The Silver Moon Elm by MaryJanice Davidson Read Free Book Online Page B

noticed as his body leaned closer to Susan and his voice sunk to a whisper. She heard Susan giggle, and her grip tightened on the top of the open door.
    If I slam it hard enough, maybe it will blast off its hinges, fly across the seat, and crush them against the fine, leather-trim interior.
    He finally got out, a wide grin on his easy features. Jennifer left the car door open for Eddie, who had quietly gotten out of the back so he could slide into the passenger seat, and followed Skip up the walk to his front door.
    “Well,” he drawled with his hand on the doorknob. “Thanks for a fantastic overnight.”
    She returned the ironic lip curl. “Same here. You sure do know how to show a girl a good time. Multiple girls, in fact.”
    “Oh, hey.” His grin lost some of its edge. “Nothing happened with Susan and me. I was just…”
    “Making an ass of yourself? Studying for biology class? Handing me a murder motive?”
    “…trying to get a rise out of you,” he finally admitted. His hand came off the doorknob and rubbed the back of his neck.
    She bit the edge of her tongue, considering. Then, though she didn’t know why she said it, she told him, “Catherine thinks you’re kind of cute.”
    “Does she?” His face twisted with surprise, as though he had never really considered the possibility. Why would he, she told herself. He just met her and insulted her grandmother.
    “Yeah. You know, just if. You know. If you wanted to know that.”
    “Huh.” He kept rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, though. You know. Doesn’t live around here. Northwater, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    He whistled. “Ways away. I mean, I don’t see. You know, she’s your. And, a ways away.”
    “Yeah. Though the car.”
    “Right. The car. She has that for when.”
    Her tongue was getting sore from the chewing. “Yeah. Anyway. If you want to ask her and.” Don’t or I’ll stab you both to death. “You know.”
    “I guess I could think about. You know. If I see her again when. Whenever.”
    “Well.” They both jumped at the smooth voice coming from the direction of the door, which was now wide open. Edmund Slider sat in his wheelchair, watching them from just inside the foyer. Mr. Slider was a mathematics teacher who had just moved to Winoka that year, and had begun dating Tavia Saltin. The forced smile on the man’s face betrayed a resigned sort of dismay.
    A long, delicate finger came up and pulled a blond lock of hair out of his face. “As an educator, I am once again humbled by the remarkable display of conversational flair today’s teenagers have stitched together for my benefit. If only you two could keep this up for another few minutes, I might be witness to an actual coherent and complete English sentence.”
    Jennifer coughed and took a step away from the door. Skip’s ears turned maroon with embarrassment.
    “Where’s my aunt?”
    “Out gathering supplies for her musical therapy group. She should be back any moment.”
    “Have any of her patients seen any results from that?” Jennifer knew Tavia Saltin was an ophthalmologist who was pioneering music-based therapy for those who were blind or losing their sight. Whether this therapy used science or sorcery was uncertain. The late Otto Saltin had been one of the rare werachnids who could weave sorceries, and Jennifer assumed his sister, Tavia, could do the same.
    Mr. Slider shrugged. “I’m not an expert on music, or on eyesight. So Skip, am I to understand that your overnight trip to the Twin Cities with Jennifer’s mother was a smashing educational success?”
    “It was awesome,” Skip answered. “I’d never seen surgery done before, and Dr. Georges-Scales is amazing. I gotta say, I thought Career Day was kind of a stupid idea when Mr. Pool suggested it, but I’m actually thinking medicine might be kind of a cool career for me.”
    Jennifer was quick enough to nod at the same time as Skip. “Mr. Pool’s a good guidance counselor. He told me I should