileigh took another look around the guest house kitchen. Satisfied that she would be leaving it tidy, she turned around in time to see Meg just about to knock on the door.

"G'morning; I was just about to take off," came the greeting as her hand reached down into her pocket. Kailiegh pulled out the keys to the guest house and dangled them in front of her friend's face. "Here ya go. Joe's crew said they'd be done by about ten this morning, but all they have left is just some cleanup from the other day, so I figured I'd head on back to-"

Meg held an open palm up to the keys, pushing them back toward Kaileigh. "Uh-uh. I don't want them back. Here's the dealio: you're staying right here," Meg instructed.

Her nose scrunched up, the house guest shook her head. "I don't think they'll do anything weird, they're just cleaning up," she motioned to the small pile of scrap materials at the back of the yard. "Want me to hang around til it's all gone?"

Meg laughed with a wave of her hands. "No, you don't get what I'm saying here. Daniel and I talked it over and we'd like to have you take it over," she motioned back toward the guest quarters. "You know, live right here with us," Meg tested the waters.

She recognized the way Kaileigh bit on her bottom lip; she did that whenever she thought about something important.

Not looking at her friend, but the grass underfoot, Kaileigh might have been nodding; Meg couldn't really tell if she was actually nodding or just deep in thought, so she just kept her ground while her friend digested the offer.

"Why?"

"Look, I know you came out here to explore new things and all-and you've done great since you've been here, made more business contacts and met some cool people," she paused, waiting for Kaileigh to look up. "But, Kai, part of the adventure is planting a few new roots, and we just want you to plant them with us. That's all I'm saying."

Sheepishly looking up just a bit, Kaileigh raised one eyebrow. "Ya do?"

Shifting weight from one foot to the other, Meg chuckled. "Yeah! We both do...although we both want you to stick around for different reasons," she mentioned off the cuff.

The look on Kaileigh's face brought another round of chuckling out of Meg. "Oh, puleeeze. Don't pretend you don't know," she teased.

"What am I supposed to know?"

Meg turned her friend around by the shoulders so they faced the house. "Third window over. Which room is that?"

"Danny's office. So?"

Shaking her head in an effort to align her words carefully, Meg answered. "He's been spending an awful lot of time looking out that window, and I have a feeling he wasn't scoping out Joe or anyone on his crew. Daniel's nuts about you, but he doesn't want to let on because he's scared you'll wind up in the middle of some tabloid expose and wind up wishing you'd never even met him."

Feeling her heart skip a couple of beats, Kaileigh smirked. "Could be good publicity for me, ya know. Some new novelist steals the heart of a famous pop star and makes a quarter-mill on the tell-tale story of their relationship? Is that what he's really thinking?"

"No! He's afraid the whole bunch of them will scare you off, make your life miserable. But ya know, this is stuff the two of you should be talking about," she mentioned with a jerk of her thumb toward the window. "All I came out here to say is that you're keeping the keys. You'll stay, won't you?"

"Maybe," she blushed, shrugging her shoulders.

Chapter 32

"C'mon! Accept the video call already!"

Within a couple of seconds, Kaileigh's screen distorted slightly as her call connected on the other side.

The familiar face smiled and both hands began waving frantically. "Hi! How are you? Ahh! It's been way too long-what's up, girl?"

Kate brought the screen closer to her; as if she were bringing Kaileigh herself close enough to hug the person she missed so dearly.

The friends chittered on, getting caught up on Kate's promotion and her new puppy.

"So here's the forty dollar question: when in the heck are you planning on coming on back so I can see your face? I miss you!"

"Now that my stress level is back down to a reasonable level, it's going to be really soon; I'm thinking about bringing some friends with me so I don't have to drive alone this time," Kaileigh announced with a grin.

"I was hoping you would-do I get to meet him? I, mean, uh," she cleared her throat playfully; "Do I get to meet them?"

"Yeah, they're excited to meet you, too! Will you come up to the house for a bar-b-que and stuff? I want Maria to come up with you. Think she'll be able to make it? Oh, and Dave and Jenna, too!"

Kate made a face at her computer screen. "If you don't invite everyone, they'll be devastated; you know Maria will trade a shift with someone to get there!"

"Hey, somebody wants to say hi to you," Kate looked down.

Disappearing from the screen for a second, her puppy entered the screen.

"Hahaha-he's drooling! Oh, he is so cute!" Kaileigh squealed out loud, reaching out to pet the animal before she remembered their separation by glass. "Oh, Kate, I miss you so much," she moaned. I really can't wait to see everyone out there again!"

