Read Online Garden of Angels by Lurlene McDaniel - Free Book Online Page B

one—and only—boy who had ever made my pulse flutter. My internal wrestling match was short-lived. “You feel better,” I said to Becky Sue. I shut the door and left her to her misery.
    Becky’s mother ran me up to the church parking lot and told me to have a “good enough time for Becky too.” I got out of her car and walked over to the crowd of kids waiting to pile onto the two hay wagons once Pastor Jim gave the word. The “wagons” really were large flatbed trucks heaped with fresh straw. Trucks were used because we’d have to drive to the field for the bonfire on back country roads. The ride would take about forty minutes. Slatted sides and a tailgate kept us all fenced in safely, and because the trucks were so big, there was plenty of room.
    The sixth graders were chasing each other and stuffing handfuls of straw down each other’s clothes.
Babies!
I strolled over to the other wagon, the one for the high-schoolers, and with alarm saw that I was the only ninth-grade girl who had come. The older girls looked me over.
    “Where’s your shadow?” Donna McGowen asked, not very kindly.
    “I thought you two were Siamese twins,” her friend Laverne added, making the group of girls giggle.
    “Good one,” Donna said to Laverne.
    I bit my tongue, figuring I needed to be respectful because we were on church property. “Not that you care, but Becky’s sick,” I told them.
    “What a shame.” J.T. and three of his thug friends materialized from the far side of the wagon. He slung his arm over Donna’s shoulder. “Now you really are dateless.”
    The whole group of them roared. Fortunately, Pastor Jim blew a whistle before I could say something I might regret.
    “All aboard,” he called out.
    I scrambled on quickly, knowing I didn’t want to crawl past J.T. and his friends if they boarded first. I’d hoped that Carole might go with us, but through the slats, I saw her on the other wagon. I walked to the front of the truck and sat down in the rough straw, wedging myself into the corner. With a start, I saw that Jason was directly across from me, under the window of the truck’s cab. I’d been so involved with Donna and J.T. that I’d forgotten to look for him. I realized that he’d been up there the whole time and had witnessed my being teased.
    Just seeing him made my knees go weak. He was nimbly rolling a stick from finger to finger and took no notice of me. The truck filled amid squeals of “Help me up, J.T.” And “You’re so strong, J.T.” And “Move over closer, Donna, and keep the chill off.” It was enough to make a person nauseous.
    I looked up. The night sky was filled with a full moon that shone as bright as a light. A lover’s moon, we called it in Georgia. It only made me feel worse. I wished I hadn’t come.

Eight

    The trucks set off. Someone had brought a transistor radio, and Olivia Newton-John started singing her hit song “I Honestly Love You.” Her beautiful voice and the touching words of the song filled the night. I listened as she sang “I love you; I honestly love you,” and I felt my throat tighten as an ache filled me. I didn’t love anyone. Not in the way she was singing about.
    I saw J.T. nuzzling Donna’s neck and wished Pastor Jim was riding in the back instead of inside the cab. Couldn’t he have guessed that J.T. was going to try to put the moves on his girlfriend? I snuck sidelong glances at the others. Everybody seemed paired off. Except for me.
    The music kept playing. I wanted to clap my hands over my ears. Tears swam in my eyes. I was embarrassing myself over a silly song and feelings I couldn’t seem to turn off. I blinked hard to stop a tear from moving down my cheek. When I turned my head, I saw that Jason was looking straight at me. I was mortified. “Dust in my eyes,” I said, hoping he believed me. “I forgot I’m allergic to straw.”
    He looked away, but I could not forget the feel of his eyes on me. It had been as if he could see inside