Unmaking Hunter Kennedy (9 page)

“I only have eight hundred minutes of text-and-talk time each month. Bought by me and not budgeted for you,” Charlie whispered as he stalked past her, heading for the fridge.

She followed, grabbing the orange juice first. “Seriously? That’s why you didn’t text me?”

“Yes, seriously.” Charlie took the juice carton right out of her hand, opened it and took five, huge gulps. “I’m not made of money.” He smacked his lips and slobbered on the spout as though he were making out with it or something. Charlie was famous for this move. “Mmm. Mmm. My juice.”

“You are so disgusting.” She hid a smile.

“I know, right?” He grinned.

The door to the fridge hung wide open while Charlie held out the carton, wiggled his eyebrows ridiculously, and invited her to take it. “Want some? I’m done.”

“
Mom!
” Vere reached around him and took out a cold water bottle. “Charlie’s contaminated the whole juice carton!”

“Guys! Come in here, please.” Her mom’s voice drifted in from the front living room.

“Coming!” Vere motioned to Charlie. “After you, big brother.”

“Hell no. You go first. Figure out what hellish project she has in mind and report back.” Charlie dove into a bag of pretzels.

“Do I look stupid?”

Charlie fluttered his eyelashes. “Do you really want me to answer that? Because I will.”

She rolled her eyes.

He noisily gulped the last of the juice and packed five pretzels into his mouth. “Ready?” he said spitting bits of dry pretzel out of his mouth on purpose.

“Let’s agree to stick together. No matter what it is.”

“Deal.” More pretzel dust flew in all directions.

Vere was about to crack up. The guy could disgustingly,
charm
anyone out of being angry, even her.

They headed single file toward the front of the house. “Hey, Mom! “ Charlie hollered down the hallway. “Vere tried to get a boyfriend today. Howie told me she fully propositioned Curtis in the science lab. She turned all red and purple. Offered to clock him and drag him back to her cave. She even got her cell phone put on probation!” He laughed.

“Lies! Rumors,” Vere gasped out, horrified the news of how she’d made a fool out of herself had already spread.

Most probably that’s what he and Curtis had been talking about on the ride home, not about her. Not if she was dating anyone, that’s for sure.

“Stop teasing me about Curtis. You know I’ve sworn not to like him anymore. For real.” She launched onto his back and pummeled his shoulders.

“Please.” Charlie hooted, securing her legs. “Despite your first failed make out session, and even though you don’t believe me—and even though I think he’s nuts to consider you—I’m pretty positive the guy is tracking you on the crush radar. He
did
ask me about you on a serious level today. HE DID.”

Vere landed a good karate chop between his shoulder blades, but her brother was so huge he didn’t even flinch. “Just shut up about him. It’s not funny. You know I’m broken where he’s concerned. Even if he asked, it’s not going to happen.”

He stopped and spoke over his shoulder. “I wish you wouldn’t think that about yourself. You just need a little practice. Curtis told me you had a whole conversation this afternoon. A
cute
conversation. I puked when he described it.”

She stopped punching him, and tried to keep her elation—her hope—out of her voice. “Honest? He did?” she whispered.

“He did. You have potential, but you first have to believe you have potential. I’m going to help you work on this. After I make
you
puke for revenge.”

Charlie trapped her legs tighter and caught her into an inescapable, spinning piggyback ride as he reached their wider front foyer.

They shot into the living room like a tornado.

Vere clutched Charlie’s shoulders, fighting for balance.

Her gaze landed on their neighbor Nan first, then her mom’s huge, disapproving frown. On the next turn, she locked on to a guy she didn’t recognize who was sitting on the couch—wearing
sunglasses
?

One more turn and she’d taken in a black cap, dark brown hair, and that he was staring.

At them. Unless he had his eyes closed behind those glasses, which she doubted considering the spectacle she and Charlie were creating.

“Put me down,” she uttered in Charlie’s ear.

Charlie, oblivious to the company, wouldn’t quit spinning.

On her next time around, Vere caught a direct glimpse of the guy’s face, and it was not lost on her, even dizzy, that he was good looking.

Vere felt her cheeks tingle, but the blush dissipated instantly thanks to Charlie who’d started spinning her so fast she lost track of the entire room. She kept her voice steady in an attempt to play this cool. “Uh, Mom? Any time you want to step in? Permanently ground him? Take away his car privileges and give them to me?”

“
Uh, Mom,
” Charlie spun faster, mimicking Vere’s higher voice with a girly voice of his own.
“Any time you want to step in and help Vere with her man skills? I’ve decided to launch her into popular society.”

“You mean skills like me launching you into the carpet?” Vere grabbed at his ears and yanked.

Charlie grunted and fell to the floor.

She landed in a dizzy, triumphant heap on his back.

“Sadly, these are my children. Vere, Charlie, meet
Dustin McHugh
.
Dustin
is—he’s Nan’s nephew. And he’s moving here. Isn’t that
nice,
kids?” Her mom’s tone had changed to Mary-Poppins-bright as she continued, “And
Dustin
is our project. He will start school with you on Tuesday after the three-day weekend. He’s going to need our help getting adjusted.”

Charlie, still face down, groaned, “I’m the one who needs adjusting. Vere almost killed me. Severed my spine with her bony knees. Get off. Someone call an ambulance.”

Vere dug her knee deep into Charlie’s back as she clambered off her brother and teetered into a chair. “Whoa. Dizzy,” she mumbled.

The new kid laughed.

She shot at him a look and their gazes met. This time, Vere didn’t lose focus. He took off his sunglasses and Vere had to bite back a gasp. The guy’s eyes were such a blinding bright-blue they disoriented her.

She felt the back of her neck tingle.

