Karen Trailor Thomas

When the Sutherland family reunion descends on Malvern Gardens Inn, it catches eighteen-year-old Jennalee Preece in rebellion. Daughter of the inn’s owners, Jennalee hasn’t forgiven her father for uprooting the family from a comfortable life in San Francisco and dropping them in the middle of California’s gold country, far from anything hip, or fun, or exciting.<br><br>Acting out with local boys and refusing to play the piano she loves, Jennalee finds the Sutherland hordes a welcome diversion. Amid the countless well-off families come the Laidlaws -- on motorcycles. This black sheep branch of the family seems as rebellious as Jennalee does, and she’s drawn to their punk violinist son, Harley.<br><br>Over the four-day Fourth of July weekend, the Sutherlands drink, party, squabble, and even manage to burn down part of the inn. Can Harley pull Jennalee from her rebellion and help her find emotional stability with the music they share?

Sutherland

Once the incident had passed and pool noise returned to a reasonable level, Harley asked Jennalee what her plans were for college.


She sighed. “Well, I kinda blew it. Plans were for me to go to Cal Berkeley, but when we moved here, I let my grades go to hell, so now I’m nowhere, I guess. My folks are talking about community college for a year, but I’m fighting that.”


“Good question. The move here was really rough, you know? I had this great life in San Francisco, everything going for me and Mr. Mendel, then my father has this major heart attack, has a quadruple bypass, and suddenly decides to chuck being a lawyer and buy this place. I was halfway through my senior year when he laid this on me. Christmas vacation, actually. One shitty Christmas. So now I have no plans, none at all.”


“You do know you can’t pout forever. What’s done is done and you’re just hurting yourself by doing nothing.”


Chapter 54