One Black Rose Read online

  Chapter Four

  After I'd met Holt Roth, there was no way I was going back to UP UP and Away through the Roths' garden, so I took the long way around through the streets. It was fully dark by then, and when I passed the front of the Roths' house there were no lights on anywhere. My emotions were all over the place. I knew Carley had talked about the Roths, but why hadn't she told me that Holt was one? Was it her idea of a joke? That would be just like Carley. Feeling more irritated than ever, I headed back to UP UP and Away.

  When I got back to the caf?, I showed Mrs. Fritters my passport and we finished the paperwork. She asked if I could come by tomorrow for a quick training session, and I promised that I would. Meanwhile, across the room, Carley and Nick were deep in conversation. When I joined them I could barely hear what they were saying over the band that had started playing, and I had no chance to ask Carley about Holt. Despite my long day of travel, the three of us stayed and chatted until well after midnight. Then, to my great relief, Nick gave us a ride home and I didn't have to worry about cutting back through the garden and running into the unsettling Holt again. In the end, I also chose not to tell Carley that I'd met him and probably come close to being arrested.

  Before I went to bed Carley said something about the three of us going to the beach the next day, but I was so tired I barely heard her.

  The next morning dawned bright and sunny, which was why I was in bed with a pillow stuck firmly over my head. After everything that had happened the night before, I had a hard time getting out of bed and down to UP UP and Away for my introduction with Mrs. Fritters.

  When I did finally manage to drag myself to the shower, the cold water at the start of a hot day helped wake me up. After I'd gone downstairs and found no sign of Carley (since the door to her room was closed, I figured she was probably still sleeping), I again set out for UP UP and Away.

  My talk with Mrs. Fritters about the job went by quickly. I was pretty sure she would have hired me even if I had said that when I used to work as a cashier I'd been accused of robbing the place or skimming off the top. She needed the help, and since I'm friends with Carley she was predisposed to like me. I was also sure that if I'd told my mother about it, she would have given me a lecture about how even when finding a job as a cashier it's all about who you know, which would have annoyed me.

  When I got home Carley was throwing towels, magazines, and sunscreen into a beach bag. She was in a bright pink bathing suit with a white see-through cover up. I went upstairs quickly to change into my own bathing suit, which was a solid dark blue. I grabbed sunglasses and my iPod, threw on a white and green cotton summer dress, and headed back down.

  As soon as Carley and I went out onto the porch to wait for Nick, he pulled up. Since Carley's house was across the street from the ocean there was beach in every direction, and by eleven o'clock the three of us were stretched out on towels by the water, enjoying a perfect summer day.

  Almost instantly Carley looked like she had gone to sleep. Lying on her stomach with a hat propped over her head and her headphones in, she looked like she had no intention of moving for hours. I looked over at Nick. He was propped on one elbow, playing some game on his phone. There was a white streak of sunscreen on the side of his face. I pointed it out to him and he sheepishly wiped it away.

  "So, Nick, what do you know about the Roths?" I asked, trying to keep my tone casual. Judging by the quick look he gave me, I had probably failed completely.

  "Already bitten by the Roth bug, are you?" he asked, looking up from his phone and grinning.

  "What does that mean?" I asked, flipping through the pages of a magazine without really looking at them.

  "It means that every girl who sees a Roth swoons," said Nick, dramatically putting the back of his hand to his forehead. "I don't know how they do it, but girls love them."

  I cleared my throat. "Are the Roths all boys or something?" I asked, sitting up with my arms as props.

  "There are three brothers. I think. I can't remember all their names, but the oldest is Holden or something like that." I could tell Nick really couldn't have cared less about this subject. "I've seen every girl in Castleton try for him, but I've only ever seen him with other Roth girls or the Cheshires."

  "Actually, it's Holt," Carley piped up as she rolled over to look at us.

  "Oh, so you wake up to talk about the Roths?" Nick asked, eyeing her.

  Carley grinned and sat up. "Definitely."

  Nick rolled his eyes and went back to playing games on his phone.

  "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her. I'd been waiting all day for my chance to confront her about yesterday, so it came out more harshly than I meant it to.

