Boys, Bears And A Serious Pair Of Hiking Boots Part 18

"Or film another one of these videos." Maybe with Reeve along, too . . .

"Mnnaugh."

"You're pathetic," I inform him, even if I am as well - just in a different way. "Tell me that at least your cold water is still running."

Ethan lifts his head slightly. "Yup. I think there might even be some sodas in the fridge."

"Joy." I try to get up, but I'm wearing shorts and my bare thighs are sticking to the seat. I collapse back down. "Maybe later."

"Uh-huh."

We stay lounged in our seats until my phone buzzes. I grab for it expectantly, and then pause when I see the number.

"Hey, Mom." I pull myself out of my seat and head through to the back room.

"Jenna, finally. I've been getting your voice mail for days now."

"I know, sorry." I trap the phone against my shoulder and pull a couple of ice-cold sodas from the fridge. "I've been really busy. Things are hectic, with the B and B, I mean."

"Well, I'm glad I've got you. I still need to talk to you about something." Her voice wavers. I gulp.

"Can it wait?" I interrupt. "I'm just on my way out. I don't want the guys to hang around."

"Oh." Mom sounds disappointed. "I guess. Can you tell me when -?"

"Sure! We'll talk soon. Love you!"

I hang up. I'm still determined not to let my parents' problems creep into my summer, but it's getting harder to pretend nothing's going on. Tucking my phone away, I head back into the front of the store just as the bell over the door chimes. I try not to grin when I see who it is. Finally!

"Oh, it's you." Ethan sighs.

"Gee, thanks." Reeve wanders over, looking back and forth between us. "Wow, you guys look bored."

"See?" Ethan pokes me. I slap his hand away. "Our brains are leaking out," he explains.

"Speak for yourself. What's up?" I ask him ultra-casual. "You need tools, or paint, or something from the bas.e.m.e.nt?"

"Uh, nope." Reeve flashes me a private grin. He's wearing old cut-off jean shorts that fray around his knees and a khaki-colored tank top, the color making his golden tan glow even darker. "I was just wondering if you guys were going to the festival thing later."

"No," Ethan says, at the same time as I ask, "What festival?"

"They have a thing up in Graystone Valley every year," Reeve explains, ignoring Ethan. "With a fair, and rodeo and stuff. It's kind of hokey, but . . ."

"That sounds like fun!" I leap at the chance.

"Cool." Reeve grins back. We share another look.

"I guess if you're all going . . ." Ethan pulls himself up again. "Is Grady coming too?"

"Maybe."

"I could try and drag Fiona along," I suggest. "Make it a group thing." The more people around, the less chance they'll notice if Reeve and I get, umm, separated from the group.

"Awesome." Reeve nods. "I could swing by for you both around five?"

"Sounds good. If I can get her to, you know, be sociable."

He gives me a wry grin. "Good luck with that."

The festival turns out to be something out of central casting. I can't believe it: there's a Ferris wheel, and carnival rides, and even an actual rodeo with cowboy events and calf-wrangling compet.i.tions! Everywhere I look, small children are running around with cotton candy, and people are wearing cowboy hats - un-ironically!

"I think you've got enough photos." Reeve laughs, after I've been snapping away for thirty minutes straight. It looks like everyone in a hundred-mile radius has turned out for the event, strolling through the gra.s.sy fairgrounds in the evening sun. Above us, the mountains frame the valley with their gray rock, but down here, there's a riot of color and noise.

"You're joking - this is awesome!" I can't believe how quaint it all is, with livestock displays and . . . "No way! Is that a pie-baking contest?!" I bound toward the red-checkered tent with glee. It is. A dozen of Graystone Valley's finest blueberry pies are lined up for judging, next to the pickled chutney stand and a man selling fresh farm cheese. "I can't believe this. My mom is going to be so jealous. She loves stuff like this!"

I feel Reeve's arms slip around my waist. I turn, caught off guard. "Wait, what about . . . ?"

"All clear." He grins, pulling me closer. "Fiona and Grady are off terrorizing small children by the b.u.mper cars, and Ethan said something about ice cream . . ."

I relax back against him, happy. "So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know . . ." He links his hands together, resting them on my stomach so I'm nestled in his arms.

