Page 66 of My Return to the Walter Boys
No response.
“Katherine,” I said again, louder this time, waving my hand to catch her attention.
“Not now, George,” she replied without looking up. She was laser focused on digging through the fruit bowl. “I don’t have time. My keys are missing.”
Orange juice splashed onto the table as Alex snorted into his glass. Isaac, who was seated beside him eating a bowl of cereal, smirked and set down his spoon. When he finished chewing, he folded his hands under his chin and gazed at me with a mischievous smile. His eyewas swollen shut, but I didn’t bother asking who gave him the shiner; considering how mean-spirited he’d been of late, any of his cousins were likely to be responsible.
“Hey, Uncle George,” he said to me. “You’re looking magnanimous this morning. Any chance you’ll consider lifting my grounding early? There’s a party tonight that I’d really love to go to.”
Katherine’s head snapped up, her lips pursing at the question, but the disapproval melted away when she realized that Isaac was not, in fact, talking to her husband. She blinked. “Jackie, was that you just now? I could have sworn I heard George…”
“Um, yeah,” I answered, my cheeks turning pink.
Alex and Isaac both cackled, and I had a feeling they wouldn’t let this go fordays. I could already hear the endless stream of jokes about my gruff, manly voice; in all likelihood, they would think of enough content for their own stand-up routine.
“I’m sorry, honey,” she told me. “Do you need something?”
“No, it’s just—” I gestured to the lanyard around her neck. “You already have your keys.”
She looked down. “Oh!You’re a lifesaver, Jackie. I swear, it’s always when I’m running late that I misplace them. I was supposed to be at the community center thirty minutes ago, and there’s so much to do before Monday.”
“If you need more help, I’d be happy to come with you,” I told her, crossing my fingers under the table. Not only would the volunteer hours look good on my college applications, but I desperately wantedto get out of the house and go somewhere other than school after being on lockdown for two weeks. She hesitated, so I quickly added, “I understand I’m grounded, and I’ll do my chores as soon as we get back, but I’m good at organization. Maybe I can take some of the workload off your plate?”
Those were the magic words.
“You know what? That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she said, giving me a decisive nod. “Thank you, Jackie. I appreciate the offer.”
“Kiss ass,” Isaac muttered in a low voice so only I would hear him.
Not low enough, however.
Katherine zeroed in on him with a scowl. “Isaac, why don’t you handle the horse stalls today while Jackie helps me with the rummage sale?”
He pointed at her with his spoon. “You’re funny, Auntie K, but hard pass.”
“That wasn’t a suggestion,” she said dismissively, then turned to Alex and asked him to load the boxes stacked on the dining room table into her van.
While her back was turned, I stuck my tongue out at Isaac. He flicked a Fruit Loop at me as he grumbled to himself but gave no further protest. He was in too much trouble for his usual shit.
Thirty minutes later, Katherine dropped me off at the front entrance so I wouldn’t get drenched. The skies had opened up halfway through our drive, but neither of us were dressed for the weather. As I huddled under the overhang, I watched her park as close as possible,then dash across the lot with a magazine held over her head. After tossing the ruinedCountry Livingin the trash and shaking off the rain, Katherine ushered me into the lobby. She waved to a burly lumberjack type sitting behind the donations table, then started down a set of stairs that led to a cavernous event space where the rummage sale would be held.
“Whoa,” I said, grinding to a halt when we reached the bottom of the steps. The room had been transformed into what looked like a supersize Goodwill with banquet tables pushed together to form makeshift rows. Never in my life had I seen so muchstuff, not even when Cole took me to the Rift. Rows of furniture, racks upon racks of clothes, stacks of books, an infinite array of knickknacks. Tupperware, toys, kitchen appliances, and decorative vases. There was even an old pinball machine tucked into one of the corners.
“Impressive, right?” Katherine said, surveying the room with a satisfied gleam in her eye.
“Very,” I told her, which was true as long as you ignored how the place smelled like a cross between a cafeteria and a retirement home.
Katherine wasted no time putting me to work. “I have some paperwork that needs my immediate attention, but if you go talk to Gabby”—she pointed to a pretty redhead in a beige sweater—“she can give you something to do.”
First, I helped separate and fold clothes. Boring but easy. Once that was done, I spent an hour putting price stickers on DVDs, then moved on to breaking down cardboard boxes. I had just started sorting thesizeable collection of tableware—serving platters, plastic kids plates, fancy bone china, and mason jars galore—when I felt someone staring at me. Despite his location on the opposite side of the room, my eyes immediately snapped to Cole, who was standing at the front of the room holding a storage bin.
The oatmeal I ate for breakfast turned to stone in my stomach.
His gaze was fixed on me as if he’d been waiting for me to notice him, and now that I had, he started in my direction. I tried not to panic, but the two of us hadn’t spoken since our encounter in the barn, and I still didn’t know how to explain myself. So far, Cole had respected my wishes and kept his distance, but it appeared his patience had run out.
Instead of watching his approach, I returned my attention to a stack of ceramic bowls, examining each one to make sure they were clean and undamaged. One had a crack extending from the rim down to its base, so I set it aside. I felt the exact moment he reached me, but I chose to finish my task rather than lift my head and meet his eyes. Cole huffed, then carelessly deposited the bin he’d been carrying onto the table, making a set of wineglasses rattle together.
“Hey, Jackie.” Instead of giving me butterflies, his flirtatious drawl put me on edge. “Fancy meeting you here.”
