Welcome To Hickville High (Hickville High Series Book 1) (3 page)

Mrs. Quinn answered, “That’s wonderful, dear. Farm fresh eggs!”

“Well, who’s going to pick them?” Kelsey said.

Pick them? Austin bit his lower lip and studied the toe of his boots to keep from laughing. Mr. Quinn answered. “They’re not picked, they’re gathered. And the gather-er would be you and your sisters.”

Austin raised his eyes enough to see the glare Kelsey shot Ryan.

Ryan answered the look. “What?”

“You know what.” Kelsey spat.

Definitely something going on there.

Susan rose from her rocker. “Would you girls like some sweet tea? Or there’s coke in the fridge.”

Kelsey pulled the screen door open. “I’ll get it, thanks.”

The girls headed into the house.

Mrs. Quinn looked at Austin. “They’re having a few adjustment issues.”

A few adjustment issues? Like they’ve just landed on another planet-adjustment issues.
Austin nodded. “It’s got to be a big change from Chicago.”

“You have no idea.” Mr. Quinn took a swig from his beer. The words were barely out of his mouth when yelling could be heard from within the house.

“I’d better go keep them from killing each other.” Mrs. Quinn started to stand but Mr. Quinn stopped her.

“Let them work it out. Besides, if they kill each other we won’t have to deal with their bickering anymore.”

Just then the door ripped open and the girls spilled onto the porch. Kelsey and Ryan’s faces were red, and they were both huffing but neither said a word. Mackenzie looked utterly defeated, as if her whole world had been taken away. She sipped from her Coke and clunked down the steps and toward the backyard.

She’d barely cleared the corner of the house when Kelsey started in on Ryan. “This is all your fault.”

Mr. Quinn stood. “Girls…”

Tears dripped from Ryan’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “I know why we’re here and I know you can’t wait to tell the world either. So why don’t you?”

Kelsey glared at her sister. “Don’t go there, Ryan.”

“Girls…” Mr. Quinn warned again.

Austin looked for an easy escape from the porch and the Quinn sisters’ war but they stood in the way. He leaned against the rail and listened, feeling awkward at being caught in the middle of the family drama.

Ryan brushed her cheeks dry with the palm of her hands and moved to stand inches away from him. “Do you want to know what I did?”

“Not really.”
Christ, why was she dragging him into this?

“Stop it, Ryan,” Kelsey ordered.

Austin shifted left to step around Ryan but she countered and blocked his path. Mr. and Mrs. Quinn both got to their feet. Jack and Susan looked like they felt as uncomfortable as Austin.

Ryan ran her fingers through her spiky hair. “See, it’s my fault. Everything is my fault.”

He shot Kelsey a help me look.

She grabbed his elbow and pulled him away from Ryan. “Ignore her. She’s crazy. Come on, let’s find Mackenzie.”

They headed down the steps and to the back of the house. “So I take it you and your sisters don’t get along.”

“Ryan and I don’t get along. Mackenzie is fine.”

They rounded the corner of the house and saw Mackenzie standing at the edge of a swimming pool staring into the forest green water.

Kelsey joined her sister. “Wow, that’s supposed to be a pool?”

Mackenzie took a sip from her drink. “I can’t believe this is happening to us.”

Kelsey nodded slowly. “Me either.”

Austin felt a little sorry for the girls. Their life had taken a complete one-eighty. Uprooted from the suburban life they knew, torn from their friends to move to a dinky little town in Texas…it had to suck for them. Unfortunately, it was probably going to get a whole lot suckier before it got better.

In Texas, if it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites.

Exhausted, Kelsey stared at the boxes lining the walls of her new room. How was she going to squeeze all of her stuff into her new broom closet of a room? She flipped onto her back and stared at the popcorn texture on the ceiling. It didn’t matter. This was a temporary assignment. One more year of school and she was off to college. Just like Dad, she was going to blow this hellhole. Only she wasn’t coming back.

Her phone played her best friend’s ring tone. “Zoe!”

“Have you made it to Texas yet?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m in the house of shag carpet and teapot wallpaper now.”

