False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

Everyone crowded around the small table. Aunt Livia’s eyes were locked on Douglas. Her mom fussed with her hair and straightened some offending object on the table setting. Jess seemed to be drifting off, uninterested in the other people at the table or the food. Her focus was over Cory’s head, staring to the darkness outside the sliding door. Cory knew she had called Dad again. She also knew that Jess told him she had to stay with him over the summer or she wouldn’t be able to go to that dance camp thing. Judging by her zombie imitation, that must have gone well.

Wow, another cheery family holiday.

She looked at Kevyn out of the corner of her eye. He caught her and slipped his hand in hers under the table. She had been afraid to ask him to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner, and when he said yes, her fear turned to dread of a different kind. Would her mom embarrass her? She felt as if she had been holding her breath all week, hoping everything would go well. Hoping everyone would just act normal for a change. Cory took another sip of the one glass of Beaujolais that she and Jess were allowed on holidays. Its rawness slid down her throat. Probably not the best stuff. She placed the glass down with exaggerated care. It wasn’t a great idea to have snuck one earlier on an empty stomach.