Moonstone (10 page)

“As soon as the bus comes, Najeeb will get on with us and that’ll be the end of it,” Joy said. She could tell Terrence wasn’t listening. “Don’t even think about getting into this.”

Terrence was only a sophomore, but he had a spot as a tight end on the football team and he’d grown three inches in the past year. It wasn’t that Joy doubted whether he could take Cowboy, but she knew how much he was risking. It didn’t matter that their father was a doctor. It didn’t matter that their mother thought it was everyone’s job to stand up to bullies or that she would have backed Terrence. She had no clue what he was really up against.

“Mouth shut, head down.” Terrence repeated the line their father had told them with a new bitterness. “Right, Joy?”

Terrence was sixteen. Joy knew all the everyday things he’d grown used to ignoring were starting to add up. Raceda was getting to him. “That’s not what I’m saying. But this isn’t worth it.”

Cowboy lurched toward Najeeb again and Terrence jumped to his feet. Joy stood up too and caught Terrence’s arm. Cowboy looked their direction. Najeeb was perfectly still on the stump. Yoda’s face smiled up at everyone from where it was printed on his backpack, but Najeeb’s face was frozen. Cowboy kicked the dirt patch by Najeeb’s feet. The silver-toed boot sent a dirt clod directly at Yoda. A smaller clump landed on the sleeve of Najeeb’s blue Dodgers sweatshirt and bits rained down on his jeans. He didn’t try to flick off the dirt. He only stared right past Cowboy as if he didn’t exist.

“Why don’t you wear a rag on your head like your daddy?” Cowboy asked. He kicked the dirt again. “Why’re you hiding behind your Star Wars backpack? Scared of some dirt? You oughtta be used to that coming from that shithole Baghdad desert.”

“He’s from LA. Not Iraq,” Terrence said. “Leave him alone.”

The Gadesh family had moved in to a house two blocks down from Joy and Terrence’s house at the start of the school year. Najeeb played video games on his Gameboy nonstop and rarely spoke. Joy guessed he’d spent the past year wishing he could move back to LA.

“You want to start something too?” Cowboy asked, eyeing Terrence.

Mike Craven spit out a brown wad of something and then took two steps toward Cowboy. “JD, looks like you’ve got a ghetto fight on your hands. Should’ve brought your knife.” He laughed and clapped Cowboy’s back. “We’re all just having some fun here, right?” He eyed Cowboy and then Terrence.

Joy felt her stomach tighten into a hard knot. Cowboy glared at Terrence and then raised his arm, aiming at Yoda. Before he threw the rock, Mike stepped in front of him.

“Hey, what’re you doing, JD? You’re scaring the kid.” Mike laughed again. He went over to the stump and stared down at Najeeb. “Hey, man, he’s just messing with you. You know that, right?”

“Your friend’s an asshole,” Terrence muttered. His teeth were clenched and the muscles in his jaw worked up and down.

Mike’s gaze settled on Terrence. He grinned. “Yeah, JD’s an asshole all right. Everyone here knows that. Right, JD?”

JD cussed and hurled the rock at a tree.

Joy pointed at the bus. “Looks like our ride is here.”

“Yep, time for you all to clear out,” Cowboy said. “Your sister’s smart. She must be eating over at his house.” Cowboy pointed at Najeeb. Najeeb didn’t make a sound.

Terrence tried to push past Joy, but she grabbed his shoulders and said, “Not worth it. Let’s go.”

Terrence met Joy’s gaze. The anger that flashed across his face made her pull back. Terrence glanced at Najeeb. He walked past Mike Craven and Cowboy to Najeeb, grabbed the backpack strap and looked right at Najeeb. “Let’s go.”

Najeeb stood up slowly, eyeing Cowboy. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and straightened up. Cowboy was still a head taller.

“If you knew what was good for you, you’d get on that bus and never come back,” Cowboy said. He glared down at Najeeb. “Go back to your own country.”

Najeeb stared at his sneakers. “This is my country.”

Cowboy pushed past Terrence and shoved Najeeb hard in the chest. In two steps, Najeeb had toppled to the ground. Before Terrence could step in, Mike grabbed Cowboy and spun him around.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Mike growled.

Terrence stepped in front of Cowboy and slapped his own chest. “Hit me next. I can’t wait to deck you, asshole.”

Najeeb scrambled to his feet, picked up his backpack and was halfway to the bus before Joy grabbed hold of Terrence’s arm.

“Not worth it,” she hissed.

