Reckless Heat: A Hostile Operations Team Prequel by Lynn Raye Harris Page B
Authors: Lynn Raye Harris
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it with her cleavage hanging out. But Matt isn’t here.
I’m glad for it since I don’t want to compete with Jeanine for his attention. He’s chosen me over her twice now, but that doesn’t give me much confidence because it’s been for specific reasons each time—neither of them romantic.
Missy Sue LeBlanc comes over, smiling. “Hey, Evie, how’s it going?”
“Great. You?”
Missy Sue leans toward me. “Fricking awesome. School’s out and I’m going to party and shop and sleep in for the next three months!”
I laugh. Clearly, Missy Sue is already on her second or third wine cooler of the evening. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You bet your ass it is.”
Jason Harper comes over and slings his arm around Missy Sue’s neck. “Hey, babe.”
Missy Sue throws her arms around Jason’s neck and kisses him. I take the opportunity to escape. I sip my beer as I wander through the room. Eventually, I ditch it and grab a Coke instead.
Julie calls me over to where a group of girls are sitting together. I perch on the arm of the chair and join in the conversation. A couple of the girls are seniors who just graduated, but most of us are juniors looking forward to what next year will bring.
Our last homecoming. Last prom. Last year at Rochambeau High. Then it’s on to college for some. Others are looking forward to getting jobs and finally living on their own, making their own decisions.
Considering where I live and how much Mama struggles to make ends meet for the three of us, I know that moving out and having a job isn’t necessarily going to give these girls the freedom they’re so sure waits on the other end of high school.
I know where I want to go, but I haven’t told anyone. I haven’t even told Mama. I want to go to the Culinary Institute of America and learn how to be a chef. I love cooking, love experimenting with food. I learned a lot working with Charlie out at the diner last summer, and I’m planning to work there again this summer.
He’s the one who told me about the Culinary Institute of America and how awesome it would be to graduate from there. Affording it is a different matter, which is why I haven’t said anything to Mama. She wants me to live at home and attend the community college for two years.
And who knows, that might be exactly how it turns out. I don’t really have a plan, other than applying for scholarships. But now I know I want the New York campus since it will at least be in the same state as West Point.
Julie finishes her beer and goes for another. Billy and a couple of the other guys bring in hamburgers and hot dogs, and several of the girls drift over to the kitchen island to fix something to eat. I sip my Coke and watch the door. The sun slips behind the trees, casting everything in an orange glow before winking out and leaving darkness behind.
Chris Frye arrives with his computer and speakers and starts deejaying in one corner. More people arrive, eventually spilling out of the house, onto the porch, and down into the yard.
I look at my phone. It’s after nine and Matt still isn’t here. Maybe he isn’t coming after all. But then another pair of headlights appears in the long drive and my hopes lift.
It isn’t a Corvette though. Julie appears a second later, looking excited. She’s had at least two beers by now, maybe three.
“It’s him,” she says. “It’s Matt.”
My heart kicks up. “Where?”
“He just got here. He’s driving his daddy’s Escalade.”
And, boom, my evening changes. I go from disappointed to elated and terrified all at once.
Maybe I need a drink after all.
Chapter Fifteen
MATT
----
T he old man came home tonight. I was getting ready to go out when he staggered in with a giggling bimbo who clearly came from a strip club. Gotta hand it to the dude, he knows what he likes.
They fell on the couch in the family room, giggling and kissing. When I walk in to see what the racket is, the woman—a bleached blonde with fake tits
I’m glad for it since I don’t want to compete with Jeanine for his attention. He’s chosen me over her twice now, but that doesn’t give me much confidence because it’s been for specific reasons each time—neither of them romantic.
Missy Sue LeBlanc comes over, smiling. “Hey, Evie, how’s it going?”
“Great. You?”
Missy Sue leans toward me. “Fricking awesome. School’s out and I’m going to party and shop and sleep in for the next three months!”
I laugh. Clearly, Missy Sue is already on her second or third wine cooler of the evening. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You bet your ass it is.”
Jason Harper comes over and slings his arm around Missy Sue’s neck. “Hey, babe.”
Missy Sue throws her arms around Jason’s neck and kisses him. I take the opportunity to escape. I sip my beer as I wander through the room. Eventually, I ditch it and grab a Coke instead.
Julie calls me over to where a group of girls are sitting together. I perch on the arm of the chair and join in the conversation. A couple of the girls are seniors who just graduated, but most of us are juniors looking forward to what next year will bring.
Our last homecoming. Last prom. Last year at Rochambeau High. Then it’s on to college for some. Others are looking forward to getting jobs and finally living on their own, making their own decisions.
Considering where I live and how much Mama struggles to make ends meet for the three of us, I know that moving out and having a job isn’t necessarily going to give these girls the freedom they’re so sure waits on the other end of high school.
I know where I want to go, but I haven’t told anyone. I haven’t even told Mama. I want to go to the Culinary Institute of America and learn how to be a chef. I love cooking, love experimenting with food. I learned a lot working with Charlie out at the diner last summer, and I’m planning to work there again this summer.
He’s the one who told me about the Culinary Institute of America and how awesome it would be to graduate from there. Affording it is a different matter, which is why I haven’t said anything to Mama. She wants me to live at home and attend the community college for two years.
And who knows, that might be exactly how it turns out. I don’t really have a plan, other than applying for scholarships. But now I know I want the New York campus since it will at least be in the same state as West Point.
Julie finishes her beer and goes for another. Billy and a couple of the other guys bring in hamburgers and hot dogs, and several of the girls drift over to the kitchen island to fix something to eat. I sip my Coke and watch the door. The sun slips behind the trees, casting everything in an orange glow before winking out and leaving darkness behind.
Chris Frye arrives with his computer and speakers and starts deejaying in one corner. More people arrive, eventually spilling out of the house, onto the porch, and down into the yard.
I look at my phone. It’s after nine and Matt still isn’t here. Maybe he isn’t coming after all. But then another pair of headlights appears in the long drive and my hopes lift.
It isn’t a Corvette though. Julie appears a second later, looking excited. She’s had at least two beers by now, maybe three.
“It’s him,” she says. “It’s Matt.”
My heart kicks up. “Where?”
“He just got here. He’s driving his daddy’s Escalade.”
And, boom, my evening changes. I go from disappointed to elated and terrified all at once.
Maybe I need a drink after all.
Chapter Fifteen
MATT
----
T he old man came home tonight. I was getting ready to go out when he staggered in with a giggling bimbo who clearly came from a strip club. Gotta hand it to the dude, he knows what he likes.
They fell on the couch in the family room, giggling and kissing. When I walk in to see what the racket is, the woman—a bleached blonde with fake tits
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