Under the Dusty Sky (Holloway Farms)

the hell—” he starts before his eyes catch Lacy. She sits back quickly and runs her hands through her chin-length blonde hair.
    “ Oh, hey Lacy.” Asher steps into my room, his hands in the pockets of his dark boot cut designer jeans, the ones I make him wear so he at least doesn’t look like a country boy.
    I jump up and push him out of my room.
    “ You’re not allowed in here. Git!”
    Ugh, I hate it when that slips.
    When I turn back, Lacy’s cheeks are a light pink, and she’s staring out the window again.
    “ What’s up with you?” I ask, sitting next to her.
    “ Nothin’. Why?”
    I shake my head. She thinks I don’t know how bad she’s got it for my brother. But I am happy keeping it a topic we don’t talk about.
    “ Come. Let’s go meet my hot vampire farm hand.” I laugh and pull her up from the bench. I stop to look in the full-length mirror. My cut-offs look fantastically cut off, and I slip on my wedge heels to push me up to six feet. Bentley has to be at least 6’2”. No one my age is taller than me. Except Dermott, my, uh, I don’t know what to call him, but we’re basically the same height.
    I run my hand through my long, straight chestnut hair and make a note to get a hair appointment in town. It needs to be shinier.
    “ Seriously, Gracie. You look great. You wouldn’t have it any other way. Plus, didn’t you say he’s graduated? Totally off limits.”
    I shrug.
    “ He graduated this year, as in like a couple weeks ago. I heard him tell my dad he turned eighteen at the end of May. Plus his availability doesn’t mean I shouldn’t want to look nice.”
    I spin and leave the room before she can answer.
    ***
    Bentley’s in mid-throw when we reach him in the front yard. He made the mistake of throwing the ball for Rasp, who can play fetch until he falls over dead. Ben sees us, pushes his hair out of his eyes, and smiles. God, he’s amazing to look at.
    Lacy looks at me and raises an eyebrow. She gets it now. She’s good at reading me, but we’ve been best friends since before birth. Our mothers were best friends. Me and my brothers aren’t the only people Mom abandoned.
    Lacy has the all-knowing glimmer in her pale blue eyes, which look almost grey compared to Bentley’s.
    “ Hey, Gracie.” He squats down to rub Rasp’s head and take the gross slobber ball from his mouth.
    “ Hey, I just want you to meet Lacy. She spends a lot of time out here. She’s crazy and thinks farm work is fun.”
    I roll my eyes. She always comes out on the weekends to help us. I don’t know why anyone would choose this life.
    Bentley stands and holds out his hand. She blushes when she takes it, which is nothing new. Lacy always blushes. There’s a loud banging sound, and we all turn to the porch. There’s no one there. No one goes past me. It’s definitely the screen door, but the only action in the yard is a swirling tornado of dust and dirt.
    “ It’s rewarding work. I haven’t officially started, but I’m enjoying it. Nice to meet you, Lacy.” He smiles his milk-white, calcium rich smile, and Lacy blushes deeper.
    Bentley turns and throws the ball for Rasp again. He wipes his hands on his jeans and shoves them in his pockets.
    “ So, what’s there to do around here that isn’t work?”
    Half my mouth turns into a smile. I look at Lacy, and she shakes her head slightly, her eyes widening.
    “ I was just going to go into town with Lacy. She has a pool. Wanna come?”
    Lacy squeezes her eyes shut for a half-second and pulls her keys from her pocket.
    Bentley looks between us.
    “ I dunno. Are your brothers going?” Bentley scratches his neck and glances at the house. He must be scared of my Dad or something. Or he just doesn’t want to be alone with me, like every other time this week I’ve tried to get him to myself and he miraculously needed to be in a different place. He has to come to Lacy’s, even if it means my stupid brothers coming.
    “ Yes.”
    “ No.” Lacy’s face flares. “I mean, yeah they can come if they want.”
    She heads to her parents’ tiny little car, and I run to the house to bribe my brothers.
    I meet Archer first. He’s sitting at the table reading a book, his eyes flicking back and forth across the page. He’s leaning forward on his elbows with his chin in his hands, drinking iced tea out of a straw. It always surprises me that he likes to read so much. He’s such a bonehead sometimes.
    “ You’re coming swimming this afternoon.