"Yeah, you, too-and speaking about cute...what's going on out there?" She flasheded that all-knowing smile Kaileigh had been missing.

"Well, this is my last day at the RV park, 'cause Meg and Danny invited me to come and stay in their guest house. Works for me-this motor home has been great and everything, but that tiny bathroom isn't all it was cracked up to be," she giggled. "My spot is reseerved here until tomorrow noon so I'll be over at their house tonight. I'll email you the address later."

Kate shook her head. "You did it, kiddo."

Cocking her head to one side, Kaileigh asked what she meant.

"You made something of yourself in no time flat. The book deal, meeting Meg and Danny and now staying at their house-you've really done it. Proud of you, kid."

Ending the call with promises to see each other soon, Kaileigh finished folding her laundry befor making the trip to her new home.

*

"Yeah, I can do that," Meg replied to the delivery kid. "Daniel's recording now, so I can't have him sign for it himself. Why don't I call his manager and let you talk to him? Tim will let me sign."

The kid was new on the job, had only been to the house a couple of times before today, and Meg didn't want to come right out and tell him that his rule of being strictly by the books wasn't really that necessary with some things.

Whatever. It was good to see kids who were trying to do well at their jobs, so she punched in a few numbers and waited for the phone to ring.

"Tim, hey, it's Meggie. Yeah, he did. Actually he didn't," she chuckled. "It's here at the door, but I need you to give the ok to your delivery guy that I can sign for it."

She nodded her head and indicated to the kid that Tim was flapping his gums. by moving her closed fingers moving up and down in a lobster claw-like motion.

"Yeah, he's running a dry record on that one this afternoon. So can you let your guy know it's cool to sign? Okay, thanks, talk to ya later. Uh-huh. You, too. Thanks," she turned the phone over to Tim's delivery kid.

"Okay, Boss. All I needed to hear."

The kid set her phone on top of the box and clipboard, handed the stack of items to her." It's all good," he smiled.

Gosh, so glad you figured this out. "Awesome. We'll be seeing you next time," she told him, shutting the front door.

*

A green 5 slapped the top of the pile and Danny called out: "Uno!"

Meg looked at the ceiling and groaned; she still held half the deck in her hand. "Why did we buy two decks of cards?"

With a slight grin, Kaileigh dangled one finger over her cards as if she were calculating which one to use next. When the Draw Four card stared back up at Danny, the wince he offered was almost painful, but not near as painful as the sound he let escape from his lips when Kaileigh announced, "Red."

"I never get red cards," he groaned.

"I know," she grinned back.

Ring, ring.

Meg placed her cards face-down on the kitchen table to answer the phone.

Danny smiled at Kaileigh, placed his foot on hers under the table and rearranged the cards in his hand. "We should go to the movies tomorrow. You pick and I'll drive," he offered. "We gotta do a few things before tour, ya know?"

Nodding, she reminded him of the fact that White Rabbit would be gone for three and a half months.

"Ya know, I was thinking about that, Doing a few things, I mean. There was something I'd planned on doing in the middle of May, but you'll still be gone then..."

"Yeah? Whaddaya got up your sleeve?"

"How would you like to meet some of my friends?"

Wiggling her foot, Danny asked if she was planning a party.

"No...maybe. At least, a party by my standards," she laughed. "I already talked to Meg about it, and she's game," Kaileigh shrugged. "So how do you feel about a road trip before your road trip?"

His head slid to one side and an eyebrow tilted. "Huh?"

"Well, I promised some people I'd head back to my house in the mountains before too long. Meg's gonna go with me, so why don't you come along and meet...my people"

Nodding his head, his gaze shifted to the other side of the room as if he were thinking about it. "Huh. Last time I was in Colorado, we were doing a show in Denver," he recalled.

"Yeah, I remember. I was there,"

Danny shook his head. "You never told me that!"

Kaileigh shrugged. "It never came up. So you in or what? Wanna be a tourist for once in your life?"

"Yeah. I do! Heck yeah!

Chapter 33

The rented extended cab truck rumbled up the side the mountain; Kaileigh felt herself retreat back to several years before, when she was nothing but a carefree little girl in pigtails and hiking boots, running to keep up with her daddy as they hauled firewood from the stack to the fire ring beside the back door.

Emotion gripped at her heart and threatened not to let go the closer they got to her old stomping grounds.

Danny reached over and rested his hand on hers, gave it just a small squeeze. "Hey, you gonna be alright?"

