Page 78 of If the Summer Lasted Forever
Landon shakes his head. “Nothing down here.”
“We’ll tell them as soon as we can.” I get ready to stand, but Landon holds me steady. “Lacey.”
He only says my name, nothing else. But there’s a lot in the single word.
I wrap my arms around him. He clutches me closer, needing me as much as I need him.
I’ve let him in, come to care too much. And not just for him, but for his family too.
Again, I’ve gone and fallen for a summer boy. Again, it’s going to end in nothing but heartache.
I pull back after a few short moments, but only because Caleb’s waiting. Landon doesn’t resist, and together, we head back to the Jeep.
Caleb’s on his second bar by the time we return.
“Just so you know, little man, you’re in so much trouble,” Landon says as he tosses Caleb’s pack and bike in the back. Then George leaps in, somehow cramming himself into the limited space.
Caleb thinks for several moments and scratches the side of his neck. “Do you think we could keep going, see if we can find Gideon’s gold? You know, since Mom probably won’t let me come back?”
Landon slowly turns, giving Caleb a look that makes the boy flinch.
“Or maybe not…” Caleb says.
For the first time in hours, I crack a smile.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Slow and steady,the Jeep crawls over a particularly rough and rocky part of the road. We’re just about to start climbing the canyon. I feel like I’ve pretty much mastered this four-wheeling thing, and I’m wondering why the boys make it sound so complicated, when my back left tire starts wobbling in my rearview mirror.
I slow to a crawl—an impressive thing to do when you’re already going under five miles per hour—and watch in horror as the tire deflates and hangs loosely around the wheel.
“What was that?” Caleb asks, noticing the Jeep slowly tilting.
I growl and smack my hand against the steering wheel. Honestly, can one more thing go wrong today?
“Flat tire,” I say, putting the Jeep in park and getting out to inspect the damage.
Yep. Flat.
I cross my arms and scowl at it until Landon comes to my side. The thing is, I don’t actually know how to change it. Paige does—her brothers taught her when she was twelve. Uncle Mark tried to show me too, and I paid attention—I really did—but he might as well have been talking Greek.
Maybe this four-wheel thing isn’t for me after all.
Landon looks like his lack of sleep is catching up to him in a big way. He’s dead on his feet.
“At least you have a spare,” Landon points out, already moving for it.
“Do you know how to change it?”
Landon nods and gets to work. I dig out the lug wrench, remembering that was a vital part of the whole operation.
It doesn’t take Landon long to jack up the Jeep and remove what’s left of the old tire.
Caleb watches with avid interest and asks me, “Why do you think it went flat?”
“I don’t know,” I answer, not really up to speculating at the moment.
“Was it a rock?”
