Chapter 9
LENNON
T here are a lot of places where I never expected to wake up. I’ve lived in Landry my whole life. Left the state of Kentucky exactly once and never been out of the country.
Waking up in Canada would have been less shocking than realizing I spent the night in Caleb Winters’s bed.
I bolt upright into a sitting position. The room’s mostly dark, despite the fact that the window shades on either side of the bed are wide open. The sun hasn’t risen yet.
The only light comes from the television, which casts a dim blue glow over the bed.
The bed I’m currently in.
With Caleb Winters. Who’s lying next to me, flat on his stomach, fast asleep.
“Caleb,” I hiss. He groans, but doesn’t otherwise react. “Caleb!” This time, I give his shoulder a light shove, and it’s enough to open his blue eyes.
He looks straight at me first, then lets his gaze wander to our surroundings, checking to confirm we’re still in his bedroom. His lazy perusal wanders back to me as he sits up slowly. “This is a surprise,” he admits, running a hand through his hair.
The action ruffles the dark strands into what should be comical disarray, but instead they manage to look perfectly tousled on purpose.
I clear my throat, shifting away so we’re not so close.
“A surprise is rain that wasn’t on the forecast. Waking up in bed with you is more of a traumatic event,” I snap.
Caleb has the audacity to laugh. “We fell asleep watching a movie. Not sure what’s so shocking about that.”
Maybe for him. I’ve heard the gossip at school. I saw him kissing Madison. I see a little of the appeal. But this is in no way, shape, or form a normal occurrence for me.
I slide off the soft comforter and stretch. Conversing with Caleb while on a bed next to him is not conducive to thinking clearly. His hair isn’t the only part of him that looks attractive first thing in the morning.
“I need to get home,” I say, crossing my arms.
Gramps always goes to bed before me, so I’m not worried he’ll have missed me last night. But if he wakes up and I’m missing, that will be difficult to explain. Plus, there’s a long list of chores waiting for me out in the barn.
Caleb rolls off the other side of his bed. “Just give me a minute to change, and then I’ll drive you home.”
He disappears into the adjoining bathroom, leaving me with the tantalizing opportunity to poke around his bedroom unsupervised.
I resist the urge for about thirty seconds before wandering over to his desk.
I run the pads of my fingers along the varnished wood surface as I study the bulletin board mounted above it.
A few photos with his baseball teammates, a copy of his class schedule, a ticket to a baseball game.
I open one of the desk drawers, only to discover it’s filled with nothing but old school notebooks.
I slide it shut and open the next one. It’s filled with letters from colleges.
Recruitment letters. A much-needed reminder of another way in which Caleb and I are completely different.
“Finished snooping?” Caleb’s voice startles me. I knock two books off his desk in my haste to spin around.
Not incriminating at all.
“I was just…sightseeing.”
Caleb’s smirk makes it clear he doesn’t believe me. “If you’re done sightseeing , I’m ready to go.”
He’s changed, I realize, into a pair of jeans and a different sweatshirt than the one he woke up in. He’s also combed his short, dark hair so it lies flat, making me miss the messy bedhead.
I grab my book bag from the spot where I abandoned it last night. To my surprise, Caleb grabs his own as well.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming back here?”
Caleb shrugs. “I’m already up.” He opens his bedroom door and starts walking down the hallway.
I hurry after him.
“What if your parents see us?” I whisper. As embarrassed as I am about waking up next to Caleb, it would be infinitely worse for anyone else to find out. And based on the sneer Mrs. Winters gave me last night, she would be equally displeased.
“My dad’s out of town and my mom won’t be up for hours. As long as I’m not out besmirching the Winters name, they could really care less what I do.”
I don’t have anything to say to that aside from informing Caleb hanging out with me is probably the worst form of name besmirching he could engage in. But I don’t feel like pointing that out.
I’m just as struck by the opulence of the Winters’ mansion on my second trip through it as I was last night. Morning light is creeping in through the windows, bathing the soft shades surrounding us in hints of color.
“I’ve always wondered what these houses look like inside,” I muse as I follow Caleb through another hallway lined with antique side tables and expensive oil paintings.
Caleb studies what I’m guessing is an awestruck expression. “It’s awful,” he offers. “Like living in a museum.”
“Grass is always greener, I guess,” I reply, as I follow him through the soaring foyer and outside, pulling my fleece tighter around my torso to combat the early morning chill.
