Cricket’s Story…

Cricket Fairchild pulled the books more tightly against her chest, her green eyes huge and anxious. Another school, another set of strangers. Biting her lip, she walked into the classroom filled with new faces and took the only empty seat. She tried not to feel self-conscious, but she was painfully aware of all the eyes that watched her as she sat down. She prayed she wouldn’t trip on the legs of the desk or chair.

“Bonjour class!” the teacher started off. Cricket glanced down at her class schedule. French? She was in Beginner’s French? She was fluent in French! She’d just moved from Paris last week! Why had her father signed her up for Beginner’s French?

She slumped down into the chair, keeping her mouth shut as she watched the other students. Everyone was struggling with pronunciation so she pretended to not know how to say the most basic words, even though she could speak not only French, but also Spanish and Italian. German was a bit harder, but she could even get through a conversation in that language as well.

She wasn’t in Paris anymore, she reminded herself a half hour later when she lifted her books once again and glanced down at her schedule to find her next class. History. She had to chuckle at her father’s sense of humor. With the emphasis her father placed on learning about the countries where they had lived, she probably knew more than the teacher. Her father not only pressed Cricket to learn about their histories and governments, but even the history and significance of the artworks he stole.

She doodled on her notebook in history class, wondering what “project” her father was working on now. What was in San Francisco that had lured her parents here? What amazing piece of art was he going to pilfer and sell on the black market? Or maybe he already had a buyer ready. Who knew with her father. Theft wasn’t just his job, it was his passion. A passion she hated, she thought as she crouched lower in her chair, trying to blend in.

The teacher called on her and she jerked up in her seat, spewing out the correct answer before she could stop herself. She then looked around, worried that the other students would think she was weird. Only a few stray glances came her way, and she sighed with relief when they didn’t look too hostile.

“Very good, Ms. Fairchild,” the teacher beamed, proud of the newest student in her classroom. “Anthony,” she called out, moving on to the next question and the next student. Cricket was able to slump back down into her chair, trying to appear inconspicuous. Avoid attention, she reminded herself. Blend in. Standing out caused the other students to not trust her. Blending in was the key to survival.

She pulled her hands up inside of the sleeves of her turtleneck sweater, wishing she could just curl up into an invisible ball. Unconsciously, her eyes scanned the room, her mind easily figuring out how to pick the lock on the classroom door, the deadbolt on the teacher’s locker and, even more effortlessly, the teacher’s desk. Cricket smiled, wondering what the teacher kept inside of her desk to need it locked up all the time.

As she wandered out of the classroom after the bell, she didn’t realize that she was counting the ceiling blocks so she would know exactly how many squares inside the walls she’d need to climb in order to be directly over the cabinets or the desk. Her father was always proud of her casing abilities, calling her a natural thief. She shuddered at the thought, hating what her parents did while she was either at school or sleeping.

She made her way to the library instead of the cafeteria during lunch. Cricket didn’t want to sit all by herself, feeling gauche and awkward. So she carried her books to the back of the library, pulled her partially demolished sandwich out of her backpack, and nibbled while she completed the homework she’d been assigned so far.

Looking around, she saw several other girls and a couple of boys doing the same thing and she smiled to one of the girls with straight, brown hair and thick, black glasses. The girl smiled back when the bell rang, indicating that the lunch period was over.

“I’m Halley,” the girl said as she hurried to catch up to Cricket in the hallway.

Cricket looked carefully at the other girl, immediately mimicking the way she walked and the slant of her shoulders. It was a trick she’d learned over the years to help her blend in and act like the students around her. “I’m Cricket,” she replied, wishing for the millionth time that her parents had named her something classic like Ann or Julie. The name Cricket was simply too weird. In the past, she’d tried to pretend that her name was something else, but “Cricket” always caught up with her.

“That’s a cool name,” Halley said, her intelligent eyes looking over Cricket carefully. “Where are you from?” she asked.

Ah yes, Cricket thought, yet another mine field. “I lived in Virginia,” she replied, which technically wasn’t a lie. She had lived in Virginia. And New York, and Paris, London, a small city just outside of Rome and a dozen other cities around the world. Her home followed her parents’ “projects”. When one stole the most valuable art work and jewelry in the world, one tended to have to move around a great deal.

“How long have you lived here?” Cricket asked, pushing the focus off of her so she didn’t have to lie any longer

“All my life,” Halley replied, rolling her eyes. “I’ve never been anywhere but San Francisco. And maybe over to Yosemite for camping, but my parents don’t like to travel very much.”

