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look and the boys swarmed into view.

    Lucas Moore stepped forward first, his sexy, shoulder-length hair tousled and moving in the wind, his gaze searching for someone.

    But it wasn‘t his voice they‘d heard. That loud question came from Kirk Grassi, who showed himself next, his hair pulled into a long, black ponytail, his guitar over his shoulder, his smile flashing, his eyes zeroing in on Wynona as he repeated, ―Holy shit, Greer!‖

    ―You morons!‖ Genevieve blasted, infuriated at the interruption. She‘d caught the candle before it was engulfed in the fire and was now dusting off her hands.

    Lucas frowned. ―Sorry we barged in.‖

    Rhiannon ran straight at him and he seemed surprised by the show of affection, as it took him a moment to wrap his arms around her. Good , Coby thought, as unrepentant as the rest of them in hoping the Lucas/Rhiannon thing would burn out.

    Other guys from their class emerged from the darkness and collectively blew a raspberry in Genevieve‘s direction. They‘d clearly planned on busting their party, and Coby was pretty sure she could put the blame at Rhiannon‘s feet, as she was totally wrapped up in Lucas.

    ―Oh, for God‘s sake, relax,‖ Vic Franzen told Genevieve, spreading his hands. He was the heaviest of the group, with a shape just short of portly and a mean way of directing negative attention toward anyone else, maybe because he was the butt of so many jokes himself. He was hefting two six-packs of beer and he lifted them up so all the girls could see. ―We brought alkee-hol.‖

    Coby inwardly sighed, knowing she wouldn‘t be able to escape without serious ridicule now. Genevieve pressed her lips together and looked ready to explode. The rest of the guys found places around the campfire: Jarrod Lockwood, Galen Torres, Theo Rivers, and Paul Lessington.
    Jarrod had long hair like Kirk‘s, or more accurately, Kirk had followed Jarrod‘s lead as they both played guitar and jammed together; the two friends dreamed of being in a band one day. Galen was Hispanic with a look faintly like Ricky Martin; Theo had short hair, almost a buzz cut, and a hard body from regular workouts; and Paul was a tall stringbean with a pronounced Adam‘s apple.

    Coby saw Jarrod Lockwood coming her way. He held a large brown paper bag, and he sat down next to Coby and dug the bag into the sand between them, forcing Ellen to move over to make room. Inside the bag was a bottle of vodka and one of bourbon. ―Paul‘s got the mixer,‖ Jarrod said.

    Paul Lessington pulled a large plastic bottle of Sprite and a stack of plastic glasses from inside another bag. He was on the school‘s basketball team, if he didn‘t get caught for this indiscretion and find himself ineligible.

    Coby didn‘t know how she felt about the booze, but she was in no mood to be called names for refusing to join in. She glanced at Rhiannon, who hesitated but then accepted a beer, and given what she‘d just shared about her family history, Coby thought she understood why. If Rhiannon was joining in, so would Coby, and in truth, all she wanted to do herself was escape, and so she ended up with a full eight-ounce tumbler of mostly vodka with a splash of Sprite and settled herself into the party.

    Jarrod whispered into Coby‘s ear, ―Telling secrets?‖ Like his older brother, he was tall, dark, and handsome. But Danner Lockwood, three years older, was the man of her dreams—quietly observant and a bit of a loner—while Jarrod was more of an exhibitionist whose scripted appearance and guitar playing seemed designed to win him female attention.

    She looked over at Lucas, who was now half lying on the ground beside Rhiannon, stroking her hair and smiling into her eyes. ―Not really,‖ she said to Jarrod, sort of depressed that Rhiannon and Lucas‘s relationship was now looking like the real deal.

    ―Oh, come on. What was your secret?‖ Jarrod teased Coby.

    ―I didn‘t have one,‖ she said truthfully,