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maderrI found this while I was pondering drabble ideas for the Hardy Boys ^^; Ages and ages past, I wanted to do the '30 Kisses' thing with them, and then it fell by the wayside. It needs a lot of work, god I haven't looked at this thing in ages and ages, and there's not much to it since I was building a story and only got as far as number eight, but figured it couldn't hurt to post ^^;;
Characters, obviously, not mine. Just borrowing ^__^
The Hardy Boys: 30 Kisses
One: 'Look this way'
The first thing Mary Beth noticed was his height. He stood well above the rest of the room, tall and trim and fine. He moved like a cat, loose and lazy but ready to spring the moment he saw a mouse. His eyes swept the room slowly, curious and idle as he approached the bar and took a seat. Waiting for someone?
They locked gazes for a moment, and Mary Beth decided those dark eyes lingered a second more than necessary. He had a light tan and dark hair, cut close and slightly mussed by the breeze. Sunglasses were tucked into he collar of his red t-shirt, which was just tight enough to show he did more than prance around a gym.
Mary Beth pressed a hand to her chest, iced tea forgotten in her left hand until it started to get stiff from holding the cold, slick glass off the table. She set it hastily down, never taking her eyes off the tall, dark stranger.
He took a seat at the bar, smiling at the waitress and charming her instantly. Sipping at his water, he continued to skim the room with the manner of someone who had time to kill.
Toying with her chicken salad, Mary Beth ran through ways to go up and talk to him. She'd never seen the looker around town before, so he was probably just passing through. Smoothing out her strawberry-pink sundress and flouncing her eighty-dollar curls, she'd just pushed back her chair when the door chimed again. Heads looked up to see who else was arriving at lunchtime.
Another stranger, and he was all energy and movement. Even at a distance, Mary Beth could see his eyes were the same color as his bright blue t-shirt, a classic match for his bright blonde hair. His boots clomped as he crossed the small diner, and he seemed to vibrate with pent up energy as he slid into the seat beside the dark-haired stranger. He pushed his sunglasses up on his head, further ruining his wind-tossed hair.
They bent their heads close to talk; the only proof they were speaking was the movement of their lips. The blonde spoke rapidly, hands twitching on the table as if he was trying not to wave them about as he spoke. The darker one was motionless, save for the slower movement of his lips and the occasional nod or shake of his head.
Mary Beth licked her lips, suddenly feeling a lot less bored. He high-heeled sandals clicked on the black and white tiled floor as she crossed to the bar, coming up to stand beside them. "You boys new in town? Visiting relatives?" She gave them her second best smile, grateful that she'd decided to go with the pretty-in-pink lip-gloss. She always looked her best in pinks.
The blonde gave her a bright grin, "We hear there's a great fireworks show to be had around here. A friend invited us down to see them for ourselves."
"Hope your friend has a boat; the best place to watch them is out on the lake.
"Sure does," the dark-haired man said.
Though it was a trifle too early, Mary Beth gave them her best smile.
The two men appeared wholly unfazed, though they both smiled pleasantly back. But she didn't get a chance to puzzle over it. The bells chimed an entrance and an all-too familiar grizzly voice called her name.
"I'm coming, Buck." Mary Beth smiled and murmured a soft 'pardon me' to the two handsome men standing in front of her. She forced herself to walk sedately back to the table, retrieve her purse and check; chat politely with the waitress who took her money at the counter; tell the cook to take care of his mother and then once more approached the two young men. "Name's Mary Beth Creedy, my family owns a tourist business on the lake. Your friend gets too busy, stop by and I'll take you out to see the fire works."
"Frank," the dark-haired man said with a pleasant smile. "This here is my brother Joe. Pleasure ma'am; thank you for the offer. I guess they were right about this being a right friendly little town."
"Of course it is," Mary Beth winked. She blew them a kiss as she exited the diner. "Y'all take care now."
Two: News; Letter
"Dad finally replied to our email," Joe said as Mary Beth Creedy vanished.
"Oh, yeah?" Frank turned back to the bar as the waitress appeared with his apple pie. "Anything good?"
"He says he won't be able to get the files to us before Friday; there's more red tape than usual, it seems."
"That isn't anything good, Joe." Frank pointed out.
Joe grinned. "Yeah, but if I'd kept quiet, you would have thought no news was good news."
Frank smiled back. "So what now?"
"S'pose we'd better let Chet know he's showing us the fireworks this weekend."
