Read Online Home Before Dark by Susan Wiggs - Free Book Online

they expounded on the dangers of hill-hopping by crazed teenagers who drank and smoked weed. The tight-assed adults missed the point. It wasn’t about danger and rebellion. It was about flying.
    â€œReady, gang?” asked Heath as they approached the roller coaster series of seven hills near an abandoned rock quarry in the middle of nowhere. The popularity of the place had increased lately as word got around, in the mysterious manner that things got around to teenagers. A few other SUVs and trucks were already out hill-hopping. She recognized Judd Mason’s battered Bronco. There was an old pickup that might have belonged to anyone, but the flames painted on the sides and the yee-haw issuing from the open window were unmistakably Leif Ripley’s.
    Heath double-checked his seat belt. The back seat had only three belts, so he told Dig to let Kathy have the third one. “Brace your hands on the ceiling, man. Hard. You too, Lila honey.”
    With a sweet surge of admiration, she leaned over to kiss his cheek. He really was a safe driver. But safe didn’t have to mean boring. Heath was proof of that. He revved the engine, blinked his lights to let the others know he was ready for takeoff and then punched the accelerator.
    â€œYeah!” Dig shouted from the back seat. “Go, Heath-man.”
    The Jeep shot up the hill like a bullet toward the sky, a perfect launch. Sierra and Kathy screamed, but Lila was mute with wonder at the breath-stealing speed. She pushed her hands flat against the roof, bracing herself.
    And then it happened. The launch. At the crest of the hill, the Jeep took off, all four tires leaving the ground. The windshield formed a perfect frame for the endless night sky. It was like looking out of the Starship Enterprise. For a moment, everything slowed—time, breath, heartbeat—and even the shrieks from the back seat faded to the awed silence of shock and wonder.
    Then came the inevitable bone-jarring landing. Heath managed it beautifully, with all the skill of a Hollywood stuntman in a Vin Diesel movie. Everyone celebrated with high-fives, and Dig, the idiot, decided to open a beer in celebration. The agitated beverage sprayed everywhere.
    â€œWay to go, Dig.” Travis cuffed his brother.
    â€œMy neck hurts,” Kathy said. “My butt went three feet in the air.”
    Heath laughed and headed for hill number two. “Space,” he said in a deep TV announcer voice. “The final frontier.” Then he slammed his foot down on the accelerator. For a moment the back tires spun, filling the air with the harsh burn of rubber. Then the Jeep roared forward. They took the hill doing seventy, clearing the crest and bottoming out on the landing. Sparks shot from the undercarriage as the car careened along, bouncing crookedly. Lila felt a Fourth of July fireworks thrill as her shoulder slammed against the passenger-side door. Who cares if there’s a bruise, she thought as she shouted with glee. This was the essence of life, and she was grasping it with both hands.
    The next hill was her favorite, a long, straight shot up a sharp rise, followed by a landing on a steep slope. “One more,” she begged. “Please, one more.”
    Heath gunned the engine. “That’s what I like to hear,” he said, and her heart burst with pride, because he was so special and he’d given her a compliment.
    â€œThis is the bomb,” yelled Dig.
    â€œI feel sick,” Sierra whined from the back seat. “I bit my lip, and it’s bleeding.”
    â€œKeep your mouth shut on the next jump,” Travis said, tucking his arm protectively around her.
    â€œLet’s go, Heath. Hit it, man!” Dig said.
    The Jeep raged forward. Lila had the sensation of leaving her stomach behind, like a feather on the wind. As they sped up the hill, the sky opened up before them, deep black and endless with possibility. She sensed everything with a heightened