Hike to the Hilltop: The Fuller Creek Series

By David C. Reyes

The Secret of the Golden Tomb: During a class assignment, Jess and Katie stumble upon a mystery of a sacred golden tomb. As they begin to put the pieces together, they soon realize there's more to this mystery than meets the eye.
Hike to the Hilltop: As their sophomore year continues, Jesse realizes his feelings for Katie have deepened. As they struggle over their feelings for one another, will a hike to a snow-covered hilltop lead them on the path to romance? Or will it be the end of their friendship?

Follow the lives of Jess & Katie in this fourth book of a six (6) book series. Both guys and girls will enjoy the drama and adventure, so purchase it now to continue this exciting journey!

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Harbor Press
• Release date: Aug 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201102104

David C. Reyes

David is a published author with multiple works of fiction to his credit. A trademark of his writing, is to use his creativity where he entwines a positive moral message within his storylines. Beside writing, David enjoys watching romantic comedy movies or spending time in the local mountains with his lovely wife, Linda.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE – SQUASHED... JUST LIKE A GRAPE!

A few weeks after Katie and I helped Susan Clark, I was pretty pumped about the rest of the summer. I was especially excited considering the things that started to develop between Katie and me. I decided to give Brian a call to see what he was doing, as I had spent most of the last few weeks with Katie. When I called, his mother answered the phone. This was strange because I rarely talked to his mother as she works during the day.

Mrs. Jensen?

Yes.

This is Jess; Brian’s friend.

Oh yes. How are you doing, Jess?

I’m fine, I just thought I would give Brian a call and see what he’s up to.

He’s kind of tied up right now; he’s helping his father work on one of the cars. I’ll have him call you back.

Okay, thanks.

***

Meanwhile, at Katie’s house, her mother brought up the conversation about the happenings of the last few weeks.

So honey, are you and Jess done with helping Susan Clark?

Yes, we’re all done now. It seems like the last few weeks I have spent so much time with Jess now that it’s over, it’s like I don’t know what to do with myself.

Oh, that reminds me; Becky called. She wants you to call her back.

Oh, okay I will. It’s been some time since I talked to her.

Katie went to her bedroom and made the call. Becky answered the phone.

Hello...

Hi Becks, it’s me.

Hey girl, where have you been? I called you the other day and your mother said you were with Jess. What were you doing with Jess for practically the whole day?

Actually, it wasn’t just during the day, I also spent a couple of nights with him too.

What! You spent the night with Jess?

No, not like that—I’m so sure. Jess and I were on another investigation that Detective Ballard asked us to help out on. We needed to spend the night at this house where the owner was hearing some strange noises. It’s that same house that Jess and I went exploring a few years ago. Anyway, to hear these noises, we had to spend the night because these noises only happened late at night or early in the morning. Tami spent the first night with us because my dad wanted me to have a chaperone. Susan, that’s the lady who owns the house, and her two kids were sleeping upstairs and Jess and I were alone downstairs. That’s why my dad felt we needed a chaperone. Of course, Tami took off for hours and left us there by ourselves, so we didn’t have a chaperone anyway. But to make a long story short, Jess and I solved another mystery and it all worked out fine.

Okay, I’m not sure I get all of that; but is this investigating stuff over?

Yeah, why?

Because I need you to go on a double date with me.

A double-date?

"Yeah. Remember I told you that I ran into Steve Chapman at the mall? Well, guess what? He asked me out to go to a matinee movie. The problem is that my dad won’t let me go unless I have a friend with me. Steve’s best friend is Kevin Moran and when Steve told Kevin who my best friend was, Kevin wanted to double-date because he thinks you’re really pretty. He then told Steve to call me to see if you wanted to double-date with him."

Becky, I don’t know. I mean, isn’t Kevin Moran Cindy Moran’s older brother?

Yeah, so?

So, Cindy Moran knows Jess. Don’t you remember they skated together at your birthday party? She was the one in the red sweater that Jess was skating with. What if Kevin tells Cindy, and Cindy tells Jess that I was on a date with Kevin.

So, what’s wrong with that?  You’re not dating or going out with Jess, are you?

No, but a few things happened between us that I didn’t tell you about.

Like what things?

Remember when you said that Jess and I were flirting with each other at the homecoming game? Well, to be honest, we kind of were. And then it happened again after his football practice, and then again at the movies on my birthday.

So, what are you saying? That you and Jess are now a couple?

No, but I don’t want to hurt him.

"Katie, I know I told you to ‘get your foot in the door’ with Jess before all these other girls start to go after him. But how can I put this. I know, you like Starburst Candy, right? God knows you had enough of it in your garage. And I still don’t understand this thing about you winning a year’s supply of Starburst in the ‘Chest of Gold Contest,’ but whatever. Anyway, my point is, that you just don’t eat Starburst Candy all the time, you eat other candy too. Like I see you eat Reese’s, M&M’s, Snickers Bars, and a lot of other candy. But if you only ate Starburst all the time, you would never know if maybe you like some other candy better. Do you get my point? Katie, I like Jess—I really do. But you need to go out with other guys so you can see what you like and don’t like. You probably only think you’re starting to have feelings for Jess because he’s the only guy you hang around with. You need to give yourself some variety and go out on real dates. And I don’t mean this little stuff you had with Marc or Derek talking to you after class. I know your father lets you go to the movies because we went with Brian and Jess that time. This will be no different."

