Mansfield Ranch (The Jane Austen Diaries)

  I was gone. I didn’t even bother to say good-bye.

  I had quite a bit of money stashed away from birthdays and report cards and all that sort of stuff. I rarely spent money, especially on myself. But I crammed a couple of twenties in my pocket just in case. I decided to put on my Converse for the trek. They probably wouldn’t have kept my feet as warm as my boots, but they were much easier to walk in.

  After I grabbed my navy blue jacket and stuffed my arms into the sleeves, I escaped. The New Mexico sun was high and bright in the cool, clear morning. It was warmer that day and was expected to get all the way up to the sixties by that afternoon. Right then, though, it was still around forty-five degrees. Just a bit too cold. I pulled my black gloves and knit hat out of the pocket of my jacket and put them on. I could feel a difference immediately.

  Resigned to get into a better mood, I walked down the long drive toward the road. Once I stepped onto the large dirt shoulder along the highway that led to Bloomfield, I began to feel better, the roar of cars drowning out any miserable thoughts I’d had.

  I was about halfway to town when I heard crunching tires behind me. I didn’t even think to turn around until I heard,

  “Lilly! Wait up.”

  Surprised, I twisted to look behind me, and then instantly wished I hadn’t.

  Ugh.

  It was Harrison Crawford.

  Chapter Seven: Wasted Breath

  So much for my good mood.

  I flipped back around and started walking faster. Harrison didn’t get the hint.

  “Come on.” He chuckled as he easily caught up to me. “I came back around after seeing you. I’m here to offer a ride.”

  I didn’t even pause when he pointed to his car behind us. Instead, I stared straight ahead and kept walking.

  “Are you kidding me? You’re gonna keep going when I have a perfectly good set of wheels and I’m willing to take you wherever you want? Wherever. Name it, I’ll take you there.”

  One, two, three, four . . . I took a deep breath and silently walked on.

  Harrison threw his hands in the air and scoffed. “Fine. Be that way. Walk then, Lilly Price.” He stopped.

  I kept walking. I knew he thought I was being stupid. I didn’t care. At that moment, I couldn’t have cared less what anyone thought of me. I walked by myself in silence for a good twenty seconds. I thought for sure Harrison had given up, but he was made of sterner stuff than I had given him credit for.

  “Why are you walking? Will you answer me that much?”

  His question surprised me so much that I looked over at him. His eyes were full of victory. Ugh. I looked away and began to jog.

  “You’re actually running from me now?” He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. His steps were quick to match mine. “Isn’t that a little childish, even for you?”

  I rolled my eyes. Just go away and leave me alone. He didn’t. Instead, I felt his hand reach out and grab my arm, tugging me to a stop. He has no idea who he’s messing with. My left hand instinctively curled into a fist and then I released it just as fast. Calm down. You’ll lose Princess Buttercup—don’t let him win. He’s not worth it.

  Exasperated, I looked up at Harrison and raised an eyebrow. What?

  “Look, just answer me one question and I promise I’ll go away.”

  My gaze didn’t waver from his eyes. Talk.

  “Are you walking because of me?”

  I thought of my truck that had come out of the shop last week and now had a “for sale” sign on it. Glancing away, I looked blindly toward the road and the blur of cars as they whizzed past. I clamped my lips and rubbed them briefly together before I let out a sigh and said, “No.”

  Harrison inhaled next to me like I had slapped him. “I’m sorry.”

  Startled, my eyes whipped back to lock with his again.

  “What? Don’t you think I ever have remorse? I do from time to time. I mean, it’s brief, I’m sure, but it’s there. And I’m sorry.”

  “F—for what?” Did I just ask him that? Why did I ask him that?

  “For what?” He tossed his head back and laughed right up at the sun. “She asks, ‘For what?’” he shouted to the sky before bringing those hazel eyes back to mine. “For ruining your life.”

  Oh, that. I turned to start walking again. He still had hold of my elbow. I stopped.

  He continued, “Wait. For making you the butt of every joke at school. For getting you in trouble at home. For making you lose your truck—all because I egged you on.”

