“Why don’t you stop by Lily’s room before you head to bed?” she said, saving me. “She’d be happy to loan you a few of her things until we can get into town to get you some new clothes. You two have to be pretty close in size.”
“Really?” I said. “You don’t think she’d mind?”
“I know she wouldn’t.”
Why? Why would a teenage girl not mind another teenage girl who was basically a stranger knocking on her door and asking to borrow some clothes? Oh yeah, because the Walkers were the damn nicest people I’d been around. Something was in the well water out at Willow Springs.
“Okay,” I said with a wave. “I’ll see you in the morning. I mean, I’ll see you at the crack of dawn.” I smiled at Rose as I left the laundry room behind.
“Tomorrow morning. Brand new chance. The first day of whatever life you want to have for yourself.” Rose called after me, “Wake up wisely.”
The first floor was quiet as I headed for the stairs. No sounds other than the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the foyer and the chorus of crickets coming through the cracked open windows. The kitchen lights were turned off, along with most of the other lights, except for one small lamp glowing in the living room window. Rose had told me earlier they always kept that one light glowing to remind them that when the night is at its darkest, there’s always a promise of dawn to come.
Yeah. I wasn’t living with just the nicest family in existence; they were probably descendants of Aristotle.
I still hadn’t met Neil, Rose’s husband, but if Willow Springs kept him as busy as Rose, it wasn’t a big surprise I hadn’t bumped into Jesse’s dad. Especially since all I’d been bumping into was washing machines and dryers.
Before traipsing up the stairs, I took one more look around. He wasn’t here.
Maybe he didn’t live here anymore. He was nineteen after all. Maybe he lived some place else and only worked there. Maybe he stayed back in the bunkhouse with the rest of the ranch hands.
When I realized I was spending way too much time contemplating where Jesse laid his head at night, I gave myself a mental slap and bolted down the hall toward Lily’s room.
The door was halfway open, but I still felt the need to knock.
“Entrez-vous,” was the sing-song reply.
“Hey, Lily,” I greeted, stepping inside her room. It was almost identical to the one I was staying in except the walls were a minty green instead of tan.
“Oh . . . hey, Rowen,” she said, spinning in her desk chair. “I thought you were mom.”
“Am I interrupting you? I can come back later.” I hitched my thumb at the door and stepped toward it. She had a couple books spread over the desk and a pencil behind her ear.
“No, an interruption was exactly what I needed. If I have to conjugate one more French verb, I’m going to go voulez-vous crazy.”
“French verbs?” I wrinkled my nose. “It’s summer break. Why are you doing anything that resembles homework?”
“I’m one of those unfortunate few who goes to school year round,” she said, not sounding the least bit devastated.
“Why?” I’d known the summer school kids—I’d been one of them—and Lily didn’t fit the profile.
“Mom home schools us, so other than Sundays, a week in the winter, and a week in the summer, the Walker kids are in ‘class’ every day. Except for Jesse. He graduated last summer from Willow Springs High.” Lily smiled at me in a girlish way. That, combined with the side braids and makeup-free face, made her seem a few years younger.
“What are you going to do after you graduate?” I asked, obviously not understanding the way it worked out there. Everything seemed a little backward compared to where I came from, yet it also made some sense.
“I want to go to one of the state schools and work on getting my veterinary medicine degree,” she said, her eyes glowing. “Specializing in large animal.”
“I imagine that profession is in high demand out here.” I was impressed. The girl had goals and didn’t look the least bit concerned she wouldn’t achieve them.
She bobbed her head. “Willow Springs alone could keep me employed full-time. I grew up with so many cattle and horses I feel like I’m already halfway to becoming a vet.”
“I bet you are.”
Her smile grew. “How was your day? Do you never want to see another bottle of laundry detergent for the rest of your life?”
“For the rest of this life and my next,” I said. “That’s actually kind of the reason I wanted to talk with you.”
Lily sat up in her seat. “Do you want me to give you a hand tomorrow? I’m sure mom wouldn’t mind once I get my other chores—”
I lifted my hand. “Thank you, but I was actually wondering if I could borrow some clothes? I can’t spend another day in that place.”
Lily hopped out of her chair. “I totally don’t blame you, and of course you can borrow some clothes. What do you need?” She slid her closet door open and swept her arms through its contents.
“Whatever you think I need,” I said, peering inside the closet. “I’m officially in unchartered territory.” I ran my eyes down my body. “Obviously.”
Sorting through a few pairs of jeans, Lily pulled a couple of the newer looking ones off their hangers. “These ought to work,” she said and slid a few T-shirts free. “Here you go. Will these be all right?” She handed me the heap of clothing and waited.