A Girl Named Summer by Julie Garwood Page B

Gregg was nice enough to keep his mouth shut while he drove her home, and Summer was able to make it to her room before she started to cry.
    David didn’t call the next morning but appeared at her front door instead, his arms loaded down with poster board and felt-tip markers. Michael was busyplaying at the neighbor’s, and Grandpa had gone to the shopping center. David and Summer were all alone in the house, and it was the perfect time to clear the air. The problem was that he was being so cool and aloof.
    “David, when we’re finished with the posters, I’d really like to talk to you about something,” Summer finally said.
    David frowned and then nodded. “Gregg?”
    “And Ann,” Summer added. “Okay?”
    “Okay,” David replied. He smiled his first real smile, and Summer beamed in return.
    The screen door opened, and Grandpa walked in, loaded down with packages he immediately carried to his room. Summer was disappointed. Not wanting to talk to David in front of her grandfather, she decided to hurry and resolve the problem immediately. “What did you mean by ‘sort of’ dating?” she asked, pretending great concentration on the poster in front of her.
    The phone rang before David could reply. He answered it and called to her grandfather. Accepting that she would have to wait until after lunch to have her little talk with him, she stood up and stretched, and then headed for the kitchen to prepare lunch. Once Grandpa had eaten, he would probably take his nap, so the sooner the meal was done, the better. David went into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and began to thumb through the latest
TV Guide
.
    A minute later, Summer pushed open the swingingdoor that connected the dining room with the kitchen and asked David to clear a spot on the table.
    The next time she hurried into the room, she overheard her grandfather. He obviously didn’t realize how loud he was. He was bragging on the phone about her, making outrageous statements about what a fast runner she was, and Summer had to smile. Grandpa loved to brag. David looked up at Summer and winked, and she knew that he, too, was listening to her grandfather’s conversation.
    Summer wasn’t gone more than five minutes, but when she came back to the dining room, David looked at her with a frown on his face. He seemed puzzled, Summer thought. Puzzled and irritated.
    She returned to the kitchen for the pitcher of lemonade, but she could hear her grandfather talking. She paused and felt the blood drain from her face when she heard her grandfather explain how she had just started running.
    Michael came skipping in the back door then, full of chatter. “Summer, I’ve got a rock—”
    “Not now, Michael,” she said. Her mind was racing with excuses in case David realized that she had lied to him, but it was a wasted effort. The door swung open and there he stood, glaring at her.
    “Hi, David,” Michael said. “I’ve got a rock.”
    “Hi, Mike. Summer, I just heard your grandfather say you’ve only been running for about a month.” He sounded surprised.
    “Oh, you know Grandpa likes to exaggerate,” shereplied, trying to sound blasé. “David, will you take this pitcher into the dining room. I’ll get the chips.”
    “He said you started running after Ann Logan’s party, that Regina talked you into it.”
    “Michael, go and wash your hands,” Summer stammered. “David, what’s the big deal about when I started to run?”
    “The big deal? If it’s true, you lied to me,” David stated.
    She tried to look disgusted and marched by David. She put the pitcher on the table and turned around, knowing that he was right behind her. She was stalling, trying to come up with a logical explanation that would appease him and not make her grandfather sound as if he had made the whole thing up.
    “Summer, you know how important it is to me that we never, ever lie to each other. How can we build a good relationship if we can’t trust each other?” He