Labor of Love Read online

  “Whose idea was it to visit the psychic, anyway?” Jenna asked as we trudged back to our room.

  “I think it was Amber’s.”

  “Talk about a fun idea going bad.”

  “It is a little…eerie, though.”

  “Yeah, but at least I didn’t see the tattoo until after I’d fallen for Tank, so my feelings about him are my own. Do you ever worry that what you feel for Brady is because of the reading? I mean, would you have noticed him if you hadn’t been looking for a red Chiefs cap?”

  “I wasn’t looking for a red Chiefs cap.”

  “Okay, you weren’t looking, but when you saw it—I saw your jaw drop, so I know he caught your attention. Would you have noticed him without the reading?”

  “Yeah, I think I would have.” I sighed. “But I might not have shot up my defenses so fast. Or maybe I would have. I don’t know, Jenna. I just really don’t want a guy in my life right now.”

  “At least you’re not totally avoiding him and flying back home.”

  “That would be a bit extreme, especially since I really do want to be here.”

  Jenna smiled at me. I gave her a weary smile back. To say I was exhausted was an understatement. We’d worked harder and longer today than yesterday. On top of that, dealing with Amber’s hysterics—

  “Dibs on the shower,” I muttered.

  I wanted the shower first, last, and always. It felt so wonderful to get all the grit and grime off. Amber had hit the shower as soon as we’d gotten back to the room. When she’d come out, she’d gone immediately into frantic I’ve-got-to-get-out-of-here mode. And Jenna and I had gone into intervention mode. A lot of good that had done.

  I guess, being alone with her thoughts, Amber hadn’t liked where she and Sean were going.

  I was too tired to think of anything except how great the shower felt. And if Jenna wasn’t a friend, I probably wouldn’t have cared about using up all the hot water.

  The bathroom was steamy by the time I was finished; the mirror fogged. Not that I needed a mirror when I only planned to comb the tangles out my hair. When that was done, I massaged my peach-scented body lotion on my legs, arms, and hands. I’d picked up a few scratches on my arms, even though I’d tried to be careful. But nothing serious.

  I slipped on cotton boxers and a tank. I was ready to fall into bed and fall asleep.

  When I opened the bathroom door, the only light in the room came from the bathroom behind me.

  Jenna rolled off her bed and walked toward me, holding her cell phone out. “Here.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Phone.”

  “I know that. I mean, who is it?”

  “Brady.”

  “You were talking to Brady?”

  “No, I was talking to Tank, but Brady wanted to talk to you when you finally got out of the bathroom. Did you even leave me any hot water?” She took my hand and wrapped my fingers around her phone. “He doesn’t have your phone number. Keep talking until I’m finished with my shower.”

  She closed the door, leaving me in the dark except for the phone’s little bit of indigo glow. I stumbled to the bed, sat down, and stared at the phone for a minute like it was the snake that had slithered out from beneath one of the boards we’d moved that afternoon. Some guy had used a shovel to kill it, and we’d all heard a lecture from Sara about how we should live in harmony with all creatures. The dead snake had upset her. Personally I didn’t have a problem with killing anything that slithered and stuck its tongue out at me.

  And why did I have to talk to Brady until Jenna got out of the bathroom? It wasn’t like she didn’t already have Tank’s number programmed into her phone, so she could call him back. What about I really don’t want to get involved with anyone this summer did she not understand?

  I moved the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

  “Hey.”

  His voice was as sultry as the Louisiana night. I could almost hear the crickets chirping and the bullfrogs croaking in a bayou. Oh, wait. That could have been them outside the dorm window, since quite a bit of water surrounded the Crescent City.

  “You okay?” he asked. “You sound kinda dazed.”

  “Nah, just totally relaxed after a hot shower.”

  Which suddenly seemed like a really personal thing to say to him. Maybe he was thinking the same thing, because he didn’t say anything. It was definitely a conversation stopper.

  “So, uh, Jenna said you wanted to talk to me?”

  “Yeah. I, uh…this is awkward.”

  “What?”

  “Well, Sean said that Amber’s heading home because she has a boyfriend.”

  “How does he know that?”

  “She called him from the airport. Upset. It was strange.”

  I imagined it was. But Amber was my friend. I wasn’t going to call her strange.

  “Well, anyway,” Brady continued, “I just—it’s just that I didn’t even think to ask, but do you have a boyfriend?”

  My heart thudded, because why would he ask unless he was interested? Who was I kidding? He’d kissed me. And we’d hung out a little.

  All I had to do was say yes, and he’d move on. Instead, I heard myself telling him the truth. “No.”

  “Okay.”

  What did that mean? I wished we were talking face to face so I could see what he was thinking.

  The silence stretched out between us. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Okay?” I repeated. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Just okay. Now I know you don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “I don’t,” I responded quickly. I felt like I’d been tricked into revealing something, but I didn’t know what. “I mean why would I care? We’re just here for the summer, working, having a little fun.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay.”

  But I felt like something had shifted, and I wasn’t sure what.

  The door opened. Mist, light, and the scent of strawberry shower gel wafted out.

  “Jenna’s ready to take back her phone,” I said, hating that I sounded so relieved. Hating even more that I wasn’t relieved at all. Should I give him my number? Should I ask for his? Did I even want to continue this conversation?

  “See you tomorrow,” Brady said.

  “Yeah.”

  I held the phone out to Jenna. “Thanks.”

  She took the phone, reached back, and turned out the bathroom light. She was whispering quietly as she crawled into bed.

  I slipped beneath the sheet and blankets. We’d turned the thermostat on the air conditioner way down and now that I didn’t have Brady’s voice to keep me warm, I was feeling the chill of the room.

  Maybe it was because I was sleeping in the bed that Amber had been sleeping in, but I kept thinking about her telling me that I needed to climb back in the saddle. And I kept thinking of climbing in the saddle with Brady.

  Because it was going to be a very long and lonely summer if I didn’t take some action. Now that Amber was gone and Jenna was practically glued to Tank, I was going to be spending a lot of time alone. Unless I wanted to hang out with Ms. Wynder. And I wasn’t sure that was even an option because I’d seen her near the porta-potties laughing with John. And no one laughs near porta-potties, so I had a feeling something was going on there.

  Suddenly I realized that it was really quiet in the room. That I couldn’t hear Jenna whispering anymore. I heard her bed creak as she shifted on it.

  “Dawn?” she whispered.

  “Yeah.”

  “You still awake?”

  I smiled in the dark. “Nah, I’m talking in my sleep.”

  She released a small laugh. “You’re so funny.”

  No, not usually.

  “Listen,” she began, “in the morning I’m going to go have breakfast with Tank at Café Du Monde. Wanna come? It’s one of those places you should eat at once in your life.”