It takes a few minutes for the water to turn hot in the farmhouse and the radiator pipes clang in the middle of the night.
I bet the heating in this place works perfectly.
“Or bluer, based on our location.” Caleb’s grin is wide, obviously pleased with himself for coming up with that reference to Kentucky’s nickname.
I roll my eyes. “That was lame.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“I’m not,” I lie, quickly wiping any traces of amusement from my face as I climb into his truck.
“You’re a terrible liar,” Caleb informs me as he climbs into the driver’s seat.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I respond as I snap the seatbelt into place from my spot on the passenger side.
“Well, normally you take everything I say as an insult, so I’d call that progress.”
“I don’t take it as an insult. Most of what you say to me is insulting.”
“I think that’s a matter of opinion.”
“Exactly. My opinion.” Caleb opens his mouth to voice what I’m certain will be an argument, so I speak again before he has a chance to. “Can we get going, please? I’ve got a lot to do before school.”
“You have a lot to do at—” Caleb glances at the clock on the dashboard. “5:30 a.m.?”
“Yes.” I sigh, exhausted by the thought of all the tasks waiting for me. “I didn’t make you meet me this early for the last interview just to make you miserable, you know.”
“It was just a bonus?”
I glance over at Caleb’s grinning face as we start rolling down the gravel driveway.
The soaring oaks lining each side of the road block some of the rising sun, but the golden glow still manages to spill inside the car between each branch, bathing the interior of the truck and Caleb’s features in brilliance.
“Maybe,” I admit, turning my gaze to the white fence line we’re whizzing past.
I deliberate on asking Caleb to drop me off at the end of the driveway for the entirety of the short drive. But when he takes the turn, my mouth stays shut.
Matthews Farm looks especially ramshackle after just having come from the immaculate Winters estate.
I fling the truck’s door open as soon as it comes to a stop outside the barn. Impatient whinnies pierce the cool air as I climb out of the warm car, the horses annoyed by my tardiness.
“I’ll see you at school, Caleb,” I say. “Thanks for the ride,” I add before I close the door and then rush toward the house, not giving him a chance to respond.
The farmhouse is still and silent when I slip inside the front door. I let out a sigh of relief. Gramps is one to make his presence known, slamming frypans and clomping around in his heavy boots from the moment he wakes until he passes out on the couch at night.
I sneak up the stairs, carefully avoiding the spots I know will creak. Reaching my bedroom door, I twist the handle and step inside, letting out a long exhale of air when I close the door behind me and drop my backpack on the floor.
There’s no time to savor my successful sneak in.
My first, and likely last. I quickly change into a fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt before pulling my fleece jacket back on.
I yank a brush through my tangles and pull my hair back in a careless attempt at a bun before darting back down the hall to use the bathroom.
Gramps emerges from his bedroom at the same time I exit the restroom, face washed and teeth brushed.
“Morning, Gramps,” I call out as I hurry toward the stairs.
“Where’s the fire, Lennie?” he calls, stomping down the stairs after me.
“I overslept. I haven’t been out to the barn yet,” I yell back as I grab a banana from the kitchen and sprint out the front door. Only to come to a screeching stop on the porch.
Caleb’s black truck is still parked in front of the barn.
I swear under my breath before I start walking again, pausing when I reach the driver’s side of the car. He’s not inside.
Loud stamping and snorts are coming from the barn. I leave Caleb’s empty truck and head into the barn. As soon as the horses see me, the din increases substantially. Hooves clang against wood and excited nickers fill the air.
“Caleb?” I call out, feeling ridiculous. Whenever I’m in the barn, I’m alone.
“What?” his voice replies. I track the sound to the feed room.
“What the hell are you still doing here?” I ask, entering the small space to find Caleb slouched against the table where I normally mix feed and supplements, studying the board that has the turnout schedule written out.
“What did you call it earlier? Oh yeah, I’m sightseeing .” He looks over and smirks.
“Also known as trespassing,” I correct, grabbing two feed pails from the floor. I’m too far behind schedule to waste time arguing with him.
“Interesting how one’s perspective shifts,” Caleb comments. Humor glints in his blue eyes.
I drop the buckets next to him on the table with a little more force than usual. “Fine, I was snooping earlier. Will you please leave now? I’ve got a ton to do, and I—”