More Than an Echo (Echo Branson Series) by Linda Kay Silva Read Free Book Online Page A

discussed. And trust me...she’ll know.”
    Nodding once more, I put my hands in my lap just as I heard something kerplunk into the water. I sat up straighter. “What was that?”
    “’Gator. Get used to the sound.”
    “Is it coming toward us? Can you see it? Is it hungry?” Every stupid nature horror movie I’d ever seen flashed through my head.
    “Nope. Relax, missy. Bones ain’t never lost one a Melika’s students, ’specially wid Jacob Marley on board.”
    I looked over at Jacob. “He’s kidding.”
    I spent the remainder of the time in awe of the human beings living on the Bayou. There were some shacks that made Bones’ house look palatial. Each shack had a short wooden dock and a boat even more rickety than the last. As we floated on, the shacks became fewer and fewer  until some actually looked like nothing more than  lean-tos and I realized there were no more electrical lines.
    “How do they get electricity out here?”
    “Dey don’t.”
    “No electricity. No plumbing. Nothing like you’re used to,” Jacob said.
    Oh, now I knew I was out of my league...maybe even out of my planet.
    Unbuttoning my shirt, I fanned myself. The heat, the odd odors, the sounds, all of it made me uncomfortable. “Please tell me you’re just messing with me.”
    “Look around you. You see any telephone poles out here? The Bayou is as primitive and as wild as it gets. You don’t come out here for luxury or even rest. Tourists get the nickel ride to see a few ’gators, but the livin’ out here is hard.” Jacob looked hard into my eyes. “You’re here to learn, and you’ll learn from the best. Trust me. You’ll be really glad you came.”
    I sat in silence. I could handle alligators, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes and crawdads better than I could the thought of turning into that drooling, rocking nightmare of a girl back at the psych ward. My greatest fear of being burned alive had been replaced by the fear of turning into that .
    The remainder of the trip was spent in silence, with only the lapping of the water communicating with us. Bones never used the small engine or the oars, preferring the big pole like those guys in Italy. Occasionally, Jacob would row a bit, but not often.
    I was missing Danica already. When she asked me when we would see each other again, I honestly didn’t know. My friends were my  life and I had left both behind under cover of darkness. I didn’t just leave them behind…I left the old me as well, and I couldn’t think about her going on without me. She swore we would be best friends forever. I had to believe her. She was all I had.
    “We’re here,” Jacob announced after what felt like hours.
    Looking up, I saw a tiny woman standing on the end of a dock that looked newer than the other docks we had passed. “That’s her?”
    Jacob nodded. “She always comes to the boat to greet the newbies. She’ll get a feel for you right away.”
    As we approached the dock and the older woman waiting for us, I was mesmerized by her gorgeous flawless caramel-colored skin. She was wearing a black sundress with big black galoshes. In her right hand was a walking stick that had intricate carvings whose detail I couldn’t distinguish from the boat. Though I knew she was Big George’s mama, she didn’t look a day over forty. Her black hair had no gray in it and hung down to her shoulders in a single, thick braid. Even as the boat pulled alongside the dock, I saw eyes like topaz shining and they were locked intently onto mine. Like Jacob, I felt nothing from her and realized this was the first time in days I hadn’t had to deal with others’ emotions.
    “Afternoon, Madame,” Bones said when the boat came to rest at her feet.
    Melika smiled knowingly as she reached into the front pocket of her dress. She withdrew a little baggie and handed it to Bones. “Try this on it and make sure you heat it up nice and good, you hear?”
    I looked at Jacob and started to ask a question, but he shook