"Hopefully he hasn't made other plans."
"He won't mind changing them," Joe said with another grin. "Chet loves us."
"Something like that," Frank murmured. "Hungry?" he asked, finishing off his apple pie.
Joe shook his head. "Nah, I'm good."
Frank dropped some money on the counter and smiled at their waitress as she approached. "Could you give us directions to Chet Morton's place?" He nodded his head as the waitress cheerfully rattled off directions, taking her hand and kissing it with a quiet "Thank you, very much."
"First Mary Beth and then you charm the waitress." Joe teased his brother as they stepped outside. "I can't take you anywhere."
Frank smiled softly, the spitting image of their cool, collected father. But as he slid his sunglasses into place over his dark chestnut eyes, his lips twisted into a smirk that had more in common with his brother. "Ms. Creedy had eyes on you as well. And you didn't mind my charm last night."
Joe sputtered, torn between amusement and amazement at the comment that was so unlike his brother to make. "We're on a case!"
Still grinning, Frank turned neatly on his heel and walked down the sidewalk toward their car.
Three: Jolt!
Chet took a pull on his beer. "So when are you ingrates going to tell me why I invited you out to visit me?"
Joe winked. "Because we're your best pals and you wanted us up for the week to visit you and see the fireworks. Which are most impressive, by the way. Too good for a small town thing."
"The only thing the two of you are 'up' to is mischief." He rolled his eyes and finished his beer, pulling another one from the cooler on the floor behind him. "So how much is this 'vacation' going to cost me in repairs?"
"You know we'll reimburse you for damages." Joe said, unrepentant.
"Yeah, yeah. You might be pretty on the outside, Joe, but you're a rotten brat straight to the core."
"Flatterer."
Chet sighed. "I knew I should've brought hard liquor."
Frank snorted from where he lay stretched out on the bottom of the pontoon boat. "If you'd brought that, you'd be asleep." His eyes didn't leave the sky, wholly focused on the explosions of color in the sky.
"That's the idea. Then I wouldn't have to see you destroy my boat."
"Relax," Joe said. "We're not doing anything tonight except watching the fireworks."
Chet just looked at him. "So you say. But I know better. Where go the Hardy boys, so follows trouble and the destruction of my property."
"You love it and you know it."
"Shut it, blondie."
Frank twisted his head up to look at them. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you two were flirting."
Joe and Chet stopped bickering and looked at Frank like he'd lost his mind. Then Joe started laughing and leapt up from his seat to throw his arms around Chet, planting a loud, wet smack on his cheek. "That's it. I can no longer live a lie, Che--"
"Quiet," Frank said suddenly. His voice was low, level, but it had all the force of a jolt of electricity ripping through them.
Joe lost his jovial manner like he would discard a shirt, bright blue eyes taking on a hard glint that seemed at odds with his usual careless, happy manner. "What is it?"
"Gunshot," Frank said simply. He pointed off to the west. "There, somewhere. It's hard to tell with the trees and mountains all around."
"Show-off," Chet said. "Did you want to try and track it down?"
"No way to find it, really." Frank turned to look at him. "And it would only look mildly suspicious if we went searching for something no one else probably heard. But I've no doubt a dead body will be turning up sometime in the next few days."
Chet gave him a look. "They could have missed. Or shot, oh I don't know, an animal."
"Dead body," Frank said firmly.
"Unless they do a good job of hiding it," Joe added.
Chet downed what was left of his beer. "Will you knuckleheads tell me why I invited you up to visit me?"
"If we have to," Joe said with his familiar grin, though his eyes still held a hard glint as they skimmed the black woods surrounding the lake.
Four: Our distance and that person
"Good morning?" Chet picked up the phone, puzzled as to who would be calling him at six thirty in the morning.
"Chet?" a soft voice asked, filled with hesitation.
"Iola!" Chet smiled - then immediately frowned. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing, really. I just wanted to talk to you…before the house woke up. You know how mom is…"
Chet smiled. "Yeah. So how are you?"
"I…" Chet tried to ignore the hesitation that was always present now in his sister's voice. She'd never been completely the same since she was caught in an explosion that had been intended for Joe. "I went and got my license renewed yesterday."
"Iola!" Chet wanted to crow. "Did you really? How did it go? Are you all right? Was it hard?"
His sister laughed, relaxing under her brother's ever-present exuberance. "It went fine. I still get a bit shaky, but it's lots better than before. I just didn't want to tell anyone until I did it…in case…you know."
