Mansfield Ranch (3 page)

“Hey, Mrs. Crawford! Where’s your hubby, Harrison?”

I ignored the taunt and the name everyone had been calling me since homeroom. Keeping my head down as I hustled toward my locker between my health and science classes turned out to be a massive mistake. Of course, I realized that
after
I’d slammed my forehead on the tuba case one of the band members carried on his shoulder.

Oww!
That thing was huge! All I could see was black before I flew backwards a couple of steps and collided with two guys from the soccer team. In their defense, they leaned down and tried to save me—they did. But when my heavy backpack knocked one of the guys in the jaw, he grabbed his chin and allowed me the courtesy of landing on the cold tile with a thunk. I felt my books leave bruise marks as they pressed into my spine.

Everyone laughed.

Until that moment, I had never thought about how hard it was to get up once you’re teetering on your own backpack. It was hard. After about five tries to flip myself over to my side, a guy offered to give me a hand up. I wouldn’t normally have taken it, but I was desperate.

I clung to that grip as he pulled me to my feet and tried to drown out the jeers and catcalls all around us.

“Are you all right?”

I could barely hear the question. The blood pounded in my ears so loud, I only had one thought.
Escape
. “Yeah. Uh—thanks,” I mumbled a bit too late and too distractedly to be considered truly grateful. I still hadn’t looked the guy in the face. I didn’t want to. Instead, I spent a few moments adjusting my backpack and coat and searching the ground for anything that might’ve flown out.

“Are you sure? You took quite a fall. Does anything hurt?”

I was surprised he was still around. So surprised, in fact, that I glanced up. The guy who stood in front of me could’ve been considered the picture of perfection. He was so gorgeous, I was embarrassed to look at him. I glanced down again. One thing was for certain—I’d never seen him before in my life.
Who is h—?
Then it hit me. My eyes flew back to his at the same time the laughter and taunts became clear.

“Check out the newlyweds!”

Oh, my gosh!

Harrison nodded his head in recognition as if he’d just heard the shout too. “So I take it you’re Lilly.”

“Uh, yeah. You caught that, did ya?”

“Kind’ve hard not to.”

I attempted a smile. It didn’t work. I was so mortified. “Yeah.”

Harrison looked at the group that surrounded us and then back at me. “Where’s your next class?”

My next class?
“Uh, it—it’s in the science building. W—why?”

“Come on. You can show me where that building is, then.” He pulled out his school map and schedule.

No wonder I haven’t seen him before—it’s his first day.
“D—do you have science too?”

“No, English.”

“But—?”

He grasped my elbow and maneuvered me through the crowd. “Look. I want to talk to you for a minute—and I don’t want to say anything in front of everyone else, okay?”

He wants to talk? Ack! About what?
“Uh—um, okay—but could we do it another time? I mean, the English building is the other way.”

Harrison flung his schedule in front of me as we whizzed out the door and into the bright sunshine. “Yeah, but I’m new. I’m allowed to be late. We’ll go to your class—besides, it’s probably a good thing if I keep tabs on my stalkers.”

Stalkers? This can’t be happening to me.
“Uh …”

“Is that it? Is that the building?” He pointed to a large one-story building that was about fifty feet from us.

“Yeah.”

“Good. We’re almost there.”

He picked up his pace and I tried to match it without getting too close to him—which was hard, since he still held on to my arm.

“Look.” Harrison kept his talk short and simple. “We don’t know each other, but I’m pretty good at reading people. I’m going to say this as nicely as possible under the circumstances, okay?” He didn’t wait for a response. “You’re not my type.”

You think? What clued you in first?
“Yeah, well—about that. You don’t need to—”

“Worry?” He laughed. A wonderful, hearty, happy-guy laugh. “Of course not. I’ll have a girlfriend by the end of today, and she won’t be you.” Harrison paused as he opened the door to the science building. He stared right at me. “So I figure that’ll kill any lingering rumors flying around, don’t you?”

Maybe in your world.
My smile was tight, but at least I had one. “Thanks. That’s a relief to know.”

“Good. I’m sure you can find your way from here. Thanks for pointing out the building.”

