Connecting (Lily Dale #3)(10)

He holds up the cover without comment.

She glances at the title. “Into the Wild. Wasn’t that a movie a while back?”

He nods.

“I didn’t see it. Or read the book. What’s it about?”

“Wilderness survival.”

“That sounds right up your alley—I mean, you’re so into nature,” she tells him lamely.

“Yeah,” is all he says.

“Oh, well . . . I’ll leave you alone then.”

“See you.”

“See you,” she replies, hurt that he didn’t try harder to make conversation, much less ask her to join him.

As she walks toward her friends, she reminds herself that Jacy is a loner. Everyone knows that. And when a person is reading a good book, he doesn’t welcome interruptions.

Still.

“What’s wrong?” Willow asks as Calla arrives at the table where she and Sarita are nibbling on their usual sparse lunches: apples and bottles of water.

“Do I look like something’s wrong?”

“Yeah,” Sarita says. “You do. What is it?”

“Nothing, it’s just . . . I think Jacy just seriously dissed me.”

“Jacy Bly?” Sarita shakes her chic short haircut and cuts off another chunk of apple, which she can’t bite into because of her braces. “It wouldn’t be the first time he’s dissed someone. He’s got a major attitude problem.”

“Yeah, well, after what he’s been through, he’s allowed.” Willow’s wide-set brown eyes focus intently on Calla. “Are you and Jacy . . . ?”

“Friends. Yeah.”

“Oh.” Willow nods like she buys it—and really, it’s the truth—but something tells Calla she suspects there might be more to it than that.

She’s not going to elaborate, though. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Willow, who’s become one of her closest friends at Lily Dale. Which is ironic, since Calla’s first impression of her, unfairly based on her extraordinary beauty, was that she’s standoffish.

She’s not. She’s just quiet.

Meaning Calla could probably confide her interest in Jacy and Willow would keep it to herself.

Maybe she will confide in Willow. Just not with Sarita here. She’s more social, and if she mentions it, it’ll get back to Evangeline, who has a not-so-secret crush on Jacy herself.

“Jacy really doesn’t seem to be into making friends or getting involved in stuff here,” Sarita points out. “I mean, he runs track, but that’s pretty much it. And it’s not exactly a big team sport, you know?”

Calla can’t help but glance over at the table where Blue and his soccer buddies are laughing raucously. “Not everyone’s into team sports.”

“Right, and maybe Jacy’s afraid to get too plugged in at this school,” Willow says. “Maybe he’s afraid he’ll get yanked away from Peter and Walt and moved to a new foster home somewhere else or, God forbid, back to his parents.”

“He probably is,” Sarita agrees with a shrug, then resumes their earlier conversation. “So, you’re, like, positive you have to go to your dad’s tonight?”

Calla looks up from her yogurt with interest. This is the first mention she’s heard of Willow’s father.

“I’m positive. I skipped last week because of the homecoming committee meeting.”

“Did he even notice?” Sarita asks.

“Probably not.” Willow tries to laugh it off, but Calla can see that Sarita’s comment has struck a chord.

“Where does your dad live?” Calla asks.

“Dunkirk.”

“With his new wife and her kids,” Sarita puts in.

“Oh.” Calla isn’t sure what to say to that. “Well . . . that’s good. Dunkirk’s not so far away. Like, ten miles, right?”

“Less, but you’d think it was a hundred, the way her dad acts,” Sarita says. “It’s like he can’t be bothered to come down to Lily Dale and pick her up. Half the time, he stands her up.”

“Oh, Calla . . . I meant to ask you.” Willow, obviously uncomfortable with the route the conversation has taken, blatantly changes the subject. “Are you ready for the math quiz this afternoon? Do you want me to go over a couple of problems with you, just in case?”

Mr. Bombeck has been on her case from day one, and quickly assigned Calla a study partner: Willow, who happens to be as brainy as she is beautiful.

At first, Calla was reluctant to work with her—after all, she’s Blue Slayton’s ex-girlfriend—but to her surprise, that didn’t seem to matter much to Willow. Either she’s long over him, or she’s pretending to be, because she hasn’t mentioned him, or the fact that he’s dating Calla now. Willow must know about it, though. In a town the size of Lily Dale, everybody knows everything about everybody else.

“If you wouldn’t mind going over some problems, that would be great,” Calla tells Willow, sensing that she needs the distraction.

“Good. Let’s do it.”

As Calla reaches for her notebook, she glances over to see if Jacy’s still over there, absorbed by his book.

He’s there . . . but he’s not absorbed by his book; he’s looking right back at her.