The ride to Henderson took a long time-mostly because Adam never inched a mile above the speed limit. I didn"t know other people besides Madison actually drove this way. Apparently I"d found her soul mate. The ride wasn"t nearly as awkward as I antic.i.p.ated, though. I mean, I didn"t know Adam. I"d barely spoken to him at all, but somehow my conversation in the kitchen had transformed me into his confidant. We"d barely pulled out of the driveway before he gave me his side of the story.
"I want to be close to Steve too, but he"s put me in the middle of everything. How am I supposed to get along with my parents and also be on Steve"s side?" Adam kept his eyes on the road, but I knew his concentration wasn"t there. "Besides, I"m not sure I agree with what Steve did. After all, for years our parents supported Steve-Dad was out on the street dodging bullets to put food on the table-Steve owes him some grat.i.tude for that." A hard edge crept into his voice. "Can"t he understand how it made Dad feel when Steve not only became more financially successful, but then cut his parents off?"
I kicked myself for even caring about all of this. If I ever saw Steve again, it would probably only be for a few minutes, and yet I still sat there in the car trying to solve his problems. I listened to Adam, agreeing, rea.s.suring, suggesting, and in general trying to find ways to smooth things out between them.
The strange thing was that as I talked to Adam, I found a part of me loosening, coming alive again, as though ungripping my fist after holding it tightly for a long time. Things could be worse at my house, I realized. There were a lot of ways to lose a brother.
But as we pulled into Henderson, all my anxiety about facing my parents and disappointing Jeremy returned-and then some. We"d talked so much about Steve"s relationship with his family that we"d barely talked about me. However, one thing became clear: Adam thought I lived in California and was going back home to visit my brother.
I"d let Adam believe this because it seemed way easier than explaining the last two days. Steve had already told them we were dating-and besides, the Raleighs had been so eager to meet me and so touched by the things I"d told them. How could I yank that away from them now and tell them I barely knew Steve?
As we drove down the familiar streets to my house, it occurred to me I"d have to invite Adam inside. And once he met my parents, he was bound to say something that didn"t make sense to them, like, "It was nice to spend time with Annika. We don"t usually meet Steve"s girl-friends."
This would call for all sorts of awkward explanations where I would either look like a girlfriend impostor or like I"d been carrying on some clandestine relationship with a guy in another state behind my parents" backs.
We pulled into my neighborhood. I drummed my fingers against the armrest as I tried to think of a way around this.
"What"s wrong?" Adam asked. "It sounds like you"re trying to send a telegraph through the car door."
I stopped my tapping. "Sorry. I was just thinking about our dogs. They get excited when new people come to the house."
He smiled as though he liked dogs. "What kind are they?"
"We have two pit bulls," I lied. "Dagger and Deathwish, but don"t worry; Mom and Dad usually muzzle them when they know someone is coming. They sort of have to now. Police orders." I pointed to an upcoming street. "Turn left on Brooksfarm."
He turned left. "Police orders?"
"Yeah . . . your dogs chase one salesman up a tree, and the police get all over your case."
"Oh," he said.
"It"s not like it was that big of a deal. I mean, okay, the dogs probably shouldn"t have eaten the guy"s shoes, especially while he was wearing them, but it"s not like they were expensive." I shrugged casually. "Besides, if you can"t climb fast enough, those sorts of things are bound to happen to you."
Adam didn"t say anything, but I noticed his grip tighten on the steering wheel.
"It"s not like people don"t have extra toes," I said.
His posture stiffened.
"My house is right there," I said. "The one with the big claw marks on the front door."
He pulled into my driveway, but didn"t turn off the car. He looked over at me without letting go of the steering wheel. "It was really nice to meet you, Annika. I"m glad we had time to talk on the drive."
"It was great to get to know you too." I opened my door.
He fingered the steering wheel. "I would see you inside, but, uh, I"ve got to hurry and get back."
I slid out of the car. "All right, next time, then. Thanks again for the ride."
I watched him drive away and then walked slowly to my house. I"d only been gone a couple days, but it seemed like so much longer. Everything looked different, subtly changed somehow. I opened the front door and called out, "I"m home."