That sounded like heaven to Cricket who had never had a permanent home in her life. She was a freshman in high school and she’d been in more than fifteen different schools over her lifetime. And that didn’t include the periods when her mother or father had taught her themselves because they had a “project” in an area without good schools.

The two walked down the hallways that rapidly filled up with the other students, all of whom were rushing to their next class. “If you’re not doing anything after school, want to meet in the library to study again?” Halley asked, her eyes filled with eager hope.

Cricket latched onto the offer of friendship with both hands. “That would be great,” she replied, her heart filling with happiness that she wasn’t alone any longer. First days of school were always terrifying until she’d found a kindred spirit. Not someone in the “business,” of course, but someone else who was in desperate need of a kind and compassionate smile.

Cricket didn’t concern herself with being popular or having a crush on the cutest boy in school. Her ambitions were much lower, just wanting not to be alone. She hated that painful feeling of others’ staring as the lone student walked silently and awkwardly down the hallway, wondering if others were whispering about the new girl.

As she walked happily down the hallway, she asked Halley questions, steering the conversation away from herself, since there were so many questions she couldn’t answer truthfully. Besides, it was always interesting to find out about “normal” people, to live vicariously through their routines and traditions.

Someday, she promised herself, she would own her own house and a big yard with a dog running through the leaves in the fall and jumping through the sprinkler in the summer. She’d have a kitchen where she could bake cookies, and storage units filled up with junk she didn’t know what to do with. As she listened to Halley talk about her Christmas plans, Cricket promised herself she would have a real home in the future!

Ryker’s Story…

Thwak! The ball bounced perfectly against the brick wall of the school gymnasium, then onto the asphalt and back to Ryker’s opponent. He smiled even as his eyes watched the ball, his mind instantly calculating the angle while his feet moved into position to take the next shot. Another thwak! And the ball bounced high out of reach, but still inside the chalked up boundaries. One more point in his favor!

“Good job!” a chorus of girls exclaimed as they sat primly on the low, brick retaining wall of the school playground.

He gave them a small nod of acknowledgement, then moved quickly into place, determined to win the wall-ball game before the teacher called them in from recess.

Rick “Iceman” Gable smiled with grim determination, shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the girls. Ryker agreed with him, but the ladies were the farthest thing from his mind at the moment. He wanted to win the game! Not that he was competitive or anything, but he didn’t like to fail at anything. Second place was not allowed in his mind. This might just be a recess wall-ball game, but he played everything as if it were an Olympic sport.

The ball flew out of Rick’s hand and Ryker moved into position. But in the next moment, something caught his eye off to the left of the playground. He knew that Xander, his younger brother by one year, was out on the playground as well, although their recess times were slightly different. Xander was in fifth grade while Ryker was in sixth. The fifth graders normally didn’t rate any attention from the sixth graders but Ryker sensed something was wrong.

Ryker stood up, completely ignoring the ball as it whizzed by his head. Looking towards the basketball courts, he noticed that several boys were ganging up on Xander.

“Not going to happen!” he growled and his feet were eliminating the distance between himself and his younger brother quickly.

“What’s going on?” he demanded as he stood shoulder to shoulder with his brother. He felt, more than heard, his two other brothers, both of them younger as well, standing beside himself and Xander. How all four of the Thorpe brothers were out on the playground at the same time was a mystery, but here they were, protecting each other.

“Xander cheated!” one of his classmates was saying. The five boys who were trying to gang up on Xander backed down quickly with Ryker there now. Ryker was the oldest, but all four of the brothers were unusually big for their age. Xander was the tallest in their fifth grade class by more than a head and Ryker was just over that. Ash, at seven years old and youngest of the four, focused on looking mean since he didn’t yet have the height while Axel, the third in line, was almost as tall as his two older brothers, but still not willing to let any family member be beaten up for any reason.

“Xander never cheats,” Ryker asserted firmly. “If you’re losing, then lose like a man!” he snapped.

Ash and Axel nodded their heads in agreement, but all of them knew that Xander wasn’t so pristine. He didn’t cheat because he didn’t have to. Xander was an outstanding athlete, as were all the Thorpe brothers, but sometimes Xander tended to stretch the rules a wee bit. Soccer in the Thorpe backyard could be more taxing than a full marathon, and Monopoly in their house was a blood sport at times. A babysitter coming to watch the four boys was a thing of the past, since no sitter would venture into the Thorpe household without a shield and an escape plan. But the Thorpe brothers watched out for their own, forming a united front when someone tried to hurt one of them.

