Poughkeepsie Begins (The Poughkeepsie Brotherhood #0.5) (13 page)

Sleepy

C
ANDY
S
TILL
H
AD
O
N
B
ECKETT’S
L
EATHER
J
ACKET
the next day. When he walked into class wearing just a T-shirt, she felt instantly guilty. It was freezing out. She slipped the coat off her shoulders and held it out to him. He grabbed it and collapsed into his chair. He pulled it over his head and folded his arms on his desk, promptly falling asleep. After a moment she could hear his regular, deep breathing.

Mrs. Drivens either didn’t see him or pretended not to notice. During roll call she skipped his name. After Candy pulled out her research and the books she’d gotten from the library as resources, Mrs. Drivens came close to Beckett and pulled the jacket down. She woke him gently, rubbing his back, concern all over her face as she watched him wake.

Beckett jerked awake and rubbed his face. “Sorry, ma’am. What do you need me to do?”

The rest of the class chatted about their projects, but Candy sat close enough to hear the soft conversation.

“Are you sleeping at night?” The teacher’s gaze searched Beckett’s face.

“No, ma’am. But it’s okay.”

Candy watched Beckett’s jaw tense as he shot her a quick look.

“I’m concerned.” Mrs. Drivens’ compassion was palpable.

Candy tilted her head down as if concentrating on her work, but she kept peeking at them.

Beckett patted the hand Mrs. Drivens used to balance herself on his desk. “You’re a nice lady, teach. I appreciate it. But some cases are lost causes. It’s not your fault.”

“I’d never consider you a lost cause.” Mrs. Drivens stood. “And I don’t give up. Wake up and do your work with Candy.”

Beckett bit his lip and watched as the teacher went back to the front of the class. “You suck at eavesdropping.”

Candy smiled as he caught her red-handed. “You suck at staying awake.”

“Up all night, baby.” He turned to her and propped his head up on his hand.

“Why?” She leaned closer as she watched his heavy lids fight to close his eyes.

Business
was all he said before his breathing became regular again.

She pretended to talk to him while she did their paper until he was so out he laid his head down on the desk.

The bell didn’t wake him, so she gently tapped his shoulder. “Wake up, sleeping beauty.”

Mrs. Drivens motioned for her to go. “I got it, Candy. I think Zyler is waiting for you.”

Sure enough, Zyler waved at her from the doorway to the class. There must have been a football game, because he was all dressed up in a shirt and tie. She waved back and went to meet him.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Mrs. Drivens had succeeded in rousing Beckett again, and he nodded at her urgent words.

“You missed class.” She walked to Zyler, surprised he was waiting for her, given his attitude since their post-Halloween discussion. But maybe he’d changed his mind and really was determined to be friends. Right now he was full of energy.

“Team meeting. Big game tonight, You coming?”

“Maybe. I heard it was going to snow.” She had almost finished the second part of the project she was supposed to be working on with Beckett. She looked back into the classroom, but her sleepy slight-obsession was nowhere to be found.

“How are your parents? Your brother?” Zyler leaned down to hear her answers while he navigated the crowded hallway with ease.

Why was he suddenly so friendly again? “They’re great. It’s all good. I think they’re bored though. They like to be involved in stuff.” She noticed some girls giving her dirty looks, while others seemed envious. Zyler was obviously the school dreamboat.

“How about Pilot? Have you taken him to the dog park yet?” He waved at a few people as they made their way to her next class.

“Not yet. I didn’t even know there was one.” She removed her books from his arms.

“I can show you. My pup loves to go. Labs have to run, right?” He gave her a smile that seemed to say there were no hard feelings. She felt a bit relieved. Though she was pretty sure Zyler had squandered any romantic potential he might have had for her, she didn’t want to make enemies at Poughkeepsie East. And she could certainly use friends.

“That sounds like fun,” she admitted.

