Filed to story: My Life with the Walter Boys Book (I & II) PDF Free
“Okay, can you please be serious for a moment? I’m really confused here,” I told her. “I try to ignore him, but then he does something cute like, I don’t know, taking me on a tour of the ranch to cheer me up, and I just—argh!” I grabbed my pillow and flung it across the room.
Sammy sighed. “All right, I’m sorry. I got a little excited to finally hear from you.”
“A little excited?”
“Do you want to talk about your Cole issues or not?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t want to have Cole issues. I just want to get through these next few years and come home.”
“So for the next two years of high school, you’re never going to have a boyfriend?”
“I don’t know.”
“Jackie, just because you’re leaving eventually doesn’t mean you can’t get to know people.”
“I’m not afraid of forming relationships, Sammy—it’s just him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s a complete chauvinist. When we go to school, it’s like he has a different girl to make out with every period.” In reality that was just an excuse. The real reason why I was frightened by whatever was going on between Cole and me was too hard to admit.
“Okay,” she said, thinking out loud, “so he’s a bit of a man-whore. But, honey, trust me when I say that can be fixed. You should focus on the positive things. It sounds like he can be sweet when he wants to be.”
“It’s not just that. It’s…” I trailed off, still struggling to say what I was thinking.
“It’s what?”
“How can I even have these feelings?” I asked, squeezing my eyes shut. “That shouldn’t even be okay since—“
“Since what?” she snapped. “Since your family’s accident? Are you never allowed to love someone again because of that?” The anger in her voice caught me off guard.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that, but…” I paused and took a breath. “Don’t you think it’s too soon?”
“God, Jackie, no!” Sammy gasped, horrified. “It’s not like there are rules detailing the right way to mourn. Being in a relationship might be a good thing.”
“How?”
“It could help you heal,” she said, “And, I don’t know…move on?”
I nodded my head and told Sammy, “Yeah, okay,” even if I didn’t mean it. Why was she acting like I needed to be fixed? I was here in Colorado, living my life. I didn’t need a relationship to heal or whatever, and I most definitely didn’t need Cole.
***
On Monday, we all piled out of the truck when we got to school. Danny and I had to wait for everyone to grab their backpacks because ours were at the bottom of the pile.
“So, how was being grounded?” Danny asked.
It was the first thing he’d said to me since our afternoon in the auditorium. He wasn’t ignoring me per se—he’d nodded at me this morning when we ran into each other in the hallway—and I had accepted that Danny was a silent type.
“Good.” I was pleasantly surprised that he actually started a conversation with me. We were making progress! “The lights went out, but I got a bunch of homework done,” I said. Danny slung his backpack over his shoulder and nodded his head. “How was your weekend?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going as we made our way into the building.
“I don’t like camping.”
“Really?” I asked, and my voice pitched up, revealing my surprise. I thought all of the Walter boys enjoyed the outdoors. After all, they grew up on a ranch.
“All those creepy, crawly bugs freak the crap out of me,” he said.
I choked, thinking for a moment that he was being serious.
“I’m kidding,” he said quickly, but it was hard to tell because his face was so serious. “About the bugs, at least. I’m more of an indoors kind of guy.”
“You live in the middle of nowhere,” I pointed out.
He shrugged. “My drama class went on a field trip to Chicago freshman year, and it just felt right. I’d rather live in the city.”
“Yeah, there’s something about all those people, the busy streets, and the movement—it makes you feel alive.” Danny was gazing at me now with a look I couldn’t quite decipher, so I went on. “If you enjoyed Chicago, you’ll love New York.”
“New York,” he repeated slowly.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s the best place in the world.”
“I got the part,” he said, suddenly changing the subject.
I blinked. “Oh, right,” I finally responded, realizing he was talking about
Romeo and
Juliet. “Congratulations, Danny. That’s great news.”
“Thanks,” he said, and then he was gone, disappearing into crowded hallway.
Chapter 11
The next two weeks passed quickly, the days blending together. But today was different. When I got home from school, I went straight for the kitchen, which had been transformed into a bakery since we left this morning. Mrs. Walter was pulling a pan of cookies out of the oven—I had been able to smell them from the front porch—and four whole sheets of warm, gooey goodness were already waiting on silver cooling racks.
“Hi, Jackie,” she said, scooping a few cookies up with a spatula. “How was your day?”