“Well,” Grant rolled his eyes, “it must be nice to have such a clean rap sheet. If we ever find our way back to civilization, I’ll have a medal made up for you and pretend I have never logged on to your computer and discovered where you get all your kicks.”
David coughed, stunned. “What?”
“Just checking, but apparently you are a boy scout,” Grant mumbled.
“It’s not my intention to compare track records,” David sighed. “I’m just trying to be a good brother and warn you that…”
“I don’t need any warning,” Grant snapped.
“I think you do,” David fired back. “Do you not remember staring in your own version of From Russia with Love? I swear Dad was convinced that Larissa, if that was indeed her real name, was, no doubt, working for a terrorist agency intent on…”
“Oh, spare me the conspiracy theories,” Grant laughed. “I spent twenty days roughing it in Russia, no identification, no money, no way to prove I was an American citizen, waiting for my papers to be filed, knowing that if I survived the debacle I was as good as dead when I got home anyway. Some instances just don’t require further discussion or brotherly analysis. There was no ransom; there was no breach of American security…gosh, it was not that big a deal…”
“So have there been any other girls since you met Hailey?” David asked curiously.
“Since I’ve been in Hope Hull…no, of course not,” Grant replied quickly.
“That’s not what I asked you,” David shook his head.
“And I think I answered you fairly enough,” Grant said, making a point to speed up and leave the others behind.
“Alright then,” David nodded, resting his case.
Grant turned around abruptly. “Listen, I’m not in the best mood right now, so if you could leave Hailey’s name out of this conversation, I would appreciate it. She’s way too classy and much too innocent to have her name mentioned in the same breath as anyone from my past.”
“Let’s be honest,” David agreed, “she’s too sweet and too innocent to have her name mentioned in the same breath as yours.”
“Well, you’re probably on to something there,” Grant shrugged.
“Grant, I was kidding,” David frowned.
“No you weren’t,” Grant laughed.
“Well, for what it’s worth to you…I really like her,” David nodded.
Grant managed a sarcastic, “that’s great, Dave! I really like her too.”
“She’s the best thing that has ever happened to you,” David declared. “Don’t do something stupid and screw up whatever it is the two of you have.” He paused, and his face contorted. “Did you just call me Dave?”
Grant shook off the question dismissively. “Listen, if you think I’m capable of hurting Hailey then maybe you don’t know me quite as well as you think you do.”
“I hope you mean that,” David said, smiling proudly.
“May lightning strike me down if I do anything to jeopardize my relationship…my friendship…with Hailey,” Grant said confidently.
Just then, thunder boomed so loudly that the boys were sure the sky would split open. All three gasped simultaneously before David and Wally doubled over in laughter.
“Dang, Grant!” David cackled, laughing so hard he could hardly catch his breath.
“Wow,” Wally added.
“Somebody wants you to know He’s taking that challenge seriously,” David pointed.
Grant swallowed hard, admittedly a little stunned. “Come-on,” he said, walking purposefully ahead. “Let’s get out of here.”
“He’s not taking any chances,” Wally laughed as he and David jogged to catch up.
“I don’t know why everyone insists on making such a big deal out of this anyway,” Grant declared as he kicked a pile of debris in front of him. “In May reality will rear its ugly head; our lives are going to change, and this fun little rendezvous with destiny will come to an end.”
David frowned. “Well, I can only tell you, Bro, that judging by the sparkle in Hailey’s eyes when she looks at you…I seriously doubt she’s as remiss about the future of your friendship.”
“She’s not stupid,” Grant scoffed. “This is not a movie or some fairy tale where everything ends happily-ever- after and leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. My life is on one path; Hailey’s life is on another…we are headed in drastically different directions…the glass slipper doesn’t fit…there is no white horse…and as much as I like being with her, I won’t sacrifice my life, my career and my plans for any girl.”
“Because you can find a girl like Hailey anywhere, right?” David shrugged.
Grant pretended not to have heard his brother’s pointed question. David nodded to himself as he read into his brother’s silence. “Let me give you a little advice, Grant,” he said, guessing that his little brother was listening, though he was doing a good job of pretending not to. “You’ll know when you meet the one because somehow you’ll find a way to have those roads meet in the middle.”
“I’m eighteen,” Grant shot back. “I have plenty of time to figure out how I want to spend the rest of my life.”
David stared over at his brother, who steadfastly refused to look in his direction. There was so much David wanted to say, so much he wanted to do. He had to resist the urge to tackle Grant to the ground and demand to know why he was so stubborn that he could not even admit to himself that his feeling for Hailey Nelson ran so much deeper than he suggested. David did not understand how his brother, forever the cynic, could deny what he had witnessed so clearly. It was not just Hailey’s eyes that sparkled when she looked at Grant because, as Grant’s brown eyes stared back at her, there was a softness to them, a sweet, loving protectiveness that David had only seen in Grant when he looked at Leah. He would move Heaven and Earth for Leah if he could; David knew this, and he had to believe, based on what he had seen, that the same was true of Hailey. He found himself wanting to defend Hailey, a girl he had only met that day, but something told him that despite Grant’s easy brush-off, defending Hailey to Grant was unnecessary. Ultimately, David decided that it was best to pick his battles with his ornery, baby brother, and he nodded his head and smiled knowingly. “That’s true,” he agreed. “You’re right.”
The boys trudged ahead in silence before David threw his arm out in front of his brother. “Stop,” he ordered suddenly, cupping his hand around his ear. “Did you guys hear something?”
The boys froze in place.
Thunder boomed again and the rain began pouring down.
“Could this day get any worse?” Grant groaned as he was pelted by sheets of wind and rain.