The accusing boys backed down, none of them willing to take on all four of the brothers at once. But Ryker knew this wouldn’t be the end of it. “How about if we play ball to settle this?” he offered, not wanting Xander to be cornered later on because of the disagreement.

“What did you have in mind?” one of the other boys asked cautiously.

Ryker easily assessed the skills of the other boys simply by the way they were standing or holding the ball. “The four of us against the five of you.”

The five boys all smiled confidently and bumped shoulders, thinking this would be easy. “You’re on,” one of them replied.

Ryker bent low, looking at each of his brothers. Ash and Axel might be young, but the four of them played ball on the driveway at home. All of them were merciless competitors, none of them coming away without several bruises during any match. But they also knew how to play as a team against an enemy. “Okay, guys, you know what to do.” He turned to Xander. “None of that funny stuff,” he cautioned. “You saw it on the globetrotters, but we have no idea if it is legal or not.”

Xander rolled his eyes, looked like he was about to argue, then just smiled and nodded his head. Looking at Ash and Axel, Ryker noted the determination in their eyes. “Good. Let’s do it!”

Turning back, the five boys immediately tossed the ball to one another. They were able to maintain control of the ball for perhaps sixty seconds before each of the Thorpe brothers kicked in their speed and agility. The five boys didn’t have a chance after that, especially with Ryker calling out strategy. There were a few times one of the other boys scored a point, but they didn’t do it legally, and several of the baskets were sheer luck.

When the teachers started calling their classes in for the next part of the day, Ryker grabbed the ball and tossed it to the other team. “We’re square now, right?”

The other boys were bent over, gasping for breath while Ryker and his brothers walked away, barely even breathing hard.

The younger three separated quickly, going to their own class lines, where their teachers were trying to get the class under control. Ryker groaned as he moved closer to line up with his teacher, seeing the girls on the sidelines, waiting for him.

Rick laughed and joined him at that point, patting him on the shoulder in sympathy. “They’re all hot for you, dude. All girls love a hero and you just defended your brother.”

Ryker shook his head, not understanding girls at all. “They’re silly,” he said and stood in line, trying to figure out how to get through the day without Nancy and Emma trying to convince him to walk them home.

He glanced one more time back at the playground, ensuring that Xander and his other two brothers were okay. He was fiercely protective of his family, no matter what kind of trouble they got into.

Five years later….

Ryker stood outside the doorway to Emma’s last class of the day, eager for the bell to ring so he could walk her home. When the bell finally sounded, he waited, leaning against the wall on the opposite side for her to come out. When she finally did, he smiled, thinking she looked pretty cute in her new jeans and leather boots. Ah, leather boots, he thought with appreciation. Was there really anything better on a woman?

“Ready to go home?” he asked.

Emma smiled up at him, blushing because Ryker was the handsomest boy in the school – not to mention the best basketball player the district had ever seen. “Of course,” she replied, leaning against him as his strong arm moved around her shoulders.

“Did you finally get your SAT scores?” she asked, referring to the college entrance exams.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Are you finished with your math homework?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yes,” she answered then looked up at him, seeing the tense jaw. “Ryker, what’s wrong? Did you do poorly on the exam?” Emma hadn’t ever heard of Ryker doing poorly at anything so this would be a huge downfall.

They turned the corner, heading towards her house. “No. I did okay. What are you studying in biology?”

Ryker had taken biology during summer school after his freshman year so he was already in the advanced chemistry class. Emma had no idea how Ryker dealt with the pressure of all of his courses. He was relentless, and wouldn’t settle for anything less than an A in all of his subjects, yet he still had the time to play basketball and football. All that intelligence and gorgeous too!

Emma huffed and came to a stop, pulling Ryker to a halt beside her. “Okay, what’s going on?” she asked. Emma had no idea if she was in love with Ryker or just in awe of him. He was so smart, it was almost scary!

“Nothing. Did Linda contact you about the dance next Friday? We’re all going together.”

Emma watched him carefully, then the reason for his resistance hit her. “You got a perfect score, didn’t you?”

Ryker shrugged. “Sort of,” he said, looking away from her. He’d already dismissed the college entrance exams from his mind, focusing on his next goal.

Emma laughed and took his arm, hugging it against her chest. “You’re amazing,” she said, shaking her head. “You do realize that less than five hundred people nationally are able to pull off a perfect score on that brutal exam, right?”