I expected Jeremy to be the first one to greet me, but Mom and Leah walked into the front room. Mom actually stopped in her tracks when she saw me. "Good heavens, what have you done to your hair?"
I"d forgotten about it, and I fingered the ends of my hair. "Oh, that. I dyed it so Steve Raleigh wouldn"t recognize me."
Leah tilted her head at me questioningly. "And why would Steve Raleigh recognize you?"
Mom looked over my shoulder and around the room. "Where is he?"
"He got called back to the studio this morning. His brother, Adam, dropped me off."
"He got called back to the studio?" Leah repeated.
"His brother didn"t come inside with you?" Mom asked. I could tell neither one of them believed me, which just proves karma exists, after all. I"d lied to the Raleighs and not been caught, so it figured that now when I told the truth, my own family wouldn"t believe me.
"Look, didn"t you talk to Madison? Didn"t she tell you how I met Steve Raleigh on the set?"
Leah and Mom exchanged a glance that I couldn"t interpret. The disbelief didn"t leave their faces.
"Okay," I said, "Madison didn"t actually see me meet him on the set because she got kicked off for hauling a snake around, only she didn"t really do that. But I did. I mean, I did meet Steve Raleigh. And we had an archery match, and I won, so he had to come home with me. Only he got called back to the studio this morning and so he said he"d come tomorrow night, and I think he will, but I"m not sure because, hey, he said he"d come this time and he didn"t."
My mother and sister stared at me silently, so I added, "See, I"m wearing his clothes. That proves it."
"Really?" Leah said without emotion. "Did he write his name in them or something?"
I ignored her. "I"m not sure if I should tell Jeremy about Steve"s visit tomorrow. I want to tell him because then he"ll have something to look forward to, but I don"t want to disappoint him again. I think Steve will come because he"s a nice guy, and after all, he did tell his parents we were dating. You don"t do that and then not show up at a girl"s house. So maybe I should tell Jeremy. What do you think?"
Leah said, "I think you"ve lost your mind."
Mom, in a gentle voice, said, "Honey, I don"t think you should tell Jeremy anything right now."
"I"m telling you the truth," I said. "The paparazzi even got pictures of us together."
Leah let out a slow breath and shook her head. "This is so sad."
I couldn"t argue the fact any further because Dad and Jeremy walked in the room.
"Look who"s home," Mom said cheerfully, but both of them just stared at me speechlessly.
I knelt down and opened my arms to give Jeremy a hug. Instead of running to my arms, he walked up and touched my hair gingerly.
"What happened to your hair?"
"I dyed it."
"It died?" Before I could explain, he added, "You mean when you cut it off in the underworld?"
"The underworld?" Leah asked. "Did you go there before or after you went to Hollywood?"
To Jeremy I said, "That was a story. It was just pretend."
"But the underworld is real, though," he said.
I didn"t know how to answer. Before I could think of what to say, he stroked my hair and said, "I bet the crows gave you new hair, didn"t they, because they wanted you to look pretty. When will you finish that story?"
I pulled him into a hug so I wouldn"t have to look at his face. His body felt so small against mine. I trembled and didn"t know how to stop. "I"ll finish it later. Don"t worry; I won"t leave us in the underworld, but I just got home. I need to change clothes."
He pushed away from me. "Mom and Dad said you brought me a surprise. What is it?"
I didn"t say anything, but his gaze held me, expecting an answer. It physically hurt to speak. "The surprise didn"t work out like I"d expected. I"ll have to give it to you later."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mom shaking her head. She didn"t want me to say any more about it.
Jeremy leaned toward me. "Is it about the genie?"
I put my finger to his lips. "Shhh. You weren"t supposed to tell about that."
The doorbell rang. I could tell by my parents" expressions they weren"t expecting anyone. Right then, a sinking feeling came over me. I knew it was Adam. I must have left something in the car, or maybe he"d had some sort of car problems. In a moment I"d have to introduce him to everyone as Steve"s brother.
It wouldn"t help the case for my story or my sanity when he walked nervously into the room mumbling, "Don"t let Dagger and Deathwish get me!"
