The Secrets of Parkerville Series - Book 1 - Chased Hearts Read online

  ***

  The rest of the kids were still dancing, while Todd was off looking for Skye. He found her helping her aunt put things away and started filling up the truck with chairs. He went over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom; you don’t realize what you did for me.”

  She smiled as she wrapped things in foil, “Oh, yes I do,” she said as she patted his cheek.

  Last Shopping Day Before School

  It was Tuesday morning and the conversation was a little strained around the Keaton breakfast table. Justin was reading the morning paper while Chris and Cassie ate in silence. Marion was cooking breakfast, waiting for Geri to come down to eat.

  Before long, Geri came bounding into the room with her overnight bag on her shoulder, heading for the kitchen door.

  “Whoa, young lady, where do you think you’re going so early this morning?” Marion grabbed the strap of the overnight bag, wheeling Geri around on her heels.

  “Mom, stop, you’re going to make me fall and I’m already late.”

  “Late for what?” asked Marion, still holding on.

  “Just late! Come on, let me go!”

  “Not until you tell me where you think you’re going.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to let go.” Marion loosened her grip and Geri tumbled to the floor. “Are you happy now?” Geri said as she gathered herself up.

  “Geri,” Justin interrupted, “just tell us where you’re going.”

  “Okay, already, I’ll tell you . . . gees. All the kids decided we’d spend the whole day out at the park, since tomorrow is the first day of school. So, we all packed food for the entire day and we’re just going to stay out and have fun . . . until it gets dark.” Geri raised her hands with her palms up, “Got a problem with that?”

  “Yes, Geri, I think we might have a problem with that,” Marion said. “I’m going to call Amy’s mother and get to the bottom of this.”

  “I just told you what’s going on!” Geri yelled. “Good grief, why do you have to call Amy’s mom? Do you just enjoy embarrassing me?”

  “Geraldine Marie, you are not leaving this house until I find out what’s going on!” Marion was beginning to get frazzled.

  “Gosh, Mom, don’t have a cow!”

  “Marion,” Justin jumped back in, “I’ll take care of her. You go ahead and call Joan.” Marion sighed as she made her way through the doorway. Justin took the bag off of Geri’s shoulder.

  “Let’s just see what you’ve got in here.”

  “It’s just stuff to eat, Daddy,” Geri said, putting her arm around his neck and changing to her baby voice. “Why is Mom so angry?”

  “Well, pumpkin, Mom’s a little tired this morning. We all need to try and be good today and give her a rest.” Justin looked over at Chris and Cassie. “And I do mean all of us. Now let’s empty this out and see what kind of goodies you have in here.”

  The contents were spread out on the table. There were two bottles of soda, three bananas, a large bag of chips, a couple candy bars, $3.65 in change, and three large balls of aluminum foil . . . contents unknown.

  “Umm,” said Justin, “what’s in the foil?”

  “Well, I’ve got fried chicken in one, potato salad in the other, and the rest of Mom’s carrot cake in this big one.” Geri smiled as she lifted the rather large silver ball in the air.

  “Oh, I see. When exactly did you pack this lunch?”

  “After we got home last night.”

  “And did you put the food in the refrigerator last night?”

  “No, I had it in my room. I wanted to be the first one to get to the park.”

  “Way to go, Squirt,” Chris piped in. “Don’t you have any brains? You can’t keep potato salad and fried chicken in your room all night. You have to keep it cold.”

  “Well, it’s okay, I don’t care if it’s cold or not.”

  “No, Geri, potato salad goes bad if you leave it out. You’ll get sick if you eat that. I wouldn’t eat that chicken, either,” Cassie added.

  “So, I’ll just throw it away,” Geri said as she ran the balls of potato salad and chicken over to the trashcan. “Help me, Cassie; I need to find something else to take to the park. Hurry, I don’t have lots of time,”

  “Sweetie, I think we should wait until your mom gets back. I’m sure you have plenty of time.” Cassie walked over to the window. “It’s cloudy this morning and a little cool out there, so you might want to grab a sweater. Now, if your mom says you can go, Chris and I will help you pack a really good lunch.”

  Marion was standing in the doorway, her anger softened by the sight of Cassie helping Geri.

  “Well, I spoke to Joan and she’s going through the same thing this morning with Amy. We called some of the other parents and decided you can go to the park around 10 o’clock, after a good breakfast at home, and we’ll bring everyone burgers and fries for lunch. How’s that?”

  It really wasn’t what Geri wanted to hear, but she gave in and began to clear her food items off the table. “Boy, being twelve can be such a drag.”

