Count Me In (4 page)

As the ceremony ended and the crowd moved down the hillside, three different people hugged Cedar and commented on how much he looked like his father. With each comment, Cedar had grown a little taller, his back a little straighter, and the deep lines between his eyebrows had eased.

Now Tabitha chose the thimble as her Monopoly piece—it was solid and wouldn't roll off the table— and put it on
GO
. She worried she'd do something dumb like knock all the pieces on the floor and then Cedar would stop playing with her.

“You go first,” he said. “You're the youngest.”

She frowned. He and Ashley always made such a big deal about that.

Cedar's mouth pulled up on one side. “We always play youngest goes first.”

“Oh.” She rolled the dice and moved her thimble to St. Charles Place. “I'll buy a house.”

“That'll be a hundred and forty bucks.”

She handed over the money.

“You always this quiet?” Cedar asked.

Tabitha's cheeks flushed. “I don't know.”

Cedar rolled and moved his die. He landed on St. Charles Place and groaned.

She grinned. “That's ten dollars.”

He passed her a ten, and she rolled again.

After several minutes of playing, he said, “So, how come you're so quiet?”

She sighed. Couldn't he let her be? “My family's quieter than yours, I guess.”

“Are you this quiet with your friends?”

She shrugged and rolled the dice. What friends?

“Mom said you were having trouble at school,” Cedar said.

Tabitha's jaw clenched. Mothers were all the same. They didn't know how to keep their mouths shut. “I'll buy the Short Line Railroad.”

“You won't have enough to pay me rent.”

“On what? You only own two properties, and they're on the other side of the board.”

Cedar grinned and pulled on his ponytail. “I might buy something next turn.”

“I'll take the chance.”

“You're gutsier than I thought,” he said.

Smiling to herself, she passed over another $200. She only had $
62
left, but she'd be passing
GO
soon. As long as he didn't leapfrog past her, she'd be okay.

“So are you?” he asked.

“What?”

“Having problems at school.”

Her cheeks had cooled off as they played. Now they flushed again. “It's all right.”

“That's not how it sounded. What's wrong? Bad teacher?”

She sighed. “The other kids don't like me.”

Cedar stared out the window. “I know something about that.”

“Right.” He had to be one of the cool kids.

“Ashley and I aren't exactly part of the popular crowd.”

Tabitha shook the dice between her cupped hands. She always used to think he and Ashley were cool. They seemed so sure of themselves. But if she really thought about it, not one boy in her school wore a ponytail like Cedar's. And none of the girls chose to go hiking with their parents on the weekend. Maybe they had problems at school she'd never dreamed of. “You guys seem happy.”

He ran a hand across his hair. “I don't let things bother me.”

“Like what?”

“Kids call me ‘nature freak' and ‘girlie,' and worse. If they think it doesn't bother you, they stop.” He picked up the dice and went back to the game.

Tess opened the door and walked in with a load of wood. She stacked it by the fire. Then she sat down with a book, the first time she'd sat still since they'd arrived at the hut. She used to sit around more when Bruce was alive. Did she need to work twice as hard now that Bruce was gone, or was she trying to keep herself busy?

A couple of hours later Tabitha had hotels on three properties and houses on seven. She owned the electric company and all four railroads. Cedar would be bankrupt in a few more turns.

“How's the game?” Tess asked.

“Tabitha's way too good at this.” Cedar didn't sound upset. He rolled and landed on Atlantic Avenue.

Tabitha grinned. “That's another eight hundred and fifty dollars. Do you have enough?”

Ashley hopped down the ladder into the kitchen. She stood over the table with her hands on her hips. “You guys are
still
playing? Don't you have anything better to do?”

“Like sleep all morning?” Cedar said. “You should have played. Might have learned a few things.”

Ashley scrunched up her face. “What do you mean?”

“Tabitha can add all the money in her head, and knows what change to give without having to count it out.”

Tabitha bit her lip to keep from smiling.

Ashley eyed Tess in the chair. In a loud voice, she said, “That's good.” Then she leaned over and put her mouth close to Tabitha's ear. “At least there's one thing you're good at.”

