11
Invitations
Monday morning, 9:03 a.m., and Lucas hadn’t yet come down for his coffee. I smiled to myself and scooped a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto my plate. Lucas walked in wearing the bright yellow T-shirt that held my mom’s favorite quote and a pair of jeans, no laptop tucked under his arm.
“If you’re up for breakfast, I made eggs, home fries, and bacon.” I set my plate down on the table.
He grabbed a dish from the cabinet. “Looks good. Could use the fuel.”
“Fuel? What’s the plan?”
He shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth and poured a cup of coffee. “Ben has the day off and we’re heading down a few trails today.”
“Really? No work?”
With breakfast and coffee in hand, he sat down at the table. “I decided to take some time off.”
“Good for you.”
He smiled, his face almost luminous, and shoved in a forkful of potato.
My grandmother yawned as she walked through the door, eyes focused on the coffee machine. “Morning.” She poured and then did a double take when she saw Lucas. She looked at me and gave a silent toast of approval with her mug before retreating to her usual spot in the parlor.
“So, you think I should do something highly irresponsible today?”
I frowned. “You better not do anything stupid on that ATV.”
He laughed. “I don’t mind the idea of rebelling, but I’d like to keep my limbs and life intact.”
“Good.”
He bit into a piece of bacon. “And besides, I wouldn’t do anything on that list without you there.”
I pushed down the warmth that spread through my chest and focused on my eggs. “You probably should be thinking about your prank. You’re only here for another three weeks, and a good prank may take some time to prepare.”
Three weeks. The time constraint hit me right in the gut. I hadn’t even looked online for a house, and none of us had really packed much at all.
“I was thinking of talking my father into giving you more time.” He didn’t look my way.
“He would agree to that?”
“No, but I’ll convince him.”
The heaviness on my shoulders eased up. “That would help us a lot… We’re not quite ready to…”
He looked into my eyes and squeezed my arm. “I know.” He took his hand away, and we both finished up our breakfasts.
The doorbell rang and Lucas hopped up. “That must be Ben.”
He went to grab his empty plate, but I took it from him. “Go and have fun, I’ll clean up.”
“You sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. Go.”
“Wait.” He reached into his wallet and handed me a check.
One thousand dollars? Holy crap!
