Page 101 of Rebel Summer

Trent still looked puzzled. “You’re hanging out together? After all that?”

“They became friends.” Trudy beamed at me while I stood in the middle of this ping pong match, not quite sure what to say.

“They already knew each other,” Trent insisted.

“They graduated together but didn’t really know each other,” Trudy said to Trent.

“They were partners in biology,” Trent explained with a laugh. “They knew each other, trust me.”

Dax seemed to shrink slightly.

Trudy leaned forward to tap Dax’s chest. “What? You didn’t tell us that.”

Trent laughed. “She’s the reason he passed the class.”

My body stilled. What?

“No,” Trudy said. “He graduated because Keith told him he had to if he wanted to keep his job.”

Trent snorted. His loud frankness in comparison to his brother was shocking if not, at this very moment, wildly interesting.

“He was always going to have a job with Keith. The guy loved him. We all knew that. Teachers, threats, suspension, bribes… None of that worked on Dax. But…put a pretty girl who can hold her own against him as his lab partner, and it was all over.”

I froze. Dax froze. The rest of the family began talking, moving, their voices muffled in my head. Our eyes locked together, mine in curiosity, his in…defeat? Or something else? My brows raised at him in question as I waited for his response. It was the crinkle of his nose and nearly imperceptible shrug of his shoulders that caused the grin splitting across my face.

Eventually, the burgers were done, and we all sat chatting at the table, munching on chips and potato salad while I watched this sweet family re-group again after Trent’s long absence. Trent was gregarious. Happy and interested in everything going on around him. It was no wonder the fun-loving kid I remembered from student council had gone on to become this person. And his parents were similar. If it wasn’t for the crinkle in Mark’s eyes when he laughed and the mischievous grin he shot his wife on occasion when he teased her, I might have insisted Dax was adopted.

Later that afternoon, the heat had become unbearable enough that we moved our chat and key lime pie into the cozy living room. Dax sat beside me on the couch, our legs next to each other. Yesterday had ended on a note of boundaries, but today, I found myself confused again. The pull of Nashville was always on my mind, but nothing like the force of nature it had been when I first arrived.

Mark slapped his hand on his knee and looked at Dax, “Well, do you mind if we take a look at my golf cart real quick, son?”

“Sure.”

The men stood, and Mark and Trent made their way toward the garage, but Dax turned to me before leaving. “We’ll just be a few minutes. You alright?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “Do you need me to show you how to…crack open that…carburetor real quick?”

His mouth curled upward. “I’ll call you when I need you.”

He and his dad left for the garage, and it was only when I turned back to his mom, who was watching me carefully, that I realized I still had a sloppy grin on my face. I dialed it down to what was hopefully a more friendly vibe for the mother of a guy I was…friends with.

“Your house is beautiful,” I told her, suddenly desperate to fill the silence.

She smiled. “Thank you. Was it the kind of home you expected Dax to grow up in?”

I laughed, somewhat awkwardly, at her piercing truth bomb. “I definitely expected more black paint.”

She smiled good-naturedly but didn’t say anything else. Her gaze was heavy on me, and I fidgeted under her scrutiny while scouring my mind for something else I could chat about with this woman. I wasn’t sure why I wanted her to like me so much, but I did. It turned out, I didn’t have to say anything.

“Whatever it is you’re doing with Dax, please keep doing it.”

My eyes lifted to meet hers. “What?”

“It’s been wonderful watching him today. With you. He’s like a whole different boy.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came. Thankfully, she was just beginning.

Trudy’s eyes were glossy. “We have another son. Mason. Has Dax told you anything?”

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