Read Online Dragonfly Creek by T.L. Haddix - Free Book Online

ride, he told her he would be ready to leave the media workshop he was attending by three. She left home at two, wanting to have a little extra time to just enjoy the drive. Following the directions Elliot had given her, she easily found the non-profit organization where he was taking the classes. The parking lot was nearly full, and she had to go all the way to the back row to find a spot, next to a small two-door green car. To her surprise, the car’s occupant looked over at her and smiled widely.
    “Are you Ainsley?” he asked through his open window, marking his place in the paperback he had been reading.
    “I am.” What in the world is Elliot up to now? she thought as the stranger got out of his car. He looked to be about her age, with slightly curly brown hair and shoulders that looked impossibly broad in the dark-blue polo shirt that stretched across them.
    “I’m Ben. Ben Campbell.” He held out his hand, and Ainsley took it cautiously. “Your cousin, is it? Elliot? He came out a little while ago. They had an unexpected visitor show up to the workshop, and they’re holding everyone over for a couple more hours.”
    She didn’t know whether to believe him or not, but he didn’t look like he was lying. His gaze was direct and warm.
    “Are you in the program?”
    “No. My sister is. Emma. I’m playing taxi for her today. Had my own workshop over in Wise this morning, so we drove up together.” He glanced toward the building, bringing his hand up to run it over his hair, disheveling it more than it already was. “They’re going to be a while. I passed a little diner about a block away. I’ve heard Emma say they have good food. You want to get something to eat or drink while we wait?”
    Still not sure this wasn’t a trick Elliot had put him up to, Ainsley hesitated. It wouldn’t be the first time her cousin had gotten one of his friends to be nice to her as a joke.
    He shrugged self-consciously and ran his fingertips along the edge of the window trim on the passenger side of her car. “Or not. I just thought I’d offer. No worries if you don’t.”
    Something about the way he tried to sound nonchalant intrigued her, making her think for just an instant that maybe Elliot hadn’t put him up to it, after all.
    “What kind of workshop were you at in Wise?”
    “Local flora,” he answered instantly, his eyes lighting up. “Indigenous to central Appalachia. It was fascinating.”
    Ainsley laughed. “That sounds very exciting,” she said somewhat teasingly.
    He flushed, but he grinned. “Yeah, that’s exactly what Emma said. Same tone, too. So how about it? We can walk, leave the cars here.”
    Taking a chance, she nodded. “Sure. Why not?” She put up the top on the convertible and grabbed her clutch. He was a lot bigger up close than he’d seemed while standing beside the car—at least six feet tall, she thought as they started walking. Even though she judged him to be about the same height as Elliot, he filled up the space beside her in a much different way than her cousin did. Ainsley was tall, to her mother’s disgust, but he made her almost feel petite.
    “So what does ‘Ainsley’ go with?”
    “Brewer.”
    “Hmmm. And where are you from?”
    “Hazard. You?”
    “Firefly Hollow. Up near Viper.” He watched her casually as they walked. “Did you go to high school at Hazard?”
    “Yes. You?”
    “C.D. Napier. So we’re kind of sworn enemies right out of the gate.”
    Ainsley grinned. “That we are. Better be nice to me, or I’ll make you walk back over to the car by yourself.”
    He turned to look over his shoulder. The building was still visible in the distance, and was less than half a mile away. “Yeah, I don’t know if I could make it or not. All the dangerous characters I could encounter from here to there. What if I was eaten by wolves? I’d hate to be the one to tell my sister that. She’s mean.” He delivered the lines with such a straight face, Ainsley