Read Online Summer Nights by Caroline B. Cooney - Free Book Online Page A

boy at the tiller and a girl—
    Look at that hair! Thick, long red hair, blowing around like a cloud, now lashing the girl’s face, now tugged out behind, now caught in the boy’s hand as he gestured while talking.
    The dinghy pulled up close. The boy shouted, “I’m trying to deliver her to your party. She missed the boat.”
    Jere nodded and went to tell the captain, who nodded back, and let the engine idle so the girl could be brought aboard.
    Jere found her stunning. More real than Anne, this girl was sunburnt and freckled, and laughing, her wide, happy mouth puckered in embarrassment and pleasure. That great hair didn’t settle down now that the wind was gone, but stayed up, teased into a halo by the elements.
    Who is this? Jere thought. I have to know!
    Con and Gary helped the girl into the boat and he suddenly realized that something dramatic had happened, and he, the cameraman, had missed it entirely. He felt like asking the girl to get back in the dinghy and start over.
    Her name appeared to be Beth, or Rose, or both, or maybe Rose was her last name. She was definitely popular; they were hugging her as much as they’d hugged Anne. Or maybe this was just a hugging crowd.
    Probably another graduating senior headed for parts unknown. He would ask. He would definitely ask.

Chapter 13
    I F BETH HAD HAD a choice, she would have drifted all night in the dark with Blaze. She would have moved to Arizona with him, gone to the Arctic with him, pioneered on the moon with him. However, it seemed premature to announce this to Blaze, as boys were apt to vanish at the first syllable of serious intent.
    Blaze was telling her about how this had been the longest summer of his entire life. The family situation certainly seemed complex. His mother’s corporation had promoted her to a position in California; his father’s corporation had promoted him to a position in Dallas. While his parents tried to figure out what they were going to do, Blaze got accepted at a college in New York City, and his uncle and aunt in Westerly offered to take him for the summer while his parents moved, wherever they ended up going. In the end, each parent had taken each promotion and now Blaze had no real home at all.
    Beth could not imagine going off in the world without having an actual place to go back to. She would always have Westerly, and in some way, it would always have her.
    “Going to college in New York City?” she repeated. She would have to introduce him to Kip. Kip would love it. A handsome boy from Arizona to escort her her first week in town.
    But would I love that? Beth asked herself. My daydream come true. Finally, around the corner, there he is, the perfect boy. So I take him on board the Duet and who does he have his duet with? Kip, of course. A better, brighter choice than me, anyhow. Who won’t be hundreds of miles away, but right there, in the same town. Maybe even the same dorm.
    Beth’s heart sank. Probably in the same classes, too, she thought, majoring in the same subject…
    “So what will you be doing?” he asked. They all asked that. Tiredly she told him about the community college and waitressing. All her thoughtful genes won out, and Beth said, “I’ll have to introduce you to a girl on board, one of my best friends, who’s going to be in New York for college, too.” Beth steeled herself. “You’ll love her,” she added. Beth tried to remember Kip’s real name, since Kip intended a fresh, nickname-less start to college. “Katharine Elliott is her name,” she finished, feeling saintly.
    “Hey, that’d be great. I’d love that. There’s only one problem, Beth. You can climb aboard, but I have to return this boat to the boat rental. Calvin didn’t seem like the type to laugh if one of his boats never returned.”
    “Oh, if that isn’t just like life!” she said crossly. “Always boats to be returned to boat rental. I hate details. Life should be free of niggly little details. You should just be