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- As Things Change
- Part XXXVII
Bo and Matt are sitting at the poker table at the lodge, staring
intently at their cards. Bo picks up half his pile of chips.
“I’m in.”
-
- Nora walks out of the kitchen.
“What are you two doing? Your friends will be here soon,
Matt. Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”
-
- Matt glances at his swimtrunks
and tee shirt. “I’m fine, Mom. What else should I be
wearing for a day on the lake?”
-
- “I bought you a new
suit. Where’s that?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “Home.
I thought that was for camp?”
-
- “I thought you would
wear it today too. That’s last year’s suit.”
-
- “Geez, Mom. What’s
the big deal? It’s a swimsuit. Nobody cares if I wore it
last year or not.”
-
- Bo winks at him. “Kallie
might.”
-
- “Don’t, okay? Promise
me you two aren’t gonna say anything embarrassing to Kallie.”
-
- Nora puts her arms around
Bo’s shoulders. “We’ll try to be good, sweetie.”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “Not
me. I want to keep you on your toes.”
-
- Nora playfully smacks him.
“He’s kidding, Matthew. We’ll try not to be too
‘parental like’ when your friends get here.”
-
- Matt shrugs. “We’re
not going to hang out here much anyway. We’ll be on the
boat…”
-
- Nora points at him. “That’s
another thing! You be careful on that thing. Everyone wears a
helmet and life vest or they don’t ride. Got it? I can’t
believe Asa bought you that death trap!”
-
- “Oh, Mom. It’s
cool!”
-
- “You just make sure
everyone knows the rules before they go out on the lake. It’s
just a lawsuit waiting to happen…”
-
- Bo pulls her down on his
lap. “Relax, honey. You can take your legal hat off. Matt
knows to be careful in the boat and I’m sure he’ll
keep an eye on Stevie too.” He looks to his son. “Right,
Matt?”
-
- He rolls his eyes. “Sure
thing, Dad.”
-
- “Don’t take that
attitude, young man. I can just as easily take the keys and it
stays in the boathouse…”
-
- Bo gives her a gentle squeeze.
“Honey… Don’t go off on a tirade. Please. Everything
will be fine with the boat. Matt will have to be more cautious
with all the boats on the lake because of the holiday. He knows
that.”
-
- Nora rolls her eyes. “Leave
it to Asa to give me one more thing to worry about. Even from
the grave that man makes me crazy!”
-
- Matt laughs. “You shouldn’t
let him make you nuts, Mom. He did buy the helmet and life vest
so he was thinking safety.”
-
- Nora is about to respond
when they hear a car pull up and doors slam. Matt jumps up from
the table. “They’re here! Don’t be too much of
a downer. Promise?”
-
- Bo nods. “Have fun,
son.”
-
- Matt runs out the door to
meet Kallie and Stevie. Rex and Lauren are right behind them.
They all spend the afternoon swimming and taking turns with the
boat. Nora is relieved to make it through with no calamities.
Bo mans the grill and they enjoy a picnic in the yard before
the kids escape across the lake in the big boat, to watch the
fireworks.
- Rex takes Lauren home early,
as they have last-minute wedding things to deal with and Lauren
has limited energy because of the pregnancy.
- The kids spend some time
swimming with the other teenagers to keep cool. When the sun
starts to dip below the horizon, they make their way to the beach
to scope out a good spot for the fireworks. Stevie has been flirting
with a girl from Pine Valley, so he goes off to see if he can
make any headway, leaving Kallie and Matt alone. Kallie dries
off as Matt goes to the boat to get a blanket. When he returns,
Kallie points toward the edge of the beach. “Let’s
try over there. I want to be out of the way of the crowd.”
-
- “Sure.” Matt follows
her to the far end of the beach and spreads the blanket on the
sand. Kallie takes a seat and Matt drops down beside her. “I’m
glad you could come up today.”
-
- Kallie grabs a brush out
of her bag and starts brushing out her hair. “I’ve
never been up in this area before. It’s beautiful.”
-
- “Maybe when I get back
from camp, we can come up again.”
-
- Kallie lies back on the blanket.
“I’d like that.”
-
- Matt leans back beside Kallie,
putting his hands behind his head. “It’s a great place
to hang out. My grandpa loved this place and I do too.”
