Winter's Tide by Lisa Williams Kline Read Free Book Online Page A

counter, sticking her finger into the bowl of waffle mix and licking it.
    â€œWell, maybe when things calm down a little you can come back and stay with us,” Mama was saying.
    â€œSure,” I said. Right now going back would mean sitting around the hospital in those orange chairs with the plastic cushions and watching people in scrubs hurry by. Every time they pushed someone down the hall on a gurney, I wondered if it was Matt and my heart would speed up. He wasn’t my real brother. He was mean to me. I didn’t even want to see him.
    And then, the minute I had those thoughts, I felt guilty.
    Mama said she’d call back when she could, and we hung up.
    â€œYum,” said Diana. “You’re making some for me too, right?”
    â€œOf course!”
    The little light on the waffle maker turned red, which meant the waffle was done. I lifted the waffle onto a plate.
    â€œMe first!” Diana said, holding out her hand.
    â€œLittle piglet!” I said, handing it to her, and she gave me a satisfied smile as she opened the syrup. As I was pouring batter for my waffle onto the griddle, my cell phone chirped, telling me I had a text.
    Diana picked up my phone and read, “‘Hey, want me to bring my guitar over and play you a song?’” She looked at me. “Who’s that from?”
    â€œLet me see.” I closed the griddle and took the phone. “Oh, it’s that new guy who went caroling that I was telling you about. Noah. He got a new guitar for Christmas.” He had been friendly toward me the whole time we were caroling. I had been nice to him but wasn’t sure what to think of him yet.
    â€œHe’s texting you?” Diana asked. Her face took on a hard look.
    â€œI guess.”
    â€œOh. Well, that’s nice.”
    She was acting weird.
    For some reason I felt like I needed to defend him. “You know his mom just married Kevin’s dad and he just moved here, right? That’s why he was caroling with them yesterday. He hardly knows anybody.”
    â€œUh-huh.” Diana focused on eating her waffle.
    I opened the waffle maker and lifted out the browned waffle. “He said he’s in your Spanish class.”
    â€œYeah. When did you talk about me?”
    â€œJust when we left, after he saw you from the front door. He seems kind of out there, like I said last night. He does not hold back.”
    â€œNorm and Mom won’t let him come over when they’re not here.”
    â€œOh, I know,” I said. I didn’t even know if I wanted him to. Diana was definitely acting weird. “Is something wrong?”
    Diana shook her head. “Nope. Just don’t really like him.”
    â€œOkay.” I put butter and syrup on my waffle and sat down to eat it. I still had a little stomachache. There was no telling what was going on with Diana.
    Later, Josie picked up Diana to go to the barn, and I was home alone when my cell phone rang.
    â€œStephanie, honey?” It was Daddy. His voice sounded strained. “I’m going to need you to get your things packed to go to Emerald Isle to Grammy Verra’s house for a few days. I’m on my way home right now and Lynn will be there soon. She’s going by the barn to pick up Diana.”
    â€œWhy? What’s happened?” My heart pounded hard.
    â€œGrammy Verra got sick after she came home fromAunt Carol’s this afternoon. She’s been taken to the hospital. We don’t know what’s wrong yet.”
    â€œOh no! Is she going to be okay?”
    â€œWe hope so, honey. I’ll be home in a few minutes. Go ahead and get your stuff packed.”
    I hung up. Goose bumps traveled all over my body and my heart sped up. Grammy Verra in the hospital!
    Oh no!
    I raced up to my room and started stuffing my things back into my overnight bag, thoughts whirling through my head.
    Had an ambulance taken Grammy Verra to the hospital? Had they had to lift her