"Yeah. Good job, girl. I'm happy for you."
"Thank, big brother." Iola seemed to hesitate. "Momma spoke with Ms. Hardy the other day, said the boys were headed up to…visit you."
"Yeah," Chet said. "Should be all right."
"How is he?"
"You could ask him yourself."
"No…" Chet could tell she was shaking her head. "It still hurts too much. Not…not because of the accident like everyone thinks. Because…"
"He does care about you."
Iola sounded resigned. "Not as much as he cares for Frank, though. As worried as he was about me, while I was recovering…I can't compete with his big brother. Those two are so close no one else stands a chance. The accident woke me up to a lot of things, Chet. Anyway, I didn't call to be all mopey. I just wanted you to be the first to know I'm driving again."
"That's my girl. Now you have to come up and visit me sometime, hear? Just you and me, we'll go fishing and maybe a picnic or two. I'll introduce you to some nice boys here."
Iola laughed. "Have a good day, Chet. Tell…tell them I said hello."
"I will. Kisses, little sister."
"Kisses, big brother. Talk to you later."
Five: "Hey, you know…"
Chet turned at the sound of feet padding across his living room floor. "You know, it's entirely the fault of you Hardys that I've become an early bird."
Frank smiled, eyes bright despite the early hour. "At least you've picked up a few good habits."
"Yeah, and several of your bad ones. The two of you will be the death of me someday."
Frank's smile died. "Chet…"
The redhead winced. "Come on now, Frankie. You know I never held what happened to my sister against you. If things had gone just slightly different, it would have been Joe in the car. I like helping out, and I know what I risk assisting the notorious Hardy boys. And eventually Iola and Callie will come around and you can all kiss and make up."
"I don't know what we'd do without you, Chet."
"Hopefully we'll never find out." Chet grinned and motioned for Frank to follow him. "Now come on, I'll fix us omelets for breakfast."
Six: the space between dream and reality
"How's Callie doing, Chet?" Frank asked as they settled at the table with their breakfasts, Chet with coffee and Frank with orange juice.
"She's doing well. Last I head she was in Paris, offending anyone within range with her awful French. They're both doing well."
"That's good."
Chet seemed to hesitate, "She mentions you occasionally. I think sometimes she feels guilty."
"She shouldn't," Frank said quietly. "We both knew, toward the end, that it would never make the long run. Iola…Iola hit a bit too close to home for her. As strong as she is…"
Chet finished for him. "She'll never be your mother. Over time, always worrying about you would have destroyed her. She liked the romance of it, not the reality. Almost losing my sister, I think, finally forced her to face the reality."
"How is Iola?" Frank asked.
"Doing well. I talked to her this morning, she said to tell you both hello."
Frank shook his head. "I wish we hadn't done everything so wrong with those two. They're good girls."
Chet shrugged. "I love them both, but they were aware of the dangers involved in helping you. At least they both knew to get out while they could. They're happy now; don't let it get you down so much."
Frank was prevented from replying by a loud yawn as Joe ambled into the kitchen. "M'ning" he mumbled. Sleepily he dropped a warm kiss on Frank's shoulder, then wandered toward the coffee pot. "You guys look way too serious for this early in the morning."
"We were talking about the girls." Frank explained.
"Too early," Joe insisted, joining them at the table. "Things will work out when they're ready for them to work out. Leave it at that."
Chet grinned, "Isn't it too early for you to sound smart, Sunshine?"
"No, that's you." Joe took a swallow of black coffee. "So what's the plan for today?"
"Well, you two wanted to get to know Mary Beth better…" Chet said, grinning. "She's throwing a party to start off the festival. Hope you brought your monkey suits."
Frank and Joe groaned.
Seven: Superstar
Mary Beth beamed as she shook hands, murmuring polite nothings with most, chatting intimately with a few. When the receiving line finally fell to an insignificant trickle, she took the arm of her fiancé and they began to make a circuit of the room.
"Splendid party, Mayor. Ms. Creedy. You always throw the best ones." A couple said gushingly.
Giving them a dazzling smile, Mary Beth accepted their compliments and then they moved on..
The mayor smiled at her tolerantly. "I wonder, my peach, which of us runs this town?"
Mary Beth laughed, "We're a team, Tom darling." She started to say more but a flash of bright red caught her eye. "What is Chet Morton doing here? He hates my parties."
