Read Massie for Free Online Page B

on her hair. “Who canceled my credit cards?”
    “I did.” William entered, an unlit cigar dangling from his lips. He stuffed his thick hands in the pockets of his white boating shorts and rocked back on the heels of his Top- Siders.
    “Why?” Massie stood immediately. “Are we
poor
?” she whispered.
    “
You
are.” William smugly flicked the brim of his navy sailor cap. “I’m not.” The cap was the exact same color as his Lacoste polo and a little too matchy-matchy, but out of spite, Massie chose not to tell him.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” She stomped over to the bed and flopped onto its puffy silk eiderdown, her lower lip drooping in a well-rehearsed pout.
    Her parents shot each other meaningful looks. William removed the cigar. “You just got kicked out of the most prestigious riding camp in the state of New York and yet you fail to grasp the gravity of the situation.”
    Massie buried her face in a Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom – scented pillow and rolled her eyes. She understood the
gravity
of the situation perfectly—she was going
down
.
    “What drove you to glue Maxwell Galwaugh’s grand daughter to a
saddle
?” William’s light brown eyes were totally twinkle-free. “What was so darn important about winning
that
race?”
    Massie widened her amber eyes to heart-melting proportions. “The winning part.”
    Kendra sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with coming in second every once in a while.”
    “But Daddy always says, ‘Be the best Block you can be,’” Massie tried. “That’s all I was doing.”
    “You were doing it at someone else’s expense.” William sat on the edge of the bed and ducked under the mosquito netting. “And
that’s
unacceptable.”
    “Sorry.” Massie inched beside her father and put her arms around him. “Do you forgive me?”
    William instantly returned the hug.
    Done, done, and done.
    “I won’t do it again,” Massie told Kendra, who was standing above them, arms folded across her sunburned chest.
    “I hope not,” she huffed.
    “Now will you
please
turn my credit cards back on?”
    “Of course, dear,” Kendra purred. “As soon as you pay us back for your summer at Galwaugh.”
    “What?”
Massie snapped. She searched her father’s eyes for that just-kidding sparkle, but found all-business brown instead. “So we
are
poor!”
    Her stomach filled with panic acid. Her fingertips froze. And her heart pounded a distress signal.
Poor
and
alpha
were the social equivalents of a Big Mac and a Diet Coke. Both begged the question, “Who are you kidding?”
    “We are absolutely
not
poor,” William insisted. “In fact, I just had a record-breaking year.” He puffed out his chest with pride.
    “You are going to pay us back because we want to teach you a lesson,” Kendra told her daughter.
    Massie stomped over to her window and looked out at the tree-lined driveway, wishing she were back at camp, free of debt, and galloping with Brownie on the lush woodsy trails. “What lesson is
that
?”
    “Winning at all costs is a very bad investment.” William stood. He kissed his daughter on the back of her glossy brunette head and hurried out in case she started crying.
    Kendra appeared beside Massie. “Trini Neufeld was able to get you a job at the Southampton Beach Club.” Her voice softened. “Ellie goes to their day camp, and they’re looking for some summer help.”
    Massie turned to face her mother. “You
seriously
want me to get a
job
?”
    “It sounds like a lot of fun,” Kendra tried. “Trini says Ellie just loves the program.”
    A salty breeze blew by, as if trying to remind Massie exactly what she was fighting for.
    “Pass!” She glared into Kendra’s unwavering hazel eyes. “Mom, if I have to work this summer, I’ll be too exhausted to reach my potential at school next year, and then I’ll tank in the PSATs and I won’t get into a good college! Really, is it worth risking everything just so Ellie can have a friend?”
    “I’m