Devil Moon by Dana Taylor Read Free Book Online

that led to town. Maddie recognized her as a Beaver Cove High student and pulled over. Reba had missed the bus that stopped along the country road leading to her home. Despite a five-mile walk, the girl was determined to get to school. Maddie gave her a ride that day and several other times during the course of the year. Some mornings Maddie found Reba swinging on her front porch, waiting for the assistant principal to head out the door.
    With her quiet manner, big brown eyes and naturally curly auburn hair, Reba possessed an ethereal quality that intrigued Maddie. Reba had revealed bits and pieces of her life as the year had gone by. The oldest of five siblings, her father was a mechanic of sorts, drove a wrecker to pick up stranded motorists, and liked to compete in car rallies. Maddie always avoided those terribly noisy affairs held at county fair grounds. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to participate in such a thing. Reba didn't say much about her mother except she "tended the youngins."
    "Sit down a minute, sweetheart, while I finish this memo. Then we can be on our way." Maddie returned to her keyboard as Reba slid into a chair.
    "Did you have a good summer?" Maddie asked.
    "It was fine, I guess. We had a mess of blackberries to put up and the corn was good. My brother, George, got hisself bit by a snake and we thought he might die, but he din't."
    Reba placed her burden of books down in the other chair and sat very still in the one she occupied, as if afraid she might damage it. Maddie glanced at the girl in the tattered clothes and recognized the potential. Reba could go either way; her life teetered on the cusp. She might continue in school and break the mold of her background. Or she might drop out of school, become pregnant and only possibly married. Maddie imagined two possible future Rebas: one smiling, educated and confident; the other careworn and tired holding a baby in her arms, and a small child by the hand.
    Maddie didn't want this girl to fall by the wayside. Perhaps, with a little more personal attention, she could point Reba toward a brighter future. Getting her out of her shell might be a good start. "Are you coming to the dance tomorrow night?"
    Reba hung her head. "Ah, I cain't do that."
    "Why, because you don't have anything to wear?"
    Reba nodded her head.
    "It's a fifties theme. I'm sure we can find an extra poodle skirt and matching sweater you can wear. You can stay after school and I'll give you a lift home when the dance is over. What do you say?"
    Reba's eyes lit up and her little bow mouth widened into a real smile. "I'd really like that."
    "Excellent." Maddie hit the print button on her computer. "Gather up your things, I'm ready to go."
    The two headed down the hall to the teacher's lounge. Maddie's clicking heels tattooed a steady beat while Reba's holey tennis shoes squished along side. Maddie stopped at the teacher mailboxes intending to slip her memos in the chaperones' slots. When she got to the box marked Wilcox , crammed with messages she assumed that the Coach was ignoring or didn't know about his mailbox.
    She tapped the memo against her pursed lips. "Hmmm. I think we need to make a detour to the football field. It seems the coach needs a personal delivery."
    * * *
    Phil stood on the sidelines watching his guys make their thirtieth try at the sling shot play. It might be his imagination, but he thought they were improving. Stu drew diagrams on a piece of paper, excitedly sketching out his ideas. Ray Martinez, their quarterback, had made the last five passes to his receiver right on the money.
    A flash of yellow caught the corner of Phil's eye and he turned to see the assistant principal making her way through the gate along the sidelines. A girl accompanying her took a seat on the bleachers as she continued her path toward him. He really got a kick out of this chick. Her high heels sank into the soft turf with every step. Her chic little canary colored suit with the