Laughing, Tom tugged her gently to resume their promenade. "I believe he's showing his friends around. They were at the fireworks last night, and I'm sure Chet has little else with which to entertain them. He's not really a very entertaining kind of guy, you know? I'm sure he needs your help, peach."
"Showing off for his friends?" Mary Beth smirked and let her gaze wander to Morton's guests. Her breath caught. "My oh my."
"Behave, muffin." Tom gave her a slow, teasing smile. "They are rather fine looking though, aren't they?"
"I saw them in the diner a few days ago. I didn't know Morton was their friend…how does he wind up with such fine company?"
Tom shrugged. "Just lucky, I suppose." His eyes skimmed thoughtfully over the two handsome men smiling and laughing with Chet. "If you're going to play, I think perhaps the blonde is not your type. He has…other tastes, I'd wager."
"Would you like me to get him for you?" Mary Beth said with a slow smile, squeezing her fiancé's arm. "And anyway, I prefer them tall and dark."
"Hmm…" Tom looked thoughtful for a minute. No, not this time. I've still got Jeremy, after all. And he's not grown boring yet. Be careful, honey pot. Make sure that one you investigate thoroughly. We don't want another mess like the last one."
Mary Beth looked contrite. "I know, sweetie. I'm sorry."
"That's all right, sugar." Tom patted her arm. "Why don't you go play with your new toy? I need to start doing business if we're going to have that country club you want before the end of the season."
"Very well," Mary Beth leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Good luck, darling. Fetch me at ten and we'll go home and relax." As he left, she turned and started making her way through the crowd. It was a slow process, as she was constantly stopped to be complimented and fawned over, admired and congratulated on both her party and her fiancé. Mary Beth took the adoration well, smiling and gracious, dazzling everyone around her.
Except that, on the far side of the room, three men seemed completely unaffected by her. In fact, they seemed not to notice her at all.
Mary Beth was more intrigued than ever.
Eight: Our Own World
The briefest touch of his fingers to Joe's wrist signaled the start of the game, and Joe's moving away to lean lazily against the wall signaled he was ready to begin.
A teasing joke, an answering jibe and grin was the first move, as Mary Beth finally approached them. "Well, if it isn't the handsome strangers from the diner."
Chet Morton gave her a friendly smile, and with the barest nod from Frank began the second move. "Oh, have you already met my friends?"
"Only briefly. And it's a nice surprise to see you at one of my parties, Chet. I was under the impression you didn't like me much." She winked, to show it was only a jest.
Chet grinned back. "Don't be silly, Mary Beth. No man could resist you. I'm just a lousy dancer is all. But my friends insisted on a good time, so I though I'd be brave for once and show them one of your parties. These are my friends Frank and Joe Hardy."
They watched her carefully, to see how the second move of the game was received. The briefest flash of surprise flickered across her face - they got that a lot.
"My, my, Chet. I didn't know you had such famous friends. But surely you boys are too young to be the Hardy boys." She licked her lips, a thoughtful hesitation.
Joe laughed and began the third move, stepping forward to stand beside his brother. "Our mother says the same thing, sometimes. But she learned a long time ago that there's no point in stopping us. We like being detectives too much."
"And are you playing detective now?"
"Nah," Joe said. "We're just on vacation. Even famous detectives need a break sometimes and we don't get one if we stay in Bayport." His grin was all charm, a smile that had done much over the years to help their cases. "I have to say between the fireworks and this party, our vacation is going very nicely indeed."
Mary Beth beamed. "Thank you very much. I'm glad you're enjoying it. What other plans have you made?"
Joe shrugged. "We thought about maybe doing some swimming tomorrow, possibly some fishing."
"Then you'll simply have to come to my barbeque tomorrow afternoon. Chet was invited, but the silly boy never sent his RSVP." She wagged her finger at the redhead. "It's a good thing I always plan for extra people."
Frank looked impressed. "Another party? Do you throw them often?"
"Only in warm weather - my fiancé is the mayor so we often host the various affairs around town. The barbeque tomorrow is for all those interested in the new country club we're building on the far side of the lake. Everyone is allowed a couple of guests, so by all means stop on by."
"You're very kind to strangers."
Mary Beth smiled graciously. "Chet is a valued member of the community. Any friend of his is a friend of mine." She started to say more, but a woman called her name and Mary Beth was forced to bid them good evening. They watched as she greeted the older woman with a kiss on the cheek, then wandered off to the buffet table talking a mile a minute.
