The Old House by Willo Davis Roberts Read Free Book Online Page A

awfully inconvenient to have to go hunting for the knobs when I need to use that stove, Addie.”
    â€œWe’ll keep them somewhere handy, where he won’t find them. Better that than burning the house down around our ears. You’re the one who thinks we should keep him at home, not put him in a rest home, where he belongs.”
    â€œOh, Addie! You can’t mean that! He’s lived in this house since the day he was born! He’dbe so upset if he had to move into a home. Everything would be so strange.”
    â€œYou ask me,” Max said, coming back with the empty dustpan, “things are strange enough around here.”
    Grandpa punched his watch button again, reactivating the tinny voice. “I wish you’d all talk louder. I can’t make out a word you’re saying.”
    Buddy had a peculiar feeling, one that must be somewhat like Alice’s when she fell down the rabbit hole. Or was it at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, where everybody said confusing things?
    Cassie was putting tea bags into each of the cups. “Sit still, Grandpa. It’ll be ready in a minute. And speaking of being ready, Buddy, it would be a good idea to get out your best go-to meeting dress and make sure it doesn’t need ironing. Better to do it now, if it needs it, than maybe forget until Sunday morning.”
    Buddy twitched. “Sunday morning? I didn’t bring any dresses, Aunt Cassie. Just jeans and sweatshirts. I don’t need to go to church—”
    â€œOf course you’ll go to church, with the rest of us. We always go to church as a family. The whole town would be shocked if we didn’t take you. Everybody knows you’re here.”
    â€œBut Mama never sent me in jeans,” Buddy protested.
    â€œNo, no, of course not. Addie, don’t you think there’s something among EllaBelle’s old things that might fit her? A Sunday dress?”
    â€œMore than likely,” Addie said. “Let’s all have a cup of tea, and then we’ll go look.”
    Somewhere in the bowels of the house, a telephone rang.
    â€œMax, would you get that,” Addie said, telling, not asking. “Your legs—”
    â€œAre younger than yours,” Max finished. He was back in a moment, just as Grandpa was checking once more on the time. “It’s for her,” he said, pointing at Buddy.

Chapter Five
    Buddy’s fingers cramped around the receiver. “Hello?” she said breathlessly. “Bart?”
    Her brother’s voice sang along the line. “Yeah, it’s me. You okay?”
    â€œYes. Did you find Dad?”
    â€œNot yet. Listen, Rich Painter’s missing, too. They were driving together. Neither he nor Dad checked in when they were supposed to the last time. I talked to Rich’s mother, and she remembered the name of the trucking company in Lewiston that was hiring them. They took a load out from there to Sacramento, in California, and Rich called home from there when they delivered it. She thinks Dad tried to call us at the same time but didn’t get anybody. It must have been that first week, when we went over to Devon’s for the barbecue party, remember? That’sabout the only time I can think of when we were both gone. Except, of course, when we were in school. I wish we’d had an answering machine, so we’d know for sure, but they were both okay when they left Sacramento.”
    Buddy felt as if a tight band around her chest had nearly cut off her breathing. “But what happened to them after that?”
    â€œI’m still trying to find that out,” Bart said. “I talked to the dispatcher at Edmonds Trucking in Lewiston, and he said they’d gone from Sacramento to Eureka, and they got there okay, too. I don’t know why they didn’t call us or Rich’s mom from there—maybe they were loaded and left so early in the morning, they figured they didn’t want to wake