He touched her cheek. “You know, tonight we celebrate the ladies in our lives by giving them a flower. I got three: one for my mom, one for my sister, and I was hoping to give the third to you. Maybe bring your parents and brother to the game? Something fun to do. Do they like football?”

“They do,” she answered, taking a step back. “But I’m not sure I’m the right person for your flower.”

His eyes sparkled with renewed confidence. “Of course you are. It’s the least I can do. We got off to a rocky start, but it’s going to be fine. I know it. We’re dog buddies!”

Candy figured half the girls and a few of the guys in school would chew their own arm off for a proposal like this from him. Her parents would be thrilled. Why couldn’t she be more enthusiastic?

She took a deep breath. “Okay, sure, I’ll come. And I’ll invite the fam. That’ll be nice.” She patted his bicep, which he immediately tightened.

As they rounded the corner, she looked for Beckett again, and of course he stood in the hallway watching her. His hair was a wreck from his naps, his leather jacket tossed over one shoulder. He pinned her with a gaze that made her feel guilty and on fire all at once. She continued on with Zyler, but her thoughts stayed with the broken boy she walked away from.

That evening Candy tied her Converse sneakers and looked in the mirror. Jeans, a white long-sleeved tee, and her puffy white jacket with the belt seemed appropriate for a football game. She wasn’t sure how she would handle the flower toss thing Zyler was so excited about, but at least she wouldn’t accidently be dressed in the opposing team’s colors.

With mittens and a hat in her pockets, she was ready to roll out. She went downstairs to find her parents and brother equally bundled up and ready to go, their decision to come with her made. Football was apparently big in Poughkeepsie, and her family had learned through all the moves that the quickest way to make friends was to get involved. Evidently there was some boating on the Hudson, so they’d probably all go on a few rides this summer. She waved at them and took her own car, in case the family got too cold and had to leave early. Or in case she was bored to tears and had to flee.

Candy followed her dad’s taillights and thought about Beckett more than anything else. Maybe she was a junkie, and he was dealing her drugs too. His lips and the dangerous feeling he created in her stomach were her high. He was wrong for her. Of course. God, she could never bring him home to her parents. A freaking drug dealer. Who does that?

But then she pictured him running into the school during the fire drill, setting her up to braid the little girls’ hair. It would be easier if he wasn’t hot as hell.

One of the last spots in the parking lot was right next to her parents’ minivan, so she pulled in. Mom hopped out with a huge jug of hot cocoa and a ton of cups. The woman knew how to get in good with cold people.

She’d just joined them when they heard what sounded like a herd of horses running toward them. Zyler and about five other football guys, all in uniform, sans helmets, jogged up to the open tailgate of their van.

“Candy! I didn’t think you’d make it. Can we borrow her, sir?” Zyler held out his hand to her father.

“Um…let me help them get their stuff to a good spot, and then I can go where you need me,” Candy suggested.

The football players jockeyed around the family, all grabbing chairs, blankets, and any other things they could find, and jogged away. Zyler had a crew to command, apparently. Why was he so obsessed about this flower thing?

He motioned to the field as if it were his mansion. “That better? Can you come with me now?”

Her mother nearly swooned and gasped.

Candy rolled her eyes but smiled. “Okay, problem solver.”

Zyler shook her father’s hand again and kissed her mother’s cheek before fist bumping her brother. “You should have brought Pilot!” he told them.

When they were a good distance away, she teased him. “You lay it on pretty thick, huh?”

“Are you kidding? Please, your father’s military. That’s superhero status in my book.” Zyler patted the American flag patch on his right arm.

Now Candy swooned a little. He seemed like he was genuine. That meant something.

“Seriously, your family moves all the time, and they just pack up and come to the game in a new town? That’s badass.”

He reached down and grabbed her hand. She wondered for a moment if her let’s-be-friends speech had really sunk in, but decided just to roll with it.

“Okay, so only the seniors get to have ladies in the car parade, and your chariot is right up here with my mom in it as well.”