“Sounds—vintage.”

“It’s horrible. My room is half the size of my old one. There’s only one bathroom in the whole freaking house. I have to share a bathroom with my parents! There’s a pool, but it’s lime green and smells like puke. And there’s chickens, and horses, and a pig. We have a freaking pig.”

“The horses sound kinda cool.”

“I don’t know. Zoe, if I start taking with an accent, just shoot me. Come down here and do me in.”

“That’s a little drastic, don’t ya think?”

“You haven’t heard these people talk.”

“Speaking of people, have you met anybody yet?”

“There’s a guy named Austin who’s going to work for Dad.”

“Is he cute?”

He has deep blue eyes that seem to be laughing.
“Hmm, he’s not Drew, that’s for sure. I guess. He’s tall, short hair…”
Makes me want to check my makeup…
“He’s a cowboy, boots, jeans—hard body…”

“So he’s a T.H.”

“T.H.?”

“Texas hottie. Facebook code.”

Kelsey laughed. “You know most people figure out your codes.”

“Nobody will know TH unless you tell them. So what’s the town like?”

“Miniscule. And, believe it or not, I haven’t seen much. We ate at The Early Bird Café.”

“That sounds kind of cute.”

“Cute? I guess, for a trailer trash hang out.” It was the kind of place her parents wouldn’t have stepped foot in back in Chicago.

Zoe snorted. “That bad?”

“Yeah, the huge floor fans were the first clue. Oh, and you should have seen our waitress. She could be a model for Trailer Trash Monthly. I already miss Chicago, and normal food, and normal people. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. You’ll be back for the gala though, right?”

“Are you kidding? This year I’m going as Drew Montgomery’s girlfriend. I am not going to miss that.” Her phone beeped. “Speaking of said boyfriend, he just texted me. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to you later.”

She read the text.

Drew: I miss you, babe.

Kelsey: Miss you too.

Drew was biking through Italy with his brother and they’d already been apart for a couple of weeks. He’d text or Facebook when he could, but she missed his voice. Her heart ached for him, for her friends, for her old life. How had her parent’s lost everything? How had they gone from having it all, to having nothing? She didn’t try to stop the tears that slid from the corners of her eyes, or the pain that settled a little deeper in her chest.

Drew:
 
I can’t wait until my lips are on yours.

Kelsey: Me either.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember what his kisses felt like.

Kelsey:  I’m dreaming of your arms around me.

Drew:  I have to go. TTYL.

Kelsey hugged the phone to her chest as if she were somehow holding him. She thought about their last date together. They’d gone to the Adler Planetarium. The exhibit took them on a journey through space. The computer graphics were so amazing she could’ve almost reached out and touched the stars. They’d shared their last long kiss under the artificial night sky, but it was every bit as romantic as if he’d taken her to the heavens for real. She played that night over in her mind until she drifted to sleep still cradling the phone.

*

She awoke to Mackenzie rustling around in the hall. The first rays of the morning filtered through the blinds. From her bed, Kelsey saw Mackenzie slip into the bathroom wearing shorts and a tank top. The girl got up way too early to be normal. Even after a late night of unpacking boxes, she would go for a run.

Not Kelsey. She pulled the duvet over her head and settled back into sleep.

Until Dad stomped down the hall yelling like he was jacked up on way too much caffeine. “Get up girls, rise and shine. Chores today.”

The clock on her bedside table glowed six AM. “Is he serious?,” she said into the air before nestling deeper into the covers. She’d just about returned to slumber land when the blankets were ripped off her head followed by the clatter of blinds being tugged open. She squinted against the light invading her room. A figure crossed in front of the window and stood over her.

“Go away, Ryan!” Kelsey yelled.

“We have to get up.”

Kelsey sat up. “It’s six in the morning!”

“Come on. We’re supposed to learn how to gather eggs.”

“How could you already be dressed?”

“Cuz Dad got to me first. Come on, Austin’s already here and he brought a friend.”