“Uh, y—you’re welcome.” I walked past him into the hall, but Harrison still had hold of my elbow.

“Oh, and one more thing. Do me a favor and keep your fantasies to yourself.”

With that parting shot, he was gone. My arm was free, but it took a moment for me to comprehend that as I stood in the middle of the hall, students passing me.

I hate Sean Benally.

For about ten seconds, I would’ve given anything to know just what those rumors said. Anything. Then reality hit, and I realized that knowing would probably only hurt worse.

By the time I slid into my seat, the bell had rung. That’s when it dawned on me that my science book was still in my locker waiting for me. The locker I never made it to.

How could a day that started so good get so bad so quickly?
I should never have raced Sean. Then he wouldn’t have won. And then he wouldn’t have learned my secret. Which meant that the whole school wouldn’t be laughing at my alleged attempt to get Harrison to notice me. That stupid wish was the last straw for Sean—I could see it the second I told him about it. My wanting to go on a date only made Sean think I needed Harrison.
Ugh
. I needed Harrison like I needed a hole in the head.
Wait! Scratch that
. I needed a hole in the head! That would solve a lot of problems right there.

***

“So, how did school go?” Sean had the audacity to ask with a smile on his face.

Wow. He’s braver than I thought.
“Don’t even talk to me.” I glared as I moved past him to collect some oats for Buttercup’s stall. She was in the field, enjoying the sunshine with a couple of other horses.

“Come on, you gotta give me details! I’ve been trippin’ ever since Mrs. Crawford said Harrison and Julia were going to school today. Did you meet him? Did you meet Harrison?”

“You know, for a really smart guy, you ask some pretty dumb questions.” The last thing I wanted to do was stand there and talk about Harrison Crawford. “Why don’t you ask Lauren or Alexis?”

“Ah-ha! So you did meet him! I knew you would.”

“Fine. I met him. End of story.” I poured the last of the scoop of oats into Princess Buttercup’s trough. Then I grabbed a rake and started to muck out the stall.

“So? I told you that you’d like him, didn’t I?”

“You do realize that it’s slightly disturbing to find you so interested in matchmaking, right? Seriously. Do me a favor and don’t quit your day job.”

“I knew it! I knew it!” Sean crowed. “So, do you think he likes you?”

I debated hitting him over the head with the rake. “Are you kidding me? No. Okay?”

“No what? No, you don’t think he likes you? Because I’m sure that he—”

“He doesn’t!” All at once I flipped out. “He hates me, okay? As in totally
despises
me—which, for your information, he was only too happy to inform me about on my way to science.” I jerked the rake through the dirty hay with strong, agitated strokes.

“What? What are you talking about? Why would he—?”

“Because, thanks to
someone
—” I stopped and looked pointedly at him “—who announced to his sisters that I was gonna—I don’t know, whatever it is you said—they thought it was important enough to tell the whole school!” In frustration, I threw the rake against the wall.

“Wait. Are you saying Alexis and Lauren have something to do with—?”

“With my new nickname, ‘Lilly Crawford’. Yeah. I am.”

“Lilly Craw—?”

“Too bad Harrison didn’t think it was as funny as the rest the school did, or I could’ve already been asked on a date, huh?” I whipped around and marched out of the stall. I decided to clean the mess up later. Right then, I wanted to be as far away from Sean as I could get.

“Lilly, wait! What happened?”

I burst out of the stable and looked around frantically for something to do. After I spotted some dirty buckets, I set to work cleaning them out with the garden hose nearby.
Just leave me alone
. Sean didn’t get the hint.

“Come on. It couldn’t have been that bad. Maybe he was kidding.”

I turned the water up higher and blasted the bucket. Water spewed all over the place. Sean had to jump back a couple of feet so he wouldn’t get wet. “He was serious, I promise.” I set one bucket upside down to dry and collected another one. “And just for the record, I don’t think he’s cute. I don’t like him. And if he ever asked me on a date—” I turned toward Sean with the hose still in my hand—“I’d drown him.”

“Whoa.” He jumped away from me with his hands in the air. The water from the hose missed his feet by inches. All I had to do was turn the nozzle and he’d be a goner. We both knew it.