  "I just thought it would be funny," she said awkwardly. "I didn't realize you really didn't know. Sorry."

  I glared at her, but she ignored me.

  Carley looked at me and continued: "Holt is the oldest Roth. I think he's like twenty-two. His brothers are about our age. I don't know as much about them. Holt is pretty well known around here. Mostly as a heartbreaker. Every new girl who comes into town sees him and goes crazy. He's gorgeous. Easily the most attractive guy I've ever seen. Of course, probably part of that is that he's never been interested in anyone. Like what Nick says, I never see him with local girls. I didn't want to tell you all that, because you seemed to like him yesterday."

  "You thought I liked him?" I asked. Carley shrugged. I didn't know if I liked him. I definitely didn't dislike him, but I was dismayed that Carley had noticed so easily.

  When Carley didn't answer I asked, "So, he hangs out with girls all the time?"

  "HA. No, not really. Holt Roth doesn't have girlfriends, except for his cousins and the Cheshires," she replied, grabbing the tanning lotion and slathering more on.

  I wondered if I should ask about dinner that night or maybe what movie we were going to watch, just so I appeared to want to talk about something other than the Roths and the Cheshires. But since I didn't, I simply said, "Who are his cousins?"

  "They're these beautiful girls who stay at the house for the summer. It's kind of weird, though, because they don't look much like the Roth boys, but then again I've never seen any of their parents, so maybe they just got different genes."

  "All of the Roth boys look the same?" I asked.

  "Yeah, you can definitely tell they're brothers. They're all really blond and have these bright green eyes," she said, making her eyes wide.

  "But some people in town don't believe the girls are all cousins. Just because they don't all look like the Roths. Some have dark hair and some are really short, for example. I don't know what the deal is. All anyone really knows is that it's the nicest summer home around and they just gather there," said Carley.

  "Maybe they're all the brothers' girlfriends," I said. I didn't want to admit it, but I didn't like that idea at all. Holt had never said he was single, but I had gotten the idea that he was.

  "Even if they were girlfriends of the Roths, every girl in town would still be in love with the guys," Nick added.

  "Not every girl," said Carley.

  "Ninety-nine point eight percent of them, then," Nick retorted.

  "Bitter much?" asked Carley. Nick just shrugged.

  "Yeah, well, Holt is gorgeous, as you know," she said to me, "but he's never dated anyone around here, or come here with a girlfriend," said Carley. "Most girls usually try for him at the Solstice Party. That's the big time of the year when we see him. Otherwise he's not around much."

  "Are we invited to that?" I asked. "What is it?"

  "The whole town is. We go every year," said Carley enthusiastically. "It's the best party ever. And it's the only time you see all the Roths and all the Cheshires together."

  "And the Cheshires are another family in town?" I asked. Carley had told me a lot about Castleton and its residents, but I had a hard time keeping every name straight.

  "Carley's so glad you're here," interrupted Nick. "She loves talking about these people. And
maybe Holt doesn't ever have a girlfriend because he's gay."

  "Holt's not gay," said Carley. "At least, I don't think he is. If he were then he'd have a boyfriend. Look, you know how type O-negative is the universal blood type? It's good for everyone? Well, that's the kind of guy Holt is. Good for every girl."

  "Wow," Nick muttered.

  "How do you know he's not interested in any of the girls who try for him?" I asked, wishing I could keep myself from talking about him but knowing I couldn't.

  "Because if he were interested in a girl, he'd have her," said Nick bluntly.

  For some reason I didn't like that at all. Shouldn't it be the girl's choice too?

  "He can have me," said Carley, giggling and pretending to swoon.

  Nick's face turned cloudy.

  "That's it. I'm going to get some water," said Nick. Getting up with a bit of attitude, he stalked away.

  "What's his problem?" Carley asked me, looking bewildered.

  I didn't have the heart to tell her that he was clearly in love with her, and probably hearing her talking about how attractive other guys were was not his favorite activity. But if someone was going to tell her, it should be Nick himself, not me.

  "So, who are the Cheshires?" I asked again, wanting to change the subject away from Nick and his feelings for Carley.

