Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning

 

Harley wanted to think of it as a small hiccup to her summer when her cousin Kimmy moved in. After all, she was from Seattle and was thinking of going to UNL. Hopefully, not UNO. Oh, it didn't matter. Harley hoped she would get bored and go home.

And then Kimmy met Rafe. Thankfully, Kimmy didn't see her face of disgust. NOT THAT GUY! She wanted to scream. After all, she was sharing her room with her cousin now.  Harley did her best to smile and said she didn't know him. It was best to keep it that way.

"Why would you lie to her?" Brick acted as if Harley was the worst. 

"What is the point," she looked at him as if Rafe didn't know her. Harley always had an early lunch with him before he went to the grocery store while she took someone to the pool. It was really a great summer job. Even if she was plastered in sunscreen and hiding under an umbrella while she was there. 

She did her best to keep calm and hope Kimmy blew out like a cold front of her summer. But oh no. They were going out.

"Maybe you two could come with us, somewhere," Kimmy loved to show Rafe off. Of course, Harley couldn't think of a place to go, but Kimmy was even chummy with Brick and he got tickets to the College World Series Baseball Games. Actually, the only place Harley could be alone was during her afternoon babysitting at the pool. It gave her time to think about how she would get out of having to do anything with Rafe and Kimmy.

She got Mercer's input at the library. Of course, he told her she was making way too much out of it.

"It's just for the summer," he shrugged while they were busy in the children's area making bookmakers for summer while somebody went to storytime.

"Is it?" She winced at him. "What if they get married or something?"

"Oh, it'll be something. I can't see Rafe ever getting hitched. Don't you know? He's got a ton of anxieties."

"Anxieties?" She'd never noticed. He looked as if he owned his world with that swift walk of his and a glare that had a GO TO HELL look. "He's so different from Cade."

Mercer agreed. Of course, that was all the enlightenment he could give her.

Back to the pool she went. Doing her best to be watchful of who she was caring for. But even Sylvia took to her little friends in the shallow end. Even she found a beau who was all of five. Oh, it was going to be a cruel summer all right as she did her best to stay her ivory self.

And then somebody grabbed her by the ankle with a wet hand. He dripped from the pool and she was getting drenched.

"Hey, want to be in my band," he said.

Immediately, she laughed. Was he for real? It was the guy that Rafe sang with, KC.

"What do you mean?" She sat up in the lounge chair even shielding her eyes in her shades.

"It doesn't matter if you can sing," KC shrugged. "I just need a girl in my band and I think you can play the part."

Harley coughed up a laugh. Yes, summer had finally gotten interesting.