Kaileigh nodded. "Yeah. It's just been a while, ya know?"

He didn't know. He'd never been in the same shoes she had been walking in for the past couple of years.

Thunderheads overhead offered their outlook on the day; Kaileigh remembered the storms that jumped over the Sangres when she was little and knew this one was destined to become a whopper of a downpour.

"Good thing we brought groceries with us," Meg observed as her eyes scanned the landscape from the side window. "This is incredible, Kai! I've only seen this in a few movies, but never up close and in person," her voice wandered off a bit. "I can't believe you guys didn't have any neighbors! Squinting, Meg pointed toward the top of the neighboring hill. "How far away is that house?"

"That's the Johnson's place. They lived here when I was little; our families used to hang out and have bar-b-ques in the summer time, watch each other's place when we'd go out of town or on vacation. You know, the neighborly thing and all. They had this boat-it was real ugly. There's a lake not too far from here that the locals go to in the spring time for some of the best trout you ever had."

Meg perked up at the words fishing and trout. "Do you still have poles up here? I've never been fishing even once in my whole entire life! Think we could go if you're up to it?"

Her friend sounded far too excited to decline the request, and being determined not to let this trip back home bring her down or force her into a slump, Kaileigh leaned her neck around enough so she could look into Meg's eyes. "You wanna go fishin'-I'll take you fishin'!"

Laughing, she followed what Meg was checking out and glanced up at the top of the Johnson's hill. "We are not, however, inviting the Village Idiot!"

*

As the sun set across the Colorado Rocky Mountain sky, Kaileigh and her rock star let the porch swing glide them back and forth in the cool breeze.

"You have no idea how great it feels being back here, back home," she corrected herself "My parents would have liked you," she said into the night air. "Dad would be out here playing his banjo and my mom would be scaring off the wildlife with her off-key singing."

Danny kept his gaze on the pinkish-purple glow spreading over the tops of the peaks in the horizon. "And what would you be doing?"

"That's easy," she nodded. "I would be loving every minute of it."

Danny looked across the railing of the deck, grazed the extended range of the Sangres, and breathed in some clean mountain air.

"I can't believe this is where you got to grow up. This is the most amazing sight I have ever seen, I just can't get over the fact that you woke up to this every single day. It's so quiet," he almost whispered.

"It was amazing; waking up to deer in the yard and going to sleep with the doors unlocked. Every day I've been gone, I've never forgotten it will always be my home."

The swing creaked each time it swung back and forth, inviting Kaileigh to lean her head over and rest it on Danny's shoulder; he scooted over a notch to accommodate her, resting an ear against her freshly shampooed head. Eyes closed, he felt the tip of his thumb skim the top of his mountain girl's hand.

Crickets chirped in sync with the thunder rolling into the valley, and Kaileigh sniffed in the air.

"Smell that?"

"What am I supposed to smell? It all kinda smells the same to me," he sniffed again, only a bit deeper.

"Pine needles. It's hailing off in the distance," she explained without even opening her eyes.

He sniffed in once more, smiling. "Hey, that's pretty cool," he smiled. "How do you know that?"

Offering her expertise in the process of rain saturating pine needles after a good pounding of hail stones, she told him to lick the tip of his finger and hold it in front of himself.

"Just do it, rock star," she instructed. "You know which direction the storm's coming in from when the breeze catches the wet spot on your finger."

Making a face, Danny poked a finger into his mouth, raked it against his tongue. When he felt the tickle of a breeze against it, he grinned.

"Hey, kid. You're pretty smart, aren't you?"

Kaileigh pulled herself into a sitting position, faced Danny. "I'm smart enough to be here with you, aren't I?"

One hand on each side of her face, Danny nodded. "Yeah, but what if you decide to stay here?"

Her blue eyes fell into a look of contentment; "I won't ever sell this place, if that's what you mean."

"No-no. Don't ever do that! It's awesome up here! I just...I mean, Kai, are you gonna go back with me and Meg?"

"Yeah. I sorta left my stuff out there, right? Unless you feel like driving the motor home and all my stuff back out here for me, I pretty much have to catch a ride back with you" came the answer he hoped for. "I just needed to come back home for a while. And I'm gonna want to do this every so often until some day when I will probably just stay up here on this hill. But that's not right now."

Just as he was about to ask another question, the front door opened and Meg appeared, rubbing a white towel against her wet hair.

"Whew, did I need that! You're next, Danny-Boy," she wagged a thumb at the house. "Get outta here so we can girl-talk about the party tomorrow."

