A beat of silence, followed by a terse “Fine” from Lucky.
As the three of them disappeared down the hallway, Jack turned the scene over in his mind. The whole interaction between Ashley and Lucky and his mother had been odd. Why was Lucky resisting their company? Suddenly, the answer hit him: She must have wanted to break free and find a pay phone so she could check on Maria. That had to be it. He smiled to himself, warmed by the secret knowledge that only he and Lucky shared. In a way, it was hard being the one person who understood her whole story. The rest of the Landons were bound to find her behavior strange, which concerned him. Still, he’d vowed to keep her secret, and he meant to honor that promise.
For some reason it always seemed to take a lot longer for luggage to be unloaded at a small airport than at a large one. Jack stood watching the empty conveyor belt snake its lazy way around its track until the first bags appeared. A large cooler with duct tape wrapped in silver stripes pushed through the baggage opening, followed by two flowered totes and a green suitcase with wheels. Jack had just spied one of the Landon bags when a “Hey!” behind him made him jump.
Whirling around, Jack almost bumped into his sister. “Ashley, where’s Lucky?”
“Still with Mom. I want to tell you something weird. About Lucky.”
“What about her?”
“I don’t know how to say it. It was just…kind of strange, the way she was acting. For one thing, she kept looking around her all the way to the rest room. Up front, sideways, but she was only moving her eyes, like she didn’t want anyone to know she was checking the place out.”
Jack felt a surge of impatience. “So? Is that supposed to mean something?”
“Well, I’m wondering if she used to live here.”
“That’s not it.” Jack jerked his mother’s suitcase off the conveyor belt and set it down hard.
“You don’t know that,” Ashley said, her voice rising. “And why are you getting so touchy? I thought maybe you’d seen the same thing, and we could tell Mom and Dad and then maybe they could find out if Durango is her real home.”
“What is it with you, Ashley?” he demanded, grabbing another bag. “It’s like you’ve turned into a spy or something. Why don’t you just leave her alone?”
Now it was Ashley’s turn to look at him in stony silence. She might have said more, but right then Steven walked up. “Great. Our luggage made it. You two wait here with the suitcases while I go pick up the rental car.”
“What kind of car did you get, Dad? Is it a red one?” Ashley asked hopefully.
“Yeah. A Lamborghini,” Jack added.
“No, we can’t fit in that, so pick a Rolls Royce,” Ashley joked.
“A Hummer.” Jack was getting into the spirit of it, glad the tension with his sister was melting. “A Hummer with Utah Jazz seat covers and its own television and VCR inside.”
Steven laughed. “You got it. I’ll make it a red one. Meet me out front, guys.”
CHAPTER FOUR
It turned out to be a white Ford Taurus, just like most of the other rental cars—not that Jack had expected anything racier.
Ashley wedged herself into the middle of the backseat between Jack and Lucky. Jack had to peer around his sister every time he wanted to say something to Lucky. That didn’t happen often, because Olivia kept up a steady stream of talk.
“Isn’t this a beautiful place? It’s a lot more mountainous than Jackson Hole, although I think they’re close to the same altitude. Which reminds me, Jack and Ashley, both of you have to write reports since you’re missing school. Ashley, yours is to be on an animal that lives in Mesa Verde, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
Olivia turned around from the front seat. “There are a lot of interesting animals in this park—coyotes and badgers and lots of mule deer and elk. Have you ever stood next to an elk, Lucky?”
When Lucky shook her head no, Olivia slipped right into her lecture mode. She loved to share information about her job at the National Elk Refuge. “Well, let me tell you, they are huge! A lot bigger than you might think. My head stops right at a bull elk’s shoulder, if you can picture that.”
“Mom, I don’t want to do a report on elk,” Ashley broke in. “What else is there? Give me something with teeth.”
“OK, how about a black bear? They have them in Mesa Verde. And, of course, the cougar. Did you know the cougar is also called a mountain lion and a puma? They’ve got several names for the exact same animal. That might be interesting to mention, Ashley, if you do your paper on Felis concolor, which is, as you can probably guess, the scientific name for a cougar.” Olivia was growing excited. “Hey, really, cougars would be great for you to write on, since I’ve already gathered a lot of information. I could highlight some of the data….”
Ashley rolled her eyes at Jack to show she did not want to talk about school reports. Jack agreed. What was the use of getting a couple of days off if they had to worry about homework right from the start? Homework could wait. School would be over at the beginning of June—just two more weeks.
“How do you know about all those animals, Mrs. Landon?” Lucky asked.
“It’s my job. I specialize in endangered and threatened species. You heard about the cougar attack I’ve been called to investigate?”
Lucky nodded. “I heard a little, but not much. What’s going on?”
Running her fingers through her hair, Olivia sighed. “It’s really tragic, Lucky. Last week a little boy was walking with his family down a trail, and he got too far ahead of them. There was a scream. When the parents came around the bend….” She paused, shaking her head. “It’s not the way cougars usually behave. That’s what’s so frightening.”
“Was the boy all right?” Lucky asked.
“He had quite a few bites around his face, but I understand he’ll make it. The park hunted down the cougar and caught it. I was asked to examine it, to check for disease or age or any other cause that could explain such an attack.”
Olivia turned back toward the front of the car but twisted around again when Lucky said, “I bet it took lots of years in school to learn all that you know about animals.”
“Uh-huh. A whole bunch of years,” Olivia admitted. “But it doesn’t seem long when you’re doing something you love.” She paused, then asked, “Where do you go to school?”
Lucky didn’t miss a beat. “Home schooling.”
“Where’s your home?”
Lucky shrugged and smiled. “Wherever.”
“Do you travel a lot?” Olivia pressed.
“Mom!” Jack protested. Talk about a grilling! His mom was sounding like the FBI. Next she’d be pulling out the truth serum. “Lucky doesn’t have to answer that,” Jack said.
“Actually, I’d rather not,” Lucky murmured, very polite and still smiling.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную