Viva Vermont! (13 page)

14

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA
what's wrong with the truck?” DJ asked in a small voice. “Like if you can fix it or not?” She knew that Conner was pretty mechanical. He and his dad had worked together to restore the pickup.

“I don't know. It was a pretty loud noise. Like something big might've broke. I'm surprised it didn't wake you.”

“I was totally zonked.” She glanced around now to see the outlines of trees in the darkness. They were in the wilderness. “Where are we anyway?”

“Well, based on the time, I'd guess we're about halfway to the lodge. Maybe better.”

“Oh.” She pulled out her cell phone. “Did you call anyone yet?”

“My phone's out of range. How about yours?”

She turned it on and waited, almost expecting to see another hateful text message. “Oh, it's out of range too.”

Conner let out a loud sigh.

“What do we do?”

“For starters, I've got the emergency lights on. But I'll take a look under the hood too. Not that I think I can fix this. But you never know. Will you be warm enough?”

She shrugged. “I guess.”

But as soon as he opened and then closed the door, she wished she'd brought her bags with her warm parka. She could use it now. She dug into her duffle to find a slightly damp hoody, which she wrapped around her shoulders. Not much, but better than nothing. While Conner poked around under the hood, a couple of cars drove past. She couldn't believe that they didn't stop to offer help. But then again, she knew if she was driving out on a dark country road, she probably wouldn't stop to help someone. Fortunately, Conner had a flashlight. That was something. Maybe he was getting it fixed. But after a while, he came back and got into the cab and rubbed his hands together.

“Man, it's cold out there.”

“And in here too.”

“It's a few degrees warmer in here,” he pointed out. “But not for long.”

Just then another car whipped past.

“You'd think someone would stop,” he said. “I've got the hood up.”

“Maybe we should get out where they can see us,” she suggested. “So that they'll know we look harmless and in need of help.”

“We could sit in the back with the flashlight,” he said. “We could bundle up in some of my ski clothes.”

“Let's go for it.”

So they layered on some of Conner's things and climbed into the back of the pickup to wait for the next car. After what seemed like hours, DJ was getting worried. “What if no one else comes down this road?”

“I guess we could start walking … but I don't know how far it is to the next town. The last one was too far to walk back.”

“I see lights,” said DJ hopefully. She stood in the back of the pickup and began to wave frantically as Conner held the flashlight to illuminate both of them. “Dear God,” she cried out loud. “Please, send help now!”

“The car's slowing down,” said Conner hopefully.

DJ was jumping up and down now, waving her hands and smiling. And, sure enough, an old station wagon pulled up behind them and an old man with long gray hair slowly climbed out.

“What are you kids doing out here in the middle of the night?” he demanded. Conner quickly filled him in about his truck and how their phones weren't working.

“Well, I can take you on to Everett Falls, but that's as far as I'll go and that's out of my way as it is.”

“How far is that?” asked DJ.

“About fifteen miles.”

“Is there a mechanic there?” asked Conner.

“There's a Shell station.” The old guy frowned. “But it's getting late. Can't promise that they'll be open.”

“But at least they'll have a phone,” said DJ hopefully.

So they got into the old station wagon, which smelled like a herd of wet dogs had been riding in the back, and the old dude slowly—very slowly—drove them toward town.

“Got cataracts,” he told them as he leaned forward to see out the windshield. “Can't see worth a darn at night. I wouldn't be out, except'n my dogs were outta food.”

“I could drive for you,” offered Conner.

The old guy laughed. “Not on your life, young man. You already destroyed one vehicle tonight. Don't ya think that's enough?”

Conner glanced nervously at DJ, and suddenly she wondered if they might've gotten into the car of a deranged psychotic or serial killer. She began to silently pray. If the clock on the dusty old dashboard was correct, it was already close to ten. Any hopes of making it to the lodge, even before midnight, were starting to fade.

Finally the lights of what appeared to be a very small town came into view, and DJ breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this nightmare was about to end. But when the old guy dropped them out in front of a darkened gas station with no one around, she wasn't so sure.

“It looks closed to me,” said Conner while the passenger door was still open.

“Just go knock on the door of the building next to it,” their driver told them. “Hank should be there.”

“Hank?”

“Hank's the one who owns the Shell station.” Then, even before Conner could shut the door, the old guy stepped on the gas, pulling out so fast that his tires spit gravel and the passenger door slammed closed.

“Okay then …” Conner tossed DJ a worried look. “I guess I'll just go and knock on the door.”

“I'll go check out that café across the street,” she said.

“I think it's a bar.”

