Legacy (3 page)

Mercy kissed her cheek. “Sure, Gran.” She picked up the basket and swung it around once before entering the house. She felt like skipping, she felt so light inside. She wouldn’t have to face Greg tomorrow with bad news. She would go to her first dance with
the hottest guy on the planet.

But what will I wear?
She stopped short
and thought about the contents of her closet
.
She didn't want to ask Gran to cough up the money for a new dress.
Although Gran always had enough money for anything they needed.
Maybe
Kelli
has something I can borrow.

She left the basket on the kitchen counter and brought her homework to the table where she found her snack, as promised. A saucer with oatmeal raisin cookies sat waiting for her. She poured a glass of juice and took a seat, biting into a cookie as she reached for her
h
istory book.

Alastair, the large black cat rubbed against her legs. She reached down to stroke his head.
His purr sounded like a coffee grinder. “Hey, Alistair. Have you been protecting Gran?”

His purr seemed to grow louder.

Mercy returned to her homework and finished quickly.
She replaced her books and papers in the threadbare backpack. She hated to ask for a new one. Maybe this one would last thro
ugh the end of the school year.

The next day,
when Kelli picked Mercy up there was an air of excitement in the car
.

Felicity leaned forward. “How did your grandmother take it when
you told her?”

Mercy turned in the seat to face her. “What are you talking about?”

Kelli snorted. “How blasé can you get? Talk about cool.” She flashed a metallic grin. “Maybe too cool. Just sayin’…”

“Greg!” Felicity said. “What did you think I meant? What did your grandmother say when you told her Greg asked you to the dance?”

“Oh, I…um…” Mercy stumbled. She felt shy talking about Greg, especially when she wasn't sure of his motives. “Yeah, she was fine with it.”

“Really?” Felicity sat back in her seat. “That surprises me. I mean, I thought she would have said no.”

Mercy swallowed the lump at the back of her throat. “No, she knows Greg is a nice boy.” Her own words mocked her. “I mean, I’ve known him all my life, really.”

Kelli and Felicity bubbled over about the dance. Mercy was glad she had been able to tell them that she would be allowed to go with Greg, even though she didn’t have anything to wear.

“Don’t you have some money saved up from chores and babysitting that horrible Martin brat?” Felicity asked.

“I have a little cash in my stash, but probably not enough.” Mercy considered the money she kept in a cigar box at the back of her closet. She hadn’t counted it lately, but didn’t remember having much in there.

“Well, not to worry. I am a shopping goddess and I will stretch your funds into
total
fabulous
ity
. Trust me. Shopping is my super power.”

Mercy giggled with her friends. “It will have to be a huge super power to help me find a great dress for the dance.”

The girls climbed out at the school and Mercy gathered her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. When she met Greg in the hall a few minutes later, he grinned and pulled her out of the stream of traffic.
The place where his fingers hel
d her arm seemed to be on fire.

“
Hey, Mercy,” he said. Even the sound of his voice sent goose bumps skittering down her arms. “I thought about you all last night. I’m really looking forward to the dance.”

“Umm..Me too.”
Dumb!
“I mean, I thought about you too.”

“I’ll walk you to class.”

Her heart pumped so loud
ly
she was sure he could hear it. “Um…I have to go to my locker first.”

“Sure,” he said
and fell into step beside her.

She opened her locker and put the backpack on a hook, then removed the books for her first perio
d class. “I’m ready,” she said.

Greg reached to take her books and tucked them under his arm with his own, then held out his hand.

Mercy swallowed hard and slid her hand into his, feeling a tightness in her chest when his warm fingers closed around hers. They walked down the hall, hand in hand
,
an
d she felt the weight of a thousand eyes staring at her.
Why would Greg Lambert be holding hands with Mercy Young? What could he see in her? Why would the coolest boy be walking with the geekiest girl?

The
morning
passed quickly, but Mercy felt as though she was the subject of a lot of speculation. A great many heads turned when she passed by in the halls. At lunchtime, as she made her way through the line, it seemed that everyone stared as she made her selections and when she found her usual seat on the g
eek side of the cafeteria.

She set her tray beside
Kelli
and across from Felicity. “Why is everyone looking at me?”

Kelli
shoved her glasses up on her nose. “Because
His A
wesome
ness,
Greg Lambert asked you out. I heard two of the cheerleaders talking about it in the restroom. They seem to think that he’s the property of the cool kids and shouldn’t be interested in a geek.”

Mercy’s stomach clenched.
That’s what I thought
too.
She nodded her head in
total
agreement.

“Ridiculous!” Felicity declared. “Mercy
is gorgeous. Greg is lucky that she said yes.”

“Yeah, right. I have all the cool
guy
s
waiting in line to ask me out.”

“Well, you would if you ever paid any attention to them. You’re always so serious. They’re probably all intimidated by your brains.” Felicity tore the wrapper off her straw and stabbed it through the top of the milk carton.

Mercy drew a deep breath and pushed
it out
of her lungs before asking the question. “So what are the all-powerful cool ones saying about me and Greg?”

