The Long Ride Read online

  As they walked in, Lisa’s mother came out, saying she was on her way to the grocery store. “Not that I’m going to need to keep much food in the house once you’re gone for the summer, Lisa,” she said. The sigh was apparent, even though inaudible.

  “That makes it unanimous, then,” Alex said when the door closed behind Mrs. Atwood. “Nobody wants you to go away this summer.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that I’m going, Alex, and it doesn’t make it easier when you talk like that.”

  “I know, I know. I just can’t help myself sometimes.”

  “Look, we’ll talk on the phone. I’ll send you e-mail from my dad’s computer. I’ll be in your hair so much you’ll start wishing I were farther away!”

  “I don’t think that’ll happen,” he said. Gently he pulled her to him and wrapped her in his strong arms. He gave her the kiss he’d wanted to give her when he first saw her: warm, lingering, and deep. She circled her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It made her feel good—very good—but it also reminded her how hard it was going to be to be away from him for the whole summer.

  They came up for air. “I’m going to miss you,” he said.

  “Me too. But being apart isn’t going to change how we feel about one another. Besides, Alex, saying good-bye is really hard. I’m dreading it, and it doesn’t help when you start doing it now. I’m not leaving yet. Let’s save the good-byes until the last minute, okay?”

  Alex looked at her, savoring her sweet smile and lovely face. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but, as usual, you are totally sensible and absolutely right. No good-byes. Just hellos. I do a good hello kiss, too. Want to try it?”

  “Silly!” she said, pushing him away. “You’re as incorrigible as your sister! Who—by the way—got herself a job today.”

  “Ah, my sister the pizza girl, huh? I’ve heard that Mr. Andrews is something else. The two of them should get along just fine.”

  “As long as she ‘minds her Pizza Manors,’” Lisa said.

  “You’re kidding!”

  Lisa told him all about Stevie’s interview, including the hat. It was a useful way to change the mood because the image of Stevie in the feathered hat was so hilarious.

  “And I guess she won’t be the only one with a new look this summer.”

  “You have to wear a uniform while you mow lawns?” Lisa asked.

  “No, of course not,” he said. “But I will be spending the summer in the great outdoors, getting a tan that will be the envy of everyone but lifeguards.”

  “You be sure to wear sunscreen,” said Lisa.

  “Don’t you want me to be a bronze god?”

  “Better to be pasty white than to have skin cancer.”

  “Maybe a little tan?”

  “Maybe,” she said, relenting. “Just a little. If you get too handsome, the girls will all be after you, and I don’t want that!”

  “I’ll beat them off with a stick,” Alex promised.

  “That’s what I like to hear,” Lisa said. “Now, here are my CDs. Which ones do you think I can’t live without for the summer?”

  Alex studied the CD holder and started pulling out boxes. He made three piles. “These are mine that you borrowed,” he said, pointing to the first pile. “And these are yours that you should take with you.”

  “What’s the third pile?” she asked.

  “Yours that you want to lend to me for the summer,” he explained with a smile.

  She was about to protest when the phone rang. She walked into the living room and picked it up.

  “Hey, Lisa! You’re there. It’s Skye. I’m on a quick break, so I don’t have long to talk, but I heard you’re coming out here—that’s great! Listen, will I get to see you?”

  “I don’t have a lot of plans, like, for instance, I’m not in any television shows or anything. My schedule is pretty much open. You’re the one with all the work.”

  “Well, not so much I can’t visit with friends sometimes. And there’s something else.”

  “What’s that?” Lisa asked.

  “Um …,” he said. “I guess it’ll be better to talk about it when you get here. When’ll you arrive? Want me to send a car?”

  “No thanks, Skye. My dad’ll meet me.”

  Alex peered through the doorway, looking curious. “Who are you talking to?” he whispered.

  “Skye Ransom,” she mouthed back.

  The concern on Alex’s face was immediate and obvious. She shook her head as if to dismiss his worry. She slipped her hand over the mouthpiece. “Just a friend,” she added in a whisper.

