Summer by Summer (4 page)

The last thing I wanted to do was shake it. But I had to. If the family was called on to pick sides, they’d stick with their son. “Truce,” I echoed and slid my hand into his.
I just wish you weren’t such a jerk.

My thoughts must have been easy to read, because before he drove the rest of the way to the house, I’m pretty sure he answered
them. It was under his breath, but I heard the words. “You never gave me a chance not to be.”

Sandra had a weird look in her eye. She had all morning. I kept catching her staring at me when she thought I wouldn’t notice. Though I was kind of doing the same thing to her. She wore a red silk tank and a short silk skirt that hugged her perfect figure. I glanced over my long dress. Yards of material and an elastic waist. I could weigh three hundred pounds and it would still fit. I’d found a roadside clothing store in town and had purchased a couple more long skirts, but when a cruise ship full of senior citizens swarmed the place, I realized maybe I did dress a bit . . . old. From a distance, Sandra — old enough to be my mom — looked younger than I.

I usually didn’t compare myself to Sandra. She was all elegance and beauty, I was all level-headedness, and I was fine with that. But come on, I was eighteen, almost nineteen. Not seventy-four. Sandra had never made a big deal out of what I wore or how I looked, but this morning something had shifted, and I didn’t like it at all. I felt like a lamb in preparation for shearing.

Sandra came to rest at the small kitchen table where I was drinking orange juice and picking at a bagel. There was a grand table in the formal dining area, but I liked the cozy warmth of the kitchen and the glass table that overlooked the tropical backyard and sea beyond. Sandra hovered over me, and I could practically feel her buzzing with excitement. My gaze trailed up to her and held.

“What are your plans for the morning, since Joshie will be at the golf course with his dad until noon?” There was a look — calculating, sweet, almost saccharine — in her blue eyes. Sandra was scheming. It was good-natured scheming, most likely, but still.

Think fast, Summer. You have plans. Make something up.
“I’m . . .”
But nothing manifested. No words, no ideas. I was helplessly trapped in that blue prison. “I’m not busy,” I blurted.

“Great!” She clasped her hands together, slender arms making an inverted V in front of her. “We’re going to the spa.”

I cringed. Did she mean
we
as in her and me, or was she just letting me know she and Bray would be gone? “Uh.”

“Bray will sleep till noon, and then we can all have lunch together.”

We. Meaning her and me.
Oh dear
.

“I really should write some letters home.” I was scrambling here. I didn’t want to go to a spa. “I promised friends I’d write and I’ve been so busy.”

And that’s when it happened. Her blue eyes paled and her mouth tipped into a sad frown, and I wanted to shoot myself with a whale harpoon for being so insensitive. Sandra had taken me into her home, given me the care of her child, and treated me like family. My face was hot. I needed to get out of this.

“I understand,” she mumbled, blinking those giant sapphire marbles. “It’s just that I don’t normally have a girl to dote on.”

Ach!
Stab me again and get it over with. Seriously, I was lower than slug spit. “Sandra.” I had to think fast. “I would love to go to the spa, but I . . .”

She leaned forward.

I dropped my head in true embarrassed fashion. “I can’t afford it.” I knew she didn’t plan on me paying my own way. She hadn’t let me pay for anything since I’d been here, but to let her think I really didn’t
want
to go would be like stealing milk from a kitten. I wasn’t a horrible person. What could I say? I didn’t want to go because I didn’t fit in?

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, no, no, no. That’s not what I meant. I mean, I wouldn’t expect
you
to pay for your spa services. It’s my treat.” She reached out and plucked my hand. Very BFF style.

I nodded. Tried to share her enthusiasm.

She squeezed my fingers. “It’s just so much fun for me to have a girl around.”

That’s when I saw it. The hope of a woman who could spend a small fortune on a daughter, but never had the chance. I saw it and I watched it slowly slip from her gaze and disappear with each blink of her long lashes. She had boys. Boys and golf and basketball and skinned knees, not girls and dresses and ribbons and flowers. With a long sigh, I conceded myself to today’s job description. For the next few hours I wasn’t Summer Mathers, nanny. I was Summer Mathers, dress-up doll.

Bray

I’d tossed and turned all night with horrible nightmares of an evil librarian. In my dream, she’d slap me every time I spoke. When I stood to leave, she started throwing books at me, and all my friends were laughing because I didn’t know what to do.

When Mom woke me and said she’d be back at noon so we could all have lunch together, through the haze I said, “Is the librarian going?”

She laughed and told me to go back to sleep. Summer Mathers was unlike any girl I’d met. She was mean. But not the kind of mean girl I’d known, those who were constantly trying to one-up their friends. I was starting to think maybe Summer was mean to the bone. Except not to Joshie. They adored each other. The last thing I’d wanted was to call a truce with her, but I had a mission this summer and it was to get my family together. If it was for the last time, so be it. But in the back of my mind I hoped maybe Mom and Dad might reconsider their decision. If they could spend one really amazing summer with me and Joshie and remember how things
used to be, maybe there was some hope. If not, I guessed we’d all have a lot of good memories to hold onto while we navigated the rocky road ahead.

The clock read 12:15. When I heard the door downstairs open and close, I mustered my strength, intent on not letting Summer throw me off my game. She was good at that, and I needed to be at top performance to pull off this whole family thing.