-
- “So you’re doing
better with your grandpa’s death?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “I still
miss him a lot. It’s hard knowing I’ll never get to
hang with him here at the lodge or at his house again.”
-
- Kallie turns to him. “It
takes time, Matt. I’m glad to see you’re at least getting
out again. I know Stevie is thrilled you’re going to camp.
That’s all he talked about on the way up here.”
-
- Matt grins. “He’s
just excited about all the babes he’s going to meet at camp.”
-
- “I’m sure you’re
looking forward to that too.”
-
- “Nah... That’s
not the reason I’m going to camp.”
-
- Kallie laughs. “Yeah,
right. You already know how to ski so I’m not buying that
as your reason.”
-
- “Maybe I just wanted
to do something different than playing baseball. This has been
a bizarre summer. I quit the team so I could go to camp and then
we went to the ranch, which was new to me. I loved it and was
looking forward to seeing my grandpa down there. Then he died
and everything got confusing…”
-
- “That’s life, Matt.
It usually doesn’t turn out like you think it will.”
- “Yeah, I’m learning
that.”
-
- Bo and Nora finish the cleanup
from the picnic. Nora walks down to the dock while Bo grabs a
bottle of wine and joins her. She is staring at the new boat
when Bo walks onto the dock. “It’s a great night for
fireworks, isn’t it?”
-
- Nora nods, turning to him.
“What do you think Matt would say if I sunk that boat while
he’s gone?”
-
- Bo laughs as he hands her
a glass of wine. “I think he’d say your overreacting
again.”
-
- She takes the glass and sits
in a chair. “I’m willing to risk it. What was Asa thinking?”
-
- Bo takes a seat beside her.
“He was probably thinking Matt would love it and it would
drive you crazy.”
-
- “Well, he’s two
for two. I wish he was here so I could give him a piece of my
mind.”
-
- Bo smiles as he looks out
over the lake. “I’d love to see that too.”
-
- She reaches for his hand.
“I know how much you miss him. Is it hard being up here?”
-
- “Not really. Seeing
Matt getting back to enjoying himself makes it tolerable. If
it helps him to be here where he feels close to Asa, I can deal
with that.”
-
- Nora nods. “It is good
to see him smiling and hanging with his friends again and not
sulking in his room.”
-
- “He’s going to
be okay. You can relax now.”
-
- She chuckles, shaking her
head. “Like that’s gonna happen.”
-
- Kallie props her head on
her hand and stares at Matt. “Can I ask you something?”
-
- Matt has his eyes closed,
relaxing. “Sure, anything.”
-
- “Are you interested
in dating someone else?”
-
- Matt’s eyes pop open.
“What?”
-
- “I mean, did you meet
someone in Texas or at school…”
-
- He turns, leaning on his
elbow. “No, nothing like that. Why?”
-
- “Well, you haven’t
asked me out… And I did kiss you on your birthday…”
-
- Matt smiles. “That’s
kind of a tradition. You kissed me every birthday that I’ve
known you. Well, except for last year.”
-
- “So that didn’t
give you any hints?”
-
- He lies back with a sigh.
“I don’t know, Kallie. I know how mad you were after
what happened with Danielle…”
-
- “That was eons ago.
We’ve been friends all this time.”
-
- “Yes, and I didn’t
want to screw that up. I like hanging out with you…”
- “And that’s all
you want?”
-
- “No… It’s
just…” He looks at her. “I know you heard what
Raven said…”
-
- “You told me that didn’t
happen.”
-
- “It didn’t!”
-
- “And I believe you.
Raven stopped by the shack this summer, trying to get me to believe
you two were involved and she dumped you.”
- “Oh, man! Why was she
bugging you?”
-
- Kallie shrugs. “She
accused me of dating you because you’re rich.”
-
- Matt chuckles. “Actually,
I’m kinda broke most of the time. My parents have money
but they don’t really share a lot of it with me. Even the
trust my grandpa gave me doesn’t kick in until I’m
in college.”
-
- Kallie leans down, whispering
in his ear. “I don’t care about your family’s
money. I like you because you’re hot!”
-
- Matt grins. “You think
so?”
-
- She smiles at him and nods.
“Uh huh. But you seem not to feel the same way. Which is
why I’m asking if there’s someone else you’re
interested in.”
-
- “There’s nobody
else. I just don’t want to mess this up. I really like you.
I always have…”
-
- Kallie leans down and silences
him with a kiss. “You talk too much, you know that?”