  Justin put down his coffee cup and got up from the table. He went over to Marion, giving her a goodbye kiss, and whispered something in her ear that made her laugh. They hugged and spoke softly to one another as Marion straightened out his tie. She told him she would miss him and gave him one more kiss before he headed for the door.

  Cassie sighed and looked over at Chris. “Your parents really love each other, don’t they?”

  “Oh, yeah, it was love at first sight for both of them and it’s been that way for the past 20 years. If they ever broke up, I think it would be the end of the world for all of us.” Chris smiled and stood up. He walked over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek as he placed his dishes in the sink.

  Cassie stared down at the tabletop, remembering how her parents would have never shown that type of affection in front of her. She had always taken it for granted her parents loved each other, but she never felt this warm, comforting feeling that radiated from the Keaton’s. She smiled to herself and began to clear the table, something she would have never thought to do in her own home.

  “So, Cassie, what are your plans for your last free day before school starts?” Marion asked, as they washed the dishes together.

  “Well, I really want to go over and see Skye today. I think it would be neat to walk around town and get a little better acquainted with all the shops and stuff. Can you give me Mrs. Davis’ telephone number?”

  “Well, sweetie, you don’t need a number to call someone in town. Just pick up the receiver and say the name of the person you want to call,” Marion paused for a moment, “and the operator will dial it for you. Why don’t you go in and call her now, before Sara makes other plans for today.”

  Chris took the dishtowel away from Cassie and began drying the dishes. Marion couldn’t help but laugh. “You know, I should get angry more often. I’d get a lot more help around here.”

  Cassie used the phone in the study. She picked up the receiver and said, “Sara Davis, please.” To her amazement, the phone rang immediately at the Davis’ house. Sara answered and told Cassie to come over and surprise Skye. She was very happy that Skye and Cassie were becoming friends.

  Cassie hung up the phone and noticed a telephone book under the table. She glanced back to see if anyone was watching, as she pulled out the book. It was for Marshall City. She flipped through the white pages, but to her dismay, she couldn’t find a listing for ‘Evans.’ That’s strange. There should be at least one or two listings for Evans. Everywhere we’ve ever gone, I’ve always found lots of Evans in the phone book.

  Cassie looked closer at the names. The last name at the bottom of page on the left ended with ‘Ellis,’ but the name on the top of the right page started with ‘Fields.’ As she leaned closer, she noticed a page or two were torn out. She closed the book and put it back in its place, just as Chris came through the door.
r />   “Can I walk you over to Skye’s?” Chris asked, looking down at the floor. “I’m not sure if you know where Skye lives.”

  “Well, from what Mrs. Davis told me, I just turn right on Honeysuckle, walk down a few blocks, then it should be the fourth house on the right, past Cedar. Is that right?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. I know it’s pretty easy, but I was going to see Todd anyway, so I thought you might like some company.”

  “Sure, Chris, if you like, we can walk together,” Cassie said coolly.

  “I think we need a couple of sweaters, though. It’s almost as cold out there as it is in here.” Chris grinned as he grabbed two sweaters off the coat rack.

  Cassie took the sweater and wrapped it around her shoulders, as she started down the walk. Chris had to speed up to catch her. They walked in silence for the first couple of blocks.

  “So . . .” Chris drew out, trying to think of something to say. His mind was going a mile a minute, trying to come up with a good opening line. He could have asked her if she enjoyed the picnic, or compliment her on her dancing, but no, he blurted out, “Are you mad at me for kissing Amanda?”

  “Gosh, Chris, I don’t think mad is the correct word here. Let’s try surprised, or shocked, or maybe . . . humiliated? But mad, oh, I don’t think that really covers it. How do you think that made me feel, watching you kiss her?”

  “You! What about me? Remember Joshua?”

  Cassie held her breath.

  “How do you think I felt, watching you dance with him?”

  “How could I help that,” Cassie said, breathing again. “He came up to me and asked to dance. I couldn’t tell him no.”

  “Well, I didn’t have much of a choice either. You haven’t met Amanda. She’s a piranha!”

  “A very pretty piranha and you weren’t trying very hard to get out of the water!”

  “Okay, this isn’t getting us anywhere.” Chris stopped in front of Todd’s house. Skye’s is the third house down. Let’s call a truce for now, okay? Todd and I have to go into town and get a few things for class. Maybe we’ll see you and Skye later on.”

  Cassie watched Chris go into Todd’s house and felt a little guilty over the way she acted. Shoot, that didn’t go well at all. I keep messing things up more and more. She continued down the street and knocked on Skye’s door.