“Yeah, well, it looks like it's the only thing open, and maybe I can use the phone.”

“Good idea.”

Of course, as DJ went across the street, she wondered who she should call. It's not as if Grandmother could hop down here to get them. And no one else had a car.

“Hello,” said a middle-aged woman as DJ entered the bar. She expected to be carded, but no one seemed to notice her age. Or maybe they didn't care. Well, it wasn't as if she was ordering a beer.

“Is there a phone?”

“Pay phone's back by the john,” the woman told her.

This bar smelled musty and nasty and it got even worse back by the tiny hallway next to the bathroom. She wasn't even sure she wanted to touch the phone. Then she realized she would need some change.

“Can I get some change?” she asked the woman as she held out a twenty.

“Sure, if you buy a drink.”

DJ considered this. “I'll have a Coke.”

The woman frowned as she grabbed a none-too-clean-looking glass, put some ice in it, and then filled it with Coke. She thunked it down in front of DJ and then went to get her change. DJ waited impatiently. After the woman set her change on the table, DJ left a dollar behind. Maybe that would keep the bartender from asking for ID. A dollar tip for a Coke. Sheesh.

Back in the smelly hallway, DJ braced herself as she picked up the receiver and dropped a handful of change into the appropriate slots. She couldn't even remember if she'd actually used a pay phone before. Maybe back when she was in middle school and didn't have a cell phone. Or maybe she'd seen it in a movie. Anyway, she started to dial the numbers that she knew, beginning with Rhiannon's. But her phone was either turned off or out of range. Next DJ tried Casey's. But same thing. Finally, she decided to try Taylor's, and to DJ's surprise, Taylor answered with a groggy sounding “hey.”

“Taylor, it's me, DJ,” she said with relief. “Did I wake you?”

Taylor laughed. “Oh sure, like I was asleep. It's not even eleven. Where are you?”

So DJ quickly filled her in on the breakdown story.

“Well, that's too bad, but what do you want me to do?” Taylor's voice turned less than interested now. Almost as if DJ was disturbing her evening.

“I thought maybe you could give me one of the guy's numbers, and we could get him to—”

“I can do better than that,” said Taylor. “I'm at Harry's place right now, and the guys are all here. Here you go.”

“Hey, wha's up?” asked a slurred male voice. “Who is this?”

“This is Harry, babe, who is this?”

“This is DJ. Are you drinking, Harry?”

“Not at the moment, but I think I've got one on the way.”

“You sound wasted.” She felt angry and disgusted. “Is there anyone there who hasn't been drinking?”

“Now what kind of party would that be?”

“How about Bradford?”

“Bradford … Bradford? Hmm …” There was a long pause with lots of background noise, and DJ began to wonder if Harry had set the phone down and forgotten all about her. She didn't know whether to hang up or just scream.

“No …” he finally said. “Bradford and Rhiannon must've stepped out. Or maybe they weren't here in the first place. I really don't recall.”

“DJ, this is Taylor again.”

“What am I going to do?”

“I don't know. But I can tell you this. None of these guys are in good driving condition.”

“What about the general?”

“Seriously, DJ. I'm sure he's gone to bed. Do you want me to go wake him and see if he—”

“No, no …”

“Your grandmother's gone to bed too. That's how we sneaked out. There's no way I'm going to wake her. Not that she could help you. Just call a cab.”

“A cab?”

“Yes. It might be pricey. But they can bring you up here, and you guys can figure out the mechanical things tomorrow.”

DJ considered this. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Of course it makes sense. Goodnight!”

DJ hung up and went back to the woman at the bar. At least the woman looked halfway friendly now. “Want another Coke?”

DJ shook her head. “No. I want a cab.”

“A cab?” The woman threw back her head and laughed. “This girl thinks she can get a cab in Everett Falls.”

The few patrons scattered around the bar laughed too.

The woman leaned forward and peered curiously at DJ. “Man, are you lost.”

“We broke down on the highway,” DJ explained. “We're on our way up to Ashton Peak for the weekend. If we can just get up there tonight, we could deal with the pickup tomorrow.”

“That's all nice and good,” said the woman, “but there ain't no cabs or taxis or buses here in Everett Falls.” She glanced around the smoky room. “And even if one of these dudes offered to drive you up there, I wouldn't recommend it.” She lowered her voice. “They're barely fit to make it home, and most of them are on foot, if you know what I mean.”

“DJ,” called Conner from the door. He was waving to her in a way that gave her hope.

“Hank is going to tow my truck into town, and he thinks he can get it fixed.”

“No way!” She felt like cheering.

