A Sound Like Hope (Fallen Tuesday #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the hair if it meant Nicholas would stop
getting into serious trouble.
    The driveway was long enough for
Nicholas to get a good start before jumping up on the curb, and then down onto
the street, with the skateboard. He sped off down the road. Emily pulled into
the garage and got out of the car. She stood at the back of the car with her
hands folded, waiting for Nicholas to come back. Sometimes she watched him
skateboard away and wondered if he would just keep going. She used to step forward
and stand on her toes, feeling anxious.
    Now, Emily just waited.
    She learned that showing any kind
of weakness in front of Nicholas only gave him power. The kid was only ten, but
he was smart. Very smart. Even in school, for as bad as he was and the trouble
he got into, he never flunked a class. He was a scary and dangerous kind of
smart. The kind of kid that could manage to survive on the streets if he chose
to live that way. It bothered Emily because she had hoped to take control by
being needed by him. But Nicholas had managed to stay in his shell and she
hadn't been able to crack it yet.
    The sound of the wheels on the
pavement got closer. The momentary silences were when he was doing jumps. He
had no fear. The skateboard would hit the ground with a thud and the wheels
would turn. He didn ’ t miss
a step and never fell.
    The skateboard cut left and
Nicholas stepped off the skateboard, kicked it into the air, and caught it as
he walked up the driveway. He tossed his hair to the side again and looked at Emily.
    “ Hey, ” he said.
    “ Come
here, ” Emily said.
    Emily reached down and moved his
hair out of his face again.
    “ Stop
it, ” Nicholas said.
    “ You
really need a haircut. ”
    “ What,
are you my mother? ”
    Emily did her best to ignore the
jab. “ I talked to the
lawyer today. ”
    “ Cool. ”
    “ It ’ s not cool, ” Emily said. “ You ’ re really close to getting into a lot of trouble,
Nicholas. I hope you understand that. ”
    “ Whatever. ”
    “ What
were you thinking? When you set that fire? ”
    “ I
was thinking … Hey, I
want to set a fire … ”
    Emily swallowed. She wished someone
was there with her to help. But what man would take this on? The thought of
explaining the situation alone was enough to make Emily avoid dating all
together. At least for now.
    “ I
told you to stay inside today, ” Emily said.
    “ Oh
well. I wanted to skateboard. I need the practice. There ’ s a competition coming up …”
    “ Where ’ s your helmet? ”
    “ No. ”
    “ Yes, ” Emily said. “ No helmet, no skateboard. ”
    Nicholas laughed a cocky, boyish
laugh. He was being a punk smartass, thinking he could get away with anything.
    Emily saw an opening and took a
chance to steal it. She reached forward and grabbed the skateboard from
Nicholas ’ s hands. She put
it board side down on the trunk of her car and then folded her arms.
    “ I ’ m not playing around, ” she said, trying to sound
serious. “ No helmet, no
skateboard. ”
    Nicholas squinted his eyes and his
nostrils flared. When he did things like that, she actually feared for her
safety, and for his. She knew everyone had a breaking point where they could
act without proper understanding.
    “ Give
me it back, ” Nicholas said.
    “ Go
get your helmet, ” Emily
said.
    “ Give
me … the goddamn skateboard, Emily …”
    Emily sucked in a breath. “ You don ’ t talk like that. Not to me. Not in my house. Go
inside, Nicholas. You ’ re
done for the day now. ”
    “ Yeah?
You can just boss me around? ”
    “ I ’ m not bossing you around. I ’ m teaching you. How dare you to
think you could just burn down some man ’ s
barn like you did. Do you understand what that did to me? How scared I was … for you? Do you know how many
times a day I ’ m on the
phone with a lawyer, trying to help you? Do you know how much it costs? ”
    Emily felt her bottom lip starting
to quiver. She couldn ’ t cry
in front of Nicholas. That would