I’ll try to relax.” She offered a hesitant smile. “Are we really going to get to ski?”
“Most like– Oh, here’s our ride.” Mom pointed to a white van with a magnetic logo on the side that read D IAMOND E STATES, WHERE THE FINEST GEMS ARE PULLED FROM THE DEEPEST ROUGH .
The driver pulled the van over to the curb a few yards beyond where they stood.
Mom handed Olivia a bag. “Here we go.”
Olivia followed a few steps behind, through the exhaust fumes, as her mom pulled open the door and spoke to the driver.
A boy about her age, probably a year older, with piercing blue eyes, stepped from the van. He nodded at Olivia, and a lock of his shoulder-length wavy brown hair fell in front of his face. “I’m Justin. I’ll be giving you a ride up the mountain and then taking you on a tour of the grounds until my dad gets back from the hospital.”
“I’m Olivia.” She climbed into the van and shut the door without another word. What must Justin think of her? Obviously she was a
problem child
or she wouldn’t be there. How embarrassing! But whatever he thought probably came pretty close to the truth.
“He’s cute, but he needs a haircut,” Mom hissed at Olivia before Justin made it back around to the driver’s seat after loading their bags.
“Shh, Mom.” Olivia rested her elbow on the armrest and laid her forehead in her hand. Mom could be so embarrassing.
But cute? Try again, Mom. How about gorgeous? Like he should be in a magazine
.
Justin climbed in and pulled away from the curb.
“So, you said your dad is in the hospital? Is he okay?” Mom touched Justin’s forearm.
“Oh no. It’s not him who’s sick. He’s picking up one of the residents who’s been in the hospital for a couple of days and is ready to come home.” Justin peeked at the mirror. “She’s been sick, but she’s fine now.”
“So, if I remember correctly, your dad is the director of the program?”
Nothing like giving the kid the third degree, Mom
. “Yes, ma’am. Dad is Ben Bradley, the director, and my mom, Alicia, helps out when she can. She also works as an emergency-room nurse at the hospital where Dad is now.”
“Oh. Interesting. I’m a nurse, too. Well, I was until … Well, I’m not working outside the home right now.”
Hah. Ask her how much she works
inside
the home
. Not that he would care. Olivia closed her mind to the chatter and gazed out the window at the flat interstate terrain. After about forty minutes, they began their climb into the higher elevation. The windshield wipers did their best to bat away the falling snow as the van wound its way up the mountain road.
Justin didn’t seem the least bit concerned about the travel conditions.
After about twenty minutes of climbing, the van made a sudden sharp turn toward the tree line. Olivia squealed and clutched the door handle, her eyes scrunched tight against the coming crash. At the last second, just before they would wreck, she peeked with one eye and spotted the narrow driveway carved between the clusters of tall spruce.
Justin slipped the vehicle between the trees and parked in a small clearing. He turned off the ignition. “Here we are.”
Mom fanned herself with her leather gloves. “Phew. Thought we’d had it there for a minute.”
“Sorry.” Justin’s neck reddened. “I forget how that turn can seem the first time. I should have taken it slower.”
Heart still beating wildly, Olivia stepped out of the van onto a blanket of fresh snow that crunched beneath her boots. Snow didn’t do that very often in Illinois—it usually slopped like slush and threw dirty globs onto the back of a person’s leg with each step. She breathed the fresh mountain air deeply into her hungry lungs. Would the mountain itself gasp in horror if she lit up a cigarette out here? She gazed up the mountain into the dense, snowcapped forest, then turned in the other direction to look behind her.
There it stood. Just beyond the clearing towered the amazing
“Most like– Oh, here’s our ride.” Mom pointed to a white van with a magnetic logo on the side that read D IAMOND E STATES, WHERE THE FINEST GEMS ARE PULLED FROM THE DEEPEST ROUGH .
The driver pulled the van over to the curb a few yards beyond where they stood.
Mom handed Olivia a bag. “Here we go.”
Olivia followed a few steps behind, through the exhaust fumes, as her mom pulled open the door and spoke to the driver.
A boy about her age, probably a year older, with piercing blue eyes, stepped from the van. He nodded at Olivia, and a lock of his shoulder-length wavy brown hair fell in front of his face. “I’m Justin. I’ll be giving you a ride up the mountain and then taking you on a tour of the grounds until my dad gets back from the hospital.”
“I’m Olivia.” She climbed into the van and shut the door without another word. What must Justin think of her? Obviously she was a
problem child
or she wouldn’t be there. How embarrassing! But whatever he thought probably came pretty close to the truth.
“He’s cute, but he needs a haircut,” Mom hissed at Olivia before Justin made it back around to the driver’s seat after loading their bags.
“Shh, Mom.” Olivia rested her elbow on the armrest and laid her forehead in her hand. Mom could be so embarrassing.
But cute? Try again, Mom. How about gorgeous? Like he should be in a magazine
.
Justin climbed in and pulled away from the curb.
“So, you said your dad is in the hospital? Is he okay?” Mom touched Justin’s forearm.
“Oh no. It’s not him who’s sick. He’s picking up one of the residents who’s been in the hospital for a couple of days and is ready to come home.” Justin peeked at the mirror. “She’s been sick, but she’s fine now.”
“So, if I remember correctly, your dad is the director of the program?”
Nothing like giving the kid the third degree, Mom
. “Yes, ma’am. Dad is Ben Bradley, the director, and my mom, Alicia, helps out when she can. She also works as an emergency-room nurse at the hospital where Dad is now.”
“Oh. Interesting. I’m a nurse, too. Well, I was until … Well, I’m not working outside the home right now.”
Hah. Ask her how much she works
inside
the home
. Not that he would care. Olivia closed her mind to the chatter and gazed out the window at the flat interstate terrain. After about forty minutes, they began their climb into the higher elevation. The windshield wipers did their best to bat away the falling snow as the van wound its way up the mountain road.
Justin didn’t seem the least bit concerned about the travel conditions.
After about twenty minutes of climbing, the van made a sudden sharp turn toward the tree line. Olivia squealed and clutched the door handle, her eyes scrunched tight against the coming crash. At the last second, just before they would wreck, she peeked with one eye and spotted the narrow driveway carved between the clusters of tall spruce.
Justin slipped the vehicle between the trees and parked in a small clearing. He turned off the ignition. “Here we are.”
Mom fanned herself with her leather gloves. “Phew. Thought we’d had it there for a minute.”
“Sorry.” Justin’s neck reddened. “I forget how that turn can seem the first time. I should have taken it slower.”
Heart still beating wildly, Olivia stepped out of the van onto a blanket of fresh snow that crunched beneath her boots. Snow didn’t do that very often in Illinois—it usually slopped like slush and threw dirty globs onto the back of a person’s leg with each step. She breathed the fresh mountain air deeply into her hungry lungs. Would the mountain itself gasp in horror if she lit up a cigarette out here? She gazed up the mountain into the dense, snowcapped forest, then turned in the other direction to look behind her.
There it stood. Just beyond the clearing towered the amazing
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