Broken Rebel (Sparrow Sisters Book 2) Read online

  “I don’t have one. I just need to solve the problem right in front of me.”

  “Is Adam awake?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  I told Mr. Helton I was taking an early lunch break. He glared at me, but nodded. I hopped on my bike and headed west, anger coursing through me. Adam wasn’t even old enough to drive, and Rick wanted him to deal?

  When I got to Clay’s house, and he answered the door, I held out my hand.

  “What?” he said.

  “Give it to me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to give it back to Rick.”

  Clay’s nostrils flared. He was scared of Rick. I knew that much, and I couldn’t blame him. Rick had power over his brother. Rick didn’t scare me, though. He made me furious. His dad was scum. He’d grown up poor and probably abused, and while I had sympathy for him, I was tired of him trying to drag people down with him. He’d tried to pull me in, back when I was fourteen, and it had almost worked. Rick was nineteen now. He needed to grow up and this had to stop.

  “I’ll take care of it if you just loan me the money,” Clay protested.

  Mouth set firmly, I shook my head.

  Clay sighed. “Fine. I’ll come with you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.” I thrust my hand closer. “Give it to me.”

  Clay disappeared into the house, but when he returned he had his keys and a paper bag. “I’ll drive.”

  “Clay.”

  “It’s my problem, not yours.”

  “In fact, it’s Adam’s problem,” I said.

  He jingled his keys. “I’m going whether you ride with me or not.”

  “Fine.”

  We drove to Rick’s house and found him on his front porch smoking a cigarette. I grabbed the paper sack and hopped out of the car before Clay even shut off the engine. I crossed the lawn, glancing around the neighborhood.

  There was one woman a few houses down hanging laundry on her line. She didn’t look our way. Dr. Sparrow’s office was on the corner opposite Rick’s house, and there were three cars in the parking lot, but no one appeared to be outside.

  I stalked up the porch steps and approached Rick, who wore a smug look. I thwacked the bag against his bare chest. “Don’t try it again.”

  He stubbed his cigarette out on the porch rail. “Or what?”

  I raised my eyebrow, but then heard laughter from across the street. Dr. Sparrow walked with an elderly couple to their car. Dr. Sparrow looked up, noticing Clay walking across the grass to catch up with me. His eyes passed over Clay, then found me, and finally landed on Rick.

  Dr. Sparrow’s brow furrowed. He said good-bye to the couple and took a few steps to the edge of the parking lot, toward us. He lifted a hand in a wave.

  I backed down the steps, my heart sinking. Of course Audrey’s father would find me here. Of course. I didn’t answer Rick, but walked to Dr. Sparrow, Clay at my heels.

  “Hello, Johnny.” In spite of the questionable circumstances, he smiled kindly at me. “Clay.”

  I shook his hand, reminding myself I wasn’t like Rick. That Dr. Sparrow knew I was nothing like Rick. “Hello, sir.”

  Dr. Sparrow glanced back at Rick, who had lit another cigarette. The doctor’s jaw clenched, but then he turned back to us. “Need anything, boys?”

  Dr. Sparrow knew entirely too much about me. There was no hiding from your doctor, especially when your mother took you to him for everything that was wrong, not just physical ailments. She’d taken me to Dr. Sparrow for strep throat, the flu, and immunizations, sure, but she also took me when my grandmother died, when she found me smoking a cigarette at twelve, and the next year when I got caught stealing a necklace from the dress shop. Since my dad wasn’t around, I think Mom took me to him because she didn’t know what else to do, and she thought I needed to hear advice from a man.

  To Dr. Sparrow’s credit, he always listened to me instead of accusing me. I’d been able to tell him how sad I was that Grandma died, and he assured me the pain in my chest wasn’t a heart attack. I’d told him the cigarette was my first and last, which was the truth, and he believed me. When I confessed the necklace I’d stolen was for my mom’s birthday, and that I’d returned it to the store when I got caught, he had me scrub the floors of his office and clean the bathrooms, and then he gave me money so I could buy it for her honestly.

