Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9) Read Online Free PDF Page A

sister named Kayla."
    "You know Stephanie?" Rebecca asked.
    "Sure. She works at the convenience store. I haven't talked to her in a while, though. Not since I left there."
    "Do you have Kayla's phone number, Rebecca?" Polly asked again.
    "No. Can't we do it tomorrow and then you can meet Stephanie when she picks Kayla up tomorrow night? Please?"
    "That will be fine. Of course."
    "Can I show her the donkeys?"
    "You know who has to answer that," Polly said.
    "I know. Eliseo. But he'll say yes, won't he? And Jason will be down there, so he can show us around."
    "We'll see how the day goes tomorrow. If Kayla isn't dressed to go down to the barn, we'd hate to mess up her clothes."
    "We won't get dirty. We'll just look."
    Polly patted Rebecca's back and turned back to the sink. "Let's wait and see."
    Rebecca put another dried plate onto the stack. "Why don't we ever use the dishwasher?"
    "Because I like hanging out with you," Polly said, laughing. "Honestly, once I got started today, I couldn't quit."
    "That was my question too," Henry said, coming around the corner. "You hand wash a lot of dishes, Polly."
    "I never got used to a dishwasher. We didn't have one while I was growing up and my apartment in Boston didn't have one." She shrugged. "I just wash dishes, I guess."
    Henry took the towel out of Rebecca's hand. "You go play. I'll deal with the tyrant."
    Rebecca smiled and ran out of the kitchen. "Jessie! You wanna play a game?"
    "She has a little friend," Polly whispered to Henry.
    "Yeah. I know, she looks ready to pop. What do we have, another month?"
    "Not Jessie, you dope. Rebecca. She's bringing a friend over after school tomorrow."
    He stepped back. "No kidding. Imagine that. And you didn't have to get involved or anything."
    Polly flicked suds at him. "Leave me alone. I'm just happy she has someone other than Andrew. He's a wonderful boy, but she needs more friends. So does he, for that matter."
    "I spoke too soon. You're about to get involved, I can tell."
    "Joss has to close the library on Mondays now. I was thinking that since kids probably went there until their parents picked them up, we should use the classroom and computer room for Monday afternoon homework sessions."
    "Yep. I knew it."
    Polly elbowed him. "It's a great idea!"
    "Talk to Jeff before you do anything rash, will you?" He opened the cupboard doors and put stacks of plates and glasses where they belonged.
    "So you didn't say last night. How are things going with those cars? What are they? Woodies?"
    "Yes. Woodies. And you already know that. You pay attention to everything."
    "Whatever. Anyway, how far are you?"
    He put his hand on the counter and looked at her, puzzled. "You do know that this is going to be a very long project, don't you? They aren't going to be ready for you to drive this summer."
    "Yeah, yeah, yeah. How long are they going to take?"
    "It could be a year or more. We have a lot of work to do. The engines are a mess, there's no upholstery, and the bodies were completely rusted out."
    "I get it. I'm sorry I asked."
    "No, that's not it. I just don't want you getting excited. This kind of restoration is labor intensive and since we don't get to spend a lot of hours doing it, well..."
    She scowled. "Am I supposed to feel guilty about not letting you work over there?"
    "That works for me. But no, neither of us has a lot of time. It's just something fun to do."
    "Okay. Just checking."
    He kissed her cheek. "And thanks for acting interested."
    "At least you aren't carousing at the bars every other night."
    "Who has time for that?"
    "I know!"
    They walked into the living room to find Rebecca standing behind Jessie, brushing and braiding her hair, the older girl sprawled out on the sofa. She looked terribly uncomfortable. A pile of folded laundry sat on the table in front of her.
    "I'll put it away in a minute. This just feels so good," Jessie said. Obiwan was stretched out beside her and Han had curled up on her chest, his head resting on her