Blood Wounds Read Online Free PDF Page B

can't even imagine."
    I couldn't either, maybe because none of it felt real, except for the throbbing pain in my palm. "I broke a glass," I said. "I dropped it and it shattered. I swept it all up, but one of the shards cut me."
    "Is it a bad cut?" Mom asked. "Should you see a doctor?"
    "No," I said. "I put peroxide on it and a bandage. It's no big deal."
    Brooke gave me a funny look. I wondered if she knew I cut. I was careful not to let anything show, but it was always possible Alyssa had seen something while I was changing and mentioned it to Brooke.
    "Are you sure you don't want something to eat?" Pauline asked. "Or drink? How about if I made some tea?"
    "Not for me, thank you," Mom said.
    Jack came back to the living room. "Val says she won't stop worrying until the girls are under her roof," he told us. "Her secretary got us seats on the nine fifteen flight. I'll spend the night in Orlando and get a morning flight home."
    I caught Curt and Pauline exchanging glances, but Mom didn't notice. She and Jack hardly ever fight. Jack hates scenes and Mom hates upsetting Jack. "We'll be fine," she said. "And once the girls are with Val, you won't have to worry about them."
    "How long will we be there?" Alyssa asked. "Spring vacation's in a couple of weeks. Maybe I should go to Munich with Mom. I could go to Brussels from there."
    Jack shook his head. "This will all be resolved in a day or two," he said. "You'll be back in school by Monday."
    Curt looked uncomfortable. "I don't know how long it's going to take them to catch Coffey," he said. "These Amber Alerts seem to be very effective. But the story may have legs."
    "Why?" Mom asked. "Dwayne's a nobody from Nowhere, Texas. Why should anyone care?"
    "It's the missing-kid aspect," Curt said. "Two children dead, one missing. A twin, at that. Missing twins and murder is a potent combination for cable news."
    "We'll worry about that if it happens," Jack said. "Meantime, we'd better go back home and pack some clothes."
    "Terri and Willa are welcome to stay here," Pauline said. "For as long as it takes."
    "That's sweet of you," Mom said. "But the police suggested we go to a motel. I think Jack is right, and this will all blow over in a day or two. Budge'll probably get pulled over for drunk driving and they'll find his little girl sleeping in the back seat."
    "Who's Budge?" Alyssa asked.
    "Dwayne," Mom said. "Dwayne Coffey. My miserable no-good ex."
    "My daddy," I said.
    "Don't you ever call him that," Mom said. "Ever."
    Jack looked miserable. Not that any of us looked happy.
    "We'll take my car to the motel," Curt said. "I'll use my charge card to check Terri and Willa in. I doubt Coffey'll be calling motels to try to find you, but why take chances."
    "Thanks," Jack said. "Better safe than sorry."
    Well, we were all sorry. Just sorry for different things.

Five
    "I S THERE ANYTHING you want to talk about?" Mom asked. "Do you have any questions?"
    "No," I said.
    We were in the motel room. It was a suite, actually, a living room with a sofa bed and a bedroom. Mom said she'd sleep in the living room. I guess she saw herself as a line of defense in case Dwayne Budge-Not-Daddy Coffey showed up, knife in hand.
    "Yeah," I said. "I do have a question. Why do you and Faye call him Budge? I've never heard you call him that. Jack didn't even know who Budge was when I asked him."
    "It's his nickname," Mom said. "He was so stubborn. You know, he'd never budge an inch. Granny Coffey named him that. I don't know what people call him now. Probably Dwayne."
    I couldn't remember if I'd ever heard Mom talk to Faye about anyone named Budge. If she had, I probably assumed it was another one of Faye's crazy exes.
    "Is that all?" Mom asked. "I know this must be very hard for you, very confusing. You've never really asked me about Dwayne. I've liked to think that's because you feel Jack is your father. He is, in every way that counts."
    "Except biologically," I said. "And legally."
    "Legally wasn't his