Rebel
“What do you think of this dress?”
“Not for you, silly. For me. Do you think Diesel will like me in it?”
“The buttery yellow color washes you out because of your golden skin and pale hair. You need richer shades.”
Jana frowned. “I do?”
“Trust me. Clothes have been my pastime since I was ten.” Rebel zeroed in on a sleeveless red dress with big front buttons down the middle.
She grabbed Jana’s hand and dragged her over.
Instead of going to her favorite mall in Portland, they were in Hortensia.
CJ’s science fair was tonight, so staying close to home saved time and allowed for more shopping.
“This is an outfit for you,” she announced.
Jana looked at the price tag and shook her head. “I couldn’t.”
In the week since the volleyball game, Rebel had convinced herself she overreacted over Jana and Kaia.
Jana wouldn’t betray her like that. Kaia had bought Rebel flowers, begged her to forgive him, and once again swore Rebel was the only girl for him for the rest of his life.
She didn’t care. The sooner he left, the better.
Jana lifted the ugly yellow dress. “This is much cheaper.”
“Don’t you have Diesel’s credit card?”
“I do, but I couldn’t spend a lot on myself…I wouldn’t want him angry with me.”
“Which dress do you prefer?” Rebel had her own shopping to do and she didn’t intend to hold back. “You have to wear it. Fuck me and fuck Diesel. This is about Jana.”
Jana thought for a moment, then nodded to the dress Rebel chose and giggled, her eyes bright.
Rebel smiled. “How about this? You find the clothes you want. Ignore the price, then give me Diesel’s card and I’ll pay. He can’t get mad at you if I’m the one who’s paying.”
“But I would’ve chosen the clothes.”
Nothing had happened this past week except school, and the weekly family dinner. She’d even found out Tio was back in Salt Lake City. She’d spoken to Rule, went to cheer practice with Harley and Mattie, and almost felt normal again.
Rebel wouldn’t allow Jana’s reservations to ruin a shopping day or her excitement to support CJ later tonight, so she’d reveal her backup plan and hopefully ease Jana. “Daddy gave me his card.” She smiled serenely. “I’ll pay for our clothes. Use Diesel’s card for other stuff.”
“Like what?”
She needed to teach Jana to shop. “Uh, hair, bath, and makeup stuff. Jewelry. Nightclothes.”
“That sounds like a lot.”
“Did Diesel give you a spending limit?”
“I don’t want to take advantage of his generosity.”
“You’re…you’re so good, Jana.”
Jana beamed at her. “I love him so much. I can’t wait to be his wife.”
“That’ll happen soon.”
“Diesel wants a Christmas wedding.”
“That’ll be beautiful.”
“That’s what he said. Would you be my maid of honor? It would mean so much to me.”
“I would be honored,” Rebel said softly. “But my dress has to be cute.”
Jana laughed. “You can choose your own dress,” she swore as her phone beeped and she pulled the device out of her pocket. Her eyes lit up. “Uh, I’m hungry.”
“Okay.” Sighing, Rebel hung the dress back on the rack. She wasn’t hungry at all, but this was Jana’s shopping spree. “We can go to the food court.”
“Oh, um, I really want a mani and pedi. I had one the week before I graduated high school. My nails were so pretty. I’ve always wanted another one.”
“We can eat, then finish shopping. Afterwards, we’ll find a nail bar.”
“Or I have a better idea. Diesel gave me cash because I told him I wanted to surprise him with a meal that I cook in the treehouse. To save time, I can run to the grocery store, grab a banana, and then get my nails done while you shop.
That scenario didn’t sit right with Rebel because Jana seemed so anxious to get rid of her. “I-I don’t know.”
“Please, Reb?”
“Why don’t I pay for this dress and then I’ll meet you in the food court? We’ll decide what to do from there.”
“Are you even hungry?”
Rebel shook her head. “No, but Momma and Daddy said for us to stay together.”
“They also said to keep the guards with us and they’re in the food court.”
Jana gave her a quick, tight hug. “You’re not hungry and I will feel terribly guilty for spending Diesel’s money. There’s only one solution. We do our own thing until about 4:45.”
“That means we have to steer clear of Torrin, Huck, Zephyr, and Seven. They’ll want to know why we aren’t together if we run into them separately.”
“I’ll be careful,” Jana promised.
“You want to be on your own today, right?”
“Don’t be angry at me. I’ve gotten so used to my own company. I don’t want to dampen your enjoyment, though.”
“We have to keep in touch,” Rebel told her. “Check in every thirty minutes. If we keep to the schedule, we’ll have enough time to meet in front of the food court, walk in together so the guys can see us, and then wait with them until Diesel picks us up at 5.”
“That’s an awesome plan.”
Rebel pursed her lips. “Do you have enough money to pay for everything in cash?”