  I didn’t know what Dr. Sparrow thought of me these days, because I hadn’t been to his office in a few years. But he never looked at me with derision like so many other adults did, and I didn’t like that he’d seen me at Rick’s.

  “No, sir,” Clay said. “We’re fine.”

  Dr. Sparrow nodded thoughtfully. “All right, then. If you’re sure. How’s your mother, Johnny?”

  I smiled. “She’s great. Working too hard, but she lets me help around the house.”

  He patted my shoulder. “Good man. You’re at Helton’s, right?”

  I nodded.

  “I need to bring my car in for an oil change. I’ll see you then. Come see me any time. You’re both long overdue for a check-up.” He shook Clay’s hand, and then mine.

  Clay and I walked back to his car, and I punched him in the shoulder. “Let’s get lunch.”

  Chapter 5

  Audrey

  I hung up the phone and sighed. Keaton had called me three times in the last few days. I answered each call, but told him I was busy and couldn’t talk. So much for brave, bold Audrey. The guilt was eating at me, because I was at home doing nothing. In an effort to assuage my guilt and prove I was indeed busy, I cleaned all three bathrooms and mopped the kitchen floor.

  I couldn’t avoid him forever. I couldn’t even avoid him the rest of the day. His family was coming over for dinner. I’d tried to think about it like he asked, but nothing had changed. How long did he want me to keep trying? Was he expecting me to change my mind by tonight? Next week? The end of the summer?

  I didn’t want to be home tonight when he was here, so I intended to find a good reason not to be. It was a copout. I knew that, but whether it was wrong or right, I was going ahead with it.

  I went outside to the backyard where my parents were working in the garden. I crossed the grass, my eyes on Mama’s yellow sun hat bent over the pepper plants.

  “Hi, Audrey,” Dad called from where he was working, using a hoe to chop weeds around the sweet corn.

  “Hi. Can I get a job?”

  Mama sat up straight on her gardening stool. She pulled her gloves off one at a time and set them in her lap. Dad made his way over and smiled at me, leaning on his hoe. “You want a job?”

  I nodded. It wasn’t only about avoiding Keaton, I’d been thinking about it for a while.

  “You can work at your dad’s office. Nolan, haven’t you been saying you need to hire someone to help with the files?”

  “Yes, since Maisy left last year we’ve been struggling to keep up. I’d love to have you on board, Audrey.”

  I frowned, and shifted my weight from foot to foot. I loved my dad, but I wanted to get a job on my own. I didn’t want to work at his doctor’s office. Plus, it seemed too much like Keaton—working for his father the rest of his life; never having to find something on his own. I wanted something for myself, something I made happen that I was the only one who experienced. Like Cat with her caves, I wanted something outside this family.

  Maybe it was to do with being a twin. Being Valerie’s twin was rather consuming. At times it felt like my life revolved around it. She was my other half, and I loved her, but I was ready to have something that was mine alone. “I was thinking I’d like to try working in a restaurant. Or maybe the movie theater or the ice cream shop.”

  Mama’s hand flew to her mouth.

  I sighed. Valerie and I had been fragile babies. We were premature, and had spent months in the hospital. Worrying about us had become Mama’s habit.

  Dad’s hand landed
on her shoulder and squeezed. “I think that’s a fine idea,” he said. “You’ll get experience working with the public. Remember how much you enjoyed your job at Chambers, Blythe?” He chuckled, and Mama’s shoulders dropped a fraction.

  I bit my lip. This was happening. They were going to say yes.

  “Just be careful around the knives,” Dad said, and they both laughed.

  They’d met when Mama cut her hand on a knife while washing dishes at Chambers, and had gone to Dad for stitches.

  “So I can go look for a job?”

  “Right now?” Mama asked. “It’s after four.”

  I shrugged. “I’m excited to get started.”

  Wearing my yellow polka dot dress, I strode past the help wanted sign and into Meadowlark Creamery. The place was packed, typical for an afternoon in the summer, but there was no one behind the counter. I stood at the end of the long line, and waited.

