Free Horse Love by Bonnie Bryant Page B

couldn’t and didn’t want to answer.
    “There were just a few people on the trail ride,” she said. “They like to keep the groups small But one of the people was a staff member named Jane, and she’s running a talent show. I’ve signed up for it.”
    “Of course you have, dear! When is it?”
    “Saturday night,” Lisa said. “The night before we leave.”
    “Now, that’s something to look forward to,” said her mother. “What are you doing?”
    “I guess I’m just in the chorus,” she said. “It’s mostly just silly skits, but it’s kind of fun to be a part of it.”
    “Aren’t you going to do a solo?” her mother asked.
    “It’s vacation,” Lisa said.
    “Well, singing beautifully isn’t exactly like work for you, dear.”
    “I don’t know yet, Mom,” Lisa said, realizing she was skating close to the subject of “the boy.” So she changed the subject again. “I went snorkeling this afternoon, too,” she said. “I thought it was really cool, even though the coral reef by the beach here at the resort is pretty small. But I was amazed at the different colors of the coral. Do you know why that is, Dad?”
    “I think what you’re talking about is actually different kinds of coral,” he said. “While we think of it as a single thing—coral—it’s actually many, many different species, and each is unique and identifiable. One of the qualities that varies among the species is color.…”
    He was off and running. Asking her father a technical question was very much like asking Carole about insect pests and horses. “Oh, we just spray them,” was never the answer. It didn’t surprise Lisa at all that her father had spent some time in the resort library looking up coral while her mother had been getting ready for the trip into town. Lisa had completely and successfully deflected her mother’s inevitable questions about Tec Morrison.
    Those questions would come sooner or later, but later Lisa might be able to answer them better, and later was when she was going to have to work with her parents to find a way to get her to Tec’s town or find a way for him to come to Willow Creek.
    “Of course, part of what makes each species a specific color probably relates to what they eat—like the pink of a flamingo coming from their diet of shrimp, and you know chickens that are fed corn have yellow skin—”
    “I never knew any of that stuff, Dad,” Lisa said, interrupting the explanation.
    “Well, it’s amazing what you can learn with just a quick stop in a library,” he said.
    “What are you up to tonight?” Mrs. Atwood asked.
    “I guess I’ll hang out with those kids,” she said, nodding at the now empty table. “I’m meeting them in the lounge, and there was talk about going dancing later.”
    “At the disco?” her father asked. “Your mother and I were talking about stopping by there later.”
    “Um, I don’t know, Dad. You know, we’re just hanging out.”
    “Maybe we’ll see you there,” said Mr. Atwood.
    Lisa sincerely hoped that would not be the case.
    “Later, then,” she said, excusing herself from the table. It was nice to see her parents happy, but it would be even nicer to see Tec.

T HE LOUNGE WAS totally filled by the time Lisa arrived. It took her a few minutes to spot Tec and the other kids. They’d commandeered a corner table and each had a glass of soda. Tec had his back to the door, so he did not see Lisa arriving.
    Kiki looked over her shoulder and spotted Lisa. Lisa smiled and waved. Kiki just looked back at the circle of friends. Will saw her then and welcomed her, pulling a chair over next to Tec. Lisa took it gratefully. There were three other girls there who hadn’t been at the dinner table and they were introduced as Shelley, Erin, and Jackie. Lisa had to look twice. She was pretty sure that Shelley was the skinny girl in the skimpy bikini thatshe’d seen at the swimming pool with the guy who looked like Tec that afternoon, but she wasn’t