Skies Like These Read Online Free PDF Page A

let out a ragged breath, thinking of her own blue-and-yellow bedspread and perfectly cushy pillows back home. More than anything, that was where she longed to be.
    Rain started up again, pelting the windows and clattering against the flat roof. Jade snuggled in and thought of what Aunt Elise had said about her being brave. There were a lot of words Jade would use to describe herself: smart, thoughtful, loyal, occasionally funny if she got it just right, prudent—that was a good one—but never brave and never ever anything close to adventurous.
    Jade decided to read a few more pages in her book when a soft purr slid through the crack in the door and, a moment later, Copernicus bounded onto the bed. He circled around, working the quilt this way and that, nestling down to sleep.
    Jade pulled her knees up away from the cat. “Go on,” she said, “scat.”
    Copernicus positioned himself right in the middle of the bottom half of her bed and clearly had no intention of leaving. Jade jabbed at the cat with her foot, but he didn’t move. She let out another tired breath and put the book on the side table. Then she turned out the light, curled up near the head of the bed, and decided to let him be. It was an interesting feeling to have another presence in the room—hearing the cat’s smooth purr and feeling his weight on the covers. It reminded her of when she was a little girl, only three or four years old. How her mother used to sit at the foot of her bed and hum soft lullabies into the night. The music would weave its way through the darkness and ease her to sleep.
    Somewhere along the way, though, she had become too old for lullabies and now it had been years since her mother tucked her in that way. Years since anything had hummed her to sleep.

 
    5
    Morning sun cut through a slit in the curtains. Jade blinked and rubbed her eyes awake. Copernicus reached out his front paws, stretched, and jumped off the bed. The pine-plank floors were cool under Jade’s feet and the warm, salty smell of bacon pulled her toward the kitchen.
    â€œHello, Morning Glory,” Aunt Elise sang out when Jade shuffled into the room.
    Jade sat down at the table. “It smells wonderful. Thanks for cooking breakfast.” She was used to cold cereal. Both her parents worked and were off before the sun even had a chance to think about rising.
    â€œI wanted to make you bacon and eggs and pancakes but I hate washing a lot of dishes so I decided to try cooking them all in the same skillet.” She was bustling around the stove and lobbing a black spatula in the air as she spoke.
    Jade remembered dinner from the night before and started getting a sneaking impression her perfect breakfast was about to go down the tubes.
    â€œIt’s all about improvisation.” Aunt Elise slapped something onto a plate and ceremoniously turned to place it on the table. “Ta-da!”
    Jade stared at her breakfast. It was a pancake with chunks of scrambled egg and pieces of bacon cooked right into the dough. An eddy of bacon grease lined the edges, seeping into the pancake and giving it a soggy sheen. “How creative,” she said.
    Aunt Elise was glowing. “I know! Don’t be shy, there’s plenty more where that came from.”
    Jade reached for the syrup and poured it over her breakfast conglomerate, trying to drown out the puddles of grease with sugar. The combination was tragic.
    Aunt Elise sat down, resting her chin on both palms. “It’s so great having you here!”
    A tender feeling settled over the kitchen. It was the same feeling Jade had had when Astro sighed under her touch or when Copernicus peeked through one slit eye before falling asleep at her feet. It was warm and inviting. She took a fork and started picking at her plate. Aunt Elise danced back to the stove top and began jostling the batter bowl and pan.
    â€œWhat’s kickin’, chicken?” Roy was at the back