  “Where are they?” the guy in front of me said.

  A girl at the front rang the bell on the counter.

  “I’ll be right there,” came a sweet voice from across the room.

  I turned toward it, my eyes landing on Mary Meadowlark’s backside. She was under a table, the chairs pushed back, wiping up a large puddle of chocolate ice cream and sprinkles.

  I hurried toward her. “Do you need some help, Mary? I can clean this up while you serve the customers.”

  She backed out from under the table, her face red from exertion. When she stood, there were sprinkles stuck to the knees of her jeans. She smiled at me. “Oh no, Audrey, I couldn’t ask you to do that.” At that moment, a large crowd of young teenagers entered, loud and full of energy. Mary’s smile dropped, replaced by a look of dismay.

  I set a hand on her arm. “You didn’t ask me, I offered.”

  The girl at the counter rang the bell again, and Mary sighed. “Alright.” She held out the soapy rag, and I took it. “Thank you, dear.”

  She went to the counter to tend to the customers, and I took her place under the table. I dipped the rag into the bucket of hot, soapy water, and scrubbed the floor, thinking if I did get a job here, a dress was not the proper attire.

  When the floor was clean and all the customers had been served, I walked to the counter and handed over the bucket. Mary took it and said, “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”

  I waved my hand. “No need. It was my pleasure.” I stood there awkwardly, not sure how to ask for a job.

  Mary watched me, tilting her head to the side, then she laughed. “Silly me, I forgot to serve you. Obviously you came in here for a reason. What can I get you?”

  I bit my lip. “A job?”

  She set the bucket down and stood, pressed her hands flat on the counter, and leveled a serious look at me. “Are you teasing me, Audrey Sparrow, or are you serious?”

  “I’m serious.”

  She stepped around the counter and pulled me into a hug. Her soft, warm body was comforting, and all my nerves dropped away. “Bless you, dear.”

  We pulled apart and I said, “I was hoping I could work evenings.”

  Mary blinked. “Am I dreaming? Did my husband send you here to prank me?”

  I laughed.

  “I’ve been trying to get some help in here for three weeks, Audrey. Three weeks. I had a ten-year-old apply. I had a girl who would only work on Mondays. Mrs. Leech came in, but said she’d only work if her cat could come with her. Tell me you’re serious. Don’t play with my emotions, Audrey.”

  Grinning, feeling like some sort of hero, I shook my head. “I’m not a prank or a ghost or a dream. I’m just a girl who would like a job.”

  “You can have a job, and you can have all the ice cream you can eat. When can you start?”

  Several hours later I’d learned how to make banana splits, chocolate malts, and every type of sundae. At a little past nine, Ruby and Keaton walked in the door. I’d sent a text to both of them after I’d been hired, letting her know I wouldn’t be at my house for dinner tonight. Ruby was smiling, but Keaton didn’t look happy.

  Ruby hung back and Keaton walked straight to me. “I didn’t know you were thinking of getting a job.”

  I looked down, wiping the already clean counter. “I figured it was time. I’m seventeen, I should be working.”

  “You never mentioned you were thinking about it.”

  His voice was low. Sad. I looked up and met his eyes. My heart dropped into my stomach. He knew I was avoiding him. He knew I hadn’t changed my mind. He was an intuitive person who’d known me all my life, of course he knew. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  Out of habit, I said, “Yeah. Everything’s fine,” and immediately regretted it. I had to stop doing that.

  Mary walked in from the back room, carrying a huge cardboard box. “Audrey, will you restock these cups, please?” She set it down and disappeared in the back again.

  I gave Keaton a look meant to convey that I was sorry, before I turned away and went to work on the cups.

  The bell over the door chimed, and I knew without looking that Keaton had gone.

  Ruby appeared at my side, having walked around the counter. She put an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “What’s going on, Audrey?”

  I glanced at her. “Nothing. I got a job.”

  “No, I mean with you and Keaton.”

