Keeping the Tarnished Read Online Free PDF

hardwood flooring. Graye was assured everything appeared crisp and clean with a rigorous cleaning schedule.
    As she looked at the boy’s clothing, she felt an overwhelming urge to cry. What was this kid’s story? Although her gut was telling her the boy was harmless, she had to be practical about the situation. She had to make sure her family was safe; however, she was already thinking along the same lines as her husband. The boy seemed to have been through so much. He needed a rest, some reassurance, and the love only a happy family could provide. He needed to mend.
    There was something that drew her to him. He had only been in her house for about forty-five minutes, and already she was envisioning how they would decorate the guest room to better suit another teenage boy.
    “Sad, isn’t it?” Jackson asked, standing in the doorway of the laundry room.
    “Sad isn’t the word. This seriously makes me want to cry and just, just hug the kid,” Graye replied with a disgusted look on her face. “Jackson, there are roaches in his clothes.” Graye heard the desperation in her own voice as she turned toward her husband, their son Jared appearing with a mouth full of hot rolls.
    “Roaches?” the boy mumbled as he chewed his food loudly.
    “Jared!” his mother scolded him sharply. “What have I told you about listening in on your father and me? And you are going to ruin your appetite before we all get sat down for supper,” she continued as she looked once more in the tattered book bag.
    “I doubt that,” Jackson said, chuckling as he looked at his son.
    “Mom, how’d he get roaches in his clothes?” the boy asked with concern in his voice.
    “We can’t keep them in the house. We can’t let him wear them, they’re disgusting,” Graye said as she held up a pair of worn-out jeans, ignoring her son’s question. “I’ll pick him up some new things when I take Bryce to piano tomorrow,” the woman continued assuredly.
    “We’re buying him clothes? Okay. But if this boy eats as much as Jared, I may have to see about getting another job,” Jackson said playfully.
    “Mom, he can have my jeans from last year. They’re too small thanks to you, and I still have them in my closet. I bet there’s at least seven pairs. I’ll go look and see.” Jared had already offered the newcomer an unopened package of boxer shorts, some socks, some old sweats, and a t-shirt to sleep in, before Graye showed him to the guest bathroom upstairs. “I’m sure I have some shirts I never wear too,” Jared said as he turned to head for the staircase in the living room.
    Graye watched her son exit, thankful for the undeniably strong and loving relationship she had with the boy. He truly was a good kid. She and his father had every reason to hold him in such high regards.
    “Momma, I’m hungry,” said an impatient little Bryce as she came walking through the kitchen toward the laundry room.
    “Honey, as soon as Johnny gets downstairs we will sit down and eat ’til it comes out of our ears.” Graye was eager to get Johnny fed, as she was unsure when the last time he ate was.
    “Momma,” the small girl continued, “can we keep him? Can we keep Johnny?”
    “He’s not a dog,” Jackson chimed in, placing his hand on Bryce’s head and looking down at her.
    “There will be no more talk about keeping anyone. Understand?” Graye followed up in a scolding tone and disapproving look.
    “Yes, I understand.” The little girl rolled her eyes as she inhaled deeply and completed a goofy circular ballerina twirl. She then ran back through the kitchen.
     
    ***
     
    Johnny
     
    Johnny was enjoying a much needed shower. He thought the steam and refreshing water was liberating. He had never been in a bathroom as nice as the Everetts’ before. Everything was fresh, clean, and smelled of fabric softener and soap. The water pressure was almost too much, as the hot water washed away the filth of the bus. He felt as if the day was literally