Third move completed. Frank and Joe shared a brief look, a hint of a smile.
The game was on.
Characters, obviously, not mine. Just borrowing ^__^
The Hardy Boys: 30 Kisses
One: 'Look this way'
The first thing Mary Beth noticed was his height. He stood well above the rest of the room, tall and trim and fine. He moved like a cat, loose and lazy but ready to spring the moment he saw a mouse. His eyes swept the room slowly, curious and idle as he approached the bar and took a seat. Waiting for someone?
They locked gazes for a moment, and Mary Beth decided those dark eyes lingered a second more than necessary. He had a light tan and dark hair, cut close and slightly mussed by the breeze. Sunglasses were tucked into he collar of his red t-shirt, which was just tight enough to show he did more than prance around a gym.
Mary Beth pressed a hand to her chest, iced tea forgotten in her left hand until it started to get stiff from holding the cold, slick glass off the table. She set it hastily down, never taking her eyes off the tall, dark stranger.
He took a seat at the bar, smiling at the waitress and charming her instantly. Sipping at his water, he continued to skim the room with the manner of someone who had time to kill.
Toying with her chicken salad, Mary Beth ran through ways to go up and talk to him. She'd never seen the looker around town before, so he was probably just passing through. Smoothing out her strawberry-pink sundress and flouncing her eighty-dollar curls, she'd just pushed back her chair when the door chimed again. Heads looked up to see who else was arriving at lunchtime.
Another stranger, and he was all energy and movement. Even at a distance, Mary Beth could see his eyes were the same color as his bright blue t-shirt, a classic match for his bright blonde hair. His boots clomped as he crossed the small diner, and he seemed to vibrate with pent up energy as he slid into the seat beside the dark-haired stranger. He pushed his sunglasses up on his head, further ruining his wind-tossed hair.
They bent their heads close to talk; the only proof they were speaking was the movement of their lips. The blonde spoke rapidly, hands twitching on the table as if he was trying not to wave them about as he spoke. The darker one was motionless, save for the slower movement of his lips and the occasional nod or shake of his head.
Mary Beth licked her lips, suddenly feeling a lot less bored. He high-heeled sandals clicked on the black and white tiled floor as she crossed to the bar, coming up to stand beside them. "You boys new in town? Visiting relatives?" She gave them her second best smile, grateful that she'd decided to go with the pretty-in-pink lip-gloss. She always looked her best in pinks.
The blonde gave her a bright grin, "We hear there's a great fireworks show to be had around here. A friend invited us down to see them for ourselves."
"Hope your friend has a boat; the best place to watch them is out on the lake.
"Sure does," the dark-haired man said.
Though it was a trifle too early, Mary Beth gave them her best smile.
The two men appeared wholly unfazed, though they both smiled pleasantly back. But she didn't get a chance to puzzle over it. The bells chimed an entrance and an all-too familiar grizzly voice called her name.
"I'm coming, Buck." Mary Beth smiled and murmured a soft 'pardon me' to the two handsome men standing in front of her. She forced herself to walk sedately back to the table, retrieve her purse and check; chat politely with the waitress who took her money at the counter; tell the cook to take care of his mother and then once more approached the two young men. "Name's Mary Beth Creedy, my family owns a tourist business on the lake. Your friend gets too busy, stop by and I'll take you out to see the fire works."
"Frank," the dark-haired man said with a pleasant smile. "This here is my brother Joe. Pleasure ma'am; thank you for the offer. I guess they were right about this being a right friendly little town."
"Of course it is," Mary Beth winked. She blew them a kiss as she exited the diner. "Y'all take care now."
Two: News; Letter
"Dad finally replied to our email," Joe said as Mary Beth Creedy vanished.
"Oh, yeah?" Frank turned back to the bar as the waitress appeared with his apple pie. "Anything good?"
"He says he won't be able to get the files to us before Friday; there's more red tape than usual, it seems."
"That isn't anything good, Joe." Frank pointed out.
Joe grinned. "Yeah, but if I'd kept quiet, you would have thought no news was good news."
Frank smiled back. "So what now?"
"S'pose we'd better let Chet know he's showing us the fireworks this weekend."
"Hopefully he hasn't made other plans."
"He won't mind changing them," Joe said with another grin. "Chet loves us."
"Something like that," Frank murmured. "Hungry?" he asked, finishing off his apple pie.
Joe shook his head. "Nah, I'm good."