Yes, but this is more like a date. When we went with Jess and Brian, we were all just friends.

Well, you and Kevin are friends, right?  You talked to him that time we were in the student store last year, didn’t you?

I wouldn’t call him accidentally bumping into me and saying ‘excuse me’ being friends.

I know, but you think he’s cute, don’t you?

Yeah, he’s alright.

So, will you go, Katie? I really need you to do this otherwise I can’t go. Kevin doesn’t like Marci and he won’t double-date with her—please?

Oh, alright; but I still need to ask permission to go.

Oh, thank you! You’re the best! And don’t worry about Jess; he’ll be fine. Who knows, maybe Jess is seeing someone himself; you don’t know. And if things are meant to be between you guys, then in the future it will happen. But in the meantime, let’s have some fun, okay?

Yeah, I guess.

Okay good. I’ll call you later after I talk to Steve on what time he wants to go.

Alright, I’ll talk to you later.

***

About an hour after I had left a message with Mrs. Jensen, Brian returned my call.

Hello...

Hey Jess, it’s me.

Hey, Brian. I called because I wanted to see if you wanted to do something today? We had talked about maybe going to that miniature golf place in Oak Grove where your brother would take us. Do you still want to do that?

There’s going to have to be a change in plans. Tim just got a job and so he can’t take us. But I do have another idea, but part of that requires a bit of work first.

Okay, what work is that?

Well, my dad has been working on a new car and he’s about to pull the engine out of it.

He’s working on another car?  What happened to the GTO? That was a neat car.

He sold it. Once he’s done fixing these cars up, he usually sells them. Except for the one he gave to Tim. Anyway, he needs us to help him pull the engine out. Then my dad said he would drive us anywhere we want to go.

Okay, since your dad is the one driving us, I don’t think we should go all the way out to Oak Grove. I would hate for him to drop us off, go back home, and then have to drive back to pick us up. Maybe we should just do something around here.

How about seeing a movie at the mall?

Sure, that fine. I know The Karate Kid and Star Trek III are out, and I think Gremlins is still showing.

"I’ve seen Gremlins already. I had to go check out my babe Phoebe Cates."

"Oh, that’s right, ‘your babe’ Phoebe Cates is in that. Well, what about The Karate Kid?"

Alright, I’ve seen the previews and it looks pretty good.

Okay, I’ll see you later.

***

My mother dropped me off at Brian’s house. I know I could have ridden my bike there, but for some reason, that felt a bit awkward. Now that I was nearing the age of driving a car, riding a bike seemed a bit kiddie-like to me. Those feelings made me feel good in respect to becoming a young man, but at the same time, I felt kind of sad at leaving a part of my childhood behind.

When I arrived at Brian’s house his dad was on the side of the house, so I went over to talk to him.

Hey, Mr. Jensen, I greeted.

Hi Jess, how are you doing?

Good. I see you’re working on another car.

Yes, I sold the GTO. Now I’m working on this one.

This is a Mustang, isn’t it?

Yes, it’s not much to look at right now, but once I re-build the engine, replace the transmission, and put in a few goodies, she’s going to be one fast street rod. This car is a very unique model. It’s a limited edition 1965 Mustang 350GT Shelby. There weren’t that many of these made. In fact, the guy I’m fixing this up for must have paid a pretty penny, even in the condition that it’s in.

I like old classic cars like this. My favorite Hot Wheel’s car as a kid was the Mustang Boss-Hoss 302.

Oh yes, I remember that car from when Brian had a Hot Wheel’s set. So Jess... since you and Brian took auto shop last year, I figured you could give me a hand with pulling out the engine.

Sure, no problem. I stuck my head inside the interior of the car to check it out. Hey, this car doesn’t have a back seat. Are all old Mustangs like this?

No, only the early Shelby’s were two-seaters. The passenger models were made with four seats. I’m going to modify this one to have folding rear seats—the owner wants it that way.

As we were discussing the car, Brian came out of the house. The three of us maneuvered the hoist in place and slowly pulled out the engine. After we were done, Brian went inside to take a shower. Mr. Jensen had me help him remove a few other things, like the valve covers, and explained a few other things about the car. We worked on it for about 30 minutes more, and then I got washed up to go to the movies.

***

When we arrived at the theater, we were a little late because of helping his father with the car. We rushed into the movie while they were still showing the previews.

Brian, do you see any open seats? I said, straining my eyes to see in the darkness of the theater.

Not many, I only see those two on the right side; second to the last row.

Okay, I guess we’ll take those.

Brian and I settled into our seats and waited for the movie to start. About ten minutes into the movie, Brian glanced over to the left side of the theater.

Hey, there’s Becky and Katie.

Where?

Right over there, on the far-left section towards the back.

When I spotted her, she was sitting with Becky and a couple of guys sitting next to them.

