“You told me the next day that you were feeling bad about something so you were out for a walk. What was going on?”
“Oh.” Jacian seems surprised by the question. “Um. . yeah. No big deal.”
“Come on. What?”
“Well, it’s been kind of hard moving here. I think it was the full moon or something that had me downI’m fine.”
“You’re so tough.” She rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, maybe.”
Kendall shrugs. “Let me guess. You left your girlfriend back in Arizona, you hate the outdoors, miss the city, are forced to spend your last year of high school with a bunch of strangers and to do all kinds of crap work involving animal dung, for a grandfather you barely know. You leave your big city high school soccer team behind for a rinky- dink cowboy half team full of hicks, and then the season gets canceled because one too many players disappear without a trace. How’m I doing?”
Jacian smiles in spite of himself. “You’re pretty much batting a thousand so far.”
“And then you have no chance at a scholarship because you can’t show a scout your amazing moves.”
“True. .”
“You make it sound like there’s more.”
“Well, there’s being accused of kidnapping upon first moving to an all-white town.”
“It’s not all white. Old Mr. Greenwood is pure Blackfeet Tribe, according to Eli. There are others of different races. Travis’s mom is Cambodian.”
“All right, whatever. That part’s over.”
“Plus, nobody thinks you did anything now. They were happy to pin the blame on Nico just as soon as he was unable to speak for himself.”
Jacian is quiet for a moment. The horses lean forward as they ascend a small hill. “I don’t think he did anything.”
“It’s weird, though, right?”
“Yeah. What do you think happened?”
Kendall thinks about the desk. About how strange Nico acted. About how she felt like she was in a trance yesterday when she sat there. About the coincidence of Nico and Tiffany both sitting at that desk, and about how Nico’s car was at school when he disappeared.
“Kendall? You okay?”
Kendall glances at him. “If I tell you something weird, will you think I’m. . like. . weird?”
“Probably.” He smiles to let her know he’s teasing.
“You know Tiffany Quinn, the girl who disappeared in May? Both she and Nico had the same desk.”
Jacian is quiet.
“It’s just a coincidence. I mean, who would even know that except for stupid OCD me.”
“Yeah,” Jacian says slowly. “That is a weird coincidence.” He looks at Kendall, eyebrows furrowed.
Thinking. But he says nothing more.
“You think I’m weird.”
“You are weird. But that’s not a bad thing.”
They travel onward to a huge open field, cattle roaming wild. “Are these some of yours?” Kendall asks.
Jacian rides close to check the brand. “Looks that way.”
“Who gets to round them up when winter hits?”
“My parents. Me. Maybe Marlena if she’s allowed on a quad again soon.”
“Does Hector ride still?”
“Not four-wheelers. But horses? Sure. He’ll never give that up.”
“I haven’t seen him on a horse in a while. How’s his health?”
“He’s just taking it easy. Finally semiretired, now that my parents are here. He spends a lot of time with old Mr. Greenwood.”
Kendall thinks. “He said they’ve been friends since they were teenagers.”
Jacian nods. “They both got sent to the same reform school.”
“What?” Kendall pulls up on her horse. “Are you serious?”
“Totally serious. He told me the other day.”
“Around here?”
“Not far. Just a few miles away. There’s an overgrown gravel driveway if you take the viaduct all the way around north to nowhere. You’d miss it if you didn’t know it was there. When we were out searching for Nico,” he says, “we got near to the back end of the reform school’s property, which is actually a lot closer to the ranch as the crow flies but totally inaccessible. The school got shut down a long time ago.
Abandoned. It’s all completely overgrown now. Grandfather didn’t want to go anywhere near it.”
“Why?”
“He said it was a bad place. He didn’t want to talk about it. Said he’d never go back again. Too many memories.”
“Poor Hector. He’s so nice.”
“Too bad none of it rubbed off on me, huh?” Jacian grins.
Kendall laughs. “That’s pretty much what I used to think about you! You know, you really pissed me off when you told me I was putting the meat in the freezer wrong. I wanted to punch you.”
“I was quite aware of that. However, you have to cut me some slack. I didn’t know about your little. . uh. . special gift back then. You do realize that the way you were stacking them was totally not logical, right?”
“Sure, I know that, but why the hell did you care? Are you some kind of control freak?”
“Maybe a little. Not much anymore. I gave it up.” He laughs bitterly. “It’s clear I have no control over anything these days.”
They are quiet for a while. The trail meanders in front of them, leading to a wide-open space. Jacian clucks his tongue and leans forward. His horse trots, then canters. Kendall flies after him, and they have a good chase for a quarter of an hour to where the woods grow thick.
“That was awesome,” Kendall says. Her cheeks glow. They dismount, and Kendall rummages around, finding the things she packed for lunch. “This day rocks. Thanks for making me go.”
Jacian stretches out on his back on the blanket. He plucks a long wheatlike weed and chews on it.
“Yeah, I really had to twist your arm.”
Kendall plops down beside him. “Oh, stop it. Why do we always have to argue?”
“Because it’s fun?”
Kendall smacks his chest, but this time he is ready. He grabs her arm and holds it tightly to his chest, pulls her toward him. “Don’t.”
Kendall struggles one-armed to sit up, surprise on her face. “Don’t what?” She can feel his body heat through his shirt.
“I think you’re afraid to like me.” Jacian’s dark eyes slice into hers for a long moment before he speaks again. “If you want to touch me, Kendall, then touch me. Don’t hide behind those little girl slaps.”
Her eyes widen, and she stares at him as something stirs in the pit of her gut. Something incredible.
And a little scary. Something she’s never felt before. But all she can say is, “What makes you think I want to touch you? I have a boyfriend. You have a girlfriend.”
“Is that the way it is?”
Kendall swallows hard. “Seems pretty clear that it is.”
Jacian holds her arm a moment longer, a flicker in his eyes and at the corner of his mouth the only indications he heard her. And then he releases her. “Whatever.” He clears his throat and gets to his feet, then pulls apples and some grain from his saddlebag for the horses.
Kendall stares at him from the blanket. Then she shakes her head and opens up her lunch, sorting her fruit salad into sections of the bowl before eating. But she tastes nothing. Her mouth is like sawdust.