Jeez. Not good looking. Try drop-dead gorgeous.

Before she could get a second glimpse, he’d turned away and pulled down the brim of his baseball cap.

She stayed seated and made an effort to control the tingle that was rapidly spreading from her neck to her cheeks, but continued to eye Dustin curiously.

Nan stood, blocking her view as she helped the whining, Charlie to his feet and then leaned down to hug Vere. “You two always make me smile,” Nan said, before she turned to address her nephew. “Vere and Charlie will kick this unmaking plan into gear. They’ll be great friends for you, too.”

“Really. Well then. It’s nice to meet them, I suppose,” he said, crossing his arms in front of him and ducking even lower into his cap.

Vere went on alert.

His voice had been super-soft. Low. She had the sensation the guy sounded like he was way older than they were; but that wasn’t what had caused Vere to pause.

He’d sounded...bored.

And possibly sarcastic. Disdainful?

Or...was he sort of pissed off?

She peered around Nan, hoping for another sneak peek at the guy’s face, but he was still slouched, arms crossed, hiding in his hat. She also had the odd sensation the kid wanted to curl up into a ball and hide?

What the heck?

“Not to raise a flag too early here, Aunt Nan, but these two just might need their own unmaking. Or, makeover. Look at them.” He flicked a glance at Vere. “They don’t seem capable of helping me.”

Vere shot her mom a
what-does-that-mean
look, but her mom wasn’t paying Vere any attention. Instead, she was signaling Nan with some type of strange sign language, and they both looked beyond nervous.

Something’s up. Major.

Charlie wandered over to the kid using his
man-to-man
challenge swagger. Vere figured her brother hadn’t liked the kid’s last comment or the tone of his voice, either.

“I
guess
it’s nice to meet you too,” Charlie said, layering on his own sarcastic tone.

The kid stood and shook Charlie’s offered hand. He’d moved with smooth, athletic grace and looked to be about two inches taller than Charlie’s six feet.

“We have a few things to tell you,” Vere’s mom jumped in.

“You mean they don’t
know
? They have no clue? I was told they were fully ramped in,” Dustin said. He’d backed away from Charlie. She thought she’d seen a fleeting glimpse of panic cross his features before he’d shuttered his eyes.

Charlie followed him, not giving the guy an inch.

Dustin went on, “This is ridiculous. Aunt Nan, Mrs. Roth, no offense, but I don’t want to do this. Not with—
them
. Not at all.”

“You have no choice,” Nan said gently.

“In on what?” Vere scowled. “Do what?”

Dustin
might be tall and gorgeous—and the nephew of a woman the whole family loved—but this kid was now acting like a definite weirdo. She was about to address the fact that he might also be an ass, but her brother didn’t give her a chance.

He let out a low whistle followed with: “OH. MY. GOD! YOU’RE—YOU’RE—YOU’RE—OH-NO-SHIT!!
DUDE!
HOLY CRAP! DUUUUDE.”

Charlie then launched into a stream of screeching, unintelligible babbling and random cursing.

Vere could only stare as she watched Charlie jump up and down like a squawking chicken.

He ended with: “Holy crap. Holy crap!
Dude. Dude. DUDE! OHMYGOD
DUUDE. I’M DYING HERE. WHAT-THE-
FAAK-IS
GOING ON?
”

Vere’s chin hit the floor.

She rocketed Charlie a questioning glance, before looking at Dustin to gauge his reaction to her brother’s freak-out. But Dustin seemed to have no reaction at all.

None! Zero.

He simply stood there straight faced. Looking at Charlie as if he were some annoying, screeching insect.

“I’m just
wow
. WOW. This is so damn cool. HOLY SHIT.”

“Charlie. Watch your mouth!” Their mom yelled finally.

“Let us explain,” Nan added.

Vere turned back to stare at Dustin.

His ultra-bright, blue gaze had burned toward her as though he waited for her to do something off the wall as well.

It was then she saw the expression cross his face again.

Yep. Absolute panic!

What is wrong with this kid?

“Oh. My. God.” Charlie started up again. “OH. My. GOD!”

What is wrong with my idiot brother?

“This is the absolute coolest thing ever! No. Shit! No Shiiiiit! Dude! So amazing!”

Dustin took off his cap and ran his hand through his hair. Nice, thick, wavy hair. His mask dropped again and she caught his shoulders slumping a little. He looked almost deflated—and somewhat sad?

Vere darted a glance at Nan. She looked sad too.

And her Mom looked as if she might faint!

Poor Dustin McHugh.

Poor Mom and Nan.

They must think the worst.

She and Charlie had been so rude: arguing, yelling, wrestling and now Charlie’s lost it?

Vere had to fix it before they both got busted.

She was not going to lose car privileges the first week of school. Even if this
Dustin McHugh
might be some sort of a sad, strange—
jerk
.

Time to re-start the politeness.

Vere checked her bun and forced herself to walk over to Dustin. A major flush put heat on her face.

So what? It’s not as if I can change the color of my cheeks. I’ll just get this over with.

Her ear tips burned as she went for it. “It’s—nice to meet you, Dustin. I’ll be happy to show you around our school. Whatever you and Nan think you need. I know we seem unreliable, but we’re not. We can help you. Honest.” She added what she hoped was an encouraging nod.

Unfortunately, that move had the bun bobbing all over the place on top of her head. Hoping it would hold, she held out a shaky hand and slapped on her friendliest smile, as she looked up at this Dustin McHugh’s face.

Way up.

And choked on her own eyesight.

This guy is beyond, over the top, stunning! Like a live model. A model with no pores and really long lashes, and a sexy, pouty-man-mouth. And broad shoulders with nice biceps. And he’s really tan. And...and...the eyes...wow.