Page 78 of Waking Olivia

Will

“Ibroughtyou an early Christmas present, Mom.”

My mother pokes her head out of the kitchen and a smile breaks across her face that is too wide and too sudden to be fake. “Olivia?” she gasps. “What happened to your trip?”

“My plans changed,” she says hesitantly. “Is that okay?”

My mother pulls her into a big hug. “Okay? Of course it’s okay. It’s better than okay. I’m thrilled.”

Brendan walks out in a T-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms, running a hand through his riotous hair. “Holy crap you people are loud.” He blinks when he sees Olivia and quickly wakes up, looking a little too delighted to find her here. I step in front of her. I’m not sure why.

“Hey, Houdini,” Brendan laughs, “you realize that didn’t make her invisible, right?”

My mother managesto actually get a decent breakfast into Olivia for once, and then suggests I take her climbing.

I shake my head. “I need to take a look at the combine. That engine isn’t going to last us another season with the noise it’s making.”

“I’ll take her,” Brendan says, and something ugly winnows its way up inside me. Yeah, Brendan knows how to climb. I taught him myself. Doesn’t mean I trust him.

“Not a chance,” I reply. “I don’t need my lead runner out for the rest of the season because you didn’t secure something right.”

“The season is over,” Olivia argues.

“Have you actually forgotten you have the Cooper Invitational in two weeks?”

“I haven’t forgotten, but winning the Cooper doesn’t get us back into regionals.”

“It would’ve been great to make regionals,” I reply, “but this race is far more important for you. The Cooper gets national media attention.”

“So it’s settled,” Brendan says to me. “You don’t have time to take her and I do. Have fun playing with your engine.”

Asshole.

Maybe if he’d offer to fix the fucking engine, I’d actuallyhavetime.

54

Olivia

“Idon’t wantto climb,” Brendan announces as soon as we get in his car.

“Then why’d you offer to take me?”

“Just trying to piss Will off. Mission accomplished. Did you see his face?”

I roll my eyes — it’s easy to piss Will off. That had nothing to do with me. “So what are we going to do instead?”

He grins. “Something a hell of a lot more fun than climbing.”

He takes me to a small one-street town about 20 minutes away, where we proceed to drink for the next five hours and then spend another two hours walking around while we try to sober up. It’s dinner time when we get home, and when Dorothy asks us how climbing was we both start to laugh.

“Am I missing something?” asks Will, that muscle in his jaw popping.

“Yeah,” says Brendan, grinning at me. “You’re missing a whole lot of something.”

The next morningI’m up at six to help Dorothy. I don’t have a hard time rising early, since I do it every day, but I do have a hard time rising early in order tocook.

Dorothy hands me a bag of potatoes as I stagger into the kitchen and I look at them blankly. “Um … what do I do with these?”

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