Free Life in the Lucky Zone (The Zone #2) by Patricia B. Tighe Page B

about fifteen minutes.”
    “Okay,” I said, and walked with her to the door so I wouldn’t forget to put the chain on after she left. Nana couldn’t reach the chain to get out. I didn’t want to be so focused on rehearsing that I wouldn’t hear if she tried to leave.
    Back in the kitchen, Lindsey was staring out the window into the backyard. “You okay?” I asked.
    She didn’t look at me. “Yeah. I’m just a little worried about tomorrow.”
    “Tomorrow?” I took two mugs down from the cabinet.
    This time she turned around. “You know, tomorrow? When we find out if we got parts in the play?”
    “Oh, right. I’ve decided not to think about it.”
    She pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sank into it. “How do you do that?”
    I shoved stuff around on the pantry shelves, looking for the tea. “I don’t know. It’s like … I can’t worry about it. I did all I could during the audition. Aha! There you are, you ninja tea.” I brought the box over to the table.
    “See, that’s just it. I didn’t do all I could. I screwed up. I let myself get distracted by—”
    “I didn’t know we had company.” Nana stood in the doorway, a welcoming smile deepening the creases on her face.
    “Nana!” I said, heading over to kiss her cheek. “How are you?”
    “Just fine,” she said. “Don’t fuss.”
    Yup, a little grumpy. Normally she loved it when anyone kissed or hugged her. “Come meet my friend.”
    Lindsey stood as we walked over, a sparkling smile on her face. Whoa. Where had the I’m all worried about tomorrow girl gone?
    After I introduced them and explained about our rehearsing, Nana said, “What a lovely girl you are.”
    “Oh,” Lindsey said. “Thank you. That’s so sweet.”
    Nana patted my upper arm. “I didn’t know Trey had such good taste in girls.”
    Heat crawled up my neck. No. She did not just say that. “No, Nana. Lindsey is a friend. She’s here to help me rehearse for a play.”
    I didn’t want to look at Lindsey, but it was like some freaking weird magnet pulled my head her direction. She was biting her lip, but when she noticed me, she winked. Oh, great. There was no way she’d let this drop.
    Nana frowned. “When did you start acting?”
    I shook my head. “It’s just for school. A class I take.”
    The teapot started to whistle. Thank you, oh strange powers of the universe. I practically ran to the stove.
    “Are we having tea?” Nana asked.
    “Yes,” Lindsey said. “Would you like some?”
    “Oh, no, my dear,” she said. “It gives me the most dreadful gas.”
    Don’t laugh, Trey. Don’t laugh. “Nana, how about I bring some milk and cookies to your room?”
    “That sounds good, but I think milk gives me gas, too.”
    I inhaled a sharp breath and focused on the path out of the kitchen. If I didn’t get Nana out of there, I’d be suffering Lindsey’s torture for months. I placed a hand on my grandma’s back and guided her all the way to my old bedroom. “I’ll be right back with your cookies.”
    Nana sat in her recliner and picked up the remote control to the TV. “All right.”
    When I got back to the kitchen, Lindsey had poured water into our mugs and stuck the tea bags in them. “The tea should be ready in a minute, Lover Boy.”
    I laughed. “Shut up.”
    “I just want to know what girls you’ve brought here that made her think you had bad taste.”
    I sat down across from her. “She didn’t think— I haven’t brought any girls here.”
    Lindsey gasped and pressed a hand to her chest. “You mean I’m the first?”
    Her gushy voice made me want to strangle her. “You ready to run lines?”
    She laughed. “Are you kidding? If someone handed you a bunch of ammunition, you’d use it. Admit it, Dragon Boy.”
    Time to go on the attack. “You’re so right. Which reminds me, what was that little test the football dude failed yesterday?”
    She’d leaned over to sip her tea but straightened instead. “There was no test. And