want to come to Willow Creek unless it was to see her?
To see someone else. That much was obvious. Unfortunately, there was also one very obvious person he might want to see … “Don’t be stupid,” Stevie muttered to herself. “Lisa would tell me if Phil showed up over there.”
That made her feel slightly better. But she was still bothered by the situation. She decided to go downstairs and make herself a snack. Maybe that would cheer her up.
She walked into the kitchen. Her older brother, Chad, and her twin brother, Alex, were seated at the table gobbling down the remains of a chocolate cake.
“Hey,” Stevie said, snatching the platter away just asAlex was about to spear the last slice with his fork. “Save some for the rest of us, will you?” She grabbed the cake without bothering to get a plate and took a big bite.
Chad rolled his eyes. “Really, Stevie,” he said, swallowing his mouthful of cake. “Haven’t any of Tessa’s manners rubbed off on you?”
Alex laughed. “Yeah, really,” he added teasingly. “How can you hang out with someone like her and still act the way you do? I mean, she’s a real lady. And you’re more of a …” He paused, obviously searching for just the right comparison.
“A horse?” Chad suggested helpfully.
Alex shook his head. “No, I was thinking more along the lines of a gorilla.”
Stevie rolled her eyes as her brothers snorted with laughter. “Ha, ha,” she said heavily. The last thing she felt like doing right then was getting into a discussion about how wonderful Tessa was. “So is there any milk left, or did you warthogs down all of that, too?” She walked over to the refrigerator to check.
Her brothers weren’t finished. “You know, Stevie,” Chad said, sounding just a little too casual, “I have another intramural baseball game on Friday night. Maybe Tessa would like to come and watch like she did last week.”
Stevie froze in her tracks. This was too much. She recognized the tone in her brother’s voice. It was the tone that meant he had yet another crush on yet another girl.And this time, it seemed, the girl was Tessa. She gritted her teeth. “I don’t think so,” she replied evenly. “We’re having a sleepover on Friday night.”
“Too bad,” Alex said gleefully. “Hey, Stevie, how much longer is Tessa going to be here, anyway? Maybe if we asked nicely, Mom and Dad would take us all to King’s Dominion or Busch Gardens. Tessa, too,” he added quickly.
“Hey, that would be a blast,” Chad agreed eagerly. “Tessa seems like the kind of girl who’d have fun riding roller coasters and stuff.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah. She seems pretty cool. You know, for a horse freak.”
Stevie groaned and set the remains of her cake down on the counter. Suddenly her appetite had vanished. Obviously Tessa’s friendly personality and exotic accent had completely won over her brothers. Just the way it had won over Phil …
“Give it up,” Stevie told her brothers sourly. “You don’t know anything about Tessa.” I’m beginning
to wonder how well
any
of us really knows her
, she thought grimly. For
instance, who could have predicted that she’d suddenly want to become best friends with Veronica diAngelo?
Suddenly Stevie gasped. She had just remembered something—something that made her forget all about her annoying brothers. Tessa wasn’t at Lisa’s house this evening. She was having dinner with Veronica!
Or maybe Veronica is just covering for her
, Stevie thoughtas a cold, tight fist seemed to clutch at her heart.
Maybe she’s
really
spending this evening with Phil!
A TROUBLED FROWN creased Carole’s brow as she paged through a well-worn reference book about equine health. She had already checked all the entries having to do with manure about a dozen times, but she still couldn’t stop thinking about Topside. What if there really was something wrong with him?
She tried to reassure herself. Aside from the slightly odd-looking
To see someone else. That much was obvious. Unfortunately, there was also one very obvious person he might want to see … “Don’t be stupid,” Stevie muttered to herself. “Lisa would tell me if Phil showed up over there.”
That made her feel slightly better. But she was still bothered by the situation. She decided to go downstairs and make herself a snack. Maybe that would cheer her up.
She walked into the kitchen. Her older brother, Chad, and her twin brother, Alex, were seated at the table gobbling down the remains of a chocolate cake.
“Hey,” Stevie said, snatching the platter away just asAlex was about to spear the last slice with his fork. “Save some for the rest of us, will you?” She grabbed the cake without bothering to get a plate and took a big bite.
Chad rolled his eyes. “Really, Stevie,” he said, swallowing his mouthful of cake. “Haven’t any of Tessa’s manners rubbed off on you?”
Alex laughed. “Yeah, really,” he added teasingly. “How can you hang out with someone like her and still act the way you do? I mean, she’s a real lady. And you’re more of a …” He paused, obviously searching for just the right comparison.
“A horse?” Chad suggested helpfully.
Alex shook his head. “No, I was thinking more along the lines of a gorilla.”
Stevie rolled her eyes as her brothers snorted with laughter. “Ha, ha,” she said heavily. The last thing she felt like doing right then was getting into a discussion about how wonderful Tessa was. “So is there any milk left, or did you warthogs down all of that, too?” She walked over to the refrigerator to check.
Her brothers weren’t finished. “You know, Stevie,” Chad said, sounding just a little too casual, “I have another intramural baseball game on Friday night. Maybe Tessa would like to come and watch like she did last week.”
Stevie froze in her tracks. This was too much. She recognized the tone in her brother’s voice. It was the tone that meant he had yet another crush on yet another girl.And this time, it seemed, the girl was Tessa. She gritted her teeth. “I don’t think so,” she replied evenly. “We’re having a sleepover on Friday night.”
“Too bad,” Alex said gleefully. “Hey, Stevie, how much longer is Tessa going to be here, anyway? Maybe if we asked nicely, Mom and Dad would take us all to King’s Dominion or Busch Gardens. Tessa, too,” he added quickly.
“Hey, that would be a blast,” Chad agreed eagerly. “Tessa seems like the kind of girl who’d have fun riding roller coasters and stuff.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah. She seems pretty cool. You know, for a horse freak.”
Stevie groaned and set the remains of her cake down on the counter. Suddenly her appetite had vanished. Obviously Tessa’s friendly personality and exotic accent had completely won over her brothers. Just the way it had won over Phil …
“Give it up,” Stevie told her brothers sourly. “You don’t know anything about Tessa.” I’m beginning
to wonder how well
any
of us really knows her
, she thought grimly. For
instance, who could have predicted that she’d suddenly want to become best friends with Veronica diAngelo?
Suddenly Stevie gasped. She had just remembered something—something that made her forget all about her annoying brothers. Tessa wasn’t at Lisa’s house this evening. She was having dinner with Veronica!
Or maybe Veronica is just covering for her
, Stevie thoughtas a cold, tight fist seemed to clutch at her heart.
Maybe she’s
really
spending this evening with Phil!
A TROUBLED FROWN creased Carole’s brow as she paged through a well-worn reference book about equine health. She had already checked all the entries having to do with manure about a dozen times, but she still couldn’t stop thinking about Topside. What if there really was something wrong with him?
She tried to reassure herself. Aside from the slightly odd-looking
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