Chasing Lightning Bugs

By J.L. Keathley

Angel is a surfer from California. He has money and an ego to go with it. Before his grand college adventure he gets booted off to Arkansas for the summer to visit his dad. He believes it's a cruel, unusual punishment and that this will be the worst time of his life, but he couldn't be more wrong...

Faith is a waitress at the local diner in a small town in southern Arkansas. Happy and not expecting life to change much, her only goal was to support her family. She never thought everything could change so much in one summer, some for the better and some for the worst.

Faith and Angel are from completely different worlds, but it doesn't matter. Sometimes fate has a plan for you, even if you don't have one for yourself...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Merfire Publishing
• Release date: Aug 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781949770025

J.L. Keathley

J.L. Keathley is a self-published author who focuses on YA Fantasy. She lives in Arkansas with her husband and two daughters. She loves animals and has a variety of pets. She has always loved to read and decided to write what she wants to read about. She likes to travel with her family and find adventures. Follow the author on social media for updates. ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ J.L. Keathley Facebook: https://facebook.com/J.L.Keathley/ J.L. Keathley Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlk_ya_author J.L. Keathley Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.keathley/ J.L. Keathley Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17740041.J_L_Keathley J.L. Keathley Blog: https://jlkeathleyyaauthor.wordpress.com/ Author Spotlight Blog: https://jlkeathleysauthorspotlight.wordpress.com/ Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-l-keathley Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/J.L.-Keathley/e/B07B2JZGSV/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1543593698&sr=8-1

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Published by Merfire Publishing, LLC

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© Jennifer Keathley, 2019

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by the copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage system without written permission from the copyright owner, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Any trademarks, product names, service marks, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Dedicated to my big sister Heather for constantly encouraging me to follow my dreams, always being there for me, and being my greatest friend.

Chasing Lightning Bugs

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter One

~Angel~

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Angel couldn’t believe his mother was making him go back to that awful place. He hadn’t been there in years for a reason. He didn’t want to go. This was the last summer he could do whatever he wanted. He felt going to Arkansas was cruel and unusual punishment. He had plans already. What was he going to tell his friends? Sorry guys, my mom is shipping me off to the worst place on earth. Have a great summer without me. It wasn’t fair! Angel made sure to make good grades in school and stay away from too many girls; so he could have the summer of a lifetime with his friends. This was his last summer before college... before he had to grow up and start taking care of himself. He wasn’t ready for that. He liked being taken care of and not having any real responsibilities.

He packed his duffel bag at the last minute, hoping his mom would realize he didn’t want to go at all. He didn’t get that lucky.

Angel, you're going. Stop dragging this out. Your plane leaves in a couple of hours.

I don’t want to go. I have nothing to say to him.

He is your father. He wants to spend time with you.

He could come here.

That isn’t a good idea.

Why not? If he wants to see me so bad, he could come here.

You know how your father is. He isn’t used to big cities. Besides it will do you some good to get away from California for a couple of months.

I like it here. I have the sun, the beach, my friends, and girls.

There is sun in Arkansas. There are small beaches there, as well, with lakes, and there are girls everywhere. It would do you some good to stop thinking about girls so much.

I’m seventeen, tall, dark complected, and look good. It’s hard not to think of girls when they are pining all over me.

It would also do you some good to let go of your ego. Yes, my son, you are handsome, but don’t be so conceited.

Ma, I don’t have an ego. I just know I look good.

Son that is what having an ego is, right there. You brag too much.

Alright ma, if you say so.

His mom sighed and shook her head.

Back to the Arkansas thing: I don’t want to go.

You’re still seventeen, meaning you’re a minor. You have to do what I say. We are leaving in thirty minutes, because traffic will get bad. Now hurry up son!

She walked out of his room then, obviously annoyed. He looked around at his clean room. The bed was unmade, but everything else was spotless. It wasn’t because of him. Maria the housekeeper kept it clean. Angel wasn’t sure how, because he was such a slob. He was going to miss his home and being cared for, but most of all, he would miss the view. Angel looked out the large window to his left, the beach was right outside. He could see the waves of the ocean splashing against the edges of the sand. Girls were walking around in bathing suits, surfers riding waves, and small kids making sandcastles. That is what he was going to miss the most about this place.

Before leaving, Angel glanced around one last time because he wouldn’t be back for several months. When he left at the end of summer from his dad’s, he would be going straight to college. As he looked around, he saw the white walls with surfer posters on them, his large high definition television, videos games, bean bag chairs and a couch. Before he left his room, he stole one last glance out his window. He, then, let out a long sigh before turning off the light and heading out to the garage. Angel’s mom drove him to the airport. He didn’t talk the whole way. He didn’t have much to say to her. Angel knew he was being childish, but he didn’t care. According to his mom, he was still a kid, even though he was close to being eighteen.

When they got to the airport, his mom stopped right in front. Angel thought she was trying to rush him out of the car. So, he obliged and practically jumped out of the car to grab his stuff from the trunk. He slammed the door down, somewhat intentionally, but didn’t mean for it to sound so loud. He started to walk off to get away from his mom when he heard her from the car.

Goodbye. I love you honey. You will have a great time with your father, she said empathetically.

Yeah, we shall see, Angel said as he slowly turned around to look at her.

Come give me a hug and kiss. If you don’t, I will get out of this car and make a scene. You know I will do it. Angel’s mom wasn’t cruel. She just liked to prove the point that she was right most of the time.

