Shadow Keeper (16 page)

Lisa didn’t answer, only shook her head.

“Come with me and I’ll prove you’re wrong.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me

Mom was buckling Krystal into the booster seat when we got to the car. After she finished, she turned and looked at the two of us standing there. “Are you ready, Brendon?”

Lisa tried to pull away, but I gripped her hand tighter. “I told the guys that Lisa and I would ride with you to the house. Then I’d borrow your car and take her into Esparto.”

“There’s not enough room,” she said. “This car only holds four people. Paul and Sherry will have to take her home.”

My lips tightened into a grimace. How could my mother be so mean? “There was plenty of room for five people this morning on the way to church. You and Grandma were in the front, and I sat in the back with Stevie and Krystal.”

“It’s a waste of gas.” She put her hands on her hips and stared at me. “Your friends are going to Esparto. They can take her home.”

“Fine, Mom. Have it your way.”

If she was going to be spiteful, I wasn’t going to ride with her either. I dragged Lisa with me while chasing after Carson’s pickup. He was about to pull out of the parking lot when the brake lights came on. He waited until we caught up with him. I yanked open the door. “Can we ride with you?” I asked, but was already shoving Lisa in.”

“Sure. Climb aboard.”

“Okay, but first, let me talk to Paul and Sherry.”

I jogged through the parking lot to his car to tell Sherry of the change in plans and ask if she was going straight home because I wanted to swing by and pick her up before dropping Lisa off at her house.

Sherry came up with a better idea. She’d ride with us in Carson’s pickup so we wouldn’t have to wait. After giving Paul a quick goodbye, she dashed for the pickup. The girls climbed into the back seat, so I jumped into the front with Carson. I glanced back at my mom. She stood by the car, both hands still on her hips. I figured she’d catch on quick enough that I wasn’t riding home with her.

Chapter Twenty

Little or no conversation existed on the ride back to Esparto. Lisa sat in the corner of the backseat, staring out the side window while I replayed in my mind the scene with her and my mom. I tried to make sense of it, but it was a struggle. When Carson turned the pickup onto the main street of Esparto, I forced away the memory and concentrated on Lisa’s mother. With everyone in a strange mood, I didn’t expect our first meeting to go well.

“Is this the house?” Carson asked.

“The blue one,” Sherry said. “That’s her mom by the gate. Tomorrow must be trash day. She’s wheeling out the garbage can.”

Her mom rolled the green plastic container down the driveway and positioned it in the gutter in front of the pickup before looking at us. I expected her to be an older version of Lisa, but they didn’t resemble each other that much. Her brown hair touched just below her ears. The late afternoon sun made her eyes appear a deeper blue, or maybe it was the makeup she wore. The one feature they shared was their tall, lean bodies.

Lisa hopped out of the pickup and walked around to the sidewalk. Her mom glanced at the watch on her wrist. “It’s about time you got here. I was beginning to worry.”

“I told you I’d be home around six.” She gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek.

When the rest of us piled out of the pickup, her mom did a funny kind of double take. She probably didn’t expect two strange guys in a pickup with her daughter. Her gaze wandered to the one person she recognized. “Hello, Sherry. Which one of these young men is your boyfriend?”

“Hi, Mrs. Stratton.” Sherry glanced at the sidewalk. “Neither one is my boyfriend, but we’re all good friends.”

“They’re my friends too.” Lisa put her arm around her mother’s shoulders and pulled her closer while she introduced Carson and me. “This is my mom, Monica Stratton.”

She extended her arm and shook our hands. “And which boy is in your Spanish class?”

“Both of them,” Lisa said.

Monica’s lips twisted together, and she made a little humming noise like she was trying to figure out which of us Lisa was the most interested in. Her gaze shifted to the pickup and her forehead wrinkled. “What’s with all the inner tubes? Are you expecting a lot of flat tires?”

We all laughed at her remark. I couldn’t understand why Lisa was nervous about letting me meet her mom. She seemed friendly and had a good sense of humor.

“No, ma’am,” Carson said. “The tubes are for riding the rapids down Cache Creek.”

Her eyebrows shot up, and her gaze darted to Lisa. “Is that what you’ve being doing? You told me you were going swimming with friends.”

“I did, Mom. We went swimming in Cache Creek.”

“Good god,” she shrieked. “You could have been killed. That creek has a class four rating for its rapids. I’ve heard stories from people at work who go down the creek in rubber rafts. And you did it with those little inner tubes. What were you thinking? You might have drowned.”

“Please, Mom. Calm down. We didn’t go tubing. We were just playing around on them in the water.”

“Fast moving, swift water,” she corrected. “Don’t you realize how dangerous that is?”

“It wasn’t all that dangerous, Mrs. Stratton,” I said. “This time of year, the water’s down and the current isn’t very swift. Besides, Carson and I have been playing in that creek since we were kids. We know all the safe spots. And we’re also excellent swimmers. So is Lisa,” I added.

She cast an evil eye on Carson and me, but talked to Lisa. “You drove to the creek with these boys and spent the entire day alone with them?”

Lisa seemed to have trouble forming words, so I jumped in. “We weren’t alone, Mrs. Stratton. My mom was there with my little brother and sister. We were all playing on the tubes in the creek. My sister is only six.”

When her lips twitched into a skeptical look, I turned to Sherry. “Show her the pictures you took.”

Sherry pulled the cell phone from her pocket and thumbed through the index before offering it to her. “Here are some pictures of everyone in the water and also sitting at the picnic table eating.”

A loud gasp erupted from her mother. “You were eating other people’s food?”

“I was careful,” Lisa said.

