Summer Plans and Other Disasters by Karin Beery

Author:Karin Beery [Beery, Karin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781948888240
Publisher: Elk Lake Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2018-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Ryan kicked the rogue log back into the fire pit, then stomped on the grass, killing any flame’s chance at surviving. With another quick kick, he nudged the singed lawn chair a little further away from the unstable bonfire.

The crunching of Mae’s tires across the pebbles faded into a cadence of soft steps. By the time Ryan looked up, Callie was already crossing the yard toward him.

She smiled. Her skin glowed yellow in the firelight. “Mae says hi.”

“Sorry I missed her. I should have come out earlier.”

“I would have invited you out, but we needed some girl talk.”

Hair. Shoes. Kyle. “Never mind then. I hope you had fun.”

Callie laughed. “Girl talk isn’t that scary.” She closed the gap between them, then stopped within arm’s reach.

Through the rich flavor of smoke, Ryan caught a brief whiff of something flowery. He remembered the fragrance from the day Callie arrived. Just like she had on that day, she stood in front of him, lovely and familiar, but this time she was examining the ground. He watched her drag her foot across the dark, flattened grass.

“What happened here?”

Ryan kicked the ground near her foot. “Your fire tower collapsed. I happened to look out the window as a log rolled off the pile and into the chair.”

“What?” Callie dropped to all fours, pulling the chairs closer to the light and inspecting each one. “Oh, no!” Her hair whipped around when she looked up at Ryan. “Did I ruin it?”

He squatted and looked at the chair legs with her. He ran a hand across the singed paint. “I doubt it. I don’t think the log was hot enough to burn through the paint. A quick cleaning, maybe repaint it. A new coat would definitely work.”

Callie moaned. “Great. If he wasn’t mad enough before, this should send Jack right over the edge.”

“Why? All they need is a little paint.”

“These were his first chairs,” she said, sliding onto one of the seats. “Don’t you remember? He made them in high school. He loves these things. They’re his inspiration. They helped him realize that he wanted to be a carpenter. They—”

“I get it.” Ryan raised a hand and nodded. “Jack likes these chairs.”

Callie plucked a twig from the grass and tossed it on the fire. “Do you realize that everything I’ve done since I got here has been a disaster?”

“Everything?” Even dinner with Kyle?

“Everything.”

Ryan pulled the other chair closer to the sulking beauty. He sat. The flames flickered, stirring the light. Yellow and orange hues danced across Callie’s cheeks. Her lips sagged, pouting. He held back a smile. She would think he was laughing at her circumstances. She wouldn’t understand how cute she looked.

Turning his eyes back to the fire, Ryan refocused on the conversation. “So, dinner didn’t go well?”

“Oh, no. That was actually very nice.”

“Then not everything has been a disaster.”

“I guess, but my work has been, and now I’m ruining things in my free time.” She rolled her head to the side, looking over at Ryan. “I want to help Jack, not be a burden.

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