He did as she asked reluctantly. I love you too.

I’ll see you in a couple of months sweetie.

Bye, he sighed angrily.

Angel stood on the curve in front of the large airport, while he watched as she drove off in her new black Hummer. She recently got a new promotion at work and decided to treat herself. She got a new fancy car, and he got booted to the boondocks as punishment for who knows what, or maybe she wanted to get rid of him for the summer so she could spend time with her new boyfriend, he thought to himself.

Angel hadn’t met him yet. His mom knew he would most likely interrogate the guy; also, that he probably wouldn’t approve. He loved his mom, but she had bad taste in men. Every relationship, if you could call it that, had ended badly.

Before Angel knew it, he was on a plane and it was lifting off. The only thing that kept him slightly happy was the hot flight attendant. She was older than he was, but she still looked good. Other than watching her walk back and forth down the aisle, he slept, even though the plane ride was less than five hours. There wasn’t a lot to do on the plane. There wasn’t a movie playing and no snacks were offered. His mom didn’t let him fly first class this trip, for some odd reason. It wasn’t like she couldn’t afford it. Maybe it was another part of some punishment, he thought, other than just being sent off to stay with his dad for the summer. He still didn’t know what he had done that was so wrong. It wasn’t like he had gotten into too much trouble during the school year. It wasn’t like he got busted for helping with the senior prank at school. He still thought it was hilarious that he was able to help get water bottles with goldfish in them in the vending machine. All the fish survived and went to the science department to live in an aquarium for the Freshman to study the next school year.

Angel was woken up by the warning that the plane would be landing soon. He looked out the window, but there wasn’t much to see, like usual. After landing, Angel got off the plane and headed toward the tiny airport. His dad wasn’t coming to pick him up. He had church duties to deal with. Angel was relieved about that. He would be alone. It wasn’t like he didn’t know exactly where his dad lived. His dad had been living in the same place for years. Angel didn’t understand the appeal of Fouke at all. It wasn’t even a town. There was a gas station, family owned burger joint, general store, and the school. Only one school for all the grades was crazy. Seriously, kindergarten through high school, the town if you want to call it that, was that small.

Angel grabbed a taxi to take him to Fouke. He had the cab fare, but he was going to have to get a vehicle to get around during the summer. Angel’s mom sent his dad funds to help him find something. She thought he was bad with money. Also, if he wanted spending money this summer, he would have to get a job. The torture continued.

The taxi ride took forever. The city of Texarkana hadn’t changed much from what he could see. Angel thought there would be more development by now, but he was wrong. There was green everywhere: too many trees and bushes. Everywhere you looked people had gardens of some sort. He knew Fouke would be worse. It was farming country.

Angel got dropped off at his dad’s house. It looked the same, except it looked freshly painted. It was a small two-bedroom place, and the outside was painted pale yellow. Two small wooden steps were leading up to the white front door. Angel’s dad was modest. His dad didn’t like to have fancy things: never wanted more than what he needed. He figured that is why his mom and dad didn’t last long. She liked the high-end life and he was a country man.

Angel walked through the front door. The living room looked the same with the same old brown furniture and antique white walls. His dad didn’t have a TV, just a radio in the living room next to the couch. He looked in the kitchen. The refrigerator was bare and so were the cabinets. Angel was going to have to change that. He liked to eat. Lastly, he made it to his room. The room was still painted beige, but the bed was now a queen size, instead of a twin. The football comforter was changed to a solid black one. The small brown dresser in the corner next to the window was the same and so was the secondhand desk his dad had gotten from a yard sale. Angel dropped his stuff on the floor, fell on the bed and stared at the ceiling feeling sorry for himself for at least twenty minutes.

Angel got tired of the pity party and decided to walk down to the church where his dad was at. It was about a ten-minute walk. His dad was a youth pastor at a small non-denominational church. His dad has been the youth pastor for the last ten years or so. His dad was in his early thirties. His parents were barely eighteen when he came around. Angel was sure that was another reason why they didn’t make it.

He made it to the church. It looked the same as well. It was a small white church with a black cross on the roof. The windows were made of stained colored glass with no set pattern, and there was an old wheelchair ramp leading up to the dark colored wooden double doors. He walked around to the side, followed the dirt trail that used to grow grass to the small back building that was used as a fellowship hall.

His dad was walking out the door when he spotted Angel. Hi son. It’s good to see you, he said. He walked up to Angel and gave him an awkward hug. It was a lot stranger for Angel than it was for his dad. If you didn’t know them, you wouldn’t believe the two were related. His dad was slightly tan, because he was outdoors in the sun, had light brown hair and green eyes. You could tell Angel’s dad was Caucasian. However, Angel got his mother's Hispanic genes. Angel had dark brown skin, black hair, and dark brown eyes. He didn’t look like his father at all. His dad wore jeans with cowboy boots and flannel shirts. Angel wore shorts, sandals, and t-shirts. The two were nothing alike. Besides not looking alike, they didn’t care for the same movies, music, or food. Also, Angel’s dad was religious, but Angel wasn't.

Hey dad.

When did you get here?

About an hour ago. Went to the house to drop off my stuff.

Have a good flight?

Mostly, yeah.

That’s good. You hungry?

I’m starving.

"Great! We can grab some food in