  Alex nodded broadly in a general display of disbelief.

  “Look, you’re going to be so busy it’s going to be awfully hard for us to get together,” Lisa said, as much for Alex’s benefit as Skye’s.

  “Never too busy to see a friend,” Skye told her.

  “I’ll call your service when I get to my dad’s house and we can talk.”

  “Good idea,” Skye said. “But why don’t you call me at home? You’ve got the number, right?”

  “Right,” she said. “And you have my father’s number in case we get crossed up.”

  “Of course,” he said. “From the last time you were here. That was so much fun, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she said, remembering the great time they’d had when she had come to California for her father’s wedding. Lisa was uncomfortable with the idea that Alex might misinterpret what Skye was saying to her, so she was revealing as little as possible about the other end of the conversation. But she was also uncomfortably aware that Alex knew perfectly well what she was doing.

  “I bet you have to get back to the set now, right?”

  “Well, in a minute,” Skye said.

  “Okay, then I’ll talk to you when I get out there.”

  “It’s a date,” he said, and hung up.

  Lisa cradled the phone.

  “Are you making plans with Skye?” Alex asked.

  “Not likely,” Lisa said. “He’s so busy with his career that he hardly has any time for a life. But, Alex, even if I do see him, remember, or try to remember, that he’s a friend. He’s been a friend for a long time. He’s never been any more than a friend, or any less. You’re number one on my list, and that’s not going to change.”

  “But you’re so beautiful,” Alex said. “And he’s not blind.”

  Lisa blushed. “I suppose that means you want another kiss,” she teased.

  “No, it means I really want to borrow the Zero Gravity CD for the summer.”

  “But that’s my favorite!” she protested.

  “All the better to remember you by while you’re gone,” he said.

  Lisa smiled and gave in. Love was complicated.

  SEVEN

  Stevie checked over her shoulder. In the backseat of the car was a large insulated container. Each container could hold two pizzas. On the front seat, next to her hat, was the list of addresses, in order, where she was to deliver the pizzas. It wasn’t actually a very long list. There was just one address left.

  Delivering pizzas was just about as routine as Stevie had thought it would be. She delivered the pizza, she took the money, she thanked the customer for the tip, she took off her hat and gave her courtly bow, she waited for the inevitable giggle, and then she left. Sometimes the door closed before she bowed, sometimes not. She didn’t have much time to think about that. People expected pizzas to be delivered quickly, whether they were being reasonable or not. Pizzas that were late were also cold, which meant the customer wouldn’t be happy, meant they wouldn’t tip, meant there wasn’t anything funny or not that she could do with her silly hat that would change that. She had a job to do.

  She backed the car down the Applethwaites’ driveway. There was a bump, and then the left rear of the car dropped an unnerving number of inches. Stevie opened her door and looked behind her. The Applethwaites had a little flower garden bordering their concrete driveway. It now had about eight inches less
of impatiens than it had had a minute earlier. She closed her door, pulled the car forward, adjusted the wheel, and backed out without inflicting further damage on the pink and white flowers. She had a brief conversation with her conscience about the damage she’d caused. She had two more pizzas to deliver right away. The Applethwaites had only tipped her a quarter, and a quick examination of the flower bed confirmed that she was hardly the first person to make that mistake. She didn’t feel wonderful about her decision, but she decided to go away without saying anything.

  At the next house, she banged into a garbage can and knocked it over as she came into the driveway. It was a rubber one, so it didn’t make a lot of noise, and it was tightly closed, so nothing happened. Stevie righted the thing before she even rang the bell, wondering all the while why the Singers had put their garbage can right in the middle of their driveway. It belonged by the curb.

  The Singers were very grateful for their pizza—two dollars more grateful than the Applethwaites. Stevie was glad she’d put the garbage can back and hoped they would want to order pizza a lot when she was on duty. She made a note to be on the lookout for their garbage can next time.

