Page 15 of Something Tangled Something True
I arch a brow at him. “It isn’t?”
“Nope,” he says, popping thep. “I came to invite you to the county fair with me tonight. I have to judge the annual chili contest.” He groans.
Gross.Sounds gassy.
“And I thought you might have fun. Call it your first major outing since being home. Plus, Mayte and Isabela could come.”Home.
I guess thisismy home again. Who am I kidding? Rosa Ranch is the only place I haveevertruly felt at home.
“Alright.” I nod. “I guess that sounds like fun.”
Who am I kidding? Ilovethe fair.
Ryder knows that, too, judging by the smirk he gives me. “I’ll pick you up at four, and I’ll drop by Mayte’s to invite her before I work on repairing the fence.”
“Okay, see you tonight,” I say, walking him out. The moment he’s gone, my whole body flutters with nerves.
I haven’t seen most of these people since I was in undergrad, and now, I’m here after years of just dropping by with no intention of sticking around.
But there’s a part of me that’s also excited, and when the voice in the recesses of my mind tries to remind mewhyI’m excited, I squash it, busying myself with cleaning.
My sneakers squished through the mud as we slunk along the perimeter of the property, careful not to be seen.
“Loooola, this is a bad idea,” Mayte whined for the tenth time in fifteen minutes. “They’re grounded, and we’ll be next if we do this.”
I rolled my eyes, waving her off, crouching to run past the kitchen window at the main house, where Bee and Harlan sat at the table, playing a card game.
“Vive un poco, aseré,” I whispered to her as we approached Ezekiel’s bedroom window. I tapped against the glass, waiting for any sign of life, but when he didn’t magically appear, I knocked more aggressively, praying he heard and no one else.
His dark-blue curtains shimmied, a scowling face greeting me as he unlatched the window and lifted the lip. “Lola, in case you couldn’t tell, you came to the wrong window for whatever mess you’re about to get yourself into.”
“Oh, stop being sucha Negative Nelly! You and your brother need to hug it out and make up because I’m tired of you both moping around. And there’ll be no mess because we aren’t going to get caught,” I told him. “Now, get up and get changed while we grab Ryder.”
Zeke grumbled something I couldn’t hear, slamming the window in my face. I pressed my forehead to the glass, peering inside, and when he met my gaze, I mouthed, “Go change!” flicking my hand to shoo him off.
He stomped away, but when he made a pit stop at his closet to grab clothes, I knew he was too intrigued not to comply.
“Lola, you’re gonna have that type-A boy losing his mind when he figures out where we’re going,” Mayte said with a chuckle, as if she wasn't also losing her mind.
“You two need to loosen up. We’re just going to the fair. It’s not a big deal,” I told her as we made our way to the back of the house, where Ryder’s bedroom was located.
I rapped my knuckles against the window, and all too quickly, Ryder was peering out at me, eyes wide, hair a disheveled mess, as he pushed the window open with a screech that had me biting the inside of my cheek.
“Are we doing what I think we are?” he asked with a boyish grin that left me tingling with excitement.
“We absolutely are! Get ready and meet us out here in five,” I told him. Mayte was still groaning behind me about our social lives going down the toilet after being grounded until we’re forty.
It didn’t take long for Ryder to slip out of his window, falling gracefully to his feet before we rounded the house to where Zeke was nervously picking at lint on his burgundy long sleeve.
“Why did you invite him?” Ryder asked with a groan, tipping his head back in frustration.
I rolled my eyes. “Because he’s your brother, and you were arguing over something dumb?—”
“You don’t know what we were arguing about!” Ryder said, cutting me off, but I swatted at him.
“I don’t need to know the details to be absolutely certain it wassomething dumb. Because it is always something stupid with you two. You’re hormonal teenagers, you aren’t that hard to figure out. Now, quit wasting our precious time?—”
“Yeah, because this might be the last moment of freedom we ever have,” Mayte offered unhelpfully.