  He knew this whole time? My eyes met his.

  “And for not seeing who you really are.”

  For not—? Flustered, I glanced down at his shirt.

  “Until now.”

  What? My gaze flew to his. What’s that supposed to mean?

  He grinned and shook his head slightly, but didn’t break eye contact. “Are you surprised, Lilly Price? Why would you be surprised that I’m upset for not noticing you until now? Do you think you’re beneath noticing?” His thumb caught my jaw before I could look away. His other hand was quick to hold my face, locked with his glittering gaze.

  I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. I had no idea why, but I was in way over my head.

  Harrison knew it, too. His grin deepened as he leaned closer to me. When our eyes were about six inches apart, he smugly whispered, “I’m going to make you fall so in love with me, Lilly Price, that you won’t know what to do with yourself. You think you hate me, but I promise, there’s nothing in this world I love more than a challenge. Congratulations, Lilly. Oh! And let the games begin.”

  With that, he bent down and kissed me swiftly on the lips—just as I let out a gasp of horror.

  I shoved with all my might. Harrison flew back a few steps and began to laugh. “Oh, yeah. This is gonna be a lot more fun than I could even imagine.”

  “Are you kidding me? You planned this? You’ve imagined this?” I was ticked. I was more than ticked—I was ready to murder him. “Where did that come from? Seriously, are you such a moron that you can’t keep the same opinion longer than a week?”

  “It’s been three weeks, and that’s plenty of time to see that I was wrong. You know, change my mind.”

  I shook my head. I totally felt like I was talking to the biggest dork on the planet. “Change your mind about what?”

  “You, of course.” He grinned like he was announcing the simplest fact.

  “Me? But you don’t even like me!” I was as close to yelling as I could get without losing it. “You like my flippin’ sisters! I’m safe! I’m the boring, stupid one, remember?”

  “Oh, you’re not safe. You’ll like me in the end, I promise. Every girl does.”

  “Every girl does what?” My hand was clenched again, ready to deck him if he moved any closer.

  “Falls for me. It’s inevitable. So you might as well enjoy the game while it lasts.”

  Urgh! Are you for real? Honestly? Do you have any idea what’s coming out of your mouth? “The only thing I’d enjoy right now is your funeral, so don’t tempt me.”

  Harrison laughed again and then gave a little salute. “Suit yourself,” he called as he jogged backwards away from me. “Just remember, the games have begun.”

  Loser! Moron! Jerk! King of the dorks! King? Yeah, right. That’s giving him way too much glory. He’s more like the nerd of the dorks. The reject the dorks pick on.

  Harrison had the audacity to honk as he drove past me. I wanted to smack that smug smile off his pretty face. Grr.

  ***

  “Knock, knock. Can I come in?”

  I smiled when I heard Sean’s voice outside my bedroom door and then frowned when I remembered I was still mad at him. What time is it? Almost nine. When I came back from Bloomfield, I had found Princess Buttercup in her stall all happy and settled from her ride, but she was tired. She’d gone quite a ways today. So much so, I figured I’d better give her a break and ride her in the morning.

&nbsp
; When I’d gone looking for Sean, I heard he took Julia out on a date. So after dinner and listening to my sisters list Harrison’s amazing qualities for the tenth time that night, I decided to escape and read a book. It was their turn to do the dishes anyway.

  It looked like Harrison was still seeing Lauren, and she was really beginning to notice the attention he was giving Alexis. Never mind that Alexis’s boyfriend, Trent, was one of the dumb football types—all hunk and no brains—I still considered him pretty decent, considering that he probably cheated in school to pass his tests. He was always nice to Alexis. It was kind of annoying, actually, that she’d blow her relationship with Trent just so she could flirt with Harrison. Harrison? Ugh! Just thinking about him made me want to hurl.

  “Hello? Lilly? Are you really that mad at me?”