"I've got a couple of ideas." I grin, turning so I'm facing him. We kiss for a long moment, hidden by the folds of the bright tent awning.

"Mmm," I say, pulling away. Then I give him an evil grin. "What was that you said about ice cream?"

"Ouch!" He clutches his chest in mock pain. "I'm not even your number-one priority."

I laugh. "Maybe two, or three - if they have fries!"

They do. They also have veggie burgers, cla.s.sic slaw, and a dessert table that lasts for days. We pile paper plates high with food and find a spot out by the side of the main stage: a three-foot-high plywood platform where a trio of grizzled men are entertaining the crowd with a banjo and fiddles. It's not my kind of thing, but there's something infectious about their energy.

We laze for a while, chatting quietly in the sun, until I see the others making their way through the crowd. I shift away from Reeve, just in time.

"Dude, you've got to try the corn dogs!" Ethan collapses heavily right next to us. "Fiona ate, like, six."

"Did not!" she protests, wrinkling her nose at the ground before carefully taking a seat. Grady just throws himself down without a second thought, his plate overflowing with three different kinds of pie and a mountain of whipped cream.

"You're really going to eat all of that?" I ask him, trying not to sound fl.u.s.tered. I can feel Reeve's eyes on me, my cheeks hot with our secret.

"Duh. Hey! Get your own!" He bats away my hand as I try to sneak a slice of cherry.

Reeve gives me a quick smile while the others bicker around us. I grin back, happy.

"We saw Kate," Grady adds through a mouthful of food. He gives Reeve this wink. "She's lookin' goooood."

My grin falters. Reeve's face has gone tense. "Who's Kate?" I ask, trying to sound casual.

"The Ex," Ethan announces dramatically. "Except, he still worships and adores her."

"Really?" Forcing a light tone, I pretend to be enthralled by the a capella group onstage, but inside, I'm screaming with questions. What ex? Why haven't I heard about her?

"Guys -" Reeve's complaints are quickly drowned out by Ethan.

"I can't believe you didn't hear." He smears mustard from his chin. "It was like, the big town drama. Epic breakup," he confides before Reeve hurls a can of soda at him. "OUCH! What's your problem, man?"

"No problem." Reeve glares at him, and then catches himself. He shrugs. "Just lay off the gossip. It's ancient history."

"So I didn't have to suffer through your moping like, all of last year?" Ethan snorts. "Come on. Anyway, you might have a chance again. I heard she split with that hockey guy."

I try to ignore the slice of insecurity that runs through me. Of course he's had girlfriends. I mean, look at him!

"She asked about you." Ethan slurps at his slushie. "So if you want to go throw b.a.l.l.s at some hoops, now would be a good time, that's all I'm saying."

"And she's put on a couple of pounds," Grady agrees. "In all the right places." Fiona smacks him. "What? It's true!"

Thankfully, the subject changes, and soon the guys are arguing over who ate the most chili fries last year. I pick at my plate, my appet.i.te gone, until Ethan suddenly laughs.

"Ha, told you!" He shades his eyes as he looks over at the crowd. Winding their way toward us are two girls: a pet.i.te brunette, and a tall blond girl, casual in jeans and a white T-shirt. "Kate." Ethan grins at me, like this is all a joke. "I said she was asking about Reeve."

I sit there, awkward, while the girls arrive and greet everyone with enthusiasm.

"Hey, Grady." The brunette, Clara, flutters her fingers at him. Fiona's eyes narrow.

"So what's up?" Kate hooks her thumbs through her belt loops and grins at us. It's immature, but I hate her immediately. Her long hair is kind of windswept, her freckled face doesn't have an ounce of makeup, and there's even a reddish sauce stain on the corner of her shirt, but somehow, she makes me feel like a slob.

"Nothing much." Reeve shrugs, getting to his feet and gathering up our trash.

"Where have you been hiding?" she asks. "I haven't seen you all summer." The question is directed at them all, but she lingers on Reeve for much longer.

He looks awkward. "Around."

"We were just heading to check out some of the rides." I leap up, impatient. I get that Reeve and I are a secret, but that doesn't mean I have to sit around watching the hot girls all throw themselves at him.

