Under the Dusty Sky (Holloway Farms)

ringing of the phone.
    It clicks as she answers.
    “ So have you come to your senses yet, Benny?” My mother’s smooth high-pitched voice sounds. I can hear a faint tone of irritation, but she’s keeping it cool, which means there are people there. Faking it.
    “ Hi, Mom.” I turn quickly and lean against the porch railing. My voice is just as smooth as hers, as I have learned from the best.
    “ Well?” She breathes out loudly.
    “ Well, what?”
    “ Are you coming home, Bentley? Are you giving up on this hippie ‘finding yourself’ journey and ready to do what you’re obligated to do?”
    I grit my teeth just as the screen door slams, and my head snaps up. Gracie stops to look at me with a scrunched up expression. She looks like I just caught her running away. I probably look guilty of something too, the way my eyebrows are raised and my mouth’s open to yell at my mother.
    “ Benny? Are you still there? Jesus, answer me. I don’t have all day.” My mother’s voice comes from the speaker, and I clear my throat.
    “ I, uh, can’t talk right now.” I tap the end button. My mom hangs up on me all the time, so I don’t feel even a little bit guilty. We only have to pretend when we’re in public.
    “ Where are you off to?” The way Gracie’s dark eyes widen and she swings her arms behind her, hiding the object in her hands, I know she wasn’t expecting me. She looks over her shoulder then back at me.
    “ Who were you talking to?” Her eyebrows come together. Smiling, I shake my head.
    “ I asked you first.” It’s amazing how difficult this girl is. Her over-confident smile and intense stare have given way to a surprised girl who’s hiding something, literally, and I intend to figure it out. Not that I need more hiding or more games in my life, but she’s proving to be irresistible. She pulls at me like no one ever has, and it’s getting harder to keep acting like I don’t notice her. Standing near her slows the spinning confusion in my head because I’m focused on her. That both scares me and makes me want to stand closer yet.
    Gracie grabs my forearm, pulling me from my thoughts, and looks over her shoulder once more. I try to follow her eyes, but she takes off down the porch steps, pulling me with her. We round the corner of the huge house before she stops and presses her back against the wood paneling. Her chest rises and falls with fast breaths. She turns to me with this expression that makes me want wrap her up in me and never let her go. Her eyes gleam with pure trouble, reflecting mischief and adventure. Her lips pull into a genuine smile that would bring anyone to their knees. She digs her nails into the skin of my forearm just as the screen door slams. I look behind me then back to Gracie. I’m confused. She pulls her other hand out from behind her back, and puts her finger to her lips. She’s holding a small, leather bound book in her hand.
    Moving forward again, she crouches to pass under the windows until we duck behind the house.
    “ Gracie? What’s going on?” Concern coats my voice, which is very strange for me. I’m usually good at locking that up.
    “ Can I trust you?” She leans into me, and I step back until my back hits the wall. God dammit. I feel like I’m 'the girl'. I even press my hands against the panel so I don’t touch her.
    “ Uh, yeah.” What am I supposed to say? I’m on her farm in the middle of an ocean of corn, soy, and hay, I’m not sure why I would be untrustworthy.
    “ Then chase me.”
    She starts walking backwards, and my head is clogged with a giant cloud of confusion.
    “ What?” The word comes out crooked, if that’s even possible, but I have no idea what she’s doing. She keeps walking backwards, away from the house.
    “ You wanna know where I’m goin’, you’re gunna have to chase me.” That smile is back. The real one. The one that has trouble written all over it. The one that’s going to get me into trouble. That accent, pure and smooth but filled with twang. I’m beginning to think this is the girl she’s hiding from.
    “ Chase you? To where?”
    “ Well, if I told ya that, Bentley McKinna, it would ruin the chase.”
    And with that, she turns and runs. My feet are stuck to the ground as I watch her. Her hair streaming out behind her, her long legs pushing forward.
    Like something jumpstarts my brain, I snap out of it and take off after her. It doesn’t take much to catch up. I am what some might call a gym