Kelsey groaned and crawled out of bed. God. Visitors. Not only did she have to get up early, she had to look decent. She dug through clothes piled in her open suitcase and considered a pair of khaki walking shorts, but remembering the charging chickens of yesterday tossed them aside for jeans. She layered two paper-thin tank tops and after twenty minutes comprised of face washing, teeth brushing and makeup applying, felt ready to face her first full day in Hickville.

She trudged down the stairs to the kitchen for a cup of coffee or as she called it, liquid heaven. She poured a mug of the black gold and headed toward laughter on the front porch.

As she pushed through the screen, Uncle Jack tipped his coffee toward her. “Well look who finally got up. I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

She yawned. “It’s like six-thirty on a Saturday morning.”

Dad winked. “We decided to let you sleep late since it’s your first day.”

“I am not a morning person.” Kelsey nestled in the glider.

Uncle Jack pushed out of his chair. “You’ll learn.”

Austin sat in the wicker rocker cradling a mug between his hands. He raised it to his mouth and Kelsey noticed how full his lips were. He peaked over the rim with those navy eyes and nailed her staring at him. She managed not to jerk her gaze away as if she were embarrassed—that would make her look guilty. Instead, she allowed the corners of her mouth to turn up ever so slightly and casually shifted her gaze to the guy who stood across from Austin. He was about six feet tall and had sandy blond hair that hung almost to his shoulders giving him a kind of rugged look. His build was skinnier than Austin’s, but she guessed he was as solid. He nodded toward her and said, “Hey. I’m Travis.”

“Hi.” Kelsey nodded.

Uncle Jack set his mug on the coffee table. “I’d better get to the feed store. The boys will do a good job for you, Tom.” He stepped off the porch and turned back. “I’m supposed to remind you that Susan’s expecting to see y’all for supper tonight.”

“We’ll be there,” Dad said. “I’ll come to the store when things get settled around here.”

“Mighty fine. We can transfer the truck title this afternoon.”

Kelsey felt her heart beat a little faster. “Truck title?” Surly he didn’t mean the heap parked in front of the house.

“I bought Jack’s Ford.” He nodded toward the faded green pickup with the dent in the side. “It’ll be a great farm truck. You can use it to cart your sisters around.”

Perfect. What else would go with a run down farmhouse? The hoopdie parked in front was like an exclamation point to the decline of the Quinn family’s social status. They’d sold her A-4 without warning and now this? “My friends are never to hear about this.” She was serious, but her dad and uncle burst out laughing. She was sure she heard Austin and Travis chuckle too, but when she turned to look at them, they dropped their gazes to the porch floor and got quiet.

The screen door squeaked open and Mackenzie emerged drenched in sweat, sipping on a glass of ice water.

Kelsey’s demeanor softened toward her sister. “Hey Kenzie. Where did you come from?”

“I came in through the back door.” She edged toward her parents as if she were trying to gain distance from the strangers on the porch. “Mom, can I shower before I help?”

Mackenzie looked like she’d just as soon disappear than have to face talking to people—especially the two Texas boys occupying the porch.

“Honey, you’re just going to get dirty doing chores,” Mom answered.

Kelsey went into protective mode around her youngest sister. Outside the gym, Mackenzie was too timid and shy to take up for herself. “Mom, she’s soaking wet, give her a break.”

Mom looked at the soaked tank and shorts she wore and nodded. “Okay, but hurry.”

As soon as Mackenzie got the go-ahead to defer chicken handling, she retreated back to the house.

Kelsey took a sip from her coffee. Did everything have to be such a battle? Her stomach answered with a growl. “So is there anything for breakfast?”

Mom said. “You get the eggs and I’ll scramble them.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Before Mom answered, Austin put his mug on the wicker and glass coffee table and stood. “Come on. It’s not that bad. I’ll help ya.”

Kelsey was about to protest when Ryan jumped up and volunteered for the job.
Perfect—let her do the dirty work.
Pleased with the situation, Kelsey settled in the rocker Austin vacated.

Only before her butt got warm and her coffee turned cold, Dad gave her the look and said, “Go help your sister.”

