Autumn Blue by Karen Harter Read Free Book Online

the main drag through town. They sat by the window and looked out at the sidewalk and the Hair
     Place salon across the street. Micki ordered chicken enchiladas; Sidney, as usual, a veggie burrito.
    “I miss you,” Micki said.
    “What are you talking about? You see me every day, like it or not.”
    “But it’s not the real you. I miss your famous laugh.”
    Sidney’s mouth spread into a heartless smile. “Got any good jokes?”
    Micki took a sip of iced tea and lowered her glass to the table. “Knock, knock.”
    “Who’s there?”
    “Interrupting cow.”
    “Inter—”
    “MOO!”
    They both giggled. “Okay, I’ve got another one,” Micki said. “Knock, knock.”
    “Who’s there?”
    “Interrupting starfish.”
    “Interrup—”
    Micki’s open hand shot across the table, spreading across Sidney’s face, her palm firmly plastered against Sidney’s mouth.
     She couldn’t speak. Micki pulled her arm back, laughing at her own joke. “Get it?”
    Sidney rubbed her nose. “That hurt! For Pete’s sake! Starfish move like glaciers—not torpedoes.”
    “Sorry.” Micki reached for Sidney’s glass. “Water?”
    She nodded. “And an ice pack.”
    “I was just trying to get your mind off Tyson.”
    “Well, it worked until just now. Now I’m thinking about him all over again. Here I am devouring mounds of good food and he’s
     out there somewhere eating . . . I don’t know, maybe tree bark or something.” A horrible thought occurred to her. “Do we have
     anything poisonous growing around here?”
    Micki shook her head, causing her silver dangling earrings to swing. Her hair was cropped in the latest style, her tangerine
     blouse a little trendy—something a teenager might wear, but she could pull it off. Micki had the body of an athlete. Sidney
     reminded herself to work out more, put a little muscle on her slender arms. “About the worst he could do around here is cascara
     bark. They make laxatives out of it.”
    “Oh, great. Runs on the run.”
    Micki sighed. “You’ve got to stop worrying about him. He’s Nature Boy; you know that. He’s spent more hours roaming the forests
     around here than a lone wolf. And he’s smart. If anyone can survive out there, Ty can.”
    “Did I mention that he didn’t have a jacket when he took off?”
    “A few times.” Micki raised her eyebrows. “I’ll bet you anything he has one now.”
    Sidney didn’t want to go there. She couldn’t bear to think that her son made stealing a habit. That Deputy Estrada might be
     on to something by suspecting Ty as the culprit of that burglary in town. The attempted robbery at Graber’s Market may not
     have been just a crazy, stupid, spontaneous, onetime event. She had found empty beer bottles in the back of his closet after
     he ran away, plus a full six-pack under the bed, and there was no way that her baby-faced son could pass for twenty-one even
     if he had fake ID.
    “I finally called my mother last night.”
    Micki’s eyebrows rose. “And?”
    “I woke her up. I tried to sleep until 2:00 A.M., lying there worrying about whether that deputy was going to come back with
     a search warrant, imagining Ty in every possible scenario under the moon. Finally I just reached over and punched in her number.
     Good old Mom. She wasn’t even mad.
    “I told her everything this time. Right down to the gory details. All about the arrest, the charges, and that Ty ran away.”
     Sidney pursed her lips and sighed. “I guess I should have told her what was going on sooner, starting with those black moods
     he falls into. At least then it wouldn’t have been such a shock to her. She still sees him as the sweet-faced little boy that
     used to bring her jars of centipedes and potato bugs. She, of course, always oohed and aahed like he had just bestowed jewels
     from Tiffany on her.”
    “She didn’t freak out on you when you told her, did she?”
    “No. That’s not her style. She was annoyingly calm and rational. She