Husk by Matt Hults Read Free Book Online Page B

the stained glass windows on the wall.
    “ Harry, how are you?” she asked. “And, Paul, this is a surprise. It’s good to see you again.”
    Mallory’s eyes zeroed in on her father and noted how his smile widened when the two shook hands.
    “ Nice to see you again, too, Rebecca,” her dad replied. “You look … You look spectacular.”
    Mallory cleared her throat, exaggerating the volume to regain his attention.
    Her dad looked. “Oh, kids, this is Rebecca Fleming, the realtor Harry set me up with when I bought the house. She lives here in Loretto.”
    “ Mallory and Benjamin, right?” Rebecca asked. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Paul mentioned you’d be moving here. How is everything so far? Do you like your new home?”
    “ The pool is my favorite,” BJ chimed in. Not yet versed in the complex morays of social behavior, he had unzipped his fly and stuffed one hand down his pant leg to scratch his thigh.
    Her dad flinched. “BJ!”
    Harry gave a hearty chuckle. “Rebecca has a son about your age, Mallory,” he interjected while her dad adjusted BJ’s clothes. “Where is Tim, anyway?”
    Though answering Mr. Fish, Rebecca kept her eyes on Mallory’s dad. “He’s visiting his father this weekend.”
    “ Oh, that’s right,” Harry said, leaning toward Paul. “Rebecca is also divorced. A.K.A. available. You two have something in common on that front.”
    Rebecca reddened. “He already knows that, Harry, but thank you.” Turning to Paul, she added, “In case you haven’t noticed, Harry’s taken it upon himself to be my personal matchmaker.”
    Her dad nodded while the woman talked, clearly trying to keep his expression serious despite Mr. Fish’s elbow nudges.
    “ Tim should be back later this afternoon,” Rebecca said, once again speaking to Mallory. “I’m sure he’d love to show you around town and introduce you to some of the other kids. Should I tell him to stop by?”
    “ Sure,” Mallory answered, knowing her dad would argue the matter if she said no.
    Mr. Fish clapped a hand on Paul’s back and ushered him into the pew beside Rebecca. “You two go ahead and have a seat together. I want to sit next to Mallory so I can fill her in on the high school she’ll be attending this fall.” He leaned in close and winked. “The Dean is a good friend of mine, and I can give you all the dirt there is to know about any teacher in the school.”
     
     
    CHAPTER 8
     
    Tim Fleming stared wide-eyed, his breath held at mid-draw. On screen the two girls embraced, coming together at the mouth for an open, tongue-touching kiss.
     
    “ This could be interesting,” he whispered.
     
    The girls’ names were Mystie Valley and Lolita Libido, and they made up just two of the many stars in the adult movie Pokeherhotass , which his father had given him at the finale of their weekend visitation.
     
    Tim swallowed, finding his mouth had gone dry during the opening scene. The film began in a rustic cabin with the two starlets dressed to resemble a scantily clad Indian squaw and an equally half-naked cowgirl with short blonde hair. After their initial bout of kissing and rubbing, the Indian girl (who was clearly Latino) climbed atop an old wooden table and allowed her costar to remove the top half of her costume. She wore a tan, buffalo hide skirt with fur tails and multicolored beads tied to the waistline, and those items fell over the dark patch of hair between her legs when she spread them for the camera.
     
    Tim shifted the TV’s remote in his sweat-slick hand. His heart raced.
     
    A turbulent mixture of excitement and shame pulled at his conscience with equal intensity.
     
    He recalled the jaw-dropping moment when his dad first presented him with the DVD on the previous evening, having handed over the graphically decorated case the way one might recommend a documentary on colonial-age lifestyles. Tim had sat in a speechless stupor while his father explained how boys his age developed a