  This wasn’t complicated, but it was hard work—harder than she’d thought it would be, anyway. She was always rushed, and she wanted to appear unrushed. Mr. Andrews said people liked fast service, not hurried service.

  Stevie returned to the shop for her next set of pizzas. This time there was only one waiting for her. She checked the slip and the order. She’d already learned that sometimes they got mixed up, and if she delivered anchovies to a sausage household, nobody would be happy. This one was right. It was a large pepperoni with mushrooms on half, and it was going to someone named Forester.

  Stevie checked the address. It wasn’t too far from her house. She knew the place, but she didn’t remember anyone named Forester there. She was getting a vague image of the kids in the family as she drove to the house. It was a big one, nicely kept, but she was sure the family wasn’t Forester.

  The outside of the house was well lit. There was a two-car garage, but a vehicle was parked sideways in a turnaround part of the driveway. Beside the garage, there was a large stack of cardboard boxes. Moving cartons. Obviously, the family Stevie remembered had moved out. And now the Foresters lived there. Well, whoever they were, Stevie hoped they were big tippers.

  She got out of the car, put on her silly hat, took the Foresters’ pizza—still toasty warm—out of the container, and rang the doorbell.

  As soon as the door began to open, Stevie spoke.

  “Pizza Manor at your service, milord,” she said, just as she’d been instructed.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” said the boy who held the door.

  Stevie found herself gazing into the very blue eyes of one of the best-looking guys she’d ever seen.

  “I wish I were kidding,” she said. “But right there in my employees manual, it says I have to say that stuff. Wait till you see what I do as I leave!”

  “Well, don’t hurry the process on my account,” the boy said. “I’m enjoying your company.”

  Stevie was quite aware of the carton she was holding. The heat from the pizza had penetrated the cardboard and was doing the same to the palm of her hand. She was less than comfortable.

  “Perhaps milord would like his pizza?” she asked, trying not to sound pained. “’Twould be fully of pepperonius and a moiety of fungal deliciosity. Surely such victuals are sufficient to please the palates of the gourmettiest consumer in all the realm.”

  “Who can resist that?” the boy asked, and took the pizza from Stevie’s hands. She blew on her palm to cool it.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” the boy said. “I didn’t realize the pizza would be that hot when it arrived.” He turned and spoke to someone else in the hallway. “Callie, can you bring an ice cube and a piece of paper towel for our delivery person?”

  “Sure,” said a girl’s voice.

  “You’ve just moved in?” Stevie asked.

  “Yup,” said the boy. “My name’s Scott Forester, and this is my sister, Callie.”

  Callie handed Stevie the ice cube and paper towel. Stevie thanked her and introduced herself, explaining that she lived just a few blocks away. By the time Scott had the money for Stevie—with a nice tip—they’d established that they were neighbors and that Willow Creek was a nice place to live. Scott took the pizza into the kitchen. Callie stood and chatted with Stevie for a few minutes.

  “I like your earrings,” Callie said. Stevie’s hand flew up to her ear—she couldn’t remember which pair she’d put on that morning. She shouldn’t have had to check. It was her horseshoes. What other earrings would she have chosen on the day she was going to apply for both her driver’s license and a job?

  “Are you a rider?” Callie asked.

  “As much as possible,” said Stevie. “And you?”

  “Definitely. I ride endurance. But we’ve just moved here, so I haven’t tried out your trails and competition.”

  “Do you have a horse?”

  “We’re leasing a horse for the summer, with an option to buy. In fact, he just got here today. I’m boarding him at Pine Hollow. Do you know the place?”

  “Every inch of it,” Stevie said. “And I can tell you, you’ve just made the best decision of your life.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” said Callie. “It seemed a little—”

  “That’s where I keep Belle—she’s my horse—and my friends ride there, too. We’re probably going to be seeing a lot of each other. I promise you that the next time you see me, I won’t be wearing this silly hat or shirt—that is, unless you order another pizza tonight. But I spend all the time I can at Pine Hollow. Max is great. So are Red and Ben. They’re the stable hands, but you probably haven’t met them yet.”