  Skye was surprised to see her new friend. “Oh, Cassie, I’m so glad you found me. Come in for a minute and I’ll show you around my aunt’s beautiful home.”

  Sara offered the girls some homemade cookies to take with them and insisted the girls get out and enjoy their time together. They didn’t need much coaxing, as they giggled their way out the door.

  They went past the Baker sister’s house and saw the drapes move, as two faces appeared in the window.

  Skye warned Cassie not to stare, but just smile and look friendly. She told her about them motioning for her and her aunt to come in, when they passed by a couple days before.

  “They’re just a little crazy and people are afraid if they go in, they’ll never get out,” Skye explained, in a solemn voice.

  Cassie burst out laughing, which caused Skye to break out laughing as well. She told Cassie if she wanted to know more about the sisters, she should ask Mrs. Keaton.

  “Oh, Skye, now that you mention it, there’s something else I want to ask Mrs. Keaton. Did you notice all those girls with little scarves on their wrists at the picnic? What’s up with that?”

  “You know, I noticed my neighbor, Carol Jean, was wearing one when I met her. She said she wears a black scarf over her bracelet, since she doesn’t like wearing it, but I did notice a lot of the girls wearing prettier ones at the picnic. I don’t think I want to bother wearing one. I think it just draws more attention.”

  “I know what you mean, the less attention the better. I guess it’s just a fad.” Cassie took a good look at Skye’s wrist. “Your bracelet is pretty, mine is completely different, but I really hate wearing it.”

  “Are you kidding? I’d take this shackle off my wrist right now, if I could.”

  “I’ve tried and tried, but I’m stuck with it. Oh, and when I called your aunt before I came over; I just said her name into the phone and it rang at your house. I expected to hear an operator’s voice, but no one was on the line. That was a little weird.”

  “You think that’s odd? Wait until you drive through a fake bush on the back road coming into Parkerville. Now that was weird.”

  As the girls walked up Rose Street, passing Hedge Lane, they heard the sound of footsteps scrambling along the opposite side of one of the hedge. Instinctively, the girls quickened their own footsteps to reach the center of town.

  “Whoa, now, girlies, don’t be in such a hurry,” Wilbur Dunlop called out, as he and his best friend, Freddie Swank, stumbled out from behind the hedge and started running toward them.

  “Yeah, Will and me want to give you both a great big Parkerville welcome,” Freddie added as they closed in.

  Cassie and Skye stopped in their tracks and turned to face them. They raised their right arms, jiggling their bracelets, and yelling in unison, “We’re not eligible!”

  “And don’t even try to say you don’t know that,” Cassie yelled, pointing at them. “Everyone in this town knows it.”

  Will and Freddie bumped into each other laughing.

  “Well, maybe we want to find out for ourselves,” Freddie said, pursing his lips and faking a kiss.

  “Maybe you need to hear it from Chris and Todd,” Skye said with her hands on her hips.

  “Yeah,” Cassie said with a smile, “They’re right behind you.”

  “Oh, really,” Will laughed, “How dumb do you think we are?”

  “Pretty dumb,” Todd said as he walked up behind Will. “What do you think, Chris?”

  “Oh, I don’t think dumb is a strong enough word.”

  Will and Freddie’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

  “Hey, guys,” Freddie said with a crafty smile, turning to face Chris. “We knew you were there the whole time. We were just kiddin’ around.”

  “Yeah,” Will said with a nervous laugh, turning to face Todd. “You guys know how to take a joke, don’t ya?”

  Todd stared back at Will with a straight face and raised an eyebrow, causing Will and Freddie to scramble past them. The two couples watched as the town clowns ran back down the street.

  The foursome made their way to the fountain, but neither couple had a lot to say.

  “Well,” Chris finally said with a sigh, “we need to get some supplies for school.” He and Todd said their goodbyes and headed down High School Lane toward the general store.

  Cassie had noticed a little tension between Skye and Todd, and felt it was time for some girl talk.

  “I thought you and Todd were going together. At least that’s what it looked like when we met at the picnic. Did something go wrong?”

  “No, nothing’s wrong. I really like Todd, but I think things are going a little too fast for us . . . that’s all. And we are not going together. After all, we just met.”

  “Okay, I get it. I feel the same way about Chris and Joshua, and that cute guy I just saw going into Mr. Simpson’s store.” Cassie started to giggle. “I’m definitely not ready for a relationship, but I’m getting a really strong vibe here something happened between you and Todd.”

  “It was just Todd’s attitude. He already acts like he owns me and I can’t do that again. I finally got away from a clingy guy, where I used to live. Now, Todd is just as bad. I just want to have fun.