“My mom is a nurse,” I said. “She made certain Lisa didn’t eat anything that might’ve been contaminated with peanuts.”

“Which one are you?” Her eyelids narrowed as she stared at me.

“He’s Brendon, Mom.”

“Brendon,” she repeated. “The smooth talker with the quick, smart answers, right?”

I knew sarcasm when I heard it, but I kept my cool. “Yes, ma’am. I’m a straight A student.”

Her mom looked me over like she was trying to sum me up. “What else are you?”

Not certain what she meant, I gave some easy answers. “I’m a wide receiver on the football team. I also play safety on defense.”

“A football player. A jock.” Her teeth gritted and her lips curled back like the words left a bad taste.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m also on the wrestling team and play baseball in the spring.”

“You just live for sports. Am I right?”

“No, Mrs. Stratton. But football is going to get me a college scholarship. I keep my grades up and my body healthy.”

“You left out
smooth talker
.”

“If you think being honest is the same as being a smooth talker, then I guess you’re right.”

Lisa squeezed her mother’s arm to get her attention and gave her a funny look.

When Monica looked back at me, she seemed to let down her guard. “Perhaps you’re right. I appreciate your candor.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Stratton.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly while preparing for the next round. I never considered myself a smooth talker, but being honest was something I was good at. Plus, I didn’t want to hide my intentions toward Lisa from her mother. “We’re having a football game on Friday. Maybe you and Lisa could come and watch us play. The team is pretty good. We’ve only lost one game so far this season.”

“Wouldn’t that be fun, Mom?” Lisa said. “Sherry is a cheerleader, and I don’t know anyone else well enough to sit with them. You and I could go together.”

“Perhaps.” Her mood seemed to mellow. “I haven’t been to a football game in a long while.”

Her response gave me the courage to continue. “After the game, there’s a dance in the gym. A lot of the parents come as chaperones. It would be a great way for you to meet the teachers and also other parents.”

“I assume you expect to dance with Lisa,” she said.

“I don’t know.” I glanced at Lisa. “Can you dance?”

“A little.” Her lips curled into a big smile.

“Great. Maybe you’ll save a couple dances for me—that is, if your mother will give her permission.”

“Is it all right, Mom? May I go to the dance after the game? You can go as chaperone.”

“I suppose it would be all right. That way, I can keep an eye on you.” One dark eyebrow rose. “And my other eye on him.”

Chapter Twenty–One

“Do you want to talk about it?” Carson asked when just the two of us were in the pickup headed up the valley. “What happened with your mom and Lisa?”

“I don’t know where to begin. They were just talking and all of a sudden, Mom freaked out over...over nothing.”

“I couldn’t hear what was being said, but from what I could see, it looked pretty intense.”

“It was, and I don’t understand why.” My mind raked over the details. “We were talking about my dad, and Mom got all hostile with Lisa.”

“Why? Did Lisa say something bad about your dad?”

“No. She just asked what he did for a living, and it went downhill from there.”

“That doesn’t make sense. I don’t know what kind of work your dad did, but why would your mom get upset talking about it?”

“That’s the weird part. I don’t know what he did for a living either. But I’m going to find out when I get home.”

As soon as Carson dropped me off at the house, I opened the garage door and wheeled out the mower. I didn’t want Mom using an uncut lawn as an excuse not to talk. I hoped that by the time I finished, Krystal and Stevie would be sound asleep in bed, because tonight Mom and I were going to have that talk she always put off to
later
.

The back porch light popped on and I glanced in the direction of the patio door. Mom stood in the doorway, one hand on the frame, the other on her hip. Her mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear a word over the roar of the mower.

She walked across the freshly cut lawn and intercepted me. “It’s too dark to mow.”

“I can see well enough,” I shouted over the engine noise. “Besides, I promised Grandma. And a promise is a promise.”

“You can do it later.”

“No, Mom. No more
laters
.” I cut the engine and pulled off the grass catcher. “And when I’m done mowing, you and I are going to have a long talk about a couple of things.”

“What things?” She followed me to the compost heap.

“I think you already know.” I replaced the emptied grass catcher and yanked the cord to start the engine. Mom turned and stomped back into the house without another word. A half dozen more swipes over the lawn and I pushed the mower back into the garage. I kicked off my grassy shoes at the back door and tugged off the wet socks. I walked barefooted into the kitchen where Mom sat at the table drinking a cup of tea.

She paused with the cup at her lips and looked at me over the rim. “What do you want to talk about?”

“For starters, I want to know why you don’t like Lisa.”

She glanced into the cup and took a couple swallows. Not until the cup nestled into the saucer did she look at me. “She’s too mature for you.”

“Are you serious?” My nerves were wound so tight, that I couldn’t prevent a laugh bursting out. “Lisa is six months younger than me.”

“I didn’t mean age. I mean maturity.” Her lips twitched into a tight pinch. “Grandma told me what went on that first night she visited here.”

“Oh, man. I can’t believe this,” I blurted out as my frustration grew. “She’s not like that.”

“She’s exactly like that. Her first day in a new school, and the first day she met you, she drove all the way up here looking for you. Then she practically crawled on top of you, putting her hands all over you. That’s way too forward. She’s just too brazen to my way of thinking.”

I shoved my fingers through my hair as I paced around the kitchen. That first day, Lisa did behave just as Mom described, but not since then. If she got to know her better, she’d realize Lisa wasn’t
that kind of a girl
. “So the only reason you don’t want me to see her is because you’re afraid I might get laid.”

“Brendon! There’s no need to be vulgar.”

“Vulgar or not, that’s exactly what you’re thinking. But you don’t know her. And you evidently don’t want to.”