  “Brooding kind of guy.”

  “That’s Ben,” Stevie said. “He’s wonderful with horses. And my two best friends ride there, too. You’re going to love them. We tried endurance riding once. But just the once. We learned a lot, but I bet you could teach us a lot more.”

  “Well, if you’re interested—”

  “I am,” Stevie assured her. “Say, my friends and I are planning a trail ride in a couple of days. Would you like to come along? We’d be glad to show you the woods around here. We know just about all the trails and the nice places to stop, and where we can canter, and some fallen logs to jump—you know, that kind of thing.”

  “Well, are you sure it would be okay with your friends?” Callie asked.

  “Absolutely,” Stevie said. “We love to show off the place to newcomers.”

  “Well, then, I’ll be there.”

  “Day after tomorrow,” Stevie said. “We’ll take off about ten, so we’ll get to Pine Hollow about nine.”

  “See you then, if not before,” Callie said. “And, uh, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Stevie said. And then, just the perfect way she was supposed to, she held her hat to her chest and bowed.

  “Enjoy thy pizza,” she said. Callie laughed and closed the door.

  Stevie felt wonderful. She’d met two nice people, one of them a rider who already had a horse at Pine Hollow. What a great day this was turning out to be—if you didn’t count some mushed impatiens, and Stevie didn’t.

  Stevie slid behind the wheel of her car and plopped her silly hat on the seat. That was when she noticed that her beeper was going off. Mr. Andrews had given it to her so that he could let her know when she had to hurry back to the shop. She’d been so happy about chatting with the Foresters that she’d almost forgotten she actually had a job to do. She’d taken a long time to deliver just one pizza.

  She fastened her seat belt, turned the key, and shifted into reverse. She checked the mirror and began backing down the driveway carefully. There was a flower bed on the left side and the parked car on her right.

  “What is it about impatiens?” Stevie asked her rearview mirror. “Why does everybody in this town h
ave a border of impatiens next to their driveway? Is this a test?”

  She checked over her left shoulder and then looked back into the mirror. The flower bed was safe this time. Cautiously she proceeded.

  There was an unfamiliar feeling that Stevie didn’t like at all, and she met some resistance when she put her foot on the gas pedal ever so lightly. She looked over her right shoulder. The car that was parked sideways in the turnaround area was right there. Stevie gulped, shifted into drive, and pulled ahead about a foot. She hurried out of the car, dreading what she might find.

  She was right to worry. She’d broken her taillight and dented the area all around it. It was bad, really bad. She could barely bring herself to look at the other car, but she forced herself.

  The other car was a Jeep. That meant it was expensive, but it also meant it was tough. Where Stevie’s car had really visible damage, it wasn’t so clear that the Foresters’ car did. There was a scratch. And there was a slight dent—or maybe that’s how the car was made. Stevie scooted over to the other side to see if it went that way, too. But it was dark outside, and the lights from the house cast dark shadows on that side of the car. She couldn’t see. She really didn’t know.

  It wasn’t like the impatiens at the Applethwaites’ house. Stevie knew she’d done that and didn’t really care because they’d been so stingy and because so many other people had obviously done exactly the same thing she had to the flowers.

  There was a scratch on the Foresters’ car, but Stevie couldn’t believe she had done that. She’d been driving so slowly, how could she possibly have done any kind of damage? And if there was damage, there wasn’t much of it. A little scratch like that could have happened anytime. Yesterday, last week, a year ago. How would anybody ever know?

  Stevie heard the beeper go off again. She had to hurry or Mr. Andrews would be totally annoyed with her.

  She was pretty sure she hadn’t damaged the Foresters’ car. The damage to her car had almost certainly been caused by the big protective bumper on the van. Definitely, Stevie decided.

  She got back into her car and backed down the driveway very carefully. She decided that from then on, she would park at the curb and carry the pizzas up to the houses.