“Yeah. I'll go up with him. You might as well stay here.” He peered around the room. “I mean, if you feel safe and everything.”

She shrugged. “I'm fine. You get going.”

So he took off, and she went back to the bar and sat on a stool across from the woman. “Do you have any coffee?” asked DJ.

The woman held up a glass pot filled with a dark thick liquid that looked like it had been sitting on the hotplate for several days, and DJ just nodded. Maybe she could doctor it up with cream and sugar.

“Was that your boyfriend?” asked the woman as she set the cup in front of her.

“My friend.” DJ peered down at the muck in her cup and wondered if there was any way to make it drinkable. “Hank from the Shell station is going to tow his truck to town and—”

“Well, that's going to cost a pretty penny.”

DJ nodded. “I guess. But it sounds like he's going to get it fixed, and we can make it on up to Ashton Peak.”

The woman laughed. “Hank's going to stay up all night and work on your boyfriend's car?”

“Pickup.”

“Car, pickup, bicycle … whatever. But I just can't fathom Hank's gonna be out there working on it all night. Not the Hank I know.”

“But that's what he told my—”

“Don't count on it, sweetie.”

DJ frowned as the woman set a dish of creamers and sugar packets in front of her.

“I don't mean to pop your bubble. But Hank's just not that sort. I'm surprised he'd drag himself away from the TV to go out and tow anything this time of night. Your boyfriend must be paying him good.”

“If that's true …” DJ paused. “What will we do?”

“You mean for the night?”

“Yeah.”

“I got a room I can rent. I don't usually rent by the night, but I could make an exception.”

“A room?”

“Yeah. It ain't the Ritz. But it's not like you've got much choice in this one-horse town.”

“No hotels?”

“No hotels, motels, guest houses … sweetie, we don't even have a real brothel.”

DJ rolled her eyes. Like they needed a brothel!

15

“WELL, MAYBE YOU'RE WRONG
about Hank,” said DJ as she poured a second sugar packet into her coffee. “Maybe he'll get the pickup running tonight. And maybe we'll be out of your hair before long.”

“And maybe pigs will fly you out of here too.” The woman laughed loudly as she went to see if anyone needed a refill on their drink.

DJ sat and watched the grainy TV above the bar. An old rerun of
Law and Order
was playing, but at least it helped to pass the time. It was close to midnight when Conner finally reappeared.

“Bad news,” he said as he pulled out a barstool and sat next to her.

“Hank's not going to fix the pickup?”

“How'd you know?”

She nodded over to the woman who was watching them as she lit a cigarette. “Small town,” said DJ. “Word travels fast.”

“Hank said it's the U joint, and that he'll get to it first thing in the morning.”

“That's it then? We're stuck?”

Conner exhaled loudly then nodded. “That is unless you had any luck with the guys already up there. Any chance that Harry wants to make a moonlight run to get us?”

She quickly filled him in on the inebriated state of Harry and friends. “Even Taylor said it was a bad idea.”

Conner glanced around the room as if hoping that a taxi driver might rise up from one of the tables. “And Hank said there are no buses or anything from here.”

“That's what I hear.” DJ shook her head. “What're we going to do?”

“I could call my dad to come get us. But by the time he makes it up here, it'll probably be close to two … and Hank told me he gets up early. He thinks he could have the pickup running by nine. That means we could make it to the lodge before noon. Not that it would do much good since there's no place to stay. Hank told me there's no hotel. I guess I better just call Dad.” He pressed his lips tightly together. “I'll probably get some big lecture too.”

“Unless we take care of this ourselves.” DJ sighed. “Apparently there's a room we could rent for the night.”

“A room? As in one room?”

DJ held up her hands defensively. “It's not like I'm offering to sleep with you, Conner. I just mean there's a place where we can hole up until morning. Unless you'd rather sleep in your pickup.” She brightened. “In that case, I'll take the room.”

“I'd be a frozen corpse by morning.” He shook his head. “I wish I'd brought a sleeping bag … but Harry promised me a bed. Not that it's doing me much good now.”

The woman, who must've been eavesdropping, approached them now. “You kids want to rent that room tonight?”

DJ glanced uncomfortably at Conner, and he just shrugged.

“I guess so,” said DJ. “How much is it?”

“Well, like I said, it's not the Ritz. But then again, I don't normally rent it by the night either.” She seemed to study them now. “But I'll let you have it for a hundred bucks. How's that sound?”

Well, it sounded like highway robbery, but DJ decided not to go there. Instead, she opened her purse.

“I can pay for it,” said Conner.

“No,” she insisted. “I'm paying. And you are sleeping on the floor.”

