The Secret Hour by Luanne Rice Read Free Book Online Page B

car without asking. Dad was here when we got back, and he was ballistic .”
      “Where did she take you?”
      “He fired her, Teddy,” Maggie said, not even hearing the question. “He told me to go set up the checkerboard, and when he came in to play, he said he’d ‘let her go.’ That’s how he put it, but that means fired , right?”
      “Right,” Teddy said, looking at his father’s closed door. He wanted to go in and reason with his father, tell him that Kate was good. She understood him—Teddy had known that after ten minutes in her presence. He hated to think of some of the other baby-sitters they had had—some nice, some mean, but not one of them able to understand him. Kate had gotten Maggie and Brainer—right away.
      “Where do you think she went?” Teddy asked.
      “Probably off to the next family,” Maggie said miserably. “I tried to tell Dad he had to keep her, but he wouldn’t listen. He said she showed poor judgment, and that was the end of it.”
      “What did she do ?” Teddy asked, looking at his sister. For the first time, he noticed that her skin looked pink and scrubbed. Her hair was shining in the chandelier light.
      Outside, Brainer started barking. He must have finished his afternoon circuit of checking out the beach and marsh. But when Teddy opened the door, he couldn’t believe it was really their dog: Although Brainer had a few new brambles stuck to his fur, he glistened and gleamed. Bending down to pet him, Teddy felt that his coat had been brushed through, all the ticks and tangles gotten rid of.
      “How’d she do it?” he asked, feeling the world tilt, turning his head to look at Maggie.
      “We took him to one of those do-it-yourself car washes,” Maggie said. “She put on a raincoat and sprayed him with water, and then we dried him off with about a hundred towels. It was fun.”
      “Who brushed him?”
      “She did. And Brainer let her.”
      Teddy closed his eyes, feeling the dog’s soft fur against his cheek. He had lost in soccer that day. Distracted by something—someone in the stands calling out “Merrill-lover”—he’d let his opponent blow by him, to score a goal. He hadn’t let himself think about it till now, but suddenly the overwhelming sense of loss surrounded and filled him.
      “I couldn’t believe it,” Maggie said, kneeling down, her whisper hissing in Teddy’s ear. “Brainer just let her do it! He hasn’t let anyone brush him since…”
      “Mom,” Teddy said.
      “Yeah.”
      “How about you?” Teddy asked, looking at his sister’s hair. “You look like you had a shampoo, too.”
      “I took a bath myself,” Maggie said proudly. “I just felt like it.”
      “Good job,” Teddy said.
      “She bought us a pumpkin, too.”
      “Where is it?”
      “Right on the front steps. Didn’t you see it when you came in?”
      “No,” Teddy said, his heart tightening. “Because there weren’t any lights on. Not even the porch light.” That was the worst part. Seeing their formerly bright and happy house so dark and morguelike was kind of embarrassing—being driven home by other kids’ moms, getting dropped off at the grimmest house on the block. But the worst part was not being welcomed: His mother used to leave the outside lantern on until everyone in the family got home.
      Now, rising, flipping on the porch light, Teddy peered through the side window and saw the pumpkin. It was squat, fat, and pale orange, with a spooky, curly stem.
      “Good for carving,” he said.
      “Yeah,” Maggie said. “That’s what she said.”
      “Maybe if I talked to Dad…” Teddy said, looking over at their father’s closed door.
      “Do it, Teddy,” Maggie said excitedly, grabbing his wrist. “Make him get her back!”
      Nodding, Teddy rose. He petted Brainer for luck. He and Maggie touched knuckles, like teammates always did, and then Teddy walked toward the door.
     
      The family den became