Frank dropped some money on the counter and smiled at their waitress as she approached. "Could you give us directions to Chet Morton's place?" He nodded his head as the waitress cheerfully rattled off directions, taking her hand and kissing it with a quiet "Thank you, very much."
"First Mary Beth and then you charm the waitress." Joe teased his brother as they stepped outside. "I can't take you anywhere."
Frank smiled softly, the spitting image of their cool, collected father. But as he slid his sunglasses into place over his dark chestnut eyes, his lips twisted into a smirk that had more in common with his brother. "Ms. Creedy had eyes on you as well. And you didn't mind my charm last night."
Joe sputtered, torn between amusement and amazement at the comment that was so unlike his brother to make. "We're on a case!"
Still grinning, Frank turned neatly on his heel and walked down the sidewalk toward their car.
Three: Jolt!
Chet took a pull on his beer. "So when are you ingrates going to tell me why I invited you out to visit me?"
Joe winked. "Because we're your best pals and you wanted us up for the week to visit you and see the fireworks. Which are most impressive, by the way. Too good for a small town thing."
"The only thing the two of you are 'up' to is mischief." He rolled his eyes and finished his beer, pulling another one from the cooler on the floor behind him. "So how much is this 'vacation' going to cost me in repairs?"
"You know we'll reimburse you for damages." Joe said, unrepentant.
"Yeah, yeah. You might be pretty on the outside, Joe, but you're a rotten brat straight to the core."
"Flatterer."
Chet sighed. "I knew I should've brought hard liquor."
Frank snorted from where he lay stretched out on the bottom of the pontoon boat. "If you'd brought that, you'd be asleep." His eyes didn't leave the sky, wholly focused on the explosions of color in the sky.
"That's the idea. Then I wouldn't have to see you destroy my boat."
"Relax," Joe said. "We're not doing anything tonight except watching the fireworks."
Chet just looked at him. "So you say. But I know better. Where go the Hardy boys, so follows trouble and the destruction of my property."
"You love it and you know it."
"Shut it, blondie."
Frank twisted his head up to look at them. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you two were flirting."
Joe and Chet stopped bickering and looked at Frank like he'd lost his mind. Then Joe started laughing and leapt up from his seat to throw his arms around Chet, planting a loud, wet smack on his cheek. "That's it. I can no longer live a lie, Che--"
"Quiet," Frank said suddenly. His voice was low, level, but it had all the force of a jolt of electricity ripping through them.
Joe lost his jovial manner like he would discard a shirt, bright blue eyes taking on a hard glint that seemed at odds with his usual careless, happy manner. "What is it?"
"Gunshot," Frank said simply. He pointed off to the west. "There, somewhere. It's hard to tell with the trees and mountains all around."
"Show-off," Chet said. "Did you want to try and track it down?"
"No way to find it, really." Frank turned to look at him. "And it would only look mildly suspicious if we went searching for something no one else probably heard. But I've no doubt a dead body will be turning up sometime in the next few days."
Chet gave him a look. "They could have missed. Or shot, oh I don't know, an animal."
"Dead body," Frank said firmly.
"Unless they do a good job of hiding it," Joe added.
Chet downed what was left of his beer. "Will you knuckleheads tell me why I invited you up to visit me?"
"If we have to," Joe said with his familiar grin, though his eyes still held a hard glint as they skimmed the black woods surrounding the lake.
Four: Our distance and that person
"Good morning?" Chet picked up the phone, puzzled as to who would be calling him at six thirty in the morning.
"Chet?" a soft voice asked, filled with hesitation.
"Iola!" Chet smiled - then immediately frowned. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing, really. I just wanted to talk to you…before the house woke up. You know how mom is…"
Chet smiled. "Yeah. So how are you?"
"I…" Chet tried to ignore the hesitation that was always present now in his sister's voice. She'd never been completely the same since she was caught in an explosion that had been intended for Joe. "I went and got my license renewed yesterday."
"Iola!" Chet wanted to crow. "Did you really? How did it go? Are you all right? Was it hard?"
His sister laughed, relaxing under her brother's ever-present exuberance. "It went fine. I still get a bit shaky, but it's lots better than before. I just didn't want to tell anyone until I did it…in case…you know."
"Yeah. Good job, girl. I'm happy for you."
"Thank, big brother." Iola seemed to hesitate. "Momma spoke with Ms. Hardy the other day, said the boys were headed up to…visit you."
