Little Blackbird Read Online Free PDF

fit in with everyone.”
    Her mama’s spine stiffened. Kate knew her mama’s grief was still raw and wild and had the ability to steal the sun, but Kate also knew her mama could hear Evan’s name sometimes and still smile as though she might be seeing his face before her.
    “That was his talent,” her mama said. “Yours is different. You’re never going to be like them, Little Blackbird. You’re going to be infinitely better.”
    “How could you possibly know that?”
    Her mama smiled. “Trust me. And as for boys, you shouldn’t be worrying about them right now. But if you were old enough for them, they’d be stupid not to like you just the way you are.”
    Kate was so tempted to tell her mama about Geoffrey that she had to bite her tongue to stop herself. But what would she say? Hey, Mama, now that you mention it, I’m sneaking out tonight to meet a boy. I hope that’s okay. I doubt he likes me, but he did say I was beautiful. I’ll try to be back before midnight.
    Her mama stood and walked toward the door. “Now, settle down in here before you set the house on fire. Your father and I are going to bed soon. Don’t stay up too late, okay?”
    Kate nodded, wondering if midnight was considered to be too late .

    W HEN GEOFFREY KNOCKED at her window, Kate was already dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black tank top. She’d been waiting for him in the shadows of her room, unable to sleep, drinking cup after cup of lavender tea. She lifted the sash, inhaled and exhaled three deep breaths, and crawled out into the darkness.
    “Where are your shoes?” he asked as he hobbled along beside her.
    “Don’t need them,” she said. “It’s not as though we’re going far.”
    “What if an emergency comes up?”
    Kate glanced at the glowing, full moon. “For example, if you turn into a werewolf?”
    Geoffrey laughed. “Why me? What if you’re the werewolf?”
    Kate stared at the moon’s wrinkled reflection on the river as they approached the water. “Then you’re definitely out of luck with that bum leg.”
    Geoffrey laughed again, and Kate shushed him. He looked over his shoulder at her house, which was nearly concealed behind the trees. He stopped a few feet from the water and sat on one of the boulders. He propped his crutches beside him. Kate hesitated. She couldn’t sit beside him on the boulder. That would be too close and inappropriate, and she wasn’t sure she could sit still at all. Her insides squirmed like earthworms exposed after heavy rains. She unclenched her hands and chose a seat closer to the river, letting her feet dangle into the water.
    They sat in silence, listening to the water rush and ripple over smooth river stones. Crickets chirped, and an owl hooted from the tall pines across the river. Kate closed her eyes and could almost pretend she was alone—if it wasn’t for the way the air felt alive and fidgety or the way the fireflies darted around their bodies, drawn to them because of the energy. The wind sounded like reed pipes as it weaved through the trees. Her insides twisted and curled around themselves.
    “Why do you live way out here?” Geoffrey asked.
    Kate opened her eyes. “What do you mean?”
    “Why don’t you live in the city? It’s not like you couldn’t afford a nice house in town. Your dad makes—well, he makes a good living.”
    “Mama doesn’t like living in town. She wants to live closer to nature.”
    “I guess I can understand that, but why the tiny house? Wait, that didn’t come out right–”
    Kate jerked her head toward him, narrowing her eyes. “It came out rudely,” she said. “Is that what you were aiming for? Not everyone can or wants to live in a mansion like Honeysuckle Hollow.”
    Kate would never admit that she’d always wanted to see the inside of the Hamiltons’ Queen Anne-style home and walk through their garden. Evan had been in the mansion several times and always spoke of it as though it was a museum full of antiques and shiny