-
- Matt smiles. “I get
that from my mom…”
-
- “Shhh… You’re
breaking the mood…” She kisses him again. He turns
and pulls her close as the fireworks start.
-
- Stevie finds them making
out when he comes to join them. He turns and walks away without
disturbing them. “’Bout time, Buchanan.”
-
- Bo and Nora are holding hands
on the dock as the fireworks begin. He watches for a bit before
leaning over to her. “I know another kind of fireworks that’s
more fun…”
-
- She laughs. “Bo Buchanan!
Your son and his friends will be back soon.”
-
- “Nah, they’re probably
hanging out with the other teens. I’m not expecting them
back any time soon.”
-
- “Do you think they’re
safe on the boat in the dark…”
-
- “Relax, Red. Matt’s
driven the boat at night before. He’ll be fine.”
- “If you think it’s
okay.”
-
- He gets up, pulling her up
with him. “I do. Let’s call it a night.”
-
- They walk off the dock hand
in hand and make their way up to the lodge as the fireworks continue
to explode over the lake.
-
- Kallie pulls back and looks
into the sky. “We’re missing the fireworks.”
- Matt grins. “I’m
not…”
-
- She playfully swats him.
“Funny. We should find Stevie. We were supposed to watch
the fireworks with him.”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “Stevie
can take care of himself.”
-
- She sits up. “The fireworks
are probably just about over.”
-
- He sits up beside her. “Let’s
wait until they finish. The lights will come on and we’ll
be able to find him.”
-
- She leans her head against
his shoulder. “Okay.”
-
- He puts his arm around her
shoulder, pulling her close. They watch as the fireworks finale
explodes and dies out over the lake. She turns in his arms and
kisses him as Stevie walks up to them. “All right you two,
enough already.”
-
- Matt pulls back. “I
knew you would find us. No luck with that chick from Pine Valley?”
-
- Stevie sits in front of them
on the blanket. “Nah… She’s kinda stuck up. Not
my type.”
-
- Matt laughs. “Right…”
-
- “Unlike you, I’m
not going to get tied down before we go to camp. I want to be
free to play the field.”
-
- Kallie grins. “Matt
is free to look at all the girls he wants to at camp.”
-
- Matt stares at her incredulously.
“Really?”
-
- She smacks him on the arm.
“NO! I was being sarcastic. You don’t think I’ve
waited half the summer for you just to let you get away now.”
-
- He gives her a sly grin.
“I knew that.” He pulls her close, kissing her. “For
the record, I don’t want to get away.”
-
- She kisses him quickly. “You
better not.”
-
- He whispers in her ear. “And
also for the record, I think you’re hot too…”
-
- Stevie groans. “Gross.
Come on, let’s get back to the lodge. We can go interrupt
your folks, Buchanan.”
-
- Matt rolls his eyes. “I’m
sure they’re behaving themselves.”
-
- Stevie laughs. “Dream
on.”
-
- Nora is resting her head
on Bo’s chest while he dozes. “Bo…”
-
- “Hmmm…”
-
- “The fireworks are over…”
-
- “Hmmm… I’m
gonna need a little more time before…”
-
- She smiles. “That’s
not my point…” She leans up and kisses him. “The
kids will be back soon. We should get dressed.”
-
- He pulls her close, settling
back down. “They don’t need our help to dock the boat.
You worry too much.”
-
- They hear the boat pull up
to the dock. “They’re back.”
-
- “See, I told you. You
can quit worrying now, Mom.”
-
- She leans her head on his
chest. “I’ll never stop worrying about him.”
-
- Bo kisses her forehead. “I
know, honey.”
-
- Stevie hops out of the boat
and ties it to the dock. Matt cuts the engine and pulls off his
life vest. He helps Kallie up onto the dock before jumping out
himself. Stevie looks at the mini boat. “I want to come
back up here and try that baby out again.”
-
- Matt nods. “We can come
again when we get back from camp.”
-
- “Excellent.” He
gives Matt a fist bump. “Tell your folks thanks for inviting
me. I’ll wait for you lovebirds in the car.”
-
- Matt takes Kallie’s
hand as Stevie walks off to the car. She turns to him. “Thank
your parents for me too.”
-
- “I will.” He puts
his hands on her waist. “Thanks for coming. I had a great
time.”
-
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