Every Move She Makes Read Online Free PDF Page B

who can get straight A’s around here.”
    “I never thought she was. This is terrific. Your teachers have given you nothing but good comments.”
    “I hope you’ll take my grades into account when you decide on my punishment.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets. “I don’t know why I got the tattoo. It seemed like the thing to do at the time.”
    Her daughter’s eyes were filled with misery. It would be so easy to let her off the hook, but that wasn’t an option. If Lark thought she could get away with breaking the rules once, God only knew what she’d do next. The tattoo was beyond serious. Just thinking about it raised her blood pressure.
    “I’ve given your behavior a lot of consideration, and I’m pleased you recognize you made a mistake. I don’t want it to happen again.”
    “It won’t, cross my heart. I won’t get any more tattoos, and I’ll let my hair go back to its natural color.”
    “The hair and the tattoo aren’t the only problem.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She scowled at the floor. “I thought you were mad about the tattoo.”
    “Oh, I am, but I’m equally upset you left town without telling me. I’m your mother. I need to know where you are all the time.”
    “I promise I’ll tell you from now on.”
    “I certainly hope so, but for a while you won’t be going anywhere with Rose. You’re not allowed to spend time with her until I say differently.”
    “That’s not fair! Rose is my best friend.”
    “She hasn’t always been. Why don’t you hang around with Amy or Natalie anymore?”
    “Because they still act like kids. Rose doesn’t. Anyway, it’s not her fault I got a tattoo. I made my own choice.”
    “You certainly did, and it was an extremely poor one. You used to have better judgment. Rose—”
    “You can’t pick my friends for me, Mom.”
    Rachel sighed, hating the defiance in her daughter’s eyes. “You’re right, I can’t. But I can choose who you spend your time with, and this summer it won’t be Rose.”
    “All summer? You can’t do that!”
    “If your choices improve over the next couple of months, we’ll re-evaluate when school starts.”
    Lark’s eyes narrowed. “Dad would never have been this mean. I wish he hadn’t died. I wish...” She clamped her lips together.
    “I wish he hadn’t either. I don’t like making these decisions on my own.”
    “Is that all?” Lark’s chest heaved as she drew in a ragged breath.
    Thinking about the camping trip, Rachel held her tongue. “It is for now. Why don’t you go get dressed? We need to leave in about an hour.”
    “Am I allowed to talk to Rose at our graduation, or is that asking too much?” Sarcasm accompanied the defiance in her voice.
    Rachel’s temper flared. Silently she counted to ten. “Of course you can talk to her. You just can’t go anywhere with her or with her brother.”
    “Fine!” With one last icy glare, Lark stomped off.
    Rachel collapsed against the back of the couch.
    “Is the coast clear?” Grace stepped into the doorway.
    “Gracie! I thought you weren’t going to be able to make it today.”
    “I changed my work schedule. Rough day?”
    “The worst.”
    “Do you want to talk about it?”
    “Maybe later. I can’t face a rehash right now.”
    “You can tell me all the gruesome details after dinner. I was planning to spend the night at Mom and Dad’s, but I’ll stay here instead.”
    “You know you’re welcome. If we’re lucky, seeing her favorite aunt will improve Lark’s mood and make the evening bearable.”
    “We can hope.” Grace smiled. “Come on, let’s go rally the troops.”
    After the earlier theatrics, the eighth-grade graduation ceremony was anticlimactic—the only bit of drama created when Lark walked across the stage wearing a summer dress that bared her tattoo for the world to see. Rachel’s mother sagged in her seat, her gasp audible through the applause.
    A short time later, Audrey Hanover entered the