Free The Color Of Grace by Linda Kage

away, she
leapt, forcing him to scramble in order to catch her.
    My jaw dropped as I watched the face-painted cheerleader
splash her lips all over Ryder’s jaw before she cupped his face in both hands
and gave him a big wet one right on the mouth.
    “And that’s Kiera,” Todd finished as the couple continued to
suck face. “Yates’s woman.” He caught my eye and wrinkled his brows as if
sharing an inside joke to let me know he thought Yates’s woman   was a bit over
the top.
    I managed a feeble grin, glad at least Todd wasn’t so impressed
by the pretty cheerleader.
    “What? Did I hear my name?” Kiera asked when she finally
came up for air. She looped her arms around Ryder’s neck as he let her slide
back down to the ground from where he’d been holding her off her feet around
the waist.
    I forced myself to look away. My cheeks burned with
embarrassment for watching such a private moment that had been so openly
displayed.
    I have no idea why seeing Ryder Yates kiss another girl hurt
so much. I didn’t even know him. He’d asked for my name once, and that was it,
our entire history described in one sentence. But I’d been so hopeful and the
deflated little balloon of wishful thinking seemed to take up more space inside
me than when it had been fully expanded and full of optimism.
    “This is Grace.” Todd introducing me to Ryder’s girlfriend
dragged me back to the horrible moment. “She just transferred here from
Hillsburg.”
    I don’t know if it was the mention of Hillsburg or just
plain me that turned her off, but Kiera wrinkled her nose in disgust. “So
what’re you doing here ?”
    I opened my mouth but Todd answered for me. “Her mom got
remarried. Her new stepdad lives in town.”
    That seemed to perk Kiera’s attention. “New stepdad? From
Osage? Who’d your mom marry?” She seemed highly insulted to learn something had
happened in her town without her knowledge.
    “Barry Struder. He’s a den—”
    Kiera’s gasp cut me off. “Dr. Struder ?” She almost gagged on the name as her entire face pinched
into a grimace. “Eww. Your new stepdad is that creepy dentist who lives over on the west edge of town?”
    Ryder and I spoke together. “Kiera,” he hissed in a reprimanding
undertone just as I clutched my rose necklace to my throat.
    “He’s not creepy,” I railed.
    “What?” Kiera asked her boyfriend, completely ignoring me.
    “I doubt she appreciates you calling her new dad creepy,” Ryder gritted out from
between his teeth.
    “Well, he is . He
comes to every home game and doesn’t have any kids in school. Not until now
anyway,” she added, sending me a condemning look for causing that fact.
    “A lot of adults in town come to our games without having
children in school,” Ryder argued. “It’s called local support.”
    “Yeah, but those people actually watch the game . Dr. Struder sits by the students
and stares at us cheerleaders the entire time.” She shivered and distorted her
face again. “He’s a total perv. One time I couldn’t find my money fast enough
to buy what I ordered at the concession stand, and suddenly he was right there
behind me, offering to pay for my food.”
    “How does that make him a pervert?” I demanded. “Sounds like
a nice, charitable action to me.”
    Kiera snorted. “Charitable? Yeah, right. Who knows what he
would’ve asked me to do to pay him back. I said, ‘No, thanks,’ and escaped with
my life intact.”
    I could not believe my ears. Ryder Yates’s girlfriend was a
total witch. I gawked at her a moment longer, waiting for the horns, tail,
forked tongue and cloven hooves to make an appearance. When I realized she
could keep them cleverly hidden, I spun away and stalked off.
    “Way to go, Kiera,” I heard Todd admonish. A second later,
he appeared at my side, taking hold of my elbow. “Wait up, Grace.”
    I didn’t pause but kept right on storming toward my next
class, wherever that was. “I don’t
care what she says.