“More than enough,” Jana said with a happy laugh.
“Bet. Give me Diesel’s credit card so I can totally run the bill up buying you everything I can think of.”
Jana giggled. “You sound entirely too happy.”
“If only you knew,” Rebel declared. “Send me all your sizes,” she said after Jana handed her Diesel’s Sapphire Preferred Card.
“You have been borrowing a lot of my clothes, but some of my outfits were too short or too small.” Two or three had even been too big because the women’s sizing system was ass.
She nodded to the dress. “That’s the right size? ”
“Yeah.” Jana pulled out her phone. “What’s your number?”
Once Rebel rattled off the digits, she watched as Jana returned the ugly yellow dress to the rack and head to the escalator. Still annoyed at the entire situation, Rebel found a saleswoman. “Can you keep this dress safe for me?”
“Certainly,” the lady said crisply and hung it on the rack behind the counter. “Do you need any assistance?”
Rebel had never needed help to shop, but she wanted to find the perfect clothes for Jana so she’d feel confident. “Actually, I do. I’m shopping for my soon to be, er, sister. In law.”
“What does she need?”
“Everything,” Rebel said brightly. “I’m sure Momma, Lolly, and Aunt Kendall will bring her to all types of places. Maybe, even Mrs. Redding and Brooks, that’s Mrs. Redding’s husband—”
The woman blinked. “Are you referring to Charlotte Redding and Kendall Donovan?”
Rebel nodded, praying she didn’t see Charlotte Redding in the foreseeable future. She didn’t like Rebel and Rebel didn’t like her.
The saleswoman smiled and cocked her head to the side. “Who’s your mother, dear?”
“Megan Caldwell,” Rebel said proudly.
“Oh my. Well, I most certainly can help you. What sizes are we looking for?”
Pulling her phone from her pocket, Rebel opened her messages and scowled when she saw none from Jana.
Reb: Bro, I need all your sizes. Send them to me right quick and I won’t disturb you again.
She waited a couple of minutes, but when she got no answer she turned to the saleslady. “Why don’t we choose the dresses first? Hopefully, by then, Jana will have answered me.”
Since Jana was taller than Rebel, she estimated her height to be at least five nine. She was also rather slender. However, before she purchased jeans and trousers, she wanted to be certain and she was absolutely clueless about Jana’s shoe size.
Reb: Jana, girl, I need your shoe, pants and bra sizes.
No response, so she called her. Strangely, it went straight to voicemail.
“Can I pay for this and then go and find her?” Rebel asked, annoyed.
“Certainly.” The saleswoman sounded almost breathless with anticipation.
Declined flashed across the screen and Rebel snapped her brows together. She’d never had that happen to her before, no matter how many thousands of dollars a tab was. A second try produced the same result.
“Who is Diesel Caldwell?”
“The owner of the card,” Rebel answered.
The woman eyed her with suspicion. “May I see ID?”
“ID?” Rebel squeaked. “My school ID?”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t have it with me,” Rebel said as her phone blasted Diesel’s ringtone. She immediately answered. “Diesel—”
“What the fuck are you and Jana buying?” he blared, loud enough for not only the saleswoman to hear but the entire fucking store. “No, what are you buying?”
“Nothing!” Rebel snapped. “Your stupid card is declining.”
“I have a fucking fraud alert on it for anything over a grand,” he yelled. “Answer my fucking question, Rebel.”
Tired of him screaming in her ear, Rebel slammed the phone on the counter and placed it on speaker, ignoring the manager as he arrived and planted himself next to the saleswoman.
“You gave Jana your card and Daddy gave me his,” she snarled. “Neither one of you gave me a spending limit.”
“Fifteen thousand dollars, Rebel?”
“First purchase. I intend to spend the entire one hundred grand because you, fuckhead, should’ve known better than to send me shopping and took Jana yourself. By the way, I didn’t buy myself one thing. It’s all for Jana.”
“I’ll approve the goddamn charges,” he huffed. “And I expect you to buy clothes for yourself.”
“I have Daddy’s card for that, but I need ID and I left it at home.”
“You have a state-issued ID?”
“I have a school ID.”
He laughed. “You can’t use that with a credit card transaction, sweetheart.”
Rebel widened her eyes. “I can’t?”
“Goddamn, you’re na?ve.”
“I’ve shopped before with my debit card and I’ve never had a problem.”
“I will take the fraud alert off, so you two can pay for whatever, but I’m on my way. I’ll escort you and Jana through the mall and make the purchases. I’ll bring another card just for you.”
“Thanks, but—”
Diesel disconnected. Any other day Rebel would’ve been hopping with anticipation at the idea of a shopping spree. Now, she had to find Jana and bring her back to the store so they wouldn’t be busted.
Otherwise, she was fucked.