  What? “Oh! Sorry, Sean. Come in.” I set my book on the nightstand and straightened up on the bed. I hadn’t changed into my PJ’s yet, so I was still on top of the comforter when he cautiously peeked around the door. I remembered to frown again, just in time.

  “You’re sure it’s safe?”

  My frown stayed in place, even though it was hard with him looking so adorable. Instead, I ignored the question and asked, “How was the date?”

  “With Julia?” He walked in and headed toward my desk chair. “It was awesome! I took her to Farmington, and we—” He stopped midsentence and pulled out the chair. As he sat on it, he changed the subject. “Actually, I came to apologize for taking Princess Buttercup before you got a chance to ride her. Julia wanted me to make sure you knew that she’s sorry too.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.

  “It’s just that she only had a few hours she could be out and then she was supposed to help her mom paint some walls. And then, that didn’t even matter because we just got carried away and lost track of the time. Before we knew it, we’d ridden around forever. Anyway, we’re really, really sorry. I know you love to ride, and I know I didn’t ask first, so I have come to beg forgiveness.”

  I stared at him a moment and then quietly said, “That hurt, Sean. Actually hurt.”

  “I’m sorry. Were you really mad?”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah, I was.”

  He heaved a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, Lilly, really. It was my fault. I hope you don’t blame Julia. There was so much more of Mansfield Ranch I wanted to show her, and around the outskirts of Bloomfield. She’s picked up riding so fast—well, anyway, it’s not an excuse.” He heaved another sigh, placed his elbows on his knees, and looked me straight in the eye. “I promise, it’ll never happen again.”

  I smirked. “Yep, I’m sure you believe yourself right now too.”

  “Hey! You know my promises are good!” Sean chuckled and stood up to flip the chair around so he could lean his elbows on the high back. “Tell me—when have I not kept my word?”

  Today. “Never. You’ve always done everything you’ve ever said you would.” I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. “So what happened with you? Are you gonna tell me? What did you guys do?”

  I knew I was supposed to ask him. So I did. We were best friends—as close as two best friends could ever get. It was just that all at once, I found myself not really wanting to know.

  “No, wait. First you’re gonna tell me what happened with you today since you couldn’t ride—no thanks to my stupidity. What happened? Did you stay home and read all day?”

  “No. I went to Bloomfield.”

  “What? How?”

  “I walked.” I gritted my teeth in a tight smile as I remembered Harrison.

  Sean freaked out. “Are you kidding? You walked the whole way to Bloomfield? Why?”

  “Because I can’t drive the truck anymore.”

  “Yes, I know that, but why would you go to Bloomfield in the first place?”

  “Because I wanted out of the house, all right? It’s not like it’s twenty miles or something—lay off. It was no big deal, really. And it definitely wouldn’t have been any big deal if—” What in the heck am I saying? Dang!

  “If?” Sean was quick to catch my blunder.

  “Uh, if . . . uh, it hadn’t been so cold.” I smiled.

  “Good try.” He chuckled. “Now spill. What happened?”

  I shook my head and fiddled with the afghan. “It’s nothing, really. Just Harrison stopped and offered me a ride.”

  I thought Sean was gonna fall off the chair. “Are you kidding me? Harrison Crawford stopped and offered Lilly Price a ride?”

  “I know. Crazy, huh?”

  “‘Insane’ is more the word I would use.”

  “Tell me about it. I don’t think anything worse could happen to me after that, you know what I mean?”

  “What? Are you kidding? This is great! Man, this is the best news I’ve heard all day.” I could’ve cheerfully smothered his smile. “Do you know what this means?” he continued.

  “That Harrison has an even bigger head than I realized?”

  “Nope.” Sean beamed like he’d just won the lottery. “You’re gonna get that date after all!”

  Chapter Eight: Dream On

  “Sean Edmund Benally, are you for real?” I nearly hollered. It had been a trying day—I think I’d finally hit my snapping point. “Let’s get one thing clear right here and right now. I will never, ever go on a date with that inflated jerk. You got that?” I walked right up to his chair and leaned over. “Do you need that tattooed on your forehead so you don’t forget? Because I’m sure I can find someone who’ll do it for me.”

