Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea (9781101559833) by Morgan Callan Rogers Read Free Book Online Page A

hauled out of the house and draped over her clotheslines. Made me tired to watch her.” The smell of chocolate chip cookies wafted our way and the bell went off.
    â€œCourse,” Grand said, “I don’t see young Dorothea doing that.”
    â€œShe hates clams,” I said.
    Grand gave me all three dozen cookies. I took them to Madeline, who put away her painting supplies, let us each have one cookie, then walked Dottie, Evie, Maureen, and me down to the beach by the wharf.
    â€œI wonder when we’ll be able to go swimming by ourselves,” I said to Dottie as we trailed the others.
    â€œProbably never,” Dottie said. “Might as well get used to it.” She hitched up the top of her bathing suit. “This friggin’ thing don’t fit anymore,” she said.
    â€œStop bragging,” I said, and she snorted.
    The water was almost as warm as the air. Dottie and I held a contest to see who could do a handstand underwater longest. I was winning for the fourth time when I heard Dottie shout, “Hey!” I came up to see Bud and Glen standing amongst the boulders up above the beach. Bud grinned at me so wide his ears disappeared behind his head.
    That grin made me feel strange, so I dove underwater to get away from it. Then I stood up, swept my hair out of my face, and Dottie and I waded toward the boys.
    â€œHold it. They’re not supposed to be here,” Madeline shouted from her rock. We froze and looked at her. Then she said, “Oh, the hell with it,” and let the boys join us.
    Dottie and Glen were busy ducking each other when Bud said to me, “Let’s swim out to the mooring.” The white mooring that belonged to Bert Butts wasn’t too far offshore, but a steep drop-off made the water deep. “One, two, three, go,” I said. We raced each other out and Bud won. When we reached the buoy, he let me grab the mooring rope while he treaded water.
    â€œSwim to the bottom?” he said, and down we went on the count of three. I took hold of the rope while Bud swam beside me. As the water got deeper, it got colder. My ears felt as if they were pressing against my brains, and I wanted to head back up in the worst way. But Bud grabbed my hand and we spiraled down, until he stopped and pointed.
    We’d reached an underwater city of rusty black rocks, where barnacles dotted the surfaces. Seaweed church steeples reached for the light. The far-above sun filtered through them, and Bud and I wove our way through their paths. An olive-colored crab marched backward between two rocks as two small silver fish swam past. A flash of white belly gave a flounder away as it sped off.
    When an extra-cold current wrapped itself around my burning lungs, I tugged at Bud’s hand and we swam up. I grabbed the mooring as we gulped in fresh air. I blinked my salt-stung eyes and the world blurred, then cleared.
    â€œWant to go again?” Bud asked.
    But Madeline shouted to us to get back to the beach right now, if we knew what was good for us, so we raced each other back. I won, but I think Bud let me do it.
    I spent the rest of the afternoon with Grand, knitting and reading on the porch until Daddy came in. We ate supper and I went to bed at nine. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought about Carlie. She had promised me that she would buy me something special. I wondered what it might be. She always seemed to know what I would have picked out for myself.
    When the phone rang, I jumped. I looked over at Mickey. It was 10:30 P.M . I heard Daddy get up from his living room chair, heard him walk across the kitchen floor to the wall phone and clear his throat of sleep. Heard the crack of a bat and the crowd roar on television. Heard Daddy say, “Hello? No, I haven’t heard from her. Why?”

6
    C row’s Nest Harbor was up the coast about three hours away. I knew from Carlie’s description that it was a tourist town set on a bay that made our little