“Maybe she thinks we should break up when we go to college and doesn’t want to tell me,” Luke said.
That could be the case. I’d be surprised, though. Beth wasn’t the type to worry about the past or future. That was me, not her. She always seemed to be centered right where she was in the moment. Well, until recently anyway.
“I could be more romantic,” Luke said. “Flowers and stuff.”
“Don’t spend your money on that,” I said. “You have to save for college.”
“Ah, Carlie, always so sweet,” Luke said.
“Carlie’s the salt of the earth,” Cole said.
“Luke, you have big dreams,” I said. “No one should get in the way of that.”
Drew put his boots on the dashboard. “Should we start calling you Dr. Paisley now?”
“If I even get into medical school, it’s years and years until I’m a doctor,” Luke said.
“You’ll get in,” Drew said. “You’re the brains in the family.”
“You could be a brain if you applied yourself,” Luke said.
“School’s boring. I want to do something physical,” Drew said.
Luke turned on the radio. A Willie Nelson song filled the car. We only had one station in Logan County. Enjoyed by all who could deal with the crackling.
“This was the best night,” Cole said in my ear.
I closed my eyes and breathed in the salty scent of his neck. How could a person be this happy?
“Don’t forget Mom wanted us to stop for milk,” Drew said as we passed by the Logan Bend sign, population 4,159.
“Yeah, right. Good thinking,” Luke said.
A few minutes later, Luke turned into the parking lot of our only grocery store. “You guys want to come in?”
We all agreed and tumbled out of the car. I walked on air into the store. How had I never noticed how pretty the fruit displays were? Red apples and pink peaches stacked into triangles. Water sprayed over the vegetables.
Bins of bulk food were lined up against one wall. Drew opened the one with pretzels and helped himself to a few.
“Don’t do that,” Cole said. “They have cameras in here.”
“What are they going to do? Arrest me for stealing one pretzel?” Drew shoved his twin’s shoulder.
“They might,” Cole said.
“Nah, I was born lucky,” Drew said.
We followed Luke back to the milk section. He picked out a gallon of low-fat and we all headed to the front. Mrs. Pierson was at the register.
“Hi, Mrs. Pierson,” Luke said. “Why’re you working the late shift tonight?”
“Filling in for Sheila. She went to see her mother in Peregrine, who’s feeling poorly. Plus, I need the money. Willie broke his arm.”
“Playing T-ball?” Drew asked.
“Yep. I’m afraid he’s not going to be athletic like his dad was,” Mrs. Pierson said. “He takes after me.” Her husband had drowned in the river a few years back. Since then, Mrs. Pierson had struggled to keep her two young sons fed and clothed. My mother often dropped a load of vegetables from her garden off at the Pierson place.
“You know how Dr. Lancaster is. No discounts for the poor or uninsured,” Mrs. Pierson said. “He charged me five hundred dollars. Greedy like the rest of them Lancasters.”
The Lancaster family had been early settlers in Logan County. Legend said they’d come out west in the late 1800s and struck gold. They’d built a mansion above town, nestled into Logan Mountain. Every Labor Day weekend the town celebrated with Lancaster Days. The three Lancaster brothers pretty much ran the town these days. Dr. Robert Lancaster had the only medical practice in town. John Lancaster was the sheriff. Stanley Lancaster owned the newspaper. My dad called it the propaganda piece for the Lancaster family. Rumor had it that the good doctor wanted to run for governor. Their sister, Shelley Lancaster Richards, after divorcing her very wealthy husband and moving back to Logan Bend, had single-handedly built a golf course and clubhouse. She made sure no one under a certain income level could become a member. My dad managed one of the two banks in town. Even so, we couldn’t afford to join. Not that he would have. My mother teasingly called him a socialist when he started ranting about how everyone in Logan Bend should be able to enjoy the golf course. I think my mother secretly wished she could be a member, but she never said a word about it.
Most recently, Shelley’s son, Thom Richards, had moved back to town. He’d been the town football star and had played at the University of Oregon during college. To everyone’s surprise, he’d moved back to Logan Bend and taken a teaching position and now coached the high school team. If his good looks and local football hero legacy weren’t enough to make him the most popular guy in town, he’d also delivered two winning seasons. Mom had remarked that he was the Lancaster who should pursue politics, not the stingy old doctor.
Mrs. Pierson rang us up. “Two dollars and nine cents,” she said.
Luke pulled out a five from his wallet. “Keep the change.”
Before she could protest, Luke swept the milk carton from the counter.
“You kids have a good night. Drive safe.” Mrs. Pierson crossed her arms over her green apron.
“We’re going straight home after we drop my girlfriend, Carlie, at her house,” Cole said.
Mrs. Pierson winked at me. “Well done, Carlie.”
I grinned and waved to her as we exited into the warm summer evening. The breeze brought the scent of river rocks and wildflowers. Luke turned up the radio when Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” started.
Luke started singing along, which prompted both the twins to do the same, followed by me. We sang our hearts out as we headed down Holland Loop Road to my family’s home. The last notes of the song faded as we approached our mailbox. Webster. Beth had painted it with