  He grinned. “So I take it Harrison still bugs you.”

  “ARGH! Why are you such a dork, seriously? Sometimes I wonder if I was meant to have you in my life as some sort of trial or something.” In a moment of desperation, I knelt down on the floor and planted my hands on his knee. “Please, please, please, do not try to set me and Harrison up, okay? Please.”

  That new tactic seemed to break through whatever mental block Sean appeared to have. He looked down at me and really searched my eyes before he asked, “Are you sure?”

  Duh. “Yes!”

  ***

  “Lilly? Lilly Price? Are you listening to me?”

  As the voiced ebbed into my subconscious, it took about half a second for it to register that Mr. Simmons had been calling on me. Dang!

  “I’m sorry, what?” I asked, knowing full well I was going to hear the snickers from the other students around me before they began.

  It was my worst fault. I could never pay attention during social studies. I tried, but it was too late in the day. As the last class, it already made me drowsy, but when you added Mr. Simmons’ monotone voice, it could be classified as some sort of ancient medieval torture method. Seriously, how do they expect us to learn in such an environment?

  “You weren’t paying attention, Lilly, again.” Mr. Simmons gave me a stern look over his glasses. “I asked you specifically to begin reading section twelve out loud. Apparently you think my reading is boring, or you wouldn’t dose off as much as you do in my class. Let’s see if you can do any better.”

  I rubbed my hand over my eyes and then set to work finding section twelve while the room around me roared with laughter. Ha. Ha. After about ten seconds of sheer panic—I couldn’t find anything that said section twelve anywhere—an open book flew from the desk across from me to hover in front of my eyes. Startled, I stared at the large words that announced the appropriate page before I followed the arm that held the book up to a smiling Harrison Crawford. He had moved his desk out of his row and leaned over to share his book.

  Ugh. I rolled my eyes and pushed the book out the way, determined to find it on my own.

  “You’re never going to find section twelve with your English book,” Harrison smirked.

  What? My eyes darted to the top of the page. Sure enough, world literature. Double dang. I must’ve grabbed this one by accident.

  “Lilly, any time you’d like
to read to us would be appreciated. We’re all waiting for you,” Mr. Simmons droned. “Oh, and thank you, Mr. Crawford, for being so generous and sharing your book.”

  The room let out a collective gasp and everyone whipped their heads around to stare at us. Harrison chuckled and placed his book down on top of mine.

  Just as I was about to grudgingly whisper my thanks, he said, “Yes. You owe me. You owe me big time.”

  My eyes glared into his. “Excuse me? I owe you? What in the—?”

  His hand darted out and held the book open just as I was about to slam it shut and beat him over the head with it.

  “Miss Price, really? Will you begin now?”

  “Yes, sir.” I smiled up at Mr. Simmons.

  Annoyingly, Harrison Crawford was thoughtful enough to share the book with me the rest of class. Yep, he leaned right over my shoulder for about twenty minutes. I thought I would gag on his cologne.

  “So, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he had the audacity to ask once the bell rang and the room scrambled to leave.

  I ignored him as I shoved my stuff into my bag.

  Harrison laughed. “Come on. You’re not even gonna give me the third degree or anything?”

  Ugh. Is he for real? Like I care. I threw my bag over my shoulder and pulled my iPod out of my pocket.

  “Aren’t you even the littlest bit surprised to find me in your class? Aren’t you going to ask me what I was doing here? I’ve been expecting that, at least.”

  What? I looked at him like he’d gone nuts. “You mean this isn’t your class?”

  He looked shocked. Like totally shocked. “You didn’t notice I just transferred in here?” He held out a small white paper, like that was supposed to clarify something.

  “Oh. So, this is your first day here?”

  Harrison threw his hands up and shook his head. “You’re killing me, Lilly. I mean it. This is an act, right? Tell me you knew I wasn’t in this class before.”

  I blinked. He so needs to get out more.

  “You didn’t even see me last hour either, did you?”