Crazy For You by Alexander, S.B. (best ebook reader ubuntu .TXT) 📕

no way on this planet would I share that with his dad, or even my own.

I flew into the house, huffing.

Nan rushed out of the kitchen. “What happened?” Her gold-rimmed glasses slid down her nose.

I shrugged my backpack off my shoulders, then dropped it on the kitchen floor near the pantry. “Just a weird talk with Mr. Caldwell.”

“Is he drunk again?” she asked.

She knew him well too. She’d been up in the middle of the night with me to see him stumble out of his car more than once. I was shocked that the man drove himself home.

I went over to the island and snagged a piece of pork that Nan was getting ready to puree for Dad’s dinner. “He seemed sober. He wanted to know if Colton was sleeping with me.”

Her small nose wrinkled. “He asked you that?”

Nodding, I shoved another piece of pork into my mouth, savoring the juicy meat. Once I swallowed, I said, “I’m going to see Dad.” I needed to shake the thoughts and the creepiness.

She tipped her head toward the sliding glass door. “He’s on the deck.”

I did a double take. “For real?” The fall weather was turning cooler, and Dad loved that time of year where he could sit outside without feeling like he was frying in the sun.

“He wanted to get some fresh air. He’s all tucked into his wheelchair. Oh, and there’s a present for you out there too.”

“Present?” It wasn’t my birthday, so I didn’t know who was sending me gifts.

Nan shrugged knowingly.

I was all for presents, but I didn’t get excited about them anymore. The only gift I wanted was to hear Dad’s voice again, or a cure for ALS.

But the little kid in me ran out. Dad had his face tipped toward the waning, late-afternoon sun. He looked so content.

The present could wait. I circled the wheelchair to lean against the deck rail, facing him. “You look comfy. You need to get out more often.”

He gave me a brilliant smile. Then he typed on his computer with his eyes. “It’s nice out here. I’ve always loved the fall.”

“You know what we should do is see if we can set up medical transportation to take you to the golf course. You can hang with your buddies.”

We weren’t fortunate enough to have a van fitted for Dad’s wheelchair, but his insurance had given him just about everything else for his ALS.

“I wouldn’t mind going to the cemetery to visit your mom’s grave,” he said.

The last time we’d done that was when he was using a walker. He’d wanted to see her one last time. He didn’t know if he would ever get to again. “I would like that too.” Dad and I had gone frequently until he was diagnosed with ALS, and neither of us had been since that last time.

“What else would you like to do?” I guessed I should’ve been asking him that more and more. Argh! I’d been so consumed with brooding and crying and freaking out.

“Right now,” he typed, “I would like to have that tough conversation with you.”

Now that I wasn’t moving to California, I felt a little more in control, or at least open, and even excited that I wouldn’t be moving away from my friends.

“First, though,” he continued, “that came for you.” He glanced out at the bench on the other side of the deck.

My skateboard was wrapped in a big green bow. My eyebrows came together as I pondered why Colton hadn’t told me it was fixed earlier, but it didn’t matter. I could cruise again. Hallelujah!

I ran over to it, my pulse soaring as I salivated to take it for a spin. “When did Colton drop this off?” Picking it up, I examined every inch of it. All four wheels appeared new. The red-and-green shark design I’d painted on the bottom seemed to be polished or touched up. I was about to flip it over to run my hand over the top when I spotted some lettering near the wheel that had been mangled: Colton was here.

Maybe he didn’t hate me after all.

“About an hour ago,” came the computer voice.

He must’ve left school early, or maybe he hadn’t had a class last period. Colton and my questions dissipated as I practically hugged my board. I was eager to test it out. It seemed like it had been years since I’d ridden, and I was ready to feel the fall breeze in my face, music in my ears, and get back to catching some air.

As if Dad knew what I was thinking, he typed, “Go. Just be home before dark.”

Normally, I would have rushed out without blinking an eye. “Didn’t you want to talk?” I set my board down and returned to Dad before dragging a chair next to him.

I held his hand and read the words popping up on the screen as he typed with his eyes.

“I have a letter that I want you to read to me aloud,” he said.

“Okay.”

At first, I thought he was going to tell me to take his computer, but Nan must’ve been listening through the screen because she walked out with a piece of paper in her hands. I didn’t know what to make of the pensive expression she wore.

I gently took the letter as though it held world-ending secrets.

She sat in one of the other chairs near the round table. “Your dad has asked me to be present when you read what he wrote.”

I knitted my brows. She sounded like a lawyer all of a sudden, but I also caught a hint of sadness.

The paper seemed to burn a hole in my fingers, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read what was on it.

The computer voice said, “It’s okay, sweetheart. Nan will help answer some questions for me. She’s been well-informed on the situation.”

Situation? It didn’t sound like she would be my guardian—or maybe she would, since Dad wanted her there.

I took in a breath and began.

15

“‘Dear Skyler:

“‘I will never forget