The woman laughed as DJ counted out the cash. “Sleeping on the floor, now that's a good one.” She handed DJ a brass key. “It's the second door on the left at the top of the stairs. The bathroom's down the hall.”

“The bathroom's down the hall?” DJ whispered to Conner. “Meaning we share it with others?”

“I guess.”

They went up the stairs without speaking, and DJ was feeling more and more uncomfortable with this. Really, what had she been thinking? On the other hand, what choice did they have? She put the key in the door and turned it.

“Want me to go in first?” he offered.

“Sure.” The truth was she wasn't sure what to expect. But everything about this evening seemed to resemble a bad scene in some old horror movie. She expected to see a bloodthirsty ax murderer lurking around the next corner.

Conner flicked on the lights to reveal a stark room with tan walls and one window, a straight-backed chair, a dresser, and a full-sized bed with a bedside table and lamp next to it.

“It's not the Ritz,” teased Conner.

DJ pulled back the coverlet to examine the sheets. Although they were yellowed, they seemed to be clean.

“Any bedbugs in there?”

“Yuck.”

“Are you serious about me sleeping on the floor?” he asked as he looked down at the hard linoleum.

She opened a door to a tiny closet and found a spare blanket, which she handed to him.

“Gee, thanks.”

She looked down at the floor now. It did look hard. And cold. “I don't know, Conner. This is a tough call. I mean, obviously, I don't think we'd do anything—you know—but, well, it just feels, you know …”

“Wrong.” He nodded. “Yeah, I know. If you want me to sleep on the floor, I will.”

She stood there considering everything and finally said. “No. Let's both sleep on the bed. But fully clothed, okay?”

He nodded. “Trust me, I was planning on sleeping fully clothed anyway, DJ. No way am I taking my clothes off in this place.”

“And no touching.”

He laughed. “Don't worry. I know the rules. We're just friends, DJ. We both agreed to that, right?”

She frowned as she stared at the bed. This was not how she'd planned to spend the night. Not how she planned to spend her first night with a guy. Not that that was what this was. She knew that. But at the same time it felt all wrong.

“I'm going to check out the bathroom,” he said as he hung his jacket over the back of the chair.

“Let me know how it goes.” Already DJ felt like she wanted to disinfect herself from everything she'd been exposed to in the bar—and normally she wasn't a real neat freak. Fortunately, she'd used the restroom when they'd had dinner. After a swim meet she was usually somewhat dehydrated and knew she could probably last until morning.

She peeled back the covers on the bed. After Conner's comment, she was checking for bedbugs now. Not seeing anything moving, she rolled the spare blanket into something of a barrier and laid it right down the center of the bed. Okay, she knew it was silly, but it made her feel better. Then she took off her shoes and climbed in and, lying down, she pulled up the covers and closed her eyes.

Eventually, she heard Conner return to the room. She had already decided to play opossum and pretend to be asleep. It seemed the simplest solution. She heard the bed creak and felt him carefully getting in beside her. He turned out the light and before long, she heard the even sound of his breathing and was pretty sure he'd fallen asleep.

As tired as she was, she was wide awake. But at the same time, she didn't want to move, didn't want to disturb him. Okay, on the weirdness scale of one to ten, this had to rank right up there at eleven. The craziness of the whole thing almost made her laugh. But she knew that might wake up Conner. And then she'd have to explain. Why risk it. Because despite all this lofty talk of just being friends and a purely platonic relationship, she still remembered what it felt like when he kissed her, when his arms were around her. In fact, she almost found it hard to believe that he was able to go to sleep like that. It seemed unfair.

That's when she knew it was time to pray. Here she'd been so worried about how he might act in this situation, and she was the one ready to jump all over him. Well, if that wasn't humbling. So she actually confessed this to God and asked him to help her stay in control of these reckless feelings. Finally, she asked God to help them get the pickup running and safely up to the lodge in the morning. Praying did the trick, because before long she was falling asleep too.

“Want to get some breakfast?”

“Huh?” DJ blinked at the light coming through a window. “It's nearly eight,” Conner told her. “I let you sleep in.”

She sat up and looked around, attempting to get her bearings.

“Hank's working on the pickup. He thinks it'll be ready to go in about forty more minutes.”

“Really?” DJ swung her feet around the bed and began putting on her shoes.

“Hey, did you know you snore?”

“So I've been told,” said DJ.

“It's kind of cute, really. Kind of a puppy-dog snore.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“So how do you feel?”

“How do I feel?”

“I mean the morning after.”

She turned and stared at him with shock. “What?”