"Coming, Ethan?"

"I guess. I -" he yelps as I drag him to his feet. "What's the rush?"

"Nothing." I force a grin. "I just want to see everything before it gets too late."

"Great idea!" Kate exclaims, smiling at Reeve. She even has dimples. Great. "Let's do it!"

Foiled.

We wander the festival grounds in a group, pausing for Ethan and Grady to hurl b.a.l.l.s/rings/blocks at various stands in a show of macho compet.i.tion, while I keep one eye on Kate's proximity to Reeve. It's pretty close. Part of me wants to grab his hand, like I'm marking my territory, the way Jeremiah B. Coombes would suggest in that survival book, but it would just look pathetic and desperate. And freak him out. I try not to sigh.

"So you're the new girl I keep hearing about." Kate drags her attention away from him long enough to fall into step beside me. "How have you been finding Stillwater?"

"Good." I manage to smile back.

"I'm guessing the guys gave you a hard time at first, right?" She gives me a sympathetic grin, tucking hair behind her ear. "They're a tough crowd."

"Hey," Ethan protests. "We were total gentleman."

"Uh, no!" I smack him lightly. "Remember that whole 'abandoning me in the woods at night' thing?"

"They didn't!" Kate groans, turning. "Guys, that's just evil."

"See?" I say pointedly. "And they said I was just overreacting." I glance over at Reeve, but he's got his fists jammed in his pockets, looking uncomfortable.

"You nearly cried," Grady announces.

"You weren't even there!" I protest.

Kate makes a noise of sympathy and links her arm through mine. "Don't mind him," she confides. "He thinks fear is, like, a show of weakness."

"Wait up." Ethan slows as we pa.s.s the rodeo ring. "I think some guys from school are riding this year."

They all stop to watch, and I wander closer, glad of the distraction from Kate and Reeve. I've never seen one of these up close. To be honest, I've never really seen one at all. Earlier, I caught a glimpse of cattle being herded, and a bucking-bronco type event, but right now, a boy is racing his horse around a collection of barrels at breakneck speed. He's dressed up for the occasion, in fancy cowboy boots and a big black hat, the metal on his horse's gear gleaming in the sunset light. It's hectic and fast, and I can't help holding my breath as they hurtle around the course.

"They're so cool!" I exclaim to Fiona as the first boy is replaced by another, this time in a bright red shirt and cream cowboy hat.

She looks at me. "I wouldn't have thought it was your kind of thing. Isn't it, like, cruelty to animals or something?" Fiona laughs at her own joke as the others move closer.

"What's up?" Kate beams expectantly. I feel crummy again for wishing she was anywhere but here.

"Jenna's into environmentalism," Fiona explains, grinning. "She wants to protect all the innocent creatures and Mother Earth."

Clara giggles while Kate looks at me again. "Really? That's cool. Have you been converting these guys, too?"

"Nah." Ethan nudges me. "She's given up on us. We're recycling lost causes."

"Never mind." Kate winks at me. "You can probably go back and plant some trees or something, balance them out."

I laugh along, but inside, something twists. It's all still a joke to them. "Well, what can I say?" I answer lightly, as if their teasing means nothing at all. "I know my limits."

I stay with them, watching the next couple of compet.i.tors, until I figure I've left it long enough. "I'm just heading to go look . . ." I gesture vaguely in the direction of the food tent and then slip away while they're all laughing over something together.

Wandering idly through the crowd, I try to ignore the knot behind my rib cage. They still laugh about me as the eco-girl, but it's strange to realize that I haven't thought about the Green Teen stuff at all for a while now. It's not just because I've been obsessing over Reeve either: away from all the meetings, and social stuff with Olivia around school, the issues I spent all that time working on have kind of drifted into the background. And being here, away from my usual routines, I haven't felt the urgency, either - that sense I always had that I should be doing something, a new project or plan to make my own small difference.

I feel a tremor of guilt. I'm not sure how I should feel about the change.

I'm surprised when Fiona finds me a few minutes later, loitering in line for another scoop of consolation ice cream.

"Hey, are you OK?" She cuts in line beside me, shooting a glare at the family behind us when they make a noise of protest.

"Sure." I shrug. "Want rainbow topping?"