Ryker shrugged. “It’s all cool.”

Emma smiled wistfully, wondering how she could keep this guy in her life after high school. He was so gorgeous and so smart, she just knew that he would make her the perfect husband. “So where are you applying to college?” she asked, determined to apply to a school as close as possible.

Ryker frowned again. “I’ve been accepted to Harvard,” he told her.

Emma didn’t like that at all. Harvard wasn’t close to any of the lower level schools. She bit her lip, her mind already spinning with plans. “Well, we’ll figure it all out.”

Ryker had no idea what Emma needed to “figure out” but he was delighted to pull her around to the side of her house. He remembered all those times in fifth and sixth grade when she’d tried to get him to kiss her. How he’d wasted time! Not that this was the love of his life, he thought. But she was certainly soft and pretty and he was just the man to enjoy her slender arms around his neck while he kissed her.

After dropping Emma off, Ryker slipped through the neighborhood and through the back door of his house. He breathed a sigh of relief when he was able to make it to his bedroom without getting caught. He knew he had chores to do, but he needed to get his homework done and he seriously didn’t want to deal with his three younger brothers today.

He was just opening up his lab book when Ash burst into his room. “Ryker, you’ve got to help me!” he exclaimed. He reached down and punched his oldest brother in the arm to ensure that Ryker would follow.

Ryker glared at his younger brother’s retreating back, wondering what could be so important. In the end, it didn’t matter. Ash has issued a challenge with that punch and Ryker wasn’t one to let a challenge go. When he went downstairs, he noticed Xander and his other brothers sitting around the kitchen table with several of their friends, a big pile of pretzels in the middle and all of them with playing cards clutched in their hands. “Mom’s going to be home in a half hour,” he cautioned. “You know she hates gambling.” But that didn’t stop him from taking the only available seat next to Ash.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ash griped, then handed Ryker his cards. “Here, play these,” he said.

Xander and Axel both started arguing. “No way! You can’t just toss your cards to another player!”

Ryker shifted back in the chair, rearranging the cards, ignoring the outbursts. He then pushed all of his brother’s remaining pretzels into the center of the pot. “He’s all in, guys.”

Xander and Axel looked at Ryker’s face, didn’t notice a single “tell”, looked back down at their own cards, then immediately tossed their cards into the pot, giving up on even trying to bet against their oldest brother. Ryker could out-bet a professional, they suspected. They had never won against him and had no clue what his secret was when bluffing or playing it cool.

The other guys looked at the Thorpe brothers nervously, then down at their own pile of pretzels. As if in unison, all of them tossed their cards in, folding quickly.

Ryker handed the cards back to Ash who was immediately pulling all the pretzels to him and into a bag. “Come to papa!” he grinned with relish.

“Deal me in,” he announced and leaned back, watching the others carefully. Within two hands, he had figured out everyone’s way of bluffing and started winning.

“I’m out,” Xander stated with disgust. He stood up and punched Ash on the arm. The youngest of the brothers didn’t even flinch, knowing that he deserved the punishment for bringing Ryker into the game.

“Sorry,” he grumbled, then tossed his own cards onto the table.

Ryker didn’t even blink as he pulled the rest of the pretzels over towards his pile. He looked around at the miniscule piles in front of the other boys and realized that he didn’t have time to clean out the rest. “Gotta go,” he claimed and scooped his pile into a bag and quickly disappeared up the stairs. A fraction of a second later the front door to their house opened up and their mother stepped into the house. “What’s going on?” She surveyed the cards and the pretzels in front of each of her sons and pursed her lips. “Boys…?”

Xander, Axel and Ash all let their heads fall backwards, staring up at the ceiling. “How did he know?” Ash asked, referring to Ryker’s ability to know exactly when they were about to get into trouble. Not to mention his astounding capability to extricate himself before that happened!

“Ryker was here too, Mom,” Xander asserted. “It wasn’t just us.”

The look on her face told the remaining boys that she didn’t believe them for a moment. “Go get ready for dinner,” she commanded firmly. “We’ll discuss this later.”

She watched as her boys said goodbye to their friends, then morosely walked to the kitchen to start their dinner chores.

“Don’t worry,” Xander said, his mind already working a mile a minute. “We’ll get him back.”

Ash and Axel both looked at Xander and their expressions changed from grim to eager. If the three of them put their minds to it, they could surely figure out a way to get back at Ryker. It was only a matter of time.

Learn more about His Secretive Lover, book one of three in The Thorpe Brothers Series