Prayers and Lies by Sherri Wood Emmons

Author:Sherri Wood Emmons [Emmons, Sherri Wood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780758267948
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2011-08-26T07:00:00+00:00

19

Cool Water

The next morning, Ruthann knocked on our door early. Moments later, I was walking down the road with her toward the beach. Neither of us spoke about the day before, about Harley Boy or Reana Mae or the mattress in the woods. Instead, we talked about the fireworks and the cookout and, briefly, about Nancy and Caleb.

“He surely seems taken with her,” Ruthann said, glancing sidelong toward me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Who knows?” I said as lightly as I could.

“I wonder what Reana Mae thinks about that?”

I stopped to pull a small rock from my sandal, unsure what to say. Thankfully, I was spared a response when Harley Boy came running down the path toward us.

“Hey, ya’ll,” he said, pulling up short beside us. “What are you up to?”

Ruthann glanced silently from him toward me, waiting for some kind of signal, I guess. Then she shrugged elaborately. “Nothing, I guess. Just goin’ to the beach.”

I straightened up and smiled at Harley as we walked toward the beach. When we passed Reana Mae’s house, I glanced at Harley and saw him looking toward the cottage and trying not to. I wanted to touch his arm, but I didn’t dare. Instead, I said brightly, “Those sure were some fireworks last night, H.B. What did your grandpa say about them?”

He shook his head, red hair hanging thickly over his forehead. “I went to sleep before he got home. But I know they was good, ’cause I helped pack them.” He knelt down to pick up a small, flat stone. “Did ya’ll like them?”

“Sure,” Ruthann lied smoothly, glancing at me. “They was plain gorgeous.”

I simply nodded in agreement. I certainly did not want him to know that I’d been with Reana Mae the night before in the churchyard.

We spent that morning as we had every morning—lying on the beach, swimming out to the raft, lying in the sun there, then swimming back to the beach. By now, it was almost a ritual, but this morning it felt different. Every little while, I turned my eyes toward Harley Boy, wondering how often he had snuck out of his bedroom in the night to meet Reana Mae. I was certain the night before had not been the first time.

Along toward noon, I heard Melinda’s voice float out toward the raft—the words unclear but the voice unmistakable. Ruthann raised her head, too, glancing toward Harley as she said, “Looks like the reinforcements are here. What do ya’ll want to do about lunch?”

I watched as Harley leaned forward, straining his eyes toward the shore. In a minute, he flopped back down onto the raft. “I don’t care.” He sighed. “What do ya’ll want to do?”

I lay in silence, knowing that if Reana Mae was on the beach, Harley would be up in an instant. Finally, Ruthann sighed loudly.

“Okay,” she said, standing and pulling at her swimsuit, “let’s swim back and eat.”

I looked from Ruthann to Harley Boy, feeling sorry for both of them. I knew how Ruthann felt about Harley by then—it probably was clear to anyone who spent five minutes with them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.