He stood, patted Kaileigh on top of her head. "I'm out," he announced.

Kaileigh laughed. "I don't really think this is going to classify as an honest-to-goodness party," she corrected. "We generally call a bar-b-que...a bar-b-que," she grinned. "Or a cook-out. But to people out here, a party is balloons and streamers and someone's going home with a trunk full of presents." She grabbed one of the pillows off the swing and tossed it down on the deck between her feet. "Sit," she instructed Meg. "Gimme your comb and I'll braid while you scheme in your head which sauce to use on the chicken."

Chapter 34

Kaileigh's voice sounded down over the ledge of the lofted bedroom.

"Danny, do you have any laundry you want washed down there? Me and Meg are gonna toss in a load before everyone gets here."

Waiting for a reply, she and Meg went back to their task at hand-finding a decent flannel shirt for Meg to wear over her t-shirt.

"You gotta wear one when you're at a Colorado bar-b-que," she pleaded. "And even though you know how much I love that necklace, it might clash with the denim and hiking boots." She grimaced. "Just sayin'."

The woman let out a breath of air. "Yeah, you're right. Besides, I wouldn't want to lose it-you're still planning on taking us over to that old mine, aren't you?"

"Yeah! You're gonna love it. Hey, Danny," she called over the ledge again. "We know you're down there, we heard the shower going." She looked back at Meg. "Again. Does he always shower twice a day?"

Danny Montgomery emerged from Kaileigh's old room downstairs, a huge grin plastered across his face.

"So. This was your old room, huh? Didn't do much to it before you left, did you?"

She half-cocked her head to one side when she realized what he was grinning about.

Seriously embarrassed, Kaileigh smacked her forehead and sat on the edge of her parent's old bed.

"I am so stupid," she mumbled to his sister. "Oh my gosh, what was I thinking?"

Shaking her head, Meg tried to understand. She looked down over the ledge to see her brother still looking up. And grinning.

Gathering the courage to face the music, she leaned over to the guy who'd spent the night in her inner teenage sanctum, now painfully aware of the fact that she never had removed the posters from her walls before leaving for California.

"Hows it goin?' she nodded with pinkened cheeks.

"Not bad...I signed all of them for ya," he chuckled.

She sat back down on the bed.

"I am such an idiot."

With a look of confusion, Meg spread her hands out in front of herself, palms up. She looked first at her friend and then over the ledge at her brother. "What am I missing out on here?"

Laughing, Danny called out, "We're gonna have to look at each other eventually, Kai. It's funny! Get down here already and I'll let you wash my shorts," he teased.

*

Dave tossed a neon green frisbee over the fresh mountain air, sending Danny chasing after it; Jenna laughed at the pair of athletes tossing and diving after the plastic disc.

"He's having a ball, Kai," she commented. "Have I mentioned how cute Danny is in person?"

Kaileigh leaned over to her friend. "That would make the third time thus far," she grinned. "And I agree," she giggled back as her eyes roamed the deck and yard.

Her guests seemed happy, mingling well with one another; Lucinda and Meg had been in some deep conversation involving food and the proper baking temperature for honey oatmeal breads with and without fruit. Danny had obviously bonded well with Dave, setting Kaileigh's mind at ease.

Licking a bit of cake icing from her finger, Kaileigh returned her attention to Maria, who held the winning hand at a game of Gin Rummy. She gave a nod of her head toward the frisbee players in the front yard and grinned.

"You're doing pretty well for yourself, aren't you? He sure does adore the ground you walk on, that's for sure."

Kaileigh liked hearing that; the more she heard others say it, the more she began to believe it was true.

"Yeah, he's pretty awesome." Leaning over, Kaileigh motioned for Kate to listen in as she confessed the embarrassing moment earlier in the morning. "I totally spaced it out when I told him to stay in there," she rolled her eyes. "But I'd say he took it well...I just wonder how he got to sleep. He must have laughed his butt off for a good hour or two in there," she grimaced.

Her friend's laughter filled the end of the table, Kate snorted from trying to contain herself and pushed her sunglasses up to wipe at her eyes.

"That's hilarious," she laughed without any control. "He really signed them?"

"Unfortunately, yes, he did. Every single one of them."

Kate shook her head. "That's why he was up all night-do you know how many of those posters this girl had in her room?" she asked Maria.

Kaileigh glanced out only to notice that Dave and Danny's frisbee had become abandoned, tossed on a cushion in one of the lawn chairs.