  "Oh, right. They're a family like the Roths. What I mean by 'like the Roths' is that their house is just as big and they're also really reserved and no one in town sees much of them. And both families are huge. Tons of them stay there in the summers. But they're not exactly the same. Whenever you see the Roths they're really nice. They smiled and greet everyone. The Cheshires aren't like that. They aren't as friendly."

  Carley clearly wasn't as impressed with the Cheshires as she was with the Roths. In fact, I got the idea that she was shrinking away from talking about them at all.

  "So their house isn't as nice?" I asked.

  Carley frowned, as if she couldn't really remember. "I mean, it's a nice house, but there's no garden. It's just colder somehow. The exact opposite of the Roths'. Not inviting at all. Isn't it SO hot out?" She waved her hand at the hot day, with barely a breeze to stir the air.

  The Roths' place was definitely inviting, I thought.

  Out loud I said, "Yeah, it's really hot." I was probably going to start sweating, but who cares? I was just with Nick and Carley.

  "The Cheshires' oldest son is Holt's age," said Carley. "He's gorgeous as well."

  I heard her say the last part about the Cheshires, but I wasn't really paying attention. I'd been caught by the mention of Holt. I tried to calm my nerves, which had started to zing just from the mention of his name. But I was determined not to obsess about a guy who already had every girl in the town after him. I was there for the summer to hang out with Carley, work, and let my parents deal with their problems. At least, that's what I had thought until last night in the garden. Involuntarily I shivered.

  Nick came back carrying three ice cold waters. He handed one to me and tossed the other at Carley's feet. She glared at him but picked it up and drank. It was already a hot day, and I was looking forward to just relaxing on the sand with my friends. The beach was starting to fill up, probably because the brilliant clear blue sky was a perfect mirror of the stunning blue ocean.

  "Couldn't ask for better weather," Nick murmured. Lots of families, with chairs and beach umbrellas, were setting up for a day of laziness and fun. I couldn't wait.

  Just as I relaxed back on the towel and closed my eyes I heard Nick say, "Well, speak of the devil." I sat up so fast I got a little dizzy. I told myself it was the incredibly hot afternoon, but I knew it wasn't that.

  Next to me I heard Carley gasp.

  It must be Holt on the beach, I thought, since we had just been talking about him.

  Across the hot sand I could see three figures coming in our direction.

  I was shocked to feel the same sensation of being pulled toward them that I'd felt in the garden the night before, even though none of the three coming toward us was Holt. In fact, none of them looked anything like Holt. All three figures had jet-black hair and were very pale despite the season. The one in the middle was a guy and looked to be about Holt's age. Two beautiful girls flanked him. One had long hair, the other's was cropped short like Halle Berry's, only she couldn't carry it off like Halle Berry. As I watched, I realized that there was something strangely similar about all three, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

  To my surprise, the guy was staring at me with a mixture of shock and anger. At least I thought it was at me; maybe he was just admiring the view. Or maybe I was the view. Whatever he was looking at, he was coming right toward us, and his azure blue eyes never left my face as he approached. I could feel a blush creeping along my cheeks. I seriously hoped he blamed my red face on the heat.

  When the three reached us the guy said, "Carley, Nick, how are you both?" His voice was smooth and somehow reminded me of winter nights. He wore a white button-down shirt and light-colored khaki shorts, and his hands were tucked into his pockets. Both the girls with him wore sundresses in dark blue with wedges and lots of jewelry.

  Carley was just staring at the three of them standing over us. She looked too shocked to speak. Nick glared over at her briefly, then replied, "We're good. Nice weather. How are you?"

  "I'm fine," said the stranger. "Who's your friend?" He had taken his eyes off me to talk to Nick, but now they focused on me again. Again I felt a wave of anger coming from him, but he kept his tone light.

  "This is Autumn. She's staying with Carley for the summer. Who apparently suddenly doesn't speak English," said Nick sarcastically. "Autumn, this is Samuel Cheshire. Sorry Samuel, I don't know who . . ." He faltered when he realized that he didn't know the names of the two beautiful girls Samuel was with.

  "Lydia and Leslie. They're my cousins," said Samuel, pointing first at one girl, then at the other. Samuel didn't bother to greet me. Instead, Lydia, the one with the short black hair, stepped forward with a simpering smile to shake my hand.

