Montana Skies (You, Me and the Kids) (Harlequin Superromance, No 1395) (8 page)

Skylar grabbed her math book out of her locker and shut the door with a snap. “Just remember what I said. What if he'd heard you instead of me?”

“Guess I was stupid to say it out loud.”

“You're not stupid, Carly. Stupid is quitting the Quiz Bowl. Why'd you do that? You said you liked it.”

She shrugged, head down. “Mandy says only geeks are in Quiz Bowl.”

“Mandy also thinks it's okay everybody knows she gives her boyfriend head.”

Carly wrinkled her nose, but didn't comment. She might not know how to pick out the right bra, but she knew about sex. Most things, anyway. And what she didn't know, she was rapidly learning. Soon she'd know all the stuff needed to put her plan into place and show Mandy once and for all.

“Travis
is
really cute. The best-looking guy in school.”

“Who cares? He'll want her to do more soon if she isn't already.”

Carly caught her breath and focused on Skylar's words. “You sound like you…
Have
you?”

The bell rang, announcing third period.

Skylar wouldn't look at her. “See you at lunch.” She walked away, chains clanging together with every step.

Carly stared after her, uncaring that she might be a little late. The teachers wouldn't yell at her. She never got in trouble because she was always on time, always the one they called on when they got tired of hearing the wrong answer and needed the right one.

A few students hurried to class and she watched them, wondering, frowning when she saw Kimmie Boyd pause long enough to kiss Randy Spears.
French kiss.

Was she the only one who
hadn't
messed around with a boy?

Mandy and the other girls she knew were already dating, now Skylar acted like she knew what was what. Who else? Other girls her age went to boy-girl parties. Mandy had even gone to an overnight one once at her cousin's house in Helena, and had come home laughing and bragging about what all she'd done with a boy while her cousin's parents were right upstairs.

She shoved herself off the locker and walked down the hall, her head down. She had to do something.
Soon.
Otherwise she'd never fit in, and with four years of high school ahead of her—well, the thought of it being like the last year gave her the shivers and scared her way more than the thought of having sex.

Getting a guy's attention would take a lot of work. Makeup, hair, clothes. She needed it all. But her birthday was coming up and if that were the
only
thing she asked for, the odds were that she'd get it. Maybe then she could turn herself from boring, plain Caroline into fun and daring
Carly
. That would be so awesome.

She hurried down the hall toward class, a smile on her lips when she envisioned it all in her mind.

Then Mandy would be the one crying because she'd have Travis.

R
ISSA SPENT THE REST
of the day in a fog, torn between anger and depression. Jonas didn't want their daughters hanging around together, and while she could understand why he wouldn't want his precious Caroline with her teenaged Vampira, she'd already imagined the girl bringing Skylar back to her.

She moved into the rental cabin's bathroom and began taking her frustration out on the wheelchair-accessible, roll-in shower, scrubbing until her elbow and shoulder ached. Of all the—

“Must've been some meeting you had with Jonas. What'd she do this time?” Maura asked from behind her.

Rissa jumped, not having heard her cousin enter the bathroom, much less the cabin.

“Sorry. I thought you heard me.”

Laughing weakly, she shook her head and shifted onto her hip, sitting on the floor outside the enclosure. “It's not your fault. My nerves are shot lately. Plus I was too busy imagining what it would be like bashing Sheriff Taggert over the head with the toilet brush.”

“Ouch.”

She gave her cousin a sour look. “Did you ever have one of those days when you wished you'd never gotten out of bed because things just keep getting worse and worse?”

Maura walked over to the toilet and lowered the seat before sitting down. “Spill it. What'd he say?”

“Wait!” Grace called, hurrying into the bathroom. “I just finished my last session.” She laughed softly and sent Rissa a sympathetic look. “You'd just have to repeat it all again.”

Smiling wearily at the two women who had fast become her very best friends, she told them of Jonas's demand. “What am I supposed to do? Skylar finally befriends someone and look what happens.”

“Try not to worry about it too much,” Grace told her. “If the girls are true friends, they won't listen to him.”

“Yeah,” Maura agreed. “They'll talk at school and be fine.”

“Until Jonas finds out.”

Grace frowned. “Maybe he'll come around after he gets tired of listening to Caroline complain about not spending time with Skylar.”

“And if they do talk at school and Skylar drags Caroline into one of her messes?”

“Cross that bridge when you come to it,” Maura declared firmly. “What else can you do? Worrying won't get you anywhere.”

“What I'm wondering is how Skylar took it?” Grace questioned, her expression contemplative. “Did she go ballistic?”

Rissa nodded. “How'd you guess? She ranted and raved, but beneath it all there was something in her face, something that reminded me of how she used to be. She wasn't indifferent, and the news hurt. I could see it.”

