Free Chasing McCree by J.C. Isabella Page B

smile on her face, of
all things.
    English was the largest class in my
schedule, almost forty students, and held in the auditorium. I
wouldn’t miss it either. For me school was the kitchen table with
Aunt Millie. She was a retired teacher, and it had been easier for
her to home school me with the other kids from neighboring ranches,
than to get me to a bus stop before sunup.
    I took a seat as far back as the
teacher would allow, pulling out a notebook and pen.
    “ Chase?” I heard her voice
before I saw her. It was soft, a little husky with surprise. I
glanced up to see Briar standing in the aisle. She looked as pretty
as ever, blonde curls piled on the top of her head, spilling out of
a knot.
    “ Hey, I didn’t think I’d be
seeing you here.”
    “ Surprise.” Her cheeks went
pink.
    “ What are you
doing?”
    “ Since we’re not doing much
of anything the last week before break, our teachers decided to
combine classes.” She pointed to the front of the room where two
older men were hooking up a TV for a movie on proper preparation
for exams.
    I’d pass and that’s all I cared to
do.
    I paused, wondering why it was
beginning to feel awkward. Then I looked up and realized half the
class was staring. “This is different.”
    “ Tell me about it.” she
sighed, sliding down into the seat.
    A few minutes passed, and while we were
in the middle of taking notes, Briar dropped her pen and shook her
head. “I feel like a horrible person.”
    “ Why?” I asked.
    “ I never noticed you.” She
said. “When they were making fun of you, I didn’t bother to see who
they were laughing at. What kind of person does that make
me?”
    “ Did you make fun of
me?”
    “ No.”
    “ Then that makes you a
good, distracted person.” I nudged my shoulder against hers.
“Briar, it’s okay. I probably wouldn’t have noticed me
either.”
    “ If I hear anyone making
fun of you I’ll rip them to pieces.” Hearing her so adamant about
defending me brought a grin to my face. She looked ready to take on
the world. “I have an idea! What are you doing for the summer?
Let’s get away from these jerks and have some fun.”
    “ Actually, I’m driving to
Montana.” I said. “I’m leaving Saturday morning.”
    “ Wow, you’re driving? Why
not just take a plane?”
    I lowered my voice when the teacher
glanced our way. “I’m taking Ash back up to Montana. He needs to be
home where he can be a real horse. Not a backyard pet.”
    “ Aw, you’ll miss
him.”
    “ I’m not coming back.”
Something deep in my gut hurt saying that to her. We’d just met,
sure, but I felt like I’d known her my whole life. I didn’t want to
leave Briar.
    She frowned. “You wish you never
came?”
    “ No, because then I never
would have met you.”
    “ Good answer.”
    “ What were you thinking
about doing?” maybe I would stay for half of the break and then
head back…
    “ Oh,” she waved her hand
dismissively. “No biggie. You go home.”
    “ Come on, tell
me.”
    “ I was going to ask you to
come to Disney with me. I go every year with friends. Even on
Christmas.”
    I raised my eyebrows. “What about being
with your family?”
    “ My mom and my dad host a
ritzy dinner party at the country club. When I was younger I’d stay
with Grandma because the club doesn’t allow children.”
    That was just plain wrong. “So you’ve
never had Christmas dinner with family?”
    “ Not really…Grandma does
Christmas meatloaf. Sometimes we go to the ballet.” She grimaced,
opening her backpack and pulled out a piece of gum. She offered me
one and I popped it on my mouth. “But that’s a ways off, right now
I just want to get through the summer. Grandma is going to Boston
like she always does to visit her sister, and I’ll be stuck going
to lunches with my mother at the country club. I could go to
Boston…”
    “ You could come with me.” I
didn’t usually blurt out what I was thinking, but the thought of
having Briar spend