I edged slowly toward Sean. He mirrored my steps exactly, moving back. “Lilly, easy. Lilly.” He spoke to me like he would a spooked filly. “No reason to get all hostile now.”

“No reason?” I grinned. Sean freaked and jumped back—he knew that grin. “Really? Are you sure?” I took two more steps forward. He took two steps away from me. “Let’s recap my day, shall we?”

Sean darted a nervous glance toward the house. I knew he was gauging to see if he could make it in time. We both knew he couldn’t.

“First, I get told I was going to date my new neighbor whether I liked it or not. Then I find out you’ve opened your big mouth to your sisters—as if
that
wasn’t going to produce consequences!”

“Yeah, but you’re forgetting the cupcake and—and Princess Buttercup!” He smiled like he had won the upper hand.

“And then I go to school and get humiliated by not only all of Bloomfield High’s student body, but by Harrison Crawford, when he kindly warned me to keep my fantasies to myself!”

“Yeah, but Lilly, honestly, you can’t blame that on me, can you? Think of it this way—I did you a favor.”

A favor? A favor?
That did it. Sean got soaked.

Chapter Four: Lesson Learned

In case I ever thought I needed a guy in my life, I was going to use the past twenty-four hours as the memory that came back to knock some sense into me. Guys are stupid. Check. Guys are disappointing, to say the least. Check. Guys are the most aggravating things on the planet. Check.

Mental note and evaluation complete.

At school the next day, I tried really hard not to let it get to me, but it did. Not only was I still being called Lilly Crawford, but apparently now my husband was cheating on me.
Right. Like, can we say “mature,” anyone? Grr . . . How can we be in high school and still act like we’re fifth graders?

So there it was. Harrison Crawford, after one day of marriage, had become so unbelievably bored that he decided to cheat on me. Ready for the good part?

With my sister.

Yep. The lucky girl chosen to be Harrison’s girlfriend and dispel any juvenile rumors was Lauren. It was so ironic that I totally could’ve died laughing—except it wasn’t funny.

And the rumors only got worse.

They were horrible, actually. I’m not someone who uses that word lightly—or even harps on it much. But they were. And if I
were
one of those people who actually cried at things like movies and stuff, I would’ve lost it. But I wasn’t. That orphanage cured me of those tendencies real fast.

So, anyway, it was good that it had happened to me, right? I mean, had Bloomfield High chosen someone else to be their verbal punching bag, it would’ve been much worse for them, especially if they weren’t prepared for such an attack. In a way, it made it easier to deal with, knowing that if it wasn’t me, they’d find someone else to torment—someone who really cared what they thought.

“Lilly? Lilly Price?”

“Uh . . . yes?” I quickly sat up in my desk and turned away from the window, where I had been daydreaming during world history.

“Can you please tell us your opinion?” Mrs. Cheswick asked.

“Uh . . . m—my opinion?” I hedged as I glanced around the snickering class.

“Yes. Your opinion, Miss Price. You seemed very contemplative just then, so I’m sure you would like to share your views with us.”

More snorts. I quickly looked down at my open book. I wasn’t even sure it was open to the right page. I noticed there was a small ripped piece of paper with
WWII
written on it resting on top of the book.
Who gave me this?

“Uh, my opinion on World War II?” I asked.

“Yes, Lilly. What is it?”

Whew!
“Uh, I believe that while it was a tragedy, America needed to get involved. If we didn’t, many more lives would be lost at the hands of evil dictators. I’m grateful for the sacrifice our great-grandfathers made to help regain peace in the world again.”

“Hmph,” Mrs. Cheswick responded. “Very good.” She turned from me and called out another name to ask their opinion.

I glanced around to see who’d helped me out so I could thank them. No one even looked my way except Julia Crawford as she bent down to pick up her pencil. Her seat was to the right of me and up one.
It couldn’t have been her, could it?

I waited until she glimpsed back again and then I waved my hand slightly to get her attention. When I had it, I pointed to the note on my desk and raised my eyebrows. She nodded and then quickly turned around as Mrs. Cheswick looked in our direction.

I flipped the page in my book and hid the note while trying to catch up to the class.