"Before I could walk."

  "Then you'll have to try the riding here—eastern style. It's really fantastic! We're known for our hunt country in this part of Virginia."

  "I'd like to try it."

  "Come out with me sometime, and I'll show you the trails. I ride almost every afternoon." Caitlin drew her fingers through her long, black hair, pulling it away from her face in a way she knew was becoming, yet which seemed terribly innocent.

  "Sounds like something I'd enjoy,"—Jed said, smiling—"once I get settled in."

  "We're not going to give him much time for riding," Roger interrupted. "Not until after soccer season, anyway. The coach already has him singled out as first-string forward."

  "We're glad you're on the team," Caitlin said. "With Roger as captain, we're going to have a great season." Caitlin glanced at Roger, who seemed flattered by her praise. Then through slightly lowered lashes, she looked directly back at Jed. "But I know it will be even better now."

  Jed only smiled. "Hope I can live up to that."

  Roger turned to Jed. "We've got to go."

  "Fine." Jed nodded.

  Caitlin noticed Dorothy, who had been silent during Jed and Caitlin's conversation. She was now staring at Jed wistfully as he and Roger headed toward the door.

  Caitlin quickly leaned over to whisper, "Dorothy, did you notice the way Roger was looking at you?"

  Her attention instantly diverted, Dorothy looked away from Jed to look at Caitlin. "Me?" She sounded surprised.

  "Yeah. He really seems interested."

  "Oh, I don't think so." Despite her attraction to Jed, Dorothy seemed flattered. "He's hardly ever looked at me before."

  "You were standing behind me and probably couldn't notice, but take my word for it."

  Dorothy glanced at the star soccer player's retreating back. Her expression was doubtful, but for the moment she'd forgotten her pursuit of Jed, and Caitlin took that opportunity to focus her own attention on the new boy from Montana. She knew she only had a moment more to make that unforgettable impression on him before the two boys were gone. Quickly she walked forward. Her voice was light but loud enough to carry to the girls behind her.

  "We were just going in your direction, anyway," she called. "Why don't we walk along just to show you what strong supporters of the team we are?"

  Looking surprised, Roger said, "That's fine by us. Right, Jed?"

  "Whatever you say."

  Caitlin thought he sounded pleased by the attention. Quickly, before the other girls joined them, she stepped between the two boys. Roger immediately tried to pull her hand close to his side. She wanted to swat him off, but instead, gave his hand a squeeze, then let go. She was pleased when Diana fell in step beside Roger. Turning to Jed, Caitlin smiled and said, "There must be a thousand questions you still have about the school and the area. Have you been to Virginia before?"

  "A few times. I've seen a little of the countryside."

  "And you like it?"

  As they walked out the door of the building, Jed turned his head so that he could look down into her upturned face and nodded. There was a bright twinkle in his eyes.

  Caitlin took that twinkle as encouragement, and her own eyes grew brighter. "So much goes on around here at this time of year. Has anyone told you about the fall dance this weekend?"

  "I think Matt Jenks did. I'm rooming with him."

  "It'll be great—a real good band," Caitlin cooed. In the background she heard the sound of the others' voices, but they didn't matter. Jed Michaels was listening to her.

  They walked together for only another minute, down the brick footpath that connected the classroom buildings to the rest of the elegant campus. Caitlin told him all she could about the upcoming dance, stopping short of asking him to be her date. She wasn't going to throw herself at him. She wouldn't have to, anyway. She knew it would be only a matter of time before he would be hers.

  It didn't take them long to reach the turnoff for the soccer field. "I guess this is where I get off," she said lightly. "See you around."

  "See you soon," he answered and left.

  Caitlin smiled to herself. This handsome boy from Montana wasn't going to be an easy mark, but this was an adequate beginning. She wanted him—and what Caitlin wanted, Caitlin got.

  "You going back to the dorm, Caitlin?" Morgan asked.

  "Yeah, I've got a ton of reading to do for English lit." Caitlin spoke easily, but her thoughts were on the smile Jed Michaels had given her just before he'd left.

  "Somerson really piled it on tonight, didn't she?" Gloria Parks muttered.

  "Who cares about homework," Caitlin replied. "I want to hear what you guys think of Jed."

  "Not bad at all." Tenny giggled.

  "We ought to be asking you, Caitlin," Morgan added. "You got all his attention."

  Caitlin brought her thoughts back to the present and laughed. "Did I? I hadn't even noticed," she said coyly.

  "At least Roger's got some competition now," Jessica Stark, a usually quiet redhead, remarked. "He was really getting unbearable."

  "There's probably a lot more to Roger than meets the eye," Dorothy said in his defense.

  "I agree. Roger's not bad. And what do you expect," Caitlin added, "when all he hears is how he's the school star."

  The girls started crossing the lawns from the grouping of Highgate classroom buildings toward the dorms. The magnificent grounds of the exclusive boarding school were spread out around them. The ivy-covered walls of the original school building had changed little in the two hundred years since it had been constructed as the manor house for a prosperous plantation. A sweeping carpet of lawn had replaced the tilled fields of the past; and the smaller buildings had been converted into dormitories and staff quarters. The horse stable had been expanded, and several structures had been added—classroom buildings, a gymnasium complete with an indoor pool, tennis and racketball courts—but the architecture of the new buildings blended in well with that of the old.