*

Lucinda announced that the that the sun would be setting soon.

"You know how I am when it gets too dark; I'm going to have to follow someone out of here or I'm practically bear food," she only half-way joked. "Get over here, my sweet Kaileigh," she hugged tightly. "I expect you to drive safely on your way back to California," she made the girl promise.

Meg turned her attention from the driveway just as the last of the tail lights disappeared, Kaileigh's guests honking their horns as they trailed down the driveway and back down the mountain.

"Well, if you two don't mind, I call first dibbs on the shower. Kaileigh, you do not touch the rest of those dishes, you hear me?"

Elbows propped back on the deck railing, Danny leaned back and nodded toward all the food.

"Good thing we liked it, cause we're gonna be eating it again tomorrow, huh?"

"Yup. So did you like my friends?"

Raking a hand through his hair, he affirmed that he did. "Dave rocks," he announced. "Everyone was pretty cool, actually. I can see why you like it here."

Danny held out both arms. "Come here," he invited. "Ya know, I got to thinking about something today after seeing you in your own element, with all your friends. It was a side I hadn't been able to see yet. I liked it," he planted a kiss on the top of her head as she snuggled into his chest."And after I got to talking with Dave-"

Kaileigh cut him off. "Yeah, I thought you guys disappeared for a while. Where did you go?"

"Just around back. We were talking about a couple of things-mostly about you."

She chuckled and nodded her head. "Yeah, that figures. We're pretty close, you know. I lived with them for a while and Jenna was pretty broken up when I left,: she remembered. "So how did Dave grill you?"

"He did a lot of listening, to be honest. I pretty much had the monopoly on the conversation most of the time."

"Oh yeah?"

Biting his bottom lip, Danny let his head fall back so he could swallow a bit of nervous energy before returning his face back to hers.

"I think this is my lame way of saying I hope you like hanging out with me," he barely choked out.

Kaileigh felt his chest beating under his striped polo, but she knew hers was pounding even harder than his. She allowed her eyes to drop to her feet; Is he playing with me?

"Dave's rather fond of you, and he made sure that I wasn't planning on taking you for a ride, "he started.

Kaileigh groaned. "Oh, why did he have to go and do that? Can I please crawl under a rock now?"

Shaking his head, Danny stopped her mid-complaint.

"No, it wasn't like that. He just wanted to know where we stood, that's all."

Kaileigh nodded, glanced down at her own two feet.

"And what did you say to him?"

Danny shifted his weight to the other foot and allowed his focus to fall on the sun sinking below the peaks.

"I told him the truth, Kai. I've never met someone as real as you, that I don't wanna play games anymore."

Leading her to the picnic table, Danny cleared a few dishes to the side and motioned for her to come sit with him."I was so worried you couldn't handle my hectic life," Danny began, "But I wanna carve out a place for you to fit in there somewhere."

Waiting for him to burst out laughing at his own joke, Kaileigh absent-mindedly brushed her arms to ward off the chill bumps forming from the evening breeze, but opted instead to remain silent and allowed Danny to do all the talking.

A nervous impulse, his palms slid down the length of his jeans; he bit his lower lip. "I don't know where this is gonna take us, but if we don't at least give it a shot, we'll never know what could have happened."

Silence gripped the deck as she took too long to respond.

"You gonna say anything?"

Turning to the impatient young man, Kaileigh had to know, "You're not all freaked out that I'm gonna bolt if someone wants to take our picture?"

"Sorry. I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"By what, Danny? I know what you do for a living and I'm pretty much aware of what goes with the territory...I might be from the middle of nowhere, but I do read," she teased.

"I, uh," he shoved one hand into his front pocket and took her hand.

_Oh, holy cow_ , she shook with unchartered emotion when he pulled her hand toward his and slipped what she knew was not a ring over her finger.

Looking down, Kaileigh laughed out loud when she realized he'd slipped a white plastic ring from a bottle of soda on her finger.

But when her gaze met his, he wasnt laughing. Not at all.

Tilting her head, Kaileigh stared at the rock star standing in the nippy mountain air.

"If you agree to continue hanging out with me, I promise to get you one with less plastic in it-when we get back to California," he promised.

"You really want to do this thing?"

"Yeah. I want to call this my first tour as an officially taken guy," he grinned. "Let's just see where the road take us," he added.

Twirling the plastic ring on her finger, she nodded her answer. "I wanna keep this one for a while," she lifted her hand and laughed. "But do you mind if I pry these pokey things off?"

~ * * * ~

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