“Then maybe this will make Skylar straighten up,” Maura added, her tone cheery but forced. “That way they can hang around together.”

“Maybe.” Rissa got to her knees and turned on the shower to rinse it. “Did Seth or Jake say anything?” She could only imagine how wonderful it must've looked to have the sheriff on the ranch's doorstep at dawn. She paused in what she was doing and caught Maura and Grace exchanging a glance. “What?”

“Nothing.” Grace tilted her head to one side and leaned against the wall behind her. “Really. All they said was that they hoped everything was all right.”

“But?”

Maura was the weaker of the two and couldn't hold her gaze. “I, um, think they might be a bit concerned with the California guests coming, but don't worry,” Maura continued when Rissa groaned, “everything will work out.”

“We'll help you keep an eye on Skylar,” Grace added. “Between the three of us and the guys, she'll be fine.”

Uh-huh. She wasn't so sure. “They have every right to be concerned, you know.” Rissa fought back tears, something she'd done a lot of over the last year where Skylar was concerned. “I shouldn't have come,” she told them thickly. “I should've just rented an apartment and stayed in New York until I found another job. Maybe it would've helped if I wouldn't have packed her up and taken her away from everything familiar.”

“No one should handle something like this alone.”

“Exactly. Rissa, please don't think that. You needed a break from it all, and so does Skylar.” Maura smiled, but it lacked her typical sparkle, and revealed her trepidation and worry. “We're glad you came to visit. You were so frazzled after Larry's death. All the arrangements, the bills, selling the house…I know how badly you want to get back into the air, but you need to get back on your feet first. I'm sure you could've done it on
your own, but it'll happen a lot faster with people around who care about you and love you. You're very welcome here for as long as you want to stay. Right, Grace?”

“Absolutely.” Grace kneeled down onto the floor next to her, her hand on Rissa's shoulder. “Do
not
feel pressured to leave. The cabin is yours for as long as you need it. We love having you here.”

“Actually, Grace and I hoped you might look for a permanent job nearby. Close enough that you could come visit regularly and rely on us when you need help with Skylar.”

She was humbled by their generosity, overwhelmed by their friendship. “I, um, already tried,” she admitted softly, the disappointment she'd felt at not having any luck crowding her already strained emotions. “The Helena airport isn't hiring, and the few guys hangared there aren't willing to let me rent their planes for charters because of the insurance hassles.”

“What if you opened up your own charter business?” Grace suggested. “North Star certainly doesn't have anything like that, and there's definitely a need. The guy coming in from California would probably have welcomed a quicker route than driving from Helena. And we've had several requests for aerial tours since the mobility of our guests is always a problem. Maybe you could focus on them, or take fishermen up to Seth's special spot?”

Rissa heard the excitement in Grace's tone and wished she felt it within herself. “It's a good idea, but I don't have the key piece of equipment needed, and no bank is going to give me a loan with all the debt over my head right now.” She tried to smile, but knew she failed when Grace patted her shoulder again, and
Maura's expression became even more despondent. “Look, the ideas are great, and I appreciate them, but the fact is, I can't hold up financially much longer if we don't get that check and…I promised Skylar we wouldn't stay long, only until we either got the check or I found a job flying.”

“Maybe she'll come around.”

She gave Maura a dubious look. “I doubt it. Believe me, she'll hold me to moving again, and Skylar is definitely a deciding factor even if everything else fell into place. She needs counseling and right now, I do still have some control even if Jonas Taggert doesn't think so. I have to get her help, and the last thing I want to do is antagonize her even more by not keeping my promise.”

 

G
UILT WAS A
pain in the rear, but even though Jonas knew he was right in telling Caroline to stay away from Skylar Mathews, the expression on Rissa's face after he'd made his request had haunted him all day. She'd looked stricken, hurt, her eyes revealing her pain and anger that he'd demand such a thing.

He walked into the kitchen and swore when he saw the pan of spaghetti on the stove top snapping and popping, smoke beginning to curl toward the ceiling. He automatically reached for the handle and swore again when heat blistered his thumb. Belatedly, he grabbed a pot holder and managed to pull the pot from the burner about the same time he heard Caroline's footsteps on the kitchen floor.

“Dad?” She gasped. “Oh,
no!
”

His daughter rushed forward to help, but he waved her back. “I got it.”

“I only left for a minute—”

“This doesn't happen in a minute's time, Caro.”

“But—”

He turned on her, frustration riding him. “We've talked about this. If you're cooking something here alone, you aren't to leave it.
Ever.
Not without turning it off first.”

“I'm sorry!”

“You could've burnt the house down with you in it!”

“I
know!
I guess I got distracted and—”

“By what?” He stuck his throbbing thumb under the faucet and blasted the cold water, glancing at her and seeing her face color. “The computer? You're spending way too much time online. What happened to getting outside and playing?”