“Well…”
Kelli
glanced around and then leaned closer. “Angela said you must have bought a love potion and that Greg is your love slave now.
And Celia said that he must need you to tutor him in some subject so he can keep his athletic eligibility, and that you made him take you to the dance in payment.
But the general consensus of opinion is that he lost a bet with his baseball buddies and has to take you to the dance.”

A heavy weight settled in Mercy’s mid-section.
Exactly!

“Well, that’s just plain silly,” Felicity said. “Just because Mercy is brainy doesn’t mean she doesn’t have other charms.”

Mercy quietly ate her lunch, wondering what
exactly
her other charms might be.

After school, she rode home with the girls and considered what she might have to offer a popular boy like Greg. Other than being inordinately good at her schoolwork, there wasn’t anything exceptional about Mercy Young. She wasn’t artistic or talented. She glanced back at Felicity, who had been
one of
her best friend
s
since forever. Felicity had put on a little weight recently, but she had lovely clear
hazel
eyes and thick brown hair that was just the right amount of wave to it. Not too curly
and not too straight. Felicity was in the school orchestra and was considered musically gifted. Mercy couldn’t imagine how one could take an inanimate object like the cello and draw a bow over
its
strings to make beautiful sounds come out.
It must be wonderful to have a
special
talent.

She glanced at
Kelli
in the driver’s seat. Kel was smart and
funny and
outgoing. She could make friends with a tree stump and
absolutely
everyone liked her
, but she considered Felicity and Mercy her closest of
friends
.
Kelli was on the debate team and planned to go to law school.
She wore her bright red hair in a pony tail, usually haphazardly secured by a
scrunchy
. Kelli was her own person and didn’t seem to
care
what anyone thought. Th
is
attitude carr
ied
over into her relationships. She refused to succumb to the mean girls taunts. They had long ago learned that Kelli was fast with a comeback and could turn their taunts into sharp arrows to fling back against them. The best put-down Lindy and her friends could manage was to ignore her. But Kelli went out of her way to greet them wit
h a wide, metal-enhanced grin.

Mercy wished she had some of Kelli’s social graces and charm
…and a big helping of her audacity.

Kelli pulled up to Mercy’s house and put the car in gear. “See you tomorrow, Mercy.”

“Byeee,” Felicity called from the back seat as Mercy
climbed out and shut the door.

“See you in the morning,” Mercy said as the car pulled away. She opened the gate and looked around the front yard, but Gran wasn’t there. The car was under the c
arport so Gran must be inside.

Mercy stepped inside
the house
, calling out. “Gran, I’m home.” But
her voice echoed back to her. She checked all the rooms and found
the house empty
except for
Alistair
, the
well-fed
black cat
.
She couldn’t smell gingerbread or fresh baked cookies or any
of the usual
after school treat
s
her grandmother always had waiting for her.

That’s strange.
S
he
must be
in the
back
.

Mercy put her backpack
and books
on the table and changed clothes.
She was certain she would find Gran in the
backyard, tending the garden,
so s
he grabbed her gloves and went out
the door
, expecting to see
her
pulling weeds or harvesting herbs or
vegetables in her orderly beds.

She pulled on her gloves and stepped
outside;
scanning the backyard, but it appeared to be empty.
A tingle of fear swirled through her stomach, but she pushed it aside before it grew to full-blown hysteria.
Not going to panic
. She tried to convince herself that she would be laughing with Gran about this in a few minutes.
It's just that she's always here when
I get home from school. Always.

B
irds twittered and bees hummed.
T
he
scent of fragrant
herbs and blossoms
filled her senses
. She searched the front, the side and the backyard, but her Gran was not anywhere to be found. “Gran,” she called. “Where are you?” Her voice sounded small. It seemed that the bees hummed louder and birds chirped with more fluency. Perhaps they were trying to tell her where Gran was hiding.
She must be visiting with Mrs. O’Grady next door.
 
But she didn’t want to go over there because Mrs. O’Grady was a major busy body and if her grandmother wasn’t over there, she would be stuck listening
to the woman prattle on and on.

This is sooo weird
. Mercy sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Normal. Do something normal.

Mercy
squatted down to
pull a few weeds from the vegetable
patch
. She picked a big green pepper and a few tomatoes, but Gran didn’t appear.
She straightened, feeling
more than a little
anxious as she gazed around the riot of colors in the yard.
Just do what you normally do and Gran will show up soon.

She fed the chickens, strewing grain in their fenced
-
in yard, and gathered the eggs.
Breath in and out. This is normal
.

She saw Mrs. O’Grady pulling into her driveway, but Gran wasn’t with her. The terror rose in her gut again, like a tidal wave ready to swamp her. She pressed her hands to her stomach and tried
not to panic.

What could have happened to Gran? Why would she leave without letting me know? When is she coming back?
She got up and ran back inside the house
to search for a note...anything
.
But there was nothing to give her a hint as to where Gran might have gone.