Tabitha stared right into her eyes, determined not to show her that the comment hurt. Maybe if she followed Cedar's advice, Ashley would give up.

Ashley squeezed beside Cedar on the bench. “Want to take Max for a walk?”

“We're almost finished,” he said. “I'll meet you when I'm done.”

Ashley jumped up as though she'd realized the bench was burning hot. She put on her jacket. “Don't bother. You and Tabitha can have a nice time together.” She stomped out the door and slammed it shut.

Tess shook her head. “Teenage hormones.”

Tabitha rolled her eyes. Adults could be so dense.

They spent a long stuffy day inside, listening to the rain. Ashley came back from her walk before lunch and started doing a puzzle by the fire. By late afternoon, Tabitha couldn't take being cooped up for one minute longer. “Let's go outside, Max.”

“Don't go alone,” Tess said. “You could get lost in the fog.”

Tabitha stopped, her hand on the door. “I went out this morning.”

“The fog's lower now, and it'll be dark soon,” she said. She tapped Ashley's shoulder. “You can keep Tabitha company.”

Ashley's head sprang up from the puzzle. “I've already been out.”

“More fresh air won't kill you,” Tess said. “And Max needs another walk.” Max thumped his tail on the floor as if agreeing.

“Why don't you make Cedar go?” Ashley said.

Cedar was stretched out on the bench, dozing. Tess looked at her.

“Dad wouldn't have made me go,” she said.

Tess flinched as though the words had been a slap in the face. She narrowed her eyes and said, “You're going.”

Ashley grabbed her jacket. “Let's make this quick.”

“Fine,” Tabitha muttered.

CHAPTER FIVE

Evening was already descending as they walked out the door. The low gray clouds made it gloomy even at four in the afternoon. Wet bushes rustled in the wind, sprinkling water over their legs as they brushed past. The lake was even more forbidding now, the color of the water in the school janitor's mop bucket. Tabitha pulled up the hood on her jacket and cinched the cord tight, trying to keep the wind from blowing the rain down her neck.

Max bounded ahead, then circled back. He reminded her so much of Bruce. Even on a short walk to the swimming pool, her uncle used to circle among the kids, trying to contain his extra energy. Everyone knew he wanted to yell, “Hurry up!” Barrel-chested, with a deep, booming voice and a curly blond beard, Bruce was passionate about mountaineering. Tabitha had never understood what he loved about climbing frozen mountains. It was bad enough hiking in dry weather.

People said he died doing what he loved, as though that made it okay that his kids no longer had a father and that Tess had lost her husband. While crossing an ice field on a mountain up north, he'd fallen into a crevasse—a giant crack in the ice. When the rest of his group pulled him out, he was already dead. He'd hit his head in the fall. Max had sat by the front window of their house for weeks, waiting for Bruce to come home.

Tabitha shook her head to get rid of the sad thoughts. “Let's walk to the far side of the lake.”

“We'll never make it in this weather,” Ashley said.

Tabitha kept walking. “Watch me,” she whispered to herself. She'd had enough of Ashley telling her what to do. Enough of Ashley making her feel like a little kid. Enough of standing back and taking it.

The rain pelted her face. The path was hard to see in the fog. Partway along, they came to a rock field. The trail disappeared, and large boulders blocked their path. She could barely make out an orange marker on a rock a few steps away.

Max sniffed and leaped among the rocks. Tabitha followed, lurching from one boulder to another, using her hands for balance.

“Can't you go faster?” Ashley asked.

“Go in front if you're so fast.”

Ashley pushed past her on the next large rock and almost knocked her over. As her cousin leaped from rock to rock, Tabitha tried to follow but wasn't as sure of herself, especially on the slippery surfaces of the boulders.

“It's not a race,” she said.

Ashley spun around on one foot and said in a singsong voice, “Is the wittle baby getting tired?”

Before Tabitha could respond, Ashley spun back and jumped for the next rock. As she did, her back foot slipped out from under her. Her body landed flat across two rocks, and her cheek whacked the stone.

Tabitha winced.

Ashley lay still.

“Nice try,” Tabitha said. “You can't fool me.”