Who’s that with them, Brian?

I think that’s Steve Chapman. And I can’t tell because it’s a little dark, but if that’s Steve, then that’s probably Kevin Moran sitting next to Katie.

Do you think they‘re on a date or something?

I don’t know about Katie and Kevin, but I do know that Steve Chapman likes Becky; so maybe they are.

Now... have you ever had one of those moments in your life when something catches you completely off guard? Well, this was one of those times. As I saw Katie sitting next to this guy, my heart began to pound in my chest and I felt myself begin to breathe heavily. Not only was I surprised to see her there, but part of me was a little hurt. I guess I figured with the flirting that happened recently, that something was starting between us—I guess I was wrong.

I sat back in my seat and tried to watch the movie, but I couldn’t seem to concentrate. Brian picked up on my body language, as I kept fidgeting in my seat.

Dude, what wrong with you? Does seeing Katie and Kevin together bother you?

No, it’s cool, I said, trying to play it off. I think I can handle it. I mean, after all, me and Katie are just friends, right?

As the words, ‘Katie and I are just friends’ left my mouth, they almost made me sick to my stomach. I remembered how Tami had said that Katie and I were just kidding ourselves saying we were just friends. At the time, I got upset with her. But in thinking about it, Tami was right. I was so sick and tired of saying we were just friends when my heart was telling me it was much more than that.

As the movie continued, I was watching a lot more of what was going on with Katie and Kevin than the actual movie. About thirty minutes into the movie, I saw Kevin do that lame move where you ask the girl if she wants some popcorn, and at the same time you place your arm on top of the seat behind her. Because I was watching what Katie was doing and not so much of the movie, I asked Brian a question to catch up.

Hey, Brian, who’s the Asian man in the movie?

Jess, that’s Mr. Miyagi. He’s the man that’s going to help Daniel La Russo train in karate. Aren’t you watching the movie? he said, shaking his head for me asking such a dumb question.

As the movie continued, I kept glancing at Katie to see what was going on. At one point, Kevin made his next move and dropped his arm on top of her shoulder. I don’t know what happened to me in that instant, but I knew I couldn’t take a moment of this any longer.

I tapped Brian on the shoulder. I’m sorry, man, but I can’t handle this. I thought I could, but I can’t.

I walked out of the theater in a rush, as Brian followed me. When we got outside, I suggested we watch the rest of Star Trek III. Brian and I went into the other theater and had a seat. He didn’t say anything, and to be honest, I’m kind of glad he didn’t. One thing I can say about Brian is that he knows when he shouldn’t say anything and instead waits for me to talk about it.

Meanwhile back in the other theater, Kevin continued to have his arm on Katie’s shoulder. When Katie leaned forward to get her soda from underneath her seat Kevin moved his arm and placed it back on the seat behind her. She took a sip of her drink and then leaned back again. After a bit, Kevin once again placed his arm on top of her shoulder. This time, Katie lifted Kevin’s arm above her head and placed it back on his lap. Kevin turned with a questioning stare.

No? he asked.

No, she firmly replied.

Becky turned to Katie and directed a strange look. Kevin signaled for Steve to go with him to the restroom, as the two of them got up and walked out of the theater.

Becky leaned over in her seat. What was that about, Katie?

Nothing. Kevin tried to put his arm around me, so I took it off.

Why? What’s wrong with him doing that? Steve has his arm around me.

I know, but you like him. I’m not even sure I like Kevin. And even if I did, I don’t want him touching me. At least not at this stage in our relationship.

I don’t understand. I see you and Jess touch each other all the time, and you don’t take his hands off of you.

That’s different; Jess and I have known each other for years and I know what his intentions are. With Kevin, he only has one intention and it’s obviously not to get to know me as a person. He hardly talks to me, yet suddenly he puts his arm around me as if we’re a couple—I don’t think so.

I guess I see what you’re saying. So does this mean there’s not going to be another date with him?

I don’t know, I mean he seems nice enough. I just wish he would get to know me as a person first. If he did that, then I could tell if I liked him that way or not.

Steve and Kevin reentered the theater. As they made their way into the aisle, Steve commented on their previous conversation.

Yeah, that guy can blaze down the field. He and Brian are really good making the JV football team as a freshman.

Becky turned to Steve with a questioning stare. Who are you guys talking about?

Oh, we were just talking about Brian Jensen and Jess Thompson.

Katie perked up with interest. Jess Thompson? Why are you guys talking about Jess Thompson?

Because we saw him and Brian.

What! Katie said and quickly looked around the theater. Jess and Brian are here?

Yeah, they were sitting on the far right, towards the back. I guess they decided to switch movies or something because they’re not there anymore.

Katie looked at Becky and just shook her head in disgust.

In the other theater, Brian and I finished the rest of the movie and headed out of the theater. As we waited for Brian’s dad to pick us up, I finally spoke up after not saying a word all that time.

Brian, I think I need to tell you something about me and Katie.

What’s that?

I haven’t talked to you about this before, but I’m kind of starting to like her.

An acknowledging smile drew upon his face. "Jess, you’ve liked Katie since