Terrence pushed Joy’s hand away and cursed again. Then a moment later, he turned and stomped toward the bus.

Joy stared at Mike and then at Cowboy. She wanted something to yell at them, something that could hurt them as much as what they’d said to Najeeb, something that would make them want to crawl home and never show their face at school again. But she couldn’t think of anything.

“They’ve left the dyke to finish us off,” Cowboy said, laughing now and pushing Mike’s hands away.

“Yeah. Bet you’re scared now, right?” Joy forced a smile. It was the closest she’d ever come to admitting it out loud. Her hands shook and she could hardly swallow, but somehow her voice didn’t waver. She turned and walked toward the bus, hearing the whoosh of her pulse echo in her ears. She didn’t look back.

Kelsey was waiting to get on the bus. Everyone else had filed in and the line was gone, but Kelsey was standing by the open door with one hand on her backpack and the other planted on the side of the bus as if she was holding it back. She stepped back from the door when Joy walked up. Joy passed her without making eye contact. She was certain by Kelsey’s expression that she’d seen enough to know what had gone down. Probably everyone in line for the bus had watched. Joy sank into the first open seat she found, not caring who stared her down or that she’d picked the row with the split upholstery. Kelsey sat down next to her. Two rows up, Terrence was sitting next to Najeeb.

Kelsey watched Joy in her rearview mirror until she disappeared between the lines of cars. The sales pitch was possibly the worst she’d ever given. Not only had the Internet connection gone down halfway through the slides but she’d forgotten to bring the file she’d prepared for Moonstone. Joy had smoothed over every one of her mistakes with an understanding smile—which would have been fine except Kelsey lost her train of thought whenever she looked right at her.

No one in the restaurant had seemed to notice how attractive Joy was. Kelsey had glanced around to see if anyone else in the restaurant was eyeing Joy. Of course no one was obviously staring at their table. But then she’d noticed as they walked out, no one gave Joy a second look. The place was packed and maybe everyone was busy with their own lunch. Or maybe the fact that Joy was a black woman and a lesbian meant that no one in Raceda caught that she was gorgeous. For her part, though, Joy hadn’t seemed to care if anyone noticed her or not. She strode right through a crowd near the entrance without giving any of the attractive women there a second glance. She wasn’t exactly aloof—she was on a different playing field.

Unfortunately, Joy’s attitude only made her all the more attractive. The way she stood with her hands on her hips and stared straight at Kelsey was icing on the cake. There was no doubt that she was in charge and her confidence was undeniably sexy.

What was more, Joy seemed to be sizing Kelsey up each time they met. She couldn’t help but wonder if Joy liked what she saw. This thought made her skin hot with another blush. Joy was probably used to women with high style and expensive taste. No way would Kelsey measure up to that. She shook her head. No matter what she felt when Joy smiled at her, she was Dr. Henderson now. Of course, if she’d blown the presentation as badly as she suspected, maybe they wouldn’t be working together after all. She closed her eyes. The feelings she’d had for Joy in high school hadn’t lessened with time. But maybe too much time had passed. Instead of two kids dreaming away summer break at the pool, Joy was a doctor and she was a sales rep hoping for a contract. A sales rep with baggage, she added silently.

Kelsey glanced at her watch. She had two meetings scheduled for the afternoon, but her thoughts were far from work. If she pushed it, she’d have enough time to get her kayak in the water and clear her head before her next appointment. She started out of the parking place and nearly hit a car coming up behind her. She waved and got a sharp honk in reply. Before she could pull out again, someone knocked on the passenger window. Kelsey startled at the sound and then recognized Sadie Padgett. She put the car back into park and rolled down the window.

Sadie opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat. “I’m glad I caught you!” She was out of breath. “I was coming out of Vidaris and saw the Audi and thought, ‘Kelsey’s car looks just like that,’ and then you were about to drive away. Thank God that asshole didn’t hit you.”

“I cut him off,” Kelsey admitted.

Sadie waved away Kelsey’s words. “What are you doing in town?” Sadie pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head. “I was talking to Hannah this morning about finding a way to get in touch with you and now here you are!” She paused for a moment and then hugged Kelsey. “It’s been a rough year, hasn’t it? For everyone, I think.” Sadie continued, “Well, mostly for Hannah, I guess. But she drags the rest of us down with her, doesn’t she? Don’t tell me you’ve moved back to Raceda?”

“Temporarily,” Kelsey said. She hated to admit even this, but she couldn’t tell an outright lie to Sadie.