"Yeah," Chet said. "Should be all right."
"How is he?"
"You could ask him yourself."
"No…" Chet could tell she was shaking her head. "It still hurts too much. Not…not because of the accident like everyone thinks. Because…"
"He does care about you."
Iola sounded resigned. "Not as much as he cares for Frank, though. As worried as he was about me, while I was recovering…I can't compete with his big brother. Those two are so close no one else stands a chance. The accident woke me up to a lot of things, Chet. Anyway, I didn't call to be all mopey. I just wanted you to be the first to know I'm driving again."
"That's my girl. Now you have to come up and visit me sometime, hear? Just you and me, we'll go fishing and maybe a picnic or two. I'll introduce you to some nice boys here."
Iola laughed. "Have a good day, Chet. Tell…tell them I said hello."
"I will. Kisses, little sister."
"Kisses, big brother. Talk to you later."
Five: "Hey, you know…"
Chet turned at the sound of feet padding across his living room floor. "You know, it's entirely the fault of you Hardys that I've become an early bird."
Frank smiled, eyes bright despite the early hour. "At least you've picked up a few good habits."
"Yeah, and several of your bad ones. The two of you will be the death of me someday."
Frank's smile died. "Chet…"
The redhead winced. "Come on now, Frankie. You know I never held what happened to my sister against you. If things had gone just slightly different, it would have been Joe in the car. I like helping out, and I know what I risk assisting the notorious Hardy boys. And eventually Iola and Callie will come around and you can all kiss and make up."
"I don't know what we'd do without you, Chet."
"Hopefully we'll never find out." Chet grinned and motioned for Frank to follow him. "Now come on, I'll fix us omelets for breakfast."
Six: the space between dream and reality
"How's Callie doing, Chet?" Frank asked as they settled at the table with their breakfasts, Chet with coffee and Frank with orange juice.
"She's doing well. Last I head she was in Paris, offending anyone within range with her awful French. They're both doing well."
"That's good."
Chet seemed to hesitate, "She mentions you occasionally. I think sometimes she feels guilty."
"She shouldn't," Frank said quietly. "We both knew, toward the end, that it would never make the long run. Iola…Iola hit a bit too close to home for her. As strong as she is…"
Chet finished for him. "She'll never be your mother. Over time, always worrying about you would have destroyed her. She liked the romance of it, not the reality. Almost losing my sister, I think, finally forced her to face the reality."
"How is Iola?" Frank asked.
"Doing well. I talked to her this morning, she said to tell you both hello."
Frank shook his head. "I wish we hadn't done everything so wrong with those two. They're good girls."
Chet shrugged. "I love them both, but they were aware of the dangers involved in helping you. At least they both knew to get out while they could. They're happy now; don't let it get you down so much."
Frank was prevented from replying by a loud yawn as Joe ambled into the kitchen. "M'ning" he mumbled. Sleepily he dropped a warm kiss on Frank's shoulder, then wandered toward the coffee pot. "You guys look way too serious for this early in the morning."
"We were talking about the girls." Frank explained.
"Too early," Joe insisted, joining them at the table. "Things will work out when they're ready for them to work out. Leave it at that."
Chet grinned, "Isn't it too early for you to sound smart, Sunshine?"
"No, that's you." Joe took a swallow of black coffee. "So what's the plan for today?"
"Well, you two wanted to get to know Mary Beth better…" Chet said, grinning. "She's throwing a party to start off the festival. Hope you brought your monkey suits."
Frank and Joe groaned.
Seven: Superstar
Mary Beth beamed as she shook hands, murmuring polite nothings with most, chatting intimately with a few. When the receiving line finally fell to an insignificant trickle, she took the arm of her fiancé and they began to make a circuit of the room.
"Splendid party, Mayor. Ms. Creedy. You always throw the best ones." A couple said gushingly.
Giving them a dazzling smile, Mary Beth accepted their compliments and then they moved on..
The mayor smiled at her tolerantly. "I wonder, my peach, which of us runs this town?"
Mary Beth laughed, "We're a team, Tom darling." She started to say more but a flash of bright red caught her eye. "What is Chet Morton doing here? He hates my parties."
Laughing, Tom tugged her gently to resume their promenade. "I believe he's showing his friends around. They were at the fireworks last night, and I'm sure Chet has little else with which to entertain them. He's not really a very entertaining kind of guy, you know? I'm sure he needs your help, peach."