  "Caitlin, isn't that your grandmother's car in the visitors' parking lot?" Morgan pointed toward the graveled parking area off the oak-shaded main drive. A sleek, silver Mercedes sports coupe was gleaming in the sunlight there.

  "So it is." Caitlin frowned momentarily. "Wonder what she's doing here? I must have left something at the house last time I was home for the weekend."

  "My dream car!" Gloria exclaimed, holding one hand up to adjust her glasses. "I've told Daddy he absolutely must buy me one for my sixteenth birthday."

  "And what did he say?" Jessica asked.

  Gloria made a face. "That I had to settle for his three-year-old Datsun or get a bicycle."

  "Beats walking," Morgan said, reaching into her bag for another candy bar.

  "But I'm dying to have a car like your grandmother's."

  "It's not bad." Caitlin glanced up at the car. "She has the Bentley, too, but this is the car she uses when she wants to drive herself instead of being chauffeured."

  "Think she'll let you bring it here for your senior year?"

  Caitlin shrugged and mimicked her grandmother's cultured tones. ' "It's not wise to spoil one.' Besides, I've always preferred Jaguars."

  Caitlin paused on the brick path, and the other girls stopped beside her. "You know, I really should go say hello to my grandmother. She's probably waiting for me." She turned quickly to the others. "We've got to have a meeting for this fundraiser. How about tonight—my room, at seven?"

  "Sure."

  "Great."

  "Darn, I've got to study for an exam tomorrow," Jessica grumbled, "but let me know what you decide."

  "Me, too," Kim commented. "I was on the courts all afternoon yesterday practicing for Sunday's tennis tournament and really got behind with my studying."

  "Okay, we'll fill you guys in, but make sure you come to the next meeting. And I don't want any excuses. If you miss the meeting, you're out!" Caitlin stressed firmly. "I'll catch the rest of you later, then."

  All the girls walked away except Dorothy, who lingered behind. Just then, a tall, elegantly dressed, silver-haired woman walked briskly down the stairs from the administrative office in the main school building. She moved directly toward the Mercedes, quickly opened the driver's door, and slid in behind the wheel.

  Caitlin's arm shot up in greeting, but Regina Ryan never glanced her way. Instead, she started the engine and immediately swung out of the parking area and down the curving drive.

  For an instant Caitlin stopped in her tracks. Then with a wide, carefree smile, she turned back to Dorothy and laughed. "I just remembered. She called last night and said she was dropping off my allowance money but would be in a hurry and couldn't stay. My memory really is bad. I'll run over and pick it up now."

  As Caitlin turned, Dorothy lightly grabbed Caitlin's elbow and spoke softly. "I know you're in a hurry, but can I talk to you for a second, Caitlin? Did you mean what you said about Roger? Was he really looking at me?"

  "I told you he was," Caitlin said impatiently, anxious to get Dorothy out of the picture. "Would I lie to you?"

  "Oh, no. It's just that when I went over to talk to him, he didn't seem that interested. He was more interested in listening to what you and Jed were saying."

  "Roger's just nosy."

  "Well, I wondered. You know, I haven't had any dates since I transferred—"

  "Dorothy! You're worried about dates? Are you crazy?" Caitlin grinned broadly. "And as far as Roger goes, wait and see. Believe me." She gave a breezy wave. "I've got to go."

  "Yeah, okay. And, thanks, Caitlin."

  "Anytime."

  Without a backward glance, Caitlin walked quickly to the administration office. The story about her allowance had been a fabrication. Regina Ryan had given Caitlin more than enough spending money when she'd been home two weeks earlier, but it would be all over campus in a minute if the girls thought there was anything marring Caitlin's seemingly perfect life.

  Running up the steps and across the main marble-floored lobby that had once been the elegant entrance hall of the plantation house, she walked quickly into the dean's office and smiled warmly at Mrs. Forbes, the dean's secretary.

  "Hi, Mrs. Forbes."

  "Hello, Caitlin. Can I help you?"

  "I came to pick up the message my grandmother just left."

  "Message?" Mrs. Forbes frowned.

  "Yes." Caitlin continued to look cheerful. "I just saw her leaving and figured she was in a hurry and left a message for me here."

  "No, she just met on some school board business briefly with Dean Fleming."

  "She didn't leave anything for me?"

  "I can check with the part-time girl if you like."

  "Thanks." Caitlin's smile had faded, but she waited as Mrs. Forbes stepped into a small room at the rear.

  She returned in a second, shaking her head. "Sorry, Caitlin."

  Caitlin forced herself to smile. "No problem, Mrs. Forbes. It wasn't important, anyway. She'll probably be on the phone with me ten times tonight."

  As Caitlin hurried from the main building and set out again toward the dorm, her beautiful face was grim. Why was she always trying to fool herself? She knew there was no chance her grandmother would call just to say hello. But nobody would ever know that: She would make certain of it. Not Mrs. Forbes, or any of the kids; not even her roommate, Ginny. Not anyone!

  Like it so far? Want to read more? LOVING will be available in May 1985.* It will be on sale wherever Bantam paperbacks are sold. The other two books in the trilogy, LOVE DENIED and TRUE LOVE, will also be published in 1985.

  ENDNOTES

  * Outside the United States and Canada, books will be available approximately three months later. Check with your local bookseller for further details.

 

 

  Francine Pascal, Head Over Heels (Sweet Valley High Book 18)

 

 

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