“Hannah’s going to be thrilled.”

Thrilled wasn’t an emotion Hannah Padgett expressed, Kelsey thought. Hannah would have scowled at Sadie’s word choice. Kelsey sighed. She’d been carefully avoiding Sadie for months, but it wasn’t about Sadie at all. She didn’t want to think about Hannah.

“Nice blouse. You look great—as always.” Sadie flashed her perfect smile. She’d been a sorority girl through college and hadn’t managed to lose the sugary sweet tone. “What are you up to downtown?”

“Lunch meeting with a new client,” Kelsey answered. She nearly added who the client was but doubted that Joy Henderson would care if Sadie Padgett were impressed.

“You’ve got a new job?”

“Software sales.”

“Sales? Really?” Sadie’s tone left nothing to the imagination. She was clearly unimpressed. “Well, I think that’s perfect. I mean, it’s not coaching but…” She paused, clearly searching for a way to make the software sales job fit Kelsey. “You’re always so upbeat. I bet your clients love you. You’re giving up on coaching then?” She continued without waiting for an answer, “I know Hannah will want to see you. She talks about you all the time. Did you hear she finally had to move out of the houseboat? She’s been living with my parents for the past month. Can you believe having to move back in with your folks at thirty-three?” Sadie shook her head. “I guess it’s the least of her issues though.”

Kelsey smiled. “I live with my mom. And I’m thirty-six.”

“Oh.” She opened and closed her mouth twice before finally adding, “Well, that’s nice of you to be keeping her company. I’m sure she’s been lonely.”

“Not really. She has a lot of friends.”

“I wish I could say the same.” Sadie hesitated as if rethinking what she’d said. She added, “Well, of course I have friends. But no time to see them. Life’s so busy, you know.”

“Of course.” Sadie had never held a job. Neither had Hannah. Kelsey didn’t want to ask what was keeping her busy.

“We should have lunch sometime and catch up.”

Kelsey forced a smile. “Yeah, sure.”

“It’s just nice seeing you without all of Hannah’s drama. Have you bumped into anyone else from the old crew lately?”

Kelsey thought of Andrew and Tamara, but then she shook her head. The truth was, she hadn’t wanted to see any of her old friends since she’d moved home. And she didn’t want to talk about them now. She hadn’t thought of anyone from high school except Joy—though she knew Joy didn’t consider her an old friend.

“How’s Nate?” Sadie bit her lower lip as if she’d regretted letting the question slip out.

“Fine. I think he’s fine, anyway. I haven’t heard from him in a while. He’s living in Mexico—on a beach in Baja.” Nate had moved out of Raceda a week before Kelsey had moved home. He’d left his motorcycle and most of his belongings to head south in a friend’s RV. His plan had been to stay in the desert for a long weekend but then he’d hooked up with another friend and left for Baja. Nate called a few times—mostly to make sure no one had sold his bike. He was working odd jobs and surfing every day. Kelsey didn’t expect he’d be back in Raceda before she was ready to move out. “He’s a surf bum.”

“Mexico, huh? Not surprising, I guess.” Sadie sighed. She ran her hands through her hair—still platinum blonde but longer than Hannah wore hers.

Kelsey spotted Sadie’s ring. The oversized diamond looked gaudy on her small hands. “Some people never change. I don’t think Nate has any intention of growing up.”

“You’re probably right. Why is it that normal people like us fall for people who are too irresponsible to remember to renew their driver’s license or hold down a grown-up job?”

Kelsey wondered if Sadie was referencing Nate or Hannah. Hannah. She hadn’t seen her at all since their last day together on the boat. She’d finally reached the point where days would pass without thinking of her. But then something would trigger a memory and she’d feel like shit all over again. Kelsey had sent her one letter, without a return address, and then changed her phone number. She knew through a friend that Hannah had left the houseboat in Alameda but hadn’t known where she’d moved to after that. Kelsey didn’t want to ask. Hannah was alive and that was enough.

“Hannah’s much better than she was…She’s hardly the same person really,” Sadie said. “She was in rehab in Napa and then in a sober house in Sonoma. That didn’t go well…but then she moved back here and started seeing a therapist. She’s been clean for months now. And she won’t even sip wine.”

“That’s great.” Of course, Hannah had never liked wine. And it was entirely possible that Hannah was still using even living under her parents’ roof without anyone knowing. She was a capable liar. But maybe Sadie was right. Maybe she had changed. Or it was only a dry interlude.