Briar Rose Read Free

in.’
    ‘It’s not funny. She’s been crying a lot, when she thinks I don’t know. I asked my dad what was going on and he says it’s no big deal.’
    ‘Your dad always says that,’ Reena replied. ‘He’s got an ostrich personality. If he can’t see it, it’s not a problem.’
    ‘Yeah, I know. He seems so mellow about everything, especially when it comes to Mom. I’m really worried about her.’
    ‘I think you should be.’
    That wasn’t comforting, not coming from her best friend. ‘There’s something else,’ Briar said, then hesitated.
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘I’ve been having this nightmare. It’s the same one over and over.’
    Reena halted in the middle of the path. ‘What is it about?’
    ‘I’m walking on the old road at night then –
bang –
I get hit by a car. I wake up at two nineteen a.m. every time. Is that creepy or what?’
    Her friend was frowning now. ‘Did you tell your parents about this?’
    ‘No . . . Dad would just say it was something I ate and Mom, well, she doesn’t need any more hassles.’
    They started walking again. ‘How long has this gone on?’
    ‘It started about a month ago. I tried waking up right before two nineteen. No go. It’s like I’m destined to have the nightmare every night.’ Her friend’s mouth was
a thin line now, the muscles in her jaw tight. ‘Do you think Lily could do some sort of magic that would stop it?’
    ‘Don’t know. I’ll tell her what’s going on,’ Reena replied quietly.
    Briar could tell it was time to change the subject – her friend took this kind of stuff way too seriously. Cheers came from the field behind them – apparently the baseball game was
about to start.
    ‘You going to the lake tonight?’ Briar asked.
    ‘Are you?’
    ‘Definitely. It’s the closest thing to a sixteenth birthday party I’m going to get. Anyway,
he
might be there.’
    ‘He being Patterson Daniels?’ Reena asked, smirking.
    ‘Of course. Who else would it be?’
    ‘Someone who isn’t a jerk, maybe?’ At Briar’s glare, she added, ‘Oh, trust me, he’ll be there. Daniels wouldn’t miss an opportunity to flex his
planet-sized ego in front of an adoring audience.’
    ‘Whoa, that was a slap down.’
    ‘Damn right. God, you have the worst taste in boys,’ her friend replied, kicking a small stone down the path.
    Pat and his family had moved to Bliss right after Christmas last year – his dad was in shipping or something – and they’d bought the Ashland Plantation. The old house
hadn’t been occupied for over twenty years, so Mrs Daniels was busily having it restored, which told everyone in town the family had a bucketload of money.
    Pat had immediately made a mark for himself. A football star in his Ohio hometown, he’d proved to be just as talented on the basketball court here in Georgia. No ‘new kid’
awkwardness for him. Pat was smart and a total hunk with gorgeous brown eyes and if this were a fairy tale, he’d be cast for the role of Prince Charming in a heartbeat.
    ‘Daniels is too full of himself,’ Reena added. ‘Did you know he was hitting on your cousin the other day?’
    ‘No way. Saralyn is just making that up. He would never pay attention to her.’
    ‘You sure?’
    ‘Yeah. She’s just saying that to get to me. She knows I think he’s cool.’
    Briar had no intention of letting her cousin steal away the most eligible boy in school. Not that Pat was hers, but maybe that would change tonight.
    Since most of her classmates couldn’t drive yet, gathering at the lake had become the thing to do. They’d bring food, build a huge bonfire and there’d be tunes. Even some
making out, not that any of their parents knew about that. As long as they kept an eye out for the occasional alligator, they were golden.
    Briar had her first kiss at the lake last summer with Teddy Jenkins. It had been seriously unimpressive. So blah that she made sure never to let Teddy kiss her again. There’d been more
fooling around