  I looked into the face of my dear friend, and I saw the accusation in her eyes. Unable to keep looking at her, I averted my gaze.

  “He’s been weird all week. He isn’t talking and he just holes up in his room, and when I asked him what was wrong, he said I should ask you.” She waited for me to respond, but when I didn’t she said, “Something happened on your date last weekend.”

  I fought the urge to say it wasn’t a date. It had never been a date with Keaton. I didn’t know when it had changed from two friends hanging out to everyone calling it dating. I’d tried so hard to make that leap along with everyone else, but I couldn’t quite reach the other side. No amount of thinking it over was going to change it. I knew that now. “He kissed me.”

  Ruby’s face lit up. “Finally.”

  I fiddled with the stack of cups I held. Be honest, Audrey. You can do this. “It wasn’t what I thought it would be.”

  Her smile faded, and she tipped her head to the side. “Was it bad?”

  “Well…”

  She waved her hand. “Never mind. I don’t want the details of how my brother kisses. Besides, it was a first kiss. There’s bound to be room for improvement.”

  I watched her for a moment, considering my words carefully. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her that Keaton and I kissed. I could confide things like that to my sisters. Telling them was like talking to myself. But I thought I owed it to Keaton to tell him before I told his sister. Well, to tell him for the second time, anyway, which I thought I should do sooner rather than later.

  So I told Ruby something else that was true. “You know that even if Keaton and I weren’t friends, I’d still be your friend, right? No matter what happens between Keaton and me, the two of us are solid.”

  She furrowed her brow. “Of course we are. Although, how many hours are you going to work each week? Have I lost you to milk shakes and banana splits?”

  Glad for the change in subject, I assured her that I was only working twenty hours a week, and that she could hang out with me here any time she wanted.

  After she left, I spent the last hour of my shift serving a few late-night customers and learning how to restock and clean the creamery for the night.

  “I’m running out to the storage shed out back to get a few more things,” Mary said. “Will you flip the sign and lock the door in five minutes when we close?”

  “Sure,” I said, and leaned my elbows on the counter, trying to figure out the perfect thing to say to Keaton that was both kind and clear. Before I got very far, the bell chimed as the door opened, and Johnny Bright walked in.

  His eyes locked on mine, and he stood right inside the door.
He was staring at me so intently, and as I watched, his eyes grew darker. I wasn’t familiar with this kind of look, but it made my knees go a little weak.

  “Hi,” I said, surprising myself by speaking first.

  He stalked toward the counter, never taking his eyes off mine. “Hello, Audrey.”

  The way he said my name, with that low, deep voice...my goodness. I shivered in my apron. “Are you here for some ice cream?” I closed my eyes for a half second, berating myself for being so stupid. Of course he was here for ice cream. I was an idiot.

  “No. I saw you through the window. I’m here for you.”

  I stood stock still. Was he teasing? Surely he didn’t mean that.

  He took a seat on one of the stools and rested his arms on the counter. My eyes did leave his then, to roam over his arms. He wasn’t wearing his leather jacket, just a white T-shirt. It was tight around his biceps and chest. When I looked back at his face, his eyes were blazing, focused wholly on mine. “You work here?” he said.

  I lifted my chin, feeling proud. “As of tonight, yes.”

  “When do you get off work?”

  I glanced at the clock on the wall. “In two minutes.”

  “Go out with me.”

  I laughed nervously. “What?”

  “When you’re done here in two minutes, come out with me.”

  What was happening? Johnny Bright was asking me out? That couldn’t be right. My heart thumped in my chest. “I...can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, I barely know a thing about you.”

  “That’s why we’ll go out. We can get to know each other.”

  “I don’t...” My voice trailed off, not sure how to respond.

  “Is it because you’re seeing Keaton Asher?” he asked, his voice softer.

  I blinked, having absolutely no idea how to answer that question.

  He didn’t wait for me to answer. “See me instead.”

  Caught completely off guard, I laughed at his boldness. It was a genuine laugh, loud and long, and as the shock of this conversation wore off, something took its place. Something exciting.