Firefly Hollow Read Online Free PDF Page A

when you’re younger. Because your bones aren’t fully formed yet, it’s easier to get used to.”
    After that, the questions rolled out of Owen. For the next several days, he followed Eli around the farm. He learned what it meant to be a shifter, not just physically, but mentally, and as Eli calmly answered his questions, Owen started to adapt to his new reality.
    As relieved as he was to be getting some answers and guidance, he was jealous of Eli’s children, who were still in school. Trent, a couple years younger than Owen and more interested in playing outside than in doing his homework, stamped on Owen’s nerves in particular. Because of the way Eli and Amy had raised their children, Trent and his siblings had been able to stay in school, unlike Owen. One evening after supper, the two came to blows. It wasn’t anything more than a typical scuffle that young boys tended to get into, but Owen’s resentment added to his ire. After separating them, Amy demanded an explanation.
    “He got mad because I wouldn’t do my algebra,” Trent told her, rolling his eyes.
    She sent Trent inside to clean up and kept Owen with her. “Walk with me.”
    He started to sneer at her, but when she simply raised an eyebrow, he stomped off down the driveway. He hadn’t gotten far when his conscience got the best of him, and he slowed to wait for her.
    She caught up to him and linked her arm through his. “You want to go to school, don’t you?”
    Owen hung his head. “Yes. I love learning.”
    “Well, I think it’s a little too late to get you enrolled down here this year, but we can go to the library and get you some books. Would you like that?”
    “You don’t think I should learn how to fix tractors or run a farm? Harlan says book learning is a waste of a man’s time and that real men don’t read books.”
    Amy snorted. “Oh, please. That’s ridiculous, Owen. You probably need to know about tractors and farming, yes, but don’t believe that other drivel. Real men aren’t ashamed to read books, to learn, and to better themselves. Look at your uncle. He reads everything he can get his hands on, every chance he gets. Now, I don’t think you need to bury your nose in books and keep it there, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting knowledge. Don’t ever let anyone tell you there is.”
    The pep talk bolstered Owen’s spirits considerably, and the next day, Amy took him into town to the library. For the rest of the time he stayed with them, Eli and Amy encouraged and supported Owen’s desire to learn. When his mother came for him that August, he didn’t want to leave. He told Eli as much when they hugged.
    “Any time you need or want to come back, the door is always open,” his uncle assured him in a gruff voice. “But you need to go home and give life there a chance. Okay?”
    He went home, back to Perry County. But life didn’t get any easier; in fact, it got worse.
    Because he hadn’t finished eighth grade, he was sentenced to repeat it. His brother, who was only a year behind him thanks to the way their birthdays fell, had made sure that no one forgot Owen’s embarrassing episode the previous spring. Harlan set out to make Owen’s life a living hell. It didn’t help matters that Owen still hadn’t hit his growth spurt, so Harlan was rapidly overtaking him in both height and weight.
    By the time Christmas rolled around, Owen was ready to walk away from school and his family. The stress of dealing with puberty and Harlan’s tormenting was too much, and when Harlan made a snide remark on Christmas Eve, Owen lost his temper. His hackles rose, literally, and with a snarl, he leapt on his brother. They rolled around on the living room floor for several minutes before their father was able to separate them. When he finally did, Owen was half changed, and the look of disgust and fear on Hank’s face, and on Harlan’s, broke something in Owen.
    The next day, despite his mother’s tears and protests, he moved