  This guy hates me and I have no idea why, I thought, desperately wanting them to leave.

  "Want to sit down?" Carley managed to croak out.

  Lydia and Leslie immediately sat down. Samuel stayed standing until Lydia tugged on his arm so fiercely that he was forced to sit. The girls spent a very long time arranging themselves with their dresses around them just so, while Samuel busied himself with looking anywhere but at me.

  Once they were seated, Lydia and Leslie made small talk. They asked questions about us, showing an interest in our lives and activities. As soon as they started talking, both Carley and I were completely engrossed in everything they said, even if Carley barely managed to speak the whole time. A couple of times I had to answer for her. Nick seemed to like the girls well enough, but he would have been happier if Carley hadn't seemed so nuts over Samuel Cheshire, who finally sat down, but stayed stony-faced.

  I tried to study him without being obvious. It was made easier by the fact that he was still avoiding me like I had the plague. Even though I didn't know him, it hurt. I hadn't done anything to him. Now people who didn't even know me hated me. What was going on, anyhow?

  I wondered at my own reaction to him. Were all guys in Maine this gorgeous? I seriously doubted it. Nick definitely wasn't, even though he was as nice as could be. Samuel was really attractive, except that he obviously wanted nothing to do with me. I didn't find my interaction with him as shockingly unsettling as my interactions with Holt had been, but then again I wasn't sneaking around on Samuel's property and he hadn't saved my life.

  I was so lost in my own thoughts that I barely registered it when Leslie said, "Well, since we're all here, shall we play a game?"

  "What kind of game?" asked Carley, slowly getting over her shyness.

  "No," Samuel barked. He looked miserable. Carley and Nick looked at him in amazement, but his cousins ignored all his protests.

  "
How about Frisbee?" Leslie pointed to a bin at the edge of the sand that was filled with different-sized game balls and Frisbees. "Since we're here, we might as well take advantage of the nice weather and move around some."

  Nick and Carley both just stared at her in shock. "Sure, let's do it," I said. Leslie beamed at me. While Samuel, throwing up his hands in exasperation, followed Nick to get the Frisbee, and Lydia and Leslie made a big show of having to take off their shoes, Carley whispered to me, "This is insane. Totally insane. For years Samuel Cheshire hasn't said so much as four words to me, even though both our families have summered here for as long as I can remember. Now he's talking to us!"

  I wasn't sure you could call what Samuel was doing talking, more like giving a brooding stare, but I didn't want to burst Carley's bubble.

  "Don't you think?" asked Carley, looking at me with wide questioning eyes.

  Trying to be diplomatic I said, "He seems kind of cold."

  "He can warm me up anytime," said Carley, grinning.

  "Hey, we're ready to play," Nick called, waving us over.

  We played for almost two hours, and in every game Samuel found an excuse to not be on my team. I might have imagined it, but I thought that his cousins did everything they could to throw us together, no matter how hard he resisted. By the end of the afternoon I felt as miserable as he looked. Samuel Cheshire clearly hated me, and if Carley hadn't been so in love with how gorgeous he was, she would have noticed. Since he did hate me, though, I wanted nothing to do with him, which was going to be hard, because my friends obviously liked him.

  As the afternoon wore on I was surprised by how athletic the Cheshires were. They were clearly faster and stronger than Carley, Nick, and me. Samuel Cheshire particularly beat us all, and he clearly didn't even have to try.

  Finally Samuel made it painfully clear that he was ready to leave. "We have stuff to do at home," he said to Lydia and Leslie.

  "Yeah, I guess we do," said Lydia with a simpering smile, but she still looked reluctant to leave.

  "This was great," Leslie said, smiling broadly around at the three of us as if she was in the middle of a beauty pageant. "We should do it again soon."

  "Yeah, I love getting trampled every game," muttered Nick. Samuel laughed. It was the first happy sound I'd heard him make all afternoon. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but it was a nice laugh.

  Once the three Cheshires had left, Carley flopped back down on her towel and said, "I think if I died today. I'd die happy."

  Nick just scowled.