Free Rippler by Cindy Page A

“But I don’t think she’ll go through with it. Not after the way we both played the knowledge card on her.” He laughed. “You were brilliant! ‘I’d be honored?’ Genius!”
    “I would be honored, dweeb,” I said, elbowing his ribs.
    He chortled. “Okay, okay. So I’ll text you tomorrow morning.”
    “You’re sure you won’t be leaving?” I asked.
    “I’m starting school on Monday,” he said. “With or without Mick.”
    “See you Monday,” I said.
    Will took off at a run into the weird glow of fog visibility lights. The warm night air rippled around him and he was gone.

    When I awoke the next morning, Sunday, I had two text messages: one each from Will
    and Gwyn.
    “i know micks curiosity will get the best of her c u monday”
    I sent a smiley face to Will and flipped to Gwyn’s message.
    “ok sam spill the beans how was yosemite i heard u came back alone i mean w/o his sister!!! i m gettin kittens in Oakhurst. come with! tell me everything!!!”
    I pointed out she couldn’t legally drive me.
    “hello! tell your folks i m 17,” she replied.
    My folks didn’t ask, and within an hour Gwyn and I were humming down the road in her mom’s Mini Cooper. Before we left my driveway, she started the cross-examination.
    “So, Yosemite? Tell me everything. The whole town says you came back with just Will last night.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Why would the whole town even care?”
    “Um, well, in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a distinct lack of entertainment options here.”
    Sam as entertainment? This was new. I tried to figure out what I could reveal, what I had to hide. “They had a fight,” I finally said. “And she took off and we were supposed to meet up at the car, but then she left a note saying she’d gotten her own ride home.”
    “Wow. Fighting with your sibling takes on a whole different dimension when there’s no Mom or Dad to force you to get along.”
    “Yeah,” I agreed. “They get along pretty well. I think Mickie has kind of a short fuse, though.”
    “Bet she gets that from her bad-dad,” Gwyn said.
    “Probably.”
    “So, I asked Ma about Will.” She looked at me anxiously. “How much do you like him?”
    My smile gave me away.
    “Uh-oh,” she said.
    “What do you mean, ‘uh-oh’?” I demanded.
    “I’m not sure you’re going to like what I have to tell you.”
    “So stop being dramatic and just spit it out.”
    She lowered her sunglasses ‘til they rested on the tip of her nose and then looked
    imperiously over the top of them at me. “ Moi? Dramatic? Please.”
    I sighed. She was impossible to hurry in this mood.
    “So you know how Ma has all these rental properties?” asked Gwyn.
    “No,” I said. “I thought she just owned the bakery building.”
    “Yeah, that and about a dozen others,” said Gwyn, taking a curve fifteen miles-an-hour over the speed limit.
    My eyebrows leapt up. “Really? No offense, but you guys don’t exactly live like real estate tycoons. And what does this have to do with Will?”
    “I’m getting there,” Gwyn said. “And you’re right. The living-simple is this totally Chinese thing: you work your ass off so your kids can get ahead.” Gwyn rolled her eyes dramatically.
    “That sounds nice,” I said, wondering how I’d get us back to Will again.
    “Yeah, Ma has this plan I’m going to be a doctor so she’s saving for med school. Which I’m totally not doing. I’m moving to Hawaii and opening a yogurt stand. You can work there for me if you want.”

    I chuckled. “Okay, Gwyn. Just cut to the chase and tell me this bad stuff your mom told you about Will.”
    “Fine.” She paused. “So here’s the thing: Will and Mickie rent from Ma, and their rent is paid every month from one of those tiny countries in Europe that have banks people use to hide their money because it’s illegally acquired or dirty somehow. Slovakia. No. Sweden, maybe?”
    “Do you mean Switzerland?” I asked.
    “That’s the one,”