Page 15 of If the Summer Lasted Forever
I move toward him, pretending to tell him a secret. “Those are hot.”
Landon shifts even closer, his eyes bright. “I noticed.”
Hunter loudly clears his throat behind us. “Dude, come on. Flirt later. I’m starving.”
As they are so prone to do, my cheeks go hot, and our mothers temporarily abandon their conversation to chuckle at us like we’re just too adorable. I’m flooded with irrational irritation, and I move along the counter.
Ignoring them, Landon moves near enough our shoulders press together, and he leans close to my ear. “Yeah, stop flirting, Lacey. Hunter’s hungry.”
I turn his way, mild retort ready on my tongue, but then I meet his eyes and realize my mistake.He’s so close. In fact, if we weren’t in a room full of his family and mine, I might think he was going to kiss me.
My stomach flutters at the thought, and I look away, forgetting what I was about to say. Luckily, Landon’s youngest brother bounds up with a book clenched in his small hands.
“Guess what?” he says to Landon in a normal voice before he dons a deep, pirate-esque accent. “There be gold in them thar hills.”
“Oh yeah?” Landon plucks the book from his brother’s hands and reads, “Colorado Treasure: Legend of Gideon Bonavit.”
Caleb looks up at him, his eyes wide with unbridled, youthful excitement.
“It’s a local legend,” I explain. “He was a settler in the mid-eighteen hundreds, had a claim not far from here. He came to town one day, boasting that he found a huge vein of gold. He was elated because it meant he could finally send for his family. After he left town that afternoon, no one heard from him again for weeks. When someone finally went looking for him, they found him and his wagon at the bottom of a cliff. They think he went over on his way back home.”
“That’s a lovely tale,” Landon deadpans.
I bark out a laugh, agreeing. It is sort of awful.
“Did he have his gold with him?” Caleb asks.
“No one ever found the gold he claimed he’d discovered, and lots of people have searched.”
“I want to look for gold!” Caleb snatches the book back and holds it to his chest.
“Gideon’s family donated the parcel of land to the Forest Service in the fifties,” I tell Landon. “You can take him up there to look around. There’s a shanty and signs with info. It’s kind of like an open-air museum.”
“Sounds like a date,” Landon says. “When do you want to check it out?”
I open my mouth, about to protest that I didn’t meanweshould go, when Mom says a little too eagerly, “Oh, that sounds fun, Lacey. Why don’t you go tomorrow? It’s supposed to rain again this weekend.”
“I took today off,” I remind her.
She shrugs. “It’s summer.”
That’s right,summer.The busy season.
“I need to?—”
“We’ve got it, hon,” Uncle Mark says, cutting me off. “Don’t worry about it.”
Landon gives me a crooked grin. “Well, then. Tomorrow it is.”
CHAPTER SIX
I peek out the window,watching for Landon, past nervous. But it’s fine. This is just acasualouting betweencasualacquaintances. Plus, it’s not a date if an eight-year-old boy comes along.
Unlike yesterday, I’m dressed for the weather, wearing layers I can shed as the day warms. I did, however, curl my hair before I pulled it up into a ponytail. And I put on some subtle makeup. If I pulled it off, my skin should look dewy, my eyelashes miles long, and my lips kissably soft. (It takes longer to put on makeup that makes you look like you’renot wearing makeupthan getting ready for an evening date—not that I’ve gone on many dates, in the evening or any other time.)
The doorbell rings, and I jump a foot into the air like a high-strung cat. Scolding myself, I open the door, hoping it’s not obvious I was just pacing the living room.
“Morning,” Landon says, looking more inviting than any boy should. With his defined shoulders and muscular build, it’s obvious he works hard to stay fit, even on the road. His arms are casually crossed over his almost-fitted T-shirt, and his biceps fill out the short sleeves in a way that would have some girls drooling.
