Page 50 of Second Chance Savior

Mom was right. I was sixteen, too old to allow some boy to get under my skin.

I tried to focus on scrubbing every stray coffee stain and milk splatter from the countertop. Yet my eyes kept straying to the undeniable presence in the room. His dark hair wasshiny. Buzzed at the sides and back, where the short hairs trailed down his neck.

I imagined running my finger along those hairs, and shivers cascaded through my body.

Which made me think of when we’d been on the archery range. River had been standing behind me, so close I could feel his breaths. Not just the air on my skin, but the movement of his chest and stomach against my back.

I’d let him position my arms. When he’d been touching me, I kept asking myself,What are you doing?I didn’t want River’s advice. Certainly didn’t want him moving me around like his personal doll. But it was like he’d cast some spell over me.

And then, when my hand had slipped and let go of the arrow…

“Are you finished?” River asked.

I jumped, surprised by his voice, and spun around. “Not yet. Just thinking.”

He stood there like he was waiting for me to elaborate, so I said, “We’re supposed to find a way to get along.”

He smirked. “We should. Everyone’s fed up with us.”

“I’m willing if you are.”

“I’ll try anything once.”

“Try being less obnoxious?”

He laughed. “Worth a shot.”

I rinsed out the rag, then sprayed cleaning fluid on the fridge. My sisters had left jammy fingerprints on the handles.

“I’m done with the vacuum,” River said. “Want me to clean the sink?”

I nodded. We went back to work. “So. Your school has archery classes. That’s lucky.”

He glanced over. “It is. When I saw it on the schedule, I thought of you. That’s why I signed up.”

Annoyance flared, along with a deeper kind of heat that Icouldn’t name. “You signed up so you’d be better than me this summer?”

“No. Just…I don’t know. It reminded me of you. And Colorado. No evil ulterior motive.”

“Oh.” The fridge handles were spotless now, but I kept scrubbing them. “Sorry I called it a fancy rich-boy school. That was rude.”

River laughed. “Nah, it’s true. It’s for rich people. And a few who get scholarships. But they’re never completely welcomed, and that’s bullshit to me. I’d much rather be talented and smart than born into the right family.”

“Lucky for you, you got all three.”

Instead of acting arrogant, his expression was conflicted. A frown tugged at his mouth. “Trust me, when it comes to family, you got the luck of the draw. Not me.”

I couldn’t let that pass. “Your dad’s an action movie star. You live in New YorkandLA. Do you know how many people would trade your life for theirs?”

We had never talked openly about River and Ross’s father. My mom had told us not to ask. These summer trips were supposed to be an escape for them. As if their glamorous life could be that bad.

“Having money is preferable to worrying about how you’ll survive,” he said. “I’m well aware of that. But I would take your life here in exchange for the stuffy boarding school, the fake friends, the absentee dad, and the anxiety-ridden mom. Andyes, Charlie, the money. Any day.”

“Oh,” I said again. The height of eloquence.

River set down his cleaning supplies and went into the backyard. I felt kinda like a jerk.

I tossed the rag into the sink and followed him.

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