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“They’re gaining on us and with your slow-poke speed, Cal will easily overtake us.”
“Feel free to buy your own getaway car.” Maggie rolled her eyes. She shouldn’t complain. She didn’t have a car and Penny graciously let her use hers whenever she needed it. Maggie had sold hers when the repair bills grew and instead of getting a new one, with a new payment, she diverted the savings into her Brewster’s fund. Filling up the small tank on Penny’s hybrid and getting the occasional oil change was a small price to pay for the savings it gave her.
“What are you doing?” Maggie screeched as Penny approached the intersection slowly. Cal was behind a car in the next lane. At this rate, they’d be buying dessert and have to listen to Cal brag about beating them for the rest of their lives. Penny’s hybrid was no match for Cal’s souped-up engine.
“Wait for it.” Penny turned her head, checking the intersection. The light turned yellow and the car in front of Cal braked. Penny punched the accelerator, and her car zoomed through the intersection as the light turned red. Maggie turned and caught Cal’s shocked expression.
“That was the best! You should have seen Cal’s face. Oh my gosh, Penny. You’re my shero.” Maggie laughed and clapped her hands. “He’s going to accuse us of cheating.”
“And he’ll be wrong. There was no cheating and no magic. That’s the longest light in town, and with this heavy traffic, he won’t be able to catch up,” Penny said, sounding even more smug than she had with her running comment. Maggie relaxed in her seat. “You planning to tell me what that was about?”
“What was what all about?” Maggie asked, turning to look at Penny. It was easier to play dumb if you played along.
“The fact that you couldn’t get away from Cal’s roommates fast enough.”
“You heard Bash say the movie’s always better. For his own safety, I needed to get you away from him.”
“I’m ignoring his boorish comment, but I was referring to your insta-hate of Lucas. What was that all about?”
Maggie shrugged. “We were at Valley Community together. I just don’t like him.”
“That’s not like you. You like everyone. Did something happen?”
“No. But he was like my own personal Dementor sucking the joy out of my life until he transferred to State.”
“Dementors are the worst creatures in Harry Potter. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Penny gave her a sympathetic smile.
If he’d been mean to her, she would have labeled him a bully. And he hadn’t been a stalker because he never tried to hide himself, always lurking nearby. He was just a pest. Always showing up and making her uncomfortable. Making her feel less than. Anything she tried, he was right there doing it better.
Maggie shrugged. “What doesn’t kill ya’ makes ya’ stronger, and all that crap.”
“You haven’t seen him in what, seven years? You’ve changed. Maybe he has, too? Don’t retreat,” Penny said, pulling into the crowded parking lot.
“What?”
“Retreat. It’s what you do when you get nervous. You’re always so open and friendly with people, but if your confidence is shaken, you clam up like a turtle.”
“I clam up? Like a turtle? Talk about mixed metaphors. They’d revoke Nanna’s vet license if they knew her granddaughter thought turtles clammed up.”
“You know what I mean.” Penny pulled into the last parking space in the shade. “I want you to be happy and I want Cal to be happy, but he won’t be happy if he knows you’re unhappy and uncomfortable. This is important to him.”
“You want me to be nice to the person who made my life miserable?” She couldn’t believe Penny was asking this of her.
“For Cal. Yes. And for you.” Maggie felt Penny’s eyes on her as she dug through her small bag for her lip balm. Maybe the tingly balm would distract her from her baser instincts, and she’d be nice to Lucas. When pigs fly, she thought as she recapped the lid.
She was about to make a vague promise to Penny when her door flew open and the devil himself stood there. “Hi.” He leaned on the door, smiling at her.
“Hi,” she said, as she focused on unbuckling her car seat and not on the way his biceps flexed against the car door.
“Nice trick,” Bash said from the other side of the car, sounding impressed.
“No trick. All skill,” Penny said, unbuckling her seat belt. If I clam up like a turtle, then she’s a cat sharpening her claws, Maggie thought as she slid out of the car, ignoring the hand Lucas held out to her. He tucked his hand in his pocket, and from the look in his eyes, she knew he’d just doubled down on whatever his plan was. The door clicked behind her, and it felt like a jail door being locked.
“Let’s go,” Cal said, oblivious to his sisters’ unease. He headed for the trailhead, and Lucas motioned for her to go ahead of him, but instead of letting her walk alongside Penny, where everyone would stay safe, he slithered next to her.
Lucas spent the next five minutes peppering her with questions. Maggie managed monosyllabic answers. It sounded like Penny and Bash were having a similar conversation. As if he was a captain trying to save a sinking ship, Cal turned toward them, asking, “Bad day at work?”
“Pretty good, actually,” Penny said. “We got another shipment of Gloria Sebastian’s latest thriller, which we weren’t supposed to get, and it was perfect timing since we were down to our last two, and five teens showed up for the teen book club.”