So, she was meeting his family. Sitting in a car?

It all made sense when they got to the auxiliary parking lot. There was a long line of convertibles, and women were being helped to sit on the trunks or in the back of the open-topped cars.

Oh my God.

They all needed help because they had on huge dresses and matching hats. It all clicked into place. Zyler wasn’t tossing her a flower. He was expecting her to commit to some sort of official football woman-claiming ritual. He hadn’t internalized a word of her speech. And she’d agreed to do this.
Crap
.

“I…I…I’m not dressed for this.” She waved a hand at her outfit.

“Shit. Sorry. You’re so pretty, I didn’t even notice what you were wearing.” He gave her a blinding smile.

“I’ll go wait in the stands. Okay? Just wave at me or whatever.” She stepped backward and watched as disappointment crashed onto his face. She took another look at the lineup. There were easily twenty cars, and each featured a mother and an excited girl. Everyone was damn near glowing. This was a thing. An important thing.

Zyler stopped her. “Wait. My sister is riding for my friend. He lost his mom to breast cancer over the summer. And his girlfriend just dumped him. My mom has issues with balance, but she’s determined to ride. And, of course, my dad wants to drive the Bel Air. It’s from nineteen fifty-seven, and it’s his second wife. He’s been shining it up all day. Would you mind helping my mom? I’m sorry. If not, it’s no worry. I’ll just take a picture with her now and make her get out.”

He gave her puppy dog eyes. Somehow he’d been able to drag breast cancer, his sister’s kindness, and his mother’s health issues into one request. Candy nodded. What else could she do?

“Great.” His smile returned. “Look, I think Randy’s mom had an extra hat. Let me see if I can grab it for you. Thanks so much. This means the world to my mom.”

After locating a white hat with a feather in it and helping Candy set it just right, he led her to a bright red convertible Mustang. He introduced her to his gorgeously dressed mother, also in white. She didn’t comment on Candy’s lack a of a pageant dress, which might’ve been kind since Mrs. Merchant’s probably cost more than a mortgage payment. Mr. Merchant was clearly in his element, happy to be driving his prized automobile and barely sparing her a wave.

You’d think Zyler hung the moon the way his mother looked at him as he made sure she was secure and had a good grip on the makeshift seatbelt someone had rigged for her. He hopped down, giving Candy another winning smile and mouthing
thank you
before he received his red roses with bows attached from a cheerleader. He grabbed his helmet from the front seat and held it like a ring bearer would his pillow.

Mrs. Merchant gave Candy a forced smile. “Couldn’t find a dress?”

So much for her not mentioning it. “Um, I didn’t know I was coming until this afternoon. And I didn’t even know it was a thing. So no. And I feel wicked out of place.” Candy looked at her mittens.

“You know, Tiffany and Zyler used to date. She’s a cheerleader. Have you ever been on cheer?” Mrs. Merchant attempted another smile but just managed to scrunch her cheeks around the hard, straight line her mouth made.

Candy followed the woman’s pointing finger to the flower-giving cheerleader. “No. We move a lot. I didn’t want to be part of the pyramid and then have my dad get orders and have the structure collapse. And I’m not even sure I would make the squad.”

Candy had been in enough high schools to know that the stereotypes about cheerleaders weren’t necessarily true. But as she watched Tiffany flounce in front of Zyler, she thought they might fit pretty well with good ol’ Tiff.

“Military or just unsettled?”

Candy gave Zyler’s mother a more concentrated gaze. “Military.”

“Oh. Yes. I think Zyler mentioned something about your father.” She waved her hand in a way that reminded Candy of swatting a fly.

“Yeah, Zyler has been very sweet and complimentary of my father.” Old or not, if this crazy fart was in some way trying to look down on her father or her family, they were going to have words.

Mrs. Merchant’s attention seemed to wane. She waved at a woman a few cars ahead, and they laughed together.