She's Like The Wind (Angel Sands 2)

“I’m back,” Riley called from the front door. “No arrests, no underage drinking. We didn’t even have an orgy. You’ll be proud of me.”

Nate pressed pause on the game they were playing and gave Ally a wry smile. She bit her lip, reminding herself to act natural – whatever that was. She didn’t really have long enough to think about it because less than five seconds later Riley was bounding into the living room, the biggest smile on her face.

“Oh my God,” she said, looking from Nate to Ally. “Have you guys been playing that game all night?”

“Pretty much,” Nate said, sounding so much more nonchalant than Ally felt. “We went to watch the fireworks then came home to play. How was the movie?”

“Not as lame as your evening. We had fun even though the movie was awful.” Riley dropped into the chair beside the sofa.

“Where did you eat?” Ally asked her. Her voice sounded strange. She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of whatever was making it all croaky, and tried to ignore Nate as he grinned at her.

“At the mall. Laura’s mom treated us all.” Riley looked down at her hands, her brows pulling together as if she was thinking something through. Then she looked up. “Something interesting happened,” Riley said, biting her lips as she glanced at her dad. “Do you remember Charlie Prince?”

“I’ve never heard of him,” Nate said.

“It’s a her. And she comes in the coffee shop almost every day after school. Anyway, she was supposed to be going on the school trip to Los Angeles next week, but she’s come down with mono and she’s not allowed at school per doctor’s orders. So there’s going to be a place free, and I was wondering if I could go instead.”

From the corner of her eye Ally saw Nate frown. “Why haven’t I heard about this trip before?”

“Because it was full before we even moved to Angel Sands.” Riley shrugged. “But now it isn’t.”

“Then give me the details. When is it, how many teachers are going, what will you see? And more importantly, how much is it going to cost me.”

“That I can tell you. Charlie’s mom’s happy to offer it for half price, which means a hundred and fifty dollars. You’ll get rid of me for four days, three nights, so I figure that’s a great value all round. And if you really want to make me work for it, I’ll come to the shop every weekend to pay you off.” She smiled expectantly at him. “So can I go?”

“I’ll think about it.”

Her smile dissolved. “Well you need to think fast, because if I don’t snap it up somebody else will.”

“I said I’d think about it.” Nate’s voice was firm. “You won’t be able to do anything about it until Monday anyway.”

“But if I’m going I need to get some new clothes. The trip starts on Tuesday. There’s not much time.” She tipped her head to the side. Was she batting her eyelashes? Ally couldn’t quite tell from where she was sitting.

Nate took a deep breath in, then muttered something to himself.

“What?” Riley asked, leaning forward.

“I said you’re supposed to be grounded.”

“Apart from school,” Riley said, still full of cheer. “And this is definitely school. I can promise not to have any fun at all if it helps?”

Ally sniggered. She couldn’t help it. Sometimes Riley reminded her so much of herself as a teenager.

“You’re no help,” Nate told her.

“Sorry.” But Ally couldn’t get rid of the grin.

“That’s what happens when you spend your night killing soldiers,” Riley said. “Father daughter arguments become entertainment.”

“We’re not arguing,” Nate protested.

“Not yet. But only because you haven’t said no. I’m keeping the big guns waiting until then.” Yep, Riley really was batting her lashes. Ally wasn’t sure how much longer Nate would be able to hold out.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, letting out a sigh. “Okay, you can go.”

Wow, that was quicker than she thought.

“Seriously?” Riley sounded genuinely shocked.