She slammed her mug down on the table and pretended she hadn’t noticed the coffee splash over the edge. She set her jaw and gave Dad a dagger stare before she turned her back and jogged down steps toward the henhouse. I just have to make it until graduation looped in her brain.

By the time Kelsey caught up with the others, Ryan was in full flirt mode. Kelsey’s stomach tightened as she watch her sister grab Travis’s bicep and cower behind him as they entered the chicken coop. Austin walked on the other side of Ryan and teased her about chicken phobia. Surely even these rednecks could see Ryan wasn’t really afraid. But they played along anyway. What was it about her sister and guys? Why did Ryan seem to need their attention? Couldn’t she see that it made her look desperate and weak? No girl should ever depend on a guy for self-esteem. Whatever. Kelsey just wanted to get the eggs so she could get back to her coffee.

She squeezed through the chicken yard gate, ignored the clucks of the feathered monsters, and walked right up to the hen house. Show no fear. “So what do I do?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Austin’s mouth. “Well, it’s pretty basic. You stick your hand in the nest and take the egg.”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. Be in control. “Is that all there is to it? Then what’s the big deal?” She turned her back and reached toward the first nest.

“There is just one more thing.”

She stopped with her hand in the air and looked over her shoulder at Austin. “What?”

“The eggs will have chicken shit on them.”

Her stomach knotted.
Be strong.
“I can handle it.” She reached in and grabbed for a small oval shape. But the thing she held was rough. She pulled it from the nest and blasted a scream from her lungs. A snake, big and ugly, dangled from her clutches. If she let it go, it would bite her. So she held the thing as far away from her body as possible, danced in place, and squealed. “Get it!”

“It’s not gonna hurt you.” Austin reached for the snake, but she saw it try to curl up toward her arm. Not good. She flailed it around in hopes it would change direction.

“Help me!”

Ryan ran from the chicken yard toward the barn. Chickens spilled out of the open gate. Travis took off after the chickens. Austin continued to try to get the snake, but his arm seemed to be one step behind Kelsey’s.

Kelsey yelled again. “Help me!”

“Drop the snake!”

“No, he’ll bite me.”

“Then hold still.” She did and the snake stretched its body toward her midriff. She gave one last yelp and dropped it—on her tennis shoe. Holding a snake in her hand was one thing; at least she had the illusion of controlling the situation. Having it slither on her feet was a whole new kind of terror.

Her lungs froze as a vision of the snake biting her ankle flashed through her mind. In that moment, time slowed and her world reduced to the snake on her shoe. She focused on the black and brown stripes coiling like a rope. A masculine hand entered her field of vision. And then, the snake struck.

It grabbed his thumb and held on. The action unfroze Kelsey. She let out another blast from her lungs and kicked it off her foot, which might have been okay if it hadn’t ripped the snake’s fangs from the side of Austin’s thumb.

The snake took off across the chicken yard but before it got far, the tip of a shovel pinned it to the ground. The snake wiggled on either side of the spade. Ryan gave the handle a twist digging the tip deeper into the snake. When it quit moving she raised the shovel a couple of feet before she slammed it down on the head and yelled, “Die, you bastard.” Kelsey saw hatred in her sister’s eyes as she slammed the shovel into the serpent a second and third time.

Her attention was drawn back to Austin as he dropped to his knees and held his hand, blood gushing from the bite.

“Oh, God, oh God. I’m sorry.” Kelsey knelt next to Austin and yelled at Travis trying to capture the last wayward chicken. “Travis, go get help!”

Austin sat down with his hand pressed to his chest. Blood ran down his wrist and forearm and soaked into his shirt.

Kelsey put an arm across his back. “Hang on, we’ll get you to an emergency room.”

“I’m okay.”

Not the time to be tough, cowboy. “You got bit by a snake, you’re not okay.”

“It wasn’t poisonous.” He took a deep breath. “Painful, but not poisonous.”

Kelsey’s parents rushed through the gate to Austin’s side. Dad spoke first, “What kind of snake, son?” Kelsey stood and let her parents take over.