Mom faced me as I came down the stairs, but Summer wasn’t with her. I wanted to ask where the nanny had run off to, but Mom didn’t notice me because her head was tucked into a shopping bag. “Here they are,” she mumbled to a woman with her back to me. Mom was in the zone, holding something to the lady’s ears. Must be earrings. The woman tossed her hair to accommodate the earring selection.

That’s when my gaze drifted over her. The first thing I noticed was that her waist was tiny. Above that, long, full hair was streaked with lines of blond and landed halfway down her back. From behind, she was gorgeous. Her feet were tucked into wedge sandals that highlighted the muscles in her calf. When she bent at the knee to adjust one of the straps, a perfect set of legs tilted. I stopped on the stairs, feeling a little guilty for thinking one of my mom’s friends was so hot, but hey, who could blame me?

I managed to get to the bottom of the stairs when I heard a familiar voice. One that sent a cold chill down my spine. My eyes darted around the room looking for Summer, and that’s when I realized.

My knees went weak and I felt like I might vomit. My fingers closed on the stair railing. The hottie with my mom was Summer.

She turned around.

Her green eyes grew troubled for an instant. It must have occurred to her what was happening because she became all coy and smiled like she meant it. “Hello, Bray.”

I shut my mouth. I don’t know how long it had been open, but it was dry inside.

My mom’s voice came from somewhere. “Don’t be rude, son. Say hello.”

“Hello,” I parroted. Summer pivoted to face me fully and just stood there until my mom took her by the arm and led her to me.

She stopped face-to-face with me and stared up into my eyes with those strange green . . . wait. She didn’t have green eyes. Not like that. They were a soft sea foam shade — like a mermaid might have. “Are you wearing contacts?” I hadn’t really meant to ask that, just think it.

Those green eyes sparkled and seemed to laugh at me. “No.”

My mom brushed her hand over my arm. “Doesn’t Summer have the most unusual eye color? It really pops now with the blond in her hair. Also the makeup.”

It didn’t look like she was wearing much, just a hint of color here and there, and soft glossed lips that looked like they needed to be kissed.
Whoa.
I took a step back, tripping on the stair behind me. That mouth was full of toxin. Poison, and as soon as she opened it to say something, I’d be slapped right back into reality. But she didn’t say anything. She just stood there and let me inspect her.

Mom was buzzing like a downed electric wire, and the intensity started to get to me. Summer pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down. When she did, something shot from my gut outward. It was too hot in the house. No one had turned on the ceiling fans.

“Bray.” My mom used her tone reserved for her children. “Aren’t you going to tell Summer how pretty she looks?”

And that’s when the events of last night rushed into my head. The librarian informing me about how shallow I was, her utter hatred of me, my friends. “You look just like one of the pretty people.” My words were flat. And had the exact effect I’d hoped. Her tiny nostrils flared for an instant, chin tilting back a degree. Satisfaction was sweet.

Soft pink lips hardened into a straight line. She cast a quick glance to my mom, who was busy adjusting the bracelets on her wrist. Then her eyes narrowed on me for an instant, and I had to bite back a smile.

While my mom looked back and forth between the two of us, I offered Summer my arm. “Shall we go to lunch?”

She looked at my limb like it was covered in leprosy. “Love to,” she said, taking it.

Against me, her body was stiff as a board. Mom hummed as she led us out the front door.

We ate at an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the water. Other places were usually crowded with tourists and their endless supply of shopping bags, but this was a local favorite and kept a secret from the brightly dressed island visitors. Summer looked incredible. I found my eyes trailing to her as we ate, wondering how such a pretty girl could be hiding inside such a nasty personality. Whatever. It didn’t matter. I had bigger concerns. “So, Mom, I was thinking maybe we could all take a tour of Xunantunich.”

Mom’s fork stopped in midair. “But you’ve never wanted to go there.”

I shrugged, trying to act interested in my fish tacos. “I know, but we should, right? You’ve wanted me to go with you forever.”

Mom directed her attention to Summer. “Xunantunich is a Mayan ceremonial center. It’s just incredible, Summer. You’ll love it.”

Whoa there. I didn’t mean her. “Mom, I know you’re all into the whole ‘it feels like a spiritual place’ kind of thing, but Summer might appreciate a day off.”

I felt Summer stiffen across the table, probably not wanting to get caught again in a struggle between Mom and me about what was best for her. The party had proven Mom’s inability to tame the teenage clique stereotype.

Mom placed her fork down with intent. “I’m constantly trying to give her a day off, and she constantly refuses. Now that we’re going to do something fun, I wouldn’t hear of her wasting the day alone at home while we’re at Xunantunich.” She placed a hand to her heart. “It’s one of my favorite places of all the Mayan ruins I’ve visited.”

Summer offered a tight smile.

Mom looked at me. “For your information, Summer is a spiritual being herself. Deeply involved in a church youth group back home.”

“What a surprise,” I mumbled.

Summer used a fingertip to angle her hair behind an ear. I hated that I found the motion hot.

“I wouldn’t say deeply involved.” Was that a red stain across her cheeks? Had Summer lied about it or something? I should have just left it alone, but it was too intriguing.

“What
would
you say?” I leaned forward in my seat.

Those strange green eyes met mine across the table. And something, something real and almost . . . painful flashed in them.

She pulled a breath, and I was pretty sure her gaze had gone misty. “I um, used to be.” She offered my mom a nervous smile. “Everything on my résumé was true, I just . . .”