Page 238 - My FlipBook

L IS A J. L A W R E N C E

back to his truck and all the way up to Whitecourt. Her
heart dropped at the thought at the same time her head
said, Good. Ash fidgeted, baking a cake and then scraping
it into the garbage because he’d forgotten to add sugar.
Elgin slept on.
Greta finally gave up and wandered over to the picture
window. She looked out at the yard, smug, like she’d single-
handedly orchestrated the beginning of spring. Just above

freezing, snow wilting in soft mounds, the sun through the
window warm on her arms. It wouldn’t last—they all knew it.
But until the next snow dump, she could pretend, and maybe
see snatches of dead, waterlogged grass—the most beautiful
sight in the world.
She and Ash went to Nate’s porch around the time school
would be finishing and waited until he pulled up in Rebus. Nate ADVANCE READING COPY

stepped out of the car, a line in his forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re bored,” Ash said. “Wanna play Scrabble?”
Nate smiled, like his brainwashing might be paying off
after all. On the way inside Greta told him about Roger’s
midnight visit. A couple of hours later Ash and Greta walked
back to Elgin’s, thinking of supper and wondering how to
broach the subject of Roger with Elgin.
In the entryway, Ash stopped abruptly. Greta plowed into
his back. Roger. At the kitchen table with Elgin. Both wearing

pants. Elgin smiled like they were guests stepping through his
door for the first time. Roger smiled, too, although Greta saw
the unease in his eyes. He had to know he was about to tiptoe

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