“For the record, I told your mother last summer this would happen—that she needed to give you room to breathe and grow. For some reason, she just can’t let go. I don’t know why. It’s not how I raised her or how she lived her life. She has a lot of fears and control issues when it comes to you.” She takes a sip of her tea. “I think she does it out of love, but it’s misplaced.”

My heart beats nervously in my chest when I ask, “Are you going to send me back?”

“I should, but no. Not yet.”

I feel the smile break across my face. “You’re not?”

“But, I’m going to call her and we’re both going to talk to her and figure out how we want to proceed.”

I hop out of my chair and give my grandmother a hug. My awesome, amazing, supportive grandmother, Starlee Nye the Second, brave and strong. “Thank you, Leelee.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We’ll see how this goes,” she pulls back and looks at me with eyes that match my own. “If you live here full-time, things will change from over the summer. Different rules and expectations, got it?”

“As long as I can go to school and have friends, I’m willing to do anything.”

She raises an eyebrow but just says, “Go get the phone and dial your mother’s number. Let’s get this over with.”

It takes nerves of steel and the strength of my grandmother sitting at the table for me to follow her directions, but I do it. I didn’t come all this way to hide from my mother. I came all this way to break free once and for all.

6

Jake

The last sprint is the worst, but I push through the pain in my legs and chest, knowing it’s worth it. Football is my ticket out of Lee Vines. My grades are shit, despite doing better with reading. My teachers and coaches barely helped me hold an average to keep me eligible all these years. I used to want that scholarship just for the love of the game and a chance to see the world outside our tiny corner of the Sierras, but now it’s more. It’s about the opportunity to be with Starlee again.

“Good job, Hollingsworth,” Coach calls. “Hit the showers and I’ll see you at practice this afternoon.”

Two-a-days. For the last two weeks, my view of the sunrise hasn’t been from me and Starlee’s rock, it’s been from out here on the athletic fields. At least with our first game coming up, we’re just having cardio this week in the mornings.

I glance back over the field and see George striding across. Coach notices me watching my foster brother. “He’s doing pretty good. A little unpredictable on the field, but you’re right. He’s fast.”

I walk over by the door, waiting for George. Wiping my face with the bottom of my T-shirt, I ignore the glances of my female classmates arriving early to school for their own activities. I know there’s interest, and a year before I would have been into it, but after this summer everything changed for me and my brothers. There’s only one girl. One we’re willing to wait for.

Christina Albright cuts across the field, her dark hair pulled back in a severe ponytail. She’s the head cheerleader and a senior. We dated back in 9th grade but things ended…well, badly.

“Hollingsworth,” she calls, “wait up.”

I’m waiting on George, who has finally crossed the finish line. This girl is the last person I want to talk to, but I also don’t have any interest in creating a scene. “Hey, Christina.”

“I need to talk to you about homecoming.”

“Homecoming? That’s two months away.”

“Yeah, but I have a plan and I need your help.”

“You want my help?” I laugh. “That’s rich.”

She stands before me in a midriff-baring shirt and jeans that come up high on her waist. She rests her hands on her hips. “I know we’ve had our differences, but it’s our senior year and I want to be crowned queen.”

“Okay.” Not sure how that’s my problem or business. “Sounds like a great goal. I’ll totally vote for you.”

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t want you to vote for me. I want you to be my date. If we do all the Hoco events together, like a big promposal and the bonfire and parade, everyone will be more likely to cast their vote my way. I mean, for you too, king and all.”

I flick my eyes between George walking our way and Christina’s intense face. “You’re asking me to ask you to homecoming?”

“I’m telling you it’s our year to shine at Sierra Academy. We’ll help each other.”

I cross my arms. “How exactly does this help me?”

Tags: Angel Lawson The Wayward Sons Romance
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