A View From Forever (Thompson Sisters Book 3) Read Free

doing a lot more fieldwork this year.”
    “I missed you this summer,” I say. She spent her summer tracking down mountain lions. I spent the summer at home with a mother who has been crazy for the last few months—undoubtedly Carrie knows that. They talk on the phone very frequently. Nor do I tell her that I haven’t seen Dad in almost three months—he’s been away on a super secret State Department mission of some kind or another. I don’t even know what country he’s in. But she knows. After all, she’s the one who passed down the mantle of protector to me, whether I wanted it or not.
    “I missed you, too, ” Carrie says. “It was really weird not coming home this year. Though I have to admit, I love my apartment , and I love the fieldwork. Finally moving out of the dorms was fantastic. Do you think you’ll have time to come see it before you leave town?”
    I slowly shake my head. “I don’t think so, honestly. I’m missing one of the receptions right now, actually.”
    Carrie gets an odd expression. “Don’t look so bummed about it. You’ve been to enough receptions over the years—I’m glad we got to see each other.”
    I smile. “I am too. To tell you the truth, it wasn’t the reception itself that interested me.”
    She arches an eyebrow. “Oh? Tell me. Wait… is it… a guy?”
    I frown. “Carrie….”
    She smiles. “You can tell me anything. Cross my heart.” She does, first making a sign of the crucifix, which would drive mother insane if she saw it, then she pretends to turn a key in her mouth and throw it away. But we’re interrupted when the waitress appears. We order specialty rolls, and Carrie orders white wine for both of us. The waitress gives me a very skeptical look, but doesn’t ask for ID.
    “There is a guy who fascinates me on this trip,” I say.
    “What’s his name? Tell me everything.”
    “I don’t know anything about him,” I say. “That’s why I’m so intrigued. His name’s Dylan Paris—he’s a senior, from Atlanta—and that’s all I know. He doesn’t really talk with anyone.”
    “Stuck up?”
    I shake my head. “The opposite, I think. All of the other guys are preppies. He’s not, and I think maybe he’s intimidated.”
    Carrie smiles. “You should take him under your wing then, before you leave for Tel Aviv.” Vintage Carrie there, to want to rescue someone.
    “Well, I’d have to get up the courage to talk with him first.”
    She throws her head back and laughs. “You’ve got a point, sister. Just keep me in the loop. You’re running off to a foreign country with a strange guy.” She gives the barest of mischievous smile as she says, “It’s very romantic.”
    “He’ll probably turn out to be gay,” I say with a grimace.
    “Most of the good guys are. Enough about that. Catch me up on home, will you?”
    I shrug. “Not much to say. Um… let’s see… Andrea spent two weeks with us in the summer.”
    “Oh, good! God, I miss her.”
    “Me too.” Our youngest sister, Andrea, has lived in Spain with our grandmother almost full time for the last couple of years. “You won’t believe it when you see her. She’s taller than I am already, and looks a lot like you did when you were little.”
    Carrie sits back. “That tall already? What is she, eleven?”
    “Ten. And I bet she’s going to be just as tall as you are.”
    “Weird. How did we get so lucky?” she asks in a sarcastic tone. “Have you seen Julia?”
    I shake my head. Twenty-five year old Julia, our oldest sister, is a law unto herself. “They’re on tour again.”
    “Yeah, I know—I went to the Allan Roark concert last winter; they were opening.” She shakes her head. “I’d have liked to have seen Andrea.”
    “None of us knew she was coming,” I reply. “Mom said she wanted it to be a surprise.”
    “That is so weird,” Carrie says.
    “No kidding. You know what the latest is? Mom’s absolutely obsessed with the British Royal family.”
    “What,