Free Dragonfly by Leigh Talbert Moore Page A

graduate mid-year. Start college in the spring.”
    My heart slammed to the ground, and I knew he could see the look on my face, even in this light.
    “He won’t do it?” I whispered.
    “I don’t know. William makes a good point that we’re really just wasting time now. We’ve got the credits. There’s no reason to wait.”
    “But what about Lucy? I’m sure she doesn’t want to leave so soon.”
    “That’s where you come in. She panicked. It seems your artist-friend made a real impression on her, and she flipped out at dinner going on about how she couldn’t leave Julian. Said I wouldn’t want to leave you. Threw us right under the bus.”
    “What did you say?” I asked quietly.
    “I didn’t say anything. Lucy’s not smart enough to know the best way to handle those two is to tell them as little as possible. Of course, Will had to take a few days off to come home and see what’s going on here.”
    “What’s his problem?”
    “He’s worried about our future, meaning me. Says we should be moving into the Gulf market, making more investments in South America, the Caribbean. He’s ready for me to get in the business now, and if he has to wait another year, he’s afraid there won’t be any prime real estate left. It’s already disappearing fast.”
    “Is that even safe? I mean, hurricanes regularly wipe everything out, and with global warming and all, won’t it just happen again?”
    “Listen to you,” Jack chuckled. “What do you know about these things?”
    “I hear my dad talking.”
    “That was a concern immediately after the last big storm, but now it’s been several years and things are getting back to normal.”
    “So you’ll start working with him in college?” I frowned, but it made sense. “I guess I can understand why your brother wants you with him.”
    “Will’s just greedy. Dad’s made enough good decisions to keep us comfortable for a long time. Leave something for the rest of the world. And get off my back,” Jack’s anger had returned.
    “I take it he doesn’t agree with you.”
    “He thinks I’m lazy.” It sounded like he was repeating an old argument.
    “You’re not lazy. I mean, I guess you are coasting this semester, but you did the work once already. If it weren’t for your concern for Lucy—”
    “What do you know about that?” His sudden sharpness made me hesitate.
    “Rachel said something about it being Lucy who got expelled, and you dropped out to save her reputation or something.”
    “Rachel doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” Jack looked off.
    “What did happen?” I asked softly. “I mean, it’s personal. And maybe you don’t know me well enough yet…”
    He smiled that gorgeous smile and leaned forward to brush his lips over mine. His breath whispered across my cheek, and my heart skipped a beat. It was so nice when he did that.
    “It’s really Lucy’s business,” he said. “So I hope you can keep this to yourself.”
    “Of course! I mean, who would I tell?”
    “Rachel?”
    “Oh, god no. Rachel’s a big mouth. I didn’t even tell her about us. I mean, it was obvious when you started driving me to school and all, but she would’ve been the last person—”
    “You would’ve talked to if you’d had someone to talk to about me?”
    “Right.” I smiled and slid my fingers under his bangs, smoothing them out of his eyes like I’d always wanted to do.
    His voice turned serious as he told me the story. “Well, I told you Lucy likes to find a hero.”
    “Right. Although, I think you’re her real hero.”
    “She got involved with an older man who took advantage of his position, and she ended up pregnant. He blamed her for the whole thing, said she’d entrapped him, and insisted she have an abortion.”
    My brow creased. “Oh, god. Poor Lucy.”
    “Dad pulled her out of school and sent her to Sedona, to Gigi, and found an adoptive family for the baby.”
    “But why did you go?”
    “I got