  “I completely understand, but who was that other guy you were dancing with yesterday? He was a dreamboat!”

  Skye blushed, “Oh, yeah, that was Michael. He’s managing the burger bar. I met him with my aunt on Saturday.” Skye wrapped one of her curls around her finger, “I think he’s kind of cute, too.”

  “Way to go, Skye! We’re going to make a city girl out of you yet.”

 
“Well, I don’t know about that, but Todd was so jealous of my dancing with Michael, it just ruined my feelings for him. He treated Michael terribly and I don’t want a boyfriend who’s so jealous. I’ve already done that.

  Just then the 4:00 p.m. alarm went off. Cassie looked up at the clock tower, “Well, it’s all clear now. We should start to see some girls coming out of hiding.” She started to laugh, but stopped. “What do you think about all of this?”

  “I don’t know, Cassie, I think it’s going to be hard. I almost didn’t hear the alarm just then, since I hear them so often,

  “I guess I’m getting used to them, too.”

  “I know what you mean. We’re going to have to stick together and help each other, if we want to stay safe. We can meet up at the fountain and walk to school together, if you don’t mind going out of your way a teensy bit.”

  “Are you kidding, I was hoping you’d meet me there in the mornings. Lunchtime isn’t going to be long enough for us to talk, and we need to meet after school, too.”

  “Cool, but not tomorrow,” Cassie gave a little smirk, “Mrs. Keaton just has to drive me the first day. You would think I was just starting kindergarten or something.”

  “Oh, Cassie, that’s sweet. Mrs. Keaton must really care about you.”

  “Yeah, she’s nice. Chris said it was love at first sight, when she and Mr. Keaton met. But then again, I thought she grew up here, since she told me how she felt about the rules when she was a teenager and she was an orphan.”

  “Maybe Mr. Keaton came here from another place?”

  “No, Chris told me his dad’s family goes all the way back to the original settlers.” Cassie was deep in thought now. “Does something seem odd to you?”

  “I don’t know. A lot of stuff here seems odd to me, and it’s not just the stupid rules.”

  “Do you remember the sign on the gate, when you first come into Parkerville?”

  “Well, no, we came in the back way through the bush, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah . . . right. Well, we came in the front gate and there was a sign that read:

  STOP!!! Gated Property

  Private Town of Parkerville

  No Entrance Without a Pass

  All Rules and Hours Strictly Enforced

  I thought it was a little intimidating . . . and kinda strange. I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s not exactly right here. I’ll have a talk with Geri; she’s a little talker. Once she gets going, she doesn’t stop. Maybe she’ll tell me something she shouldn’t.”

  “Come on, Cassie, enough of this. Let’s check out some of the shops on that little street over there.”

  Five girls strolled out of H’our Burgers, soon after Cassie and Skye walked by. They all wore white sweaters, which proudly displaced a big royal blue ‘P’ outlined in gold, which stood for Parkerville High. They were the Royals, the snobby cheerleaders who ruled P’ville High, with their rich and popular boyfriends. They exchanged curious glances and glared, as they watched Cassie and Skye walk past the fountain.

  School Begins

  It was finally the first day of school. Skye was lying in bed, her hands clasped behind her head . . . thinking.

  It was 5 o’clock in the morning; would she ever stop waking up on farm time? She sniffed the air and could smell her brand new leather shoes placed just under her bed. There was her new pocketbook, all set to go with the necessary stuff a girl needs, like a teasing brush, rat-tail comb, a new little pink wallet, and a purse-size bottle of her favorite perfume. On her bureau was the new frosted, ice pink, strawberry flavored lipstick.

  I wonder if Todd would like to taste it on me.

  She had her first-day outfit hanging on her closet door . . . a long sleeved white blouse with a pixie collar, a navy blue skirt with the tiniest red piping at the bottom, with navy suspenders criss-crossing in the back, with new suntan nylon stockings, and of course, her new navy blue Mary Jane shoes.

  Yesterday was fun. She remembered the day she and Cassie really got to know each other. She remembered Chris teasing Cassie a little about nearly buying out the stores, but Todd just smiled at Skye and hardly spoke at all. She wished they hadn’t fought after the picnic, on their way home. She could see the disappointment in his eyes and she was sure he could see the hurt in her own.

  Why can’t he give me some time? He had to show me his bad side so early in our relationship and I just wanted him to kiss me!

  Skye couldn’t get back to sleep now, with all these thoughts running through her mind. She had the alarm set for 6:00 a.m., but she turned it off and got up to take her shower.