Still The One - Carrie Elks Page 0,6

you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome.” He nodded, his expression serious.

Mrs. Mason was walking around the room, looking at her students’ attempts at their name. When she reached Tanner’s table, she looked down at his paper and smiled. “That’s lovely, Tanner. And how about you, Savannah. Let’s see your name.”

Van pushed her paper forward, still beaming.

“That’s not your full name,” Mrs. Mason said. “Can you write Savannah for me?”

Van shook her head. “Everybody calls me Van,” she said, nodding to emphasize her words.

“But Savannah is such a pretty name,” Mrs. Mason said. “And you’re such a pretty girl.”

“It’s Van,” the girl said again, rolling her eyes. “I don’t need a pretty name.” Tanner had to curl his nails into his palms to stop himself from laughing out loud. Watching the two of them was like a battle of wills. He wasn’t sure who’d win.

“Well, I shall call you Savannah.” Mrs. Mason said, as though she was trying to have the last word the same way Tanner’s dad always did. “Okay, Kindergarteners, well done. Now let’s try our numbers.” She clapped her hands and walked away, shaking her head like his mom did when she was annoyed.

When the teacher had turned her back on them once more, Van elbowed Tanner to get his attention. “Hey, Tanner,” she whispered loudly.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

He smiled. “That’s okay.”

“You wanna play with me at recess?” she asked him. “I know all the good games.” She gave a slow nod, like she was weighing something up. “I’ll even be your best friend if you want me to be,” she told him. He felt warm inside, like she’d just given him a birthday present.

The sun hit her hair again, making her look like the angels in his mom’s illustrated bible, and Tanner found himself nodding at her suggestion.

“Yeah,” he agreed solemnly. “I’d like that a lot.”

Chapter Four

It had taken three days, but her mom’s bungalow was finally clean from top to bottom. Van stepped back, admiring the way the kitchen surfaces shone. Her hair was tied back from her face, her skin glowing from exertion, but she couldn’t help but grin as she took it all in.

“Hey, Zoe!” she called out, turning as her sister walked through the kitchen door. “Take a look at the stove. You ever seen it look that clean?”

Zoe pressed her lips together, staring at Van as though she was crazy. “Um, no.”

Okay, so maybe she was crazy. But since her mom had spent the past few days either laying in bed or moping on the living room sofa, it had given Van something to do.

“I cleaned the windows, too,” Van told her sister.

“Nice.” Zoe looked around, her brows lifting. “But isn’t it all gonna get dirty again?”

“What do you mean?”

Zoe glanced at the chrome clock hanging over the back door. Van had put a battery in it earlier when she’d taken it down to polish it. “It’s almost dinner time,” Zoe pointed out. “And we’ll have to use the stove to cook it. Then it’s gonna get dirty.”

Over Van’s dead body. “We’ll go out to eat tonight,” Van said quickly. At least that’d give her a few more hours of a clean house. “Where do you want to go?”

“The diner?” Zoe suggested. “They have good milkshakes there.”

Van grinned. “I haven’t been to Murphy’s in ages. Are the eggs still bad?”

“The worst.”

“Okay then. The diner it is.” Van put away the last of the cleaning supplies, then washed her hands. At least she didn’t need to tidy herself up much for the diner. Just a quick shower and a change of clothes. “Mom?” she called out. “You want to come out for dinner?”

It took a moment for her mom to reply, “No. Just get me a burger or something. I’m too sleepy to go out.”

Van sighed. Compared to sorting out her mom, getting the house clean was easy. “Give me twenty,” she told Zoe. “Then we’ll head out.”

“Sounds good to me.” Zoe grinned. “I’ll be ready.”

“Are you sure you want to eat here?” Tanner asked his sister, holding the door open for her. The aroma of coffee and fried food hit him instantly.

“Of course. Murphy’s is a Hartson’s Creek institution. If you’re staying here for a while, you need to reacclimatize yourself.” Becca grinned at him, ducking under his arm and heading straight for her favorite booth. “And I won at cards last night fair and square. Winner picks the food, loser pays. It’s our rule, remember?”

Tanner slid into the tattered bench seat opposite Becca, his legs barely