My father went to the door. I bit my lip and wondered how I always got myself into these predicaments. Right then I swore I would never lie again. From now on karma would have no reason to bite me.
My father opened the door, and Steve walked in.
Chapter 16
Steve wore the Robin Hood costume, right down to the bow in his hands and the boots on his feet. I must admit he made an impressive figure, decked out in Lincoln green in our doorway. For several seconds, I found it hard to breathe.
Steve turned as though addressing someone in our driveway, waved, and in a perfect English accent said, "Thanks, Genie, it looks like this is the right house."
Jeremy ran over to him. "You"re Robin Hood!"
Steve laughed and said, "I am. And you must be the tyke that needs archery lessons."
"My name is Jeremy," he said.
Steve bent down to be on Jeremy"s level. "When do you want to start? We"ve got some work cut out for us if we"re to get you to the point where you can beat Annika."
"No one can beat Annika," Jeremy said, and then thought better of it. "Except for you. You"re the best archer in the whole world."
Steve glanced in my direction and smiled. "Well, some people might argue otherwise."
At this point, I remembered my manners and introduced Robin Hood to my family. Leah, I swear, nearly swooned. While Steve shook my parents" hands, she grabbed hold of my arm and whispered, "I"ve got to get my camera. And all my friends."
"Don"t you dare call your friends," I told her. "This is Jeremy"s time."
She let out a whimper, but didn"t contradict me.
Jeremy took Steve by the hand, and jumping up and down with excitement, turned to my dad. "Can we get the target out now? Can we?"
So my dad hauled it out of the garage and into the backyard, and Jeremy ran to his room to retrieve his bow and arrows. After he left, Mom put her hand against her chest and said, "I really can"t thank you enough for this, Mr. Raleigh."
"Call me Robin," he said. "Today I"m only Robin."
"Robin," she repeated with a smile.
I took a step toward him and lowered my voice in case Jeremy came back. "I thought they needed you on the set?"
"I called Dean and told him I had an appointment I couldn"t miss."
"What made you change your mind?"
He took a step toward me and whispered, "While I drove out of Apple Valley, I kept remembering how you said the real Robin Hood would come see Jeremy." He shrugged in an offhand manner, but his eyes were intense. "I"ve spent so much time playing him, for once I wanted to see what it felt like to really be him."
"How does it feel?" I asked.
He smiled back at me. "Good."
"How did you get here so quickly?"
He rubbed his jaw, reluctant to tell me. "On occasion I"ve been known to drive fast."
Jeremy ran back into the room with the bow gripped in his hand. "The target"s ready!"
We all went outside. Steve and Jeremy stood near the target; the rest of us watched from a distance. I couldn"t keep my eyes off of them. It was dreamlike: Robin Hood and my brother shooting arrows in our backyard.
Mom managed to take quite a bit of video and more pictures than we would ever need. She kept repeating, "This is so wonderful." She hugged me and said, "You did a good thing, Annika."
Even my father, who"d yelled at me for going to California, put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You made Jeremy very happy today. Just don"t ever do anything like this again. Ever. I mean it."
Steve mostly ignored the rest of us and gave Jeremy his full attention. Besides being a good actor, he was also a good teacher. Even after an hour, his enthusiasm didn"t wear off. He bent down and put his arms around Jeremy, helping him aim the bow. "You"ve got it now. That"s a good lad."
The arrow landed right outside the bull"s-eye. Steve put his hand on Jeremy"s shoulder. "That"s the kind of shooting that worries King John. I hereby make you an honorary Merry Man."
Jeremy let out a happy gasp. "Really?"
Steve raised a hand. "I swear it by King Richard himself." He sized Jeremy up, then added, "We don"t have any Lincoln greens in your size, but I dare say Maid Marion can make you some before long. I"ll get them to you as soon as they"re sewn."
Jeremy leaned around Steve and shouted to us-as though we hadn"t just heard the conversation, "I get to be a Merry Man!" He turned back to Steve. "Do I get my own horse?"
Steve laughed and looked at us. "You"ll have to discuss that with your mum."