“I'm not a little girl anymore, Dad, playing is for kids.”

“Fine. Then why aren't you doing whatever it is young girls do when they get together? Instead of surfing the net, call Mandy or one of the other girls you used to hang out with. Invite them over for popcorn and movies.”

“Mandy's got a date—”

A
date?

“And how come you always told me not to judge people, but you're judging Skylar?” Caroline frowned darkly. “If I invite someone over, I want to invite
her
. She's nice.”

Needing a breather, he shut the water off and opened the freezer instead, reaching inside for an ice cube. The frozen cubes stuck to his wet hand and he wound up with five instead of one, the skin of his palm rapidly going numb and burning from exposure. What a lousy day.

“No way. Believe it or not, I feel bad for asking you to stay away from Skylar, but what I
see
is that she's out of control. Rissa's nice, and maybe Skylar is, too,” he
said reluctantly, “but until she straightens up and stays out of trouble, you are to stay far away from her.” His gaze narrowed. “Does this mean you talked to her at school today after I specifically told you not to?” She didn't answer.
“Caroline?”

“A little!” She clenched her hands into fists and crossed her arms over her chest. “Dad, I can't be rude! I see her in the hall, we have a couple classes together—”

“Seeing her in class and nodding or saying hi is one thing, spending time with her is another. Don't be rude,” he instructed, “but don't seek out her company, either.
I mean it.
I'm only doing what I think is best for you.”

“Even though you're wrong?”

“If Skylar behaves in the next month or so,” he offered, “
maybe
I'll change my mind. Fair enough?” Her glare spoke volumes. “Look, sweetheart…I'm sorry for yelling at you about the spaghetti. Especially since I've burnt way more than my share of our meals.” Jonas forced a smile. “Truce? How 'bout we stop arguing, and you and I figure out what we're doing for dinner?”

His daughter remained silent a long moment then gave him a measured look before stepping close to the stove, her shoulders slumped, her nose wrinkling. “I didn't know spaghetti would do that.”

More than willing to have a quiet hour or two before having to face the world again, Jonas laughed gruffly. “Yeah, well, had you asked, I could've confirmed it without this experiment.” He nudged her arm with his now dripping hand and smiled at her soft giggle when the cold water from the melting ice cubes slid down her arm. “Tell me, what had you in your room instead of watching over our dinner?”

She whirled away and practically danced to the bar jutting out from the wall. “I figured out what I want for my birthday.”

Jonas noticed the teen magazines scattered across the top. “Yeah? What's the verdict? How much is this going to set me back?”

She began stacking them into a neat pile, and unease thickened in his gut. “Caroline?”

“Carly,” she insisted, sliding him a glance over her shoulder. “Caroline is too old-fashioned. I want to be called Carly from now on, remember?”

Jonas groaned inwardly and stared down at the magazine on top of the rest, cringing. A scantily clad blonde stared back. He lifted his hand to indicate the stack, his burn forgotten. “What are all those for?”

“Me.”

He raised an eyebrow and waited, his insides twisted into knots. His daughter's chin lifted, a sure sign of battle.

“For my birthday I want a…a makeover.”

Jonas fought the urge to sit down. “A
what?
”

Her eyes widened in a you-heard-me-and-I-can't-believe-you're-making-me-repeat-myself look of irritation. “A
makeover
. You know, like on TV? A couple new outfits, a new hairstyle and—” she paused long enough to gulp nervously “—makeup.”

He'd started shaking his head before she'd finished the word
hairstyle
. “You don't need makeup. You're beautiful the way you are.”

“And you're my dad and you have to say that.”

“Caroline—”

“Carly!”

Jonas walked to the closest barstool and sat down, his
knees weak. He was a cop, a single dad. What did he know about makeovers?

His gaze caught on the magazine. The blonde stared at the camera with a sultry look that would make any father cringe, her belly button ring sparkling. “Is this because of Skylar? Caro—
Carly,
you can't want to look like her.”

He glared at the belly ring. Skylar had one of those piercings. He'd seen it when he'd pulled her and Mandy Blake apart and Skylar's shirt had ridden up.

A put-out sigh sounded behind him. “Can you imagine me with black hair? Dad, I want this because I'm fourteen—going to
high school
—and I'm tired of looking like a little kid.”

“You are—” Jonas wisely stopped himself short of finishing his statement “—uh…fourteen,” he muttered instead. But since when did fourteen equal twenty-one?

“Please? It's the
only
thing I want for my birthday.”

Jonas turned, seeing the excitement and hope in her eyes, and felt as if he'd been slammed by a Mack truck. He rubbed a hand over his mouth, his jaw, wondering how he was going to survive the next few years if this was his reaction to a birthday request. What about boyfriends? College? Dear Lord, help him…
sex?