"Showing off for his friends?" Mary Beth smirked and let her gaze wander to Morton's guests. Her breath caught. "My oh my."
"Behave, muffin." Tom gave her a slow, teasing smile. "They are rather fine looking though, aren't they?"
"I saw them in the diner a few days ago. I didn't know Morton was their friend…how does he wind up with such fine company?"
Tom shrugged. "Just lucky, I suppose." His eyes skimmed thoughtfully over the two handsome men smiling and laughing with Chet. "If you're going to play, I think perhaps the blonde is not your type. He has…other tastes, I'd wager."
"Would you like me to get him for you?" Mary Beth said with a slow smile, squeezing her fiancé's arm. "And anyway, I prefer them tall and dark."
"Hmm…" Tom looked thoughtful for a minute. No, not this time. I've still got Jeremy, after all. And he's not grown boring yet. Be careful, honey pot. Make sure that one you investigate thoroughly. We don't want another mess like the last one."
Mary Beth looked contrite. "I know, sweetie. I'm sorry."
"That's all right, sugar." Tom patted her arm. "Why don't you go play with your new toy? I need to start doing business if we're going to have that country club you want before the end of the season."
"Very well," Mary Beth leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Good luck, darling. Fetch me at ten and we'll go home and relax." As he left, she turned and started making her way through the crowd. It was a slow process, as she was constantly stopped to be complimented and fawned over, admired and congratulated on both her party and her fiancé. Mary Beth took the adoration well, smiling and gracious, dazzling everyone around her.
Except that, on the far side of the room, three men seemed completely unaffected by her. In fact, they seemed not to notice her at all.
Mary Beth was more intrigued than ever.
Eight: Our Own World
The briefest touch of his fingers to Joe's wrist signaled the start of the game, and Joe's moving away to lean lazily against the wall signaled he was ready to begin.
A teasing joke, an answering jibe and grin was the first move, as Mary Beth finally approached them. "Well, if it isn't the handsome strangers from the diner."
Chet Morton gave her a friendly smile, and with the barest nod from Frank began the second move. "Oh, have you already met my friends?"
"Only briefly. And it's a nice surprise to see you at one of my parties, Chet. I was under the impression you didn't like me much." She winked, to show it was only a jest.
Chet grinned back. "Don't be silly, Mary Beth. No man could resist you. I'm just a lousy dancer is all. But my friends insisted on a good time, so I though I'd be brave for once and show them one of your parties. These are my friends Frank and Joe Hardy."
They watched her carefully, to see how the second move of the game was received. The briefest flash of surprise flickered across her face - they got that a lot.
"My, my, Chet. I didn't know you had such famous friends. But surely you boys are too young to be the Hardy boys." She licked her lips, a thoughtful hesitation.
Joe laughed and began the third move, stepping forward to stand beside his brother. "Our mother says the same thing, sometimes. But she learned a long time ago that there's no point in stopping us. We like being detectives too much."
"And are you playing detective now?"
"Nah," Joe said. "We're just on vacation. Even famous detectives need a break sometimes and we don't get one if we stay in Bayport." His grin was all charm, a smile that had done much over the years to help their cases. "I have to say between the fireworks and this party, our vacation is going very nicely indeed."
Mary Beth beamed. "Thank you very much. I'm glad you're enjoying it. What other plans have you made?"
Joe shrugged. "We thought about maybe doing some swimming tomorrow, possibly some fishing."
"Then you'll simply have to come to my barbeque tomorrow afternoon. Chet was invited, but the silly boy never sent his RSVP." She wagged her finger at the redhead. "It's a good thing I always plan for extra people."
Frank looked impressed. "Another party? Do you throw them often?"
"Only in warm weather - my fiancé is the mayor so we often host the various affairs around town. The barbeque tomorrow is for all those interested in the new country club we're building on the far side of the lake. Everyone is allowed a couple of guests, so by all means stop on by."
"You're very kind to strangers."
Mary Beth smiled graciously. "Chet is a valued member of the community. Any friend of his is a friend of mine." She started to say more, but a woman called her name and Mary Beth was forced to bid them good evening. They watched as she greeted the older woman with a kiss on the cheek, then wandered off to the buffet table talking a mile a minute.
Third move completed. Frank and Joe shared a brief look, a hint of a smile.
The game was on.
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Date: 2007-03-26 07:28 pm (UTC)Thankfully it was nothing like that. XD Not that I had any doubt.