Casting Shadows Read Online Free PDF

way off, probably back at the house.
    I made a face at Leo. ‘Better go,’ I said, with an apologetic shrug.
    I sauntered out of the orchard and across the field. I could see Dad now, standing outside the kitchen door waving at me. As I got near to the house, Dad disappeared inside. Something made me
look over my shoulder just in time to catch a glimpse of blond hair vanishing behind one of the apple trees.
    I walked into the kitchen, where a tall man with a bit of a paunch and long grey hair tied back in a ponytail was deep in conversation with John. That must be Leo’s dad. He glanced up as I
came in and Dad introduced us.
    ‘So, how are you finding the place?’ Dad asked.
    ‘I love it,’ Leo’s dad said with a beaming smile. ‘Just hope the boy likes it too.’
    I wondered what it would be like to visit the commune if Leo and his dad moved in and there was someone my own age here for once. Leo had seemed nice enough, if a little bit intense. But then he
was bound to be intense if his mum had died recently.
    Dad said he would drive me home after we’d had a cup of tea and ‘a chat’ so we went up to his and Gemma’s apartment for a bit of privacy.
    ‘Sit down, River,’ Dad said.
    I perched on the edge of the couch, wondering what was coming next. Gemma set a steaming mug of tea in front of me. She rested her hand lightly on my shoulder then disappeared into the
bedroom.
    I looked across at Dad. His blue eyes were crinkled with concern. I swallowed. It felt like there was a dull weight pressing down on my chest. ‘Dad?’ I said.
    ‘I’m not going to forbid you to see him,’ Dad said.
    Hope fluttered inside me. Did he mean that? What about Mum? Was he prepared to try and convince her Flynn was okay?
    ‘I just want you to be careful.’ Dad rubbed his forehead. ‘You’ll be spending the whole summer here anyway and obviously Flynn will be working, so there won’t be so
many opportunities . . .’ He tailed off.
    I hesitated, a confusion of emotions running around my head. Was Dad only saying we could be together because he thought that spending the summer apart would be enough to break us up? Did he
really still not get it?
    I crossed the room and gazed out of the window. Leo, his father and John were crossing the east field. Leo lagged behind the others, a lonely figure ignored by the two men who were deep in
conversation. There was something in his slouching, unhappy walk that I totally related to.
    My breath caught in my throat as a brilliant idea struck me.
No
. It was mad. And yet it solved every problem in one fell swoop. But would Dad go for it?
    ‘Dad?’
    He looked up, his eyes all blue and crinkly against his tanned face.
    ‘I’ve got an idea,’ I said. ‘Maybe I could come to school here this autumn. I mean, Mum’s already made it clear she’d rather I stayed with you over the
holidays. And there’s a sixth form place – Norton Napier College – just up the road.’
    Dad blinked. His shirt was untucked and the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. He unrolled them and rerolled them as I waited for a reply.
    ‘You don’t want to stay on at your own school for sixth form?’ he said.
    I shook my head. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it at Langton but I had only really ever had two good friends there – Grace, who I saw outside school anyway, mostly when we
doubled-dated with Flynn and James, and Emmi, who I’d hardly seen for ages because her boyfriend, Alex, and Flynn didn’t get on at all. I would miss Grace, but I was certain we’d
stay in touch wherever I lived. On the other hand, I was fairly sure I’d be seeing less of Emmi in the future, whatever happened. I hadn’t even told her I was going out with Flynn
again.
    I turned to Dad. ‘I could move in here – into the storeroom. We could clear it out. That’s if . . . if Gemma didn’t mind.’
    ‘No . . . I . . . I don’t think she’d mind . . . but . . .’ Dad frowned. ‘I don’t understand, River. I