Summer's Freedom by Ruth Wind, Barbara Samuel Read Free Book Online Page A

evil, and we won’t stand for corruption anywhere in our society. We have a responsibility to protest the godless.”
    Maggie lost her tongue for a moment. “But if your actions are causing violence, isn’t that evil, too?”
    “We protest nonviolently. If others—“he glanced pointedly at the two rockers “—confront and incite violence, we cannot control that.”
    His cold delivery and the almost canned sound of his words bothered Maggie. Fifteen-year-olds didn’t talk like that. She measured him silently for a moment. His lips were faintly twisted, a shape given them not by attitude but by an almost unnoticeable scar that ran from his lip to the corner of his eye.
    Maggie saw it would be pointless to argue with him. “Why don’t all of you pack it in for today?” she said with a sigh. “I’m sure there’s something you could find to do with a Saturday afternoon.”
    The dark-haired rocker cocked his head at his friend. “Let’s go.” He threw a threatening glance toward the boy with the tie, but to Maggie’s relief, they walked away.
    The other two boys stood their ground, and with a shake of her head, Maggie turned to look for Samantha. For a moment, she didn’t see her. Then a boy laughed and Maggie saw Samantha standing in the doorway where she had kicked off her shoes, talking to the tall blond rocker. His friend, the surly one, had walked on.
    Sam’s eyes were starry as she gazed at the boy, who tangled his fingers with hers. Sam dipped her head bashfully as he said something in a low voice, and then she darted a glance to his face, her expression clearly shouting her infatuation.
    Maggie headed toward her daughter. Sam hastily straightened, dropping the boy’s fingers. He nervously smoothed long, fine hair away from his face, the chains on his coat jangling.
    “Mom,” Samantha said, “I’d like you to meet David. David, this is my mother, Mrs. Henderson.”
    To Maggie’s surprise, David extended his hand to shake hers shyly. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Henderson.” He glanced down, then met her eyes squarely. “I’m sorry about that, back there.”
    “So am I,” she said with some asperity.
    “They’re in the wrong, you know.”
    “Maybe.” Maggie looked at Samantha. “It was nice to meet you, David, but as you’ve probably heard, Sam’s on restriction for a week, and we have to go now.”
    He nodded and gave Samantha a long glance. “See ya at school,” he said, touching her fingers as he passed.
    “Okay,” Sam murmured. She bent swiftly to retrieve her shoes and stomped toward the car. “You didn’t have to be so rude,” she lashed out as she reached the vehicle.
    Maggie unlocked the doors without speaking, then met Sam’s flashing eyes over the car. “I don’t think I was rude, Samantha. You’re overreacting.”
    “I bet you would have been nicer if we’d just run into him,” Sam said, and flung herself into the car.
    Maggie rolled her eyes and settled in next to her daughter. “Relax a little, sweetie.”
    Sam sighed. “I just like him so much,” she said. “I want you to like him, too.”
    “Give me a chance. Two minutes on the street isn’t enough time to learn much of anything.”
    The girl nodded. “Sorry.”
    “It’s okay.” Maggie started the car and pulled into traffic. Actually, David had been a pleasant surprise. Although first impressions could be deceiving, he seemed like a nice boy. Now his friend…
    She let the thought go unfinished, unwilling to make judgments if she didn’t have to. Samantha liked David and she had to trust her daughter’s instincts for at least long enough to see what the boy was about.
    * * *
    Friday night, as Maggie brushed her teeth in preparation for bed, she reviewed the past week wearily. About the only purely good thing that had happened was the removal of the stitches in her eyebrow this morning. Examining the spot in the mirror, she thought it looked good. A little pink and puckered, but all in all, not