River of Bones Read Online Free PDF Page B

could use a couple grocery sacks to start a fire in the living room.”
    â€œCool, I’ll unload some of this stuff.” I set Benny near my feet and emptied three paper bags. One bag contained cleaning supplies, while another held shampoo, new toothbrushes, and toothpaste. The third contained boxes of crackers, peanut butter and bagels—organic of course. My mother must have ordered all this before we got here. Either that or the real estate guy was trying to impress her. Another sack contained a handful of candy bars. Since sugar would never be on Mom’s list, my hunch seemed right. Frowning, I shook my head. I never understood her reasoning. She stuck to a strict vegetarian diet, while Benny and I lived on Happy Meals and French fries. Anything with sugar meant death, but heart-clogging fat didn’t matter.
    I handed Wolf the empty sacks. He tucked them under his arm, leaned against the doorframe and watched me as I fed Benny. When Benny had finished eating, I washed his hands and held him tight. I just wanted to hold him, to not let him go. Something about the house made me feel like I needed to protect him, to keep him close. He’d already suffered so much. For months he struggled as a preemie just to survive. It worried me that he wasn’t talking yet, at least nothing you could understand. I guess babbling was a good start.
    Benny pulled at my hair as we returned to the living room. Wolf tore up the paper sacks, wadding them into tight balls and shooting them into the fireplace like miniature basketballs.
    He paused, cocking his head. “Did you say something?”
    â€œNo, why?”
    He studied the room. “I thought I heard voices. Weird, huh?”
    I shuddered. “I heard something earlier, too. It sounded like whispering.”
    Wolf listened for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t hear it now. Maybe it’s a gang of rats plotting an uprising.”
    Better rats than people. Mom had a gift for making people mad, and somehow I always took the brunt of it. No wonder I was antisocial. Mom said I could handle conflict because I’m an Aries, which made me stubborn. Stubborn yes, but constantly beating your head against a wall doesn’t do anything but give you a headache.
    Wolf stacked kindling from a woodpile resting near the hearth and started a crackling fire.
    â€œSweet!” he said, poking at the orange embers. “This should warm things up. There’s more wood out back if you run out, but I think you have enough here for the night.” He glanced at his watch again. “I gotta bounce, check ya later.”
    â€œLater,” I said, my voice dropping.
    He flashed me one of his breathtaking smiles while I switched on the porch light. I leaned against the doorframe, under the yellow glow of the light, watching him jog down the steps. The muggy evening air weighed heavy on my shoulders. I wrapped my arms around myself, watching Wolf take big earth-eating strides across the yard. He swung a leg over his four-wheeler and twisted the key. The engine rumbled to life. He gave me a wave and took off into the night.
    The red taillights disappeared, swallowed by darkness. I ran a hand self-consciously through my matted hair. I probably looked like a hot mess. Usually I liked being alone because it was the only time I could just be me and relax. But now, I didn’t want to be alone in the creepy house with Benny. Maybe Mom would be back soon. Yeah right.
    I plopped down on one of the sheeted chairs. Dust flew up in the air and burned my eyes and nose, starting a sneeze fest. Great. Just what I needed. When I finished wheezing and sneezing my brains out, I reached into the pocket of my shorts, fishing for my mood rock, praying it hadn’t gotten lost. I found the agate nestled safely at the bottom, beneath a soggy pack of gum. I carried the stone with me always, clutching it in my palm, rubbing it smooth when my mother drove me over the