Her cousin didn't move. Tabitha crossed her arms and waited. Ashley continued to lie there. Tabitha leaned over her. It didn't even sound like she was breathing. “Are you okay?” she asked. “What's wrong?”

Ashley took a gasping breath and groaned. She cried out as she tried to push herself up off the rocks. Her hand was slippery with blood. “Help me up.”

Tabitha grabbed Ashley around the chest and heaved her upright. She was heavy for someone so thin. Max pushed his way through and nuzzled Ashley's legs. Tabitha tried to nudge him out of the way, but he wouldn't move from Ashley's side.

A circle of white skin pulsated on Ashley's cheek. Blood dripped from her hand. Ashley raised her clean hand to her cheek and gasped as her fingers grazed the skin. Tears poured down her cheeks.

Tabitha gulped. Ashley's right cheek, the one she'd fallen on, looked flatter than the left side. “I think we'd better go back.”

“Yeah.” The word came out muffled, like Ashley had a cold.

“Can you walk back to the hut?” Tabitha asked.

Ashley took a few shuddering breaths. “I guess.” She didn't move. “My mom's gonna be so mad.”

“Why? You fell.”

Ashley pressed her hands together to try and stop the bleeding. “She'll know I was showing off.”

Tabitha began picking her way through the rocks. “How will she know?”

“Duh. When you tell her,” she said.

“Have I ever told on you before?”

“You did when I pushed you into the mud.”

Tabitha's fingers dug into her hands as she clenched her fists. “I was four!”

Ashley wrinkled her forehead. “I guess you're right.”

Tabitha continued along the trail. Ashley walked with her hands pressed together as though she was praying. The light was starting to fade. Tabitha shivered in her light jacket as the wind whipped off the lake.

“Can you slow down?” Ashley said.

Tabitha turned, surprised to see that her cousin had fallen behind. She waited for her to catch up. “Are you okay? Should I get help?”

“I can make it. But not so fast.” Ashley's face had turned gray, and blood was starting to drip from her hand again.

Tabitha wished they'd brought the first-aid kit.

As much as she'd hated hiking, it had never occurred to her that it could be dangerous. Bad things were only supposed to happen to people who took risks, like Bruce on the steep ice fields.

Even though Tabitha felt sorry for Ashley, a tiny part of her was happy to know that her cousin wasn't as tough as she appeared. And maybe, now that she recognized that Tabitha was no longer four, she'd stop treating her like a little kid.

Max trotted ahead and then ran back, circling their legs. When the hut came into view, he raced toward it and waited on the front step.

Cedar whistled as they pushed open the door. “Ouch.”

“What happened?” Tess asked, rushing for her first-aid kit.

“Ashley slipped on a boulder,” Tabitha said.

Cedar peered at her cheek. “What were you doing on the rocks?”

“I wanted to walk to the other side of the lake,” Tabitha said.

Tess elbowed Cedar out of the way. “Not such a good idea in this weather.”

“Yeah,” Ashley said. “And then she wanted to race. That's when I slipped.”

Tess looked at Tabitha with disappointment. “You shouldn't take chances in this weather.”

Tabitha stood open-mouthed. She couldn't believe Ashley had lied. But then, why should she be surprised, really? She pursed her lips and stared at her cousin, who wouldn't meet her eye.

Tess sat Ashley in the chair by the fire and put on her headlamp. Ashley jerked back when she prodded her cheek. “That hurts!”

Good, thought Tabitha.

“I think you might have broken a bone,” Tess said. She'd worked for twenty years as a midwife. A broken bone was probably no big deal to her. Her voice stayed calm and controlled. “Open and close your mouth.”

Ashley did as she was told, but her jaw only opened a fraction, and her teeth didn't meet properly when she closed her mouth.Tess patted her fingers under Ashley's eye. “What do you feel?”

“Nothing.”

Tess nodded. “I'm pretty sure it's broken.” She turned off the headlamp and sat back on her heels.

Cedar sat on the bench and leaned toward Ashley. “Is it serious?”

“We need to get her to a hospital. They probably won't do anything, but we need an X-ray. Sometimes broken cheekbones need surgery. And she won't be able to eat.”