“You know, after our first night sleeping together.” He had a teasing grin, and she knew he was just jerking her chain.

She picked up her pillow and began smacking him in the head with it, over and over. “I feel just fine, Conner,” she said. “How about you? How are you feeling?” She suppressed laughter as he tried to defend himself.

“Okay, okay!” He finally grabbed the pillow and tossed it to the bed. “Sorry. I thought you could take a joke.”

She narrowed her eyes and then shook her head. “Not before breakfast, I can't.”

“Let's get moving then. There's a tiny café down the street. Hank said the food's not bad.” Conner laughed. “Not that we have any other choice.”

As it turned out, the food wasn't bad. And the coffee, though not great, was way better than the bar's coffee last night.

“So, did you have sweet dreams last night?” Conner asked in a teasing tone after the waitress refilled their coffee cups.

“Are you nuts? I felt like I was starring in a Stephen King flick.”

He chuckled. “Me too.”

“Well, today should be much better.”

He glanced at his watch. “Just think, we might be riding down the mountain in a few hours.”

He wasn't far from wrong. A few hours—and a few hundred dollars—later, Conner's pickup was pulling up in front of General Harding's lodge.

“Wow, this is nice,” said DJ as she grabbed her duffle. Hopefully, the girls had taken her other things inside by now, although she wouldn't be surprised if they'd forgotten. She just hoped that Taylor had remembered to mention this whole thing to Grandmother this morning.

“I'm heading over to Harry's,” said Conner. “My guess is that the rest of them have already headed up the mountain by now. Want me to come back by here to get you?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” DJ opened one of the big double doors and went into the spacious room. The floors in the entry were slate, and the big open beams looked like real logs.

“Well, well …” said Grandmother as DJ wandered into an open room with an enormous rock fireplace that went clear up to the high, vaulted ceiling. “You made it after all.” Grandmother had on a stylish-looking ski outfit that probably wasn't going anywhere near the slope. She was comfortably seated in an overstuffed chair next to the crackling fireplace, with a mug of something hot and several magazines at her elbow.

“Did Taylor tell you about Conner's pickup breaking down?”

“Yes, which only proves that you should've come with us in the first place, Desiree. We had such a lovely ride up here.”

“Well, that would've meant skipping out on the swim meet, Grandmother.” DJ smiled at her. “And you've said that young ladies honor their word.”

“That's true. Anyway, you are here now. In one piece. The others have gone up to the mountain. I was enjoying the quietness of this lovely place.”

DJ sensed that was a hint to make herself scarce. “Do you know where I'm supposed to be staying?”

“One of the rooms on the second floor. I'm sure you'll find it if you look around.”

DJ wasn't so sure, but decided to give it her best shot. She found a room with two beds, where it looked like Eliza and Kriti must be staying. Another nice suite at the end of the hallway appeared to be where Grandmother had made herself at home. Eventually, DJ found a large room with three sets of bunks, with her own things piled on one of them.
Voila!

Relieved to be back in “civilization,” DJ took a long hot shower, changed into her snowboarding stuff, and hoped that her snowboard would be somewhere easy to find outside. She'd also taken the time to put on the sturdy elastic leg brace that her therapist had insisted she wear for snowboarding. It felt a little awkward as she went down the stairs, but if it prevented any further injury it would be worth it.

“You be careful up there,” the therapist had warned her. “Your leg is almost as good as new, but a hard fall could land you right back where you started.”

“There you are,” said Conner when DJ emerged. “Is this yours?” He held up the dark blue Burton board that her mom had gotten for her several years ago when DJ had insisted she had to go snowboarding or “die.” Those were pretty much her words too. Now it was sadly ironic to think that it was her mother who had actually died. But DJ remembered how pleased her mom had been to present this board to DJ on her fourteenth birthday. “It's perfect,” DJ had cried, throwing her arms around her mother. “How did you know?” Mom had teased her then, reminding DJ of how she'd left computer printouts and ads for this exact same board all over their condo.

“You okay?” asked Conner with concern.

“Yeah.” DJ sighed. “Just remembering.”

“Well, that's a cool board. Mine's a Burton too. You ready to hit the slopes?”

She grinned. “You bet. It's been a while, but I'm sure it'll all come back to me.”

“We should probably get our boards waxed first,” he said, nodding over to the big lodge. “And we need lift tickets and a map, since I haven't ridden here before. Have you?”

“Nope.”

Fortunately, since they were late, the rush hour was over and they soon had everything they needed. “Did that guy say there were only four lifts?” asked DJ as they strapped on their boards and headed for a lift line.