Snake Skin Read Online Free PDF Page B

thing to Lucy's to-do list. "You promised brownies.
And not those lame store-bought ones with the gooey icing."
    "Only if the doctor says it's all right for
you to play."
    "Mom..." With the single syllable Megan
assigned Lucy responsibility for the fall of civilization and the
fate of the future of all mankind. "I can't miss anything. I'm the
new kid, remember?"
    "We've been here three months. Think maybe
it's time you let up on the guilt trip?"
    Instead of appearing chastised, Megan merely
grinned as if she had plenty more tricks up her sleeve and was just
waiting to use them on her mom. Or more likely, her much more
gullible and malleable father.
    Megan was a pro at getting what she
wanted—took after Lucy in that respect. Just as her features
reflected Lucy's Italian heritage more than Nick's Irish. Thick,
almost black hair, high cheekbones, dark eyes. The only thing Megan
inherited from Nick was her creamy complexion with its propensity
to freckle easily.
    "I want to be certain the doctor has all the
facts," Lucy said. She used her work voice, although she knew Megan
saw right through her mask of control. "We need to get to the
bottom of this."
    Megan shot her a look that said, "whatever",
but stopped short of actually rolling her eyes. "You always assume
the worst."
    When it came to imagining "the worst," Megan
did not have a clue. Lucy fully intended to keep things that way
for as long as possible.
    "And you worry too much," Megan continued
her analysis of everything wrong with her mother. "That's because
of what you see at work. It's just strep throat. I already feel
better after the Advil. But you think everyone's always in
danger."
    That's because everyone was always in
danger. In Lucy's world, at least. But she forced a smile and said,
"Glad to hear it. And no, you're not getting a FaceBook page."
    Megan's eyes widened at her mother's
omniscience. Then her lips curled into a wheedling smile. "You
could use it too, you know—like a stake-out or something."
    Despite the stuffy heat of the exam room,
Lucy shivered at the thought of inviting the creeps she hunted into
her home. Letting them anywhere near Nick or Megan. "That's not
funny. Keep this up and you won't be going on-line again until
you're old enough to vote."
    The door swung open, interrupting Megan's
protest. The doctor breezed in, wearing jeans and a polo shirt. He
did a double-take at Lucy's worse-for-wear appearance. "Hi, sorry
to keep you waiting. This beeper won't shut up. Now, what brings
you guys here on such a beautiful Saturday morning?"
    Megan opened her mouth, but Lucy jumped in
before she could say anything, earning her another glare. This time
complete with eye-roll. "Megan saw Dr. Collins two weeks ago and he
said she had strep. She took ten days of the medicine but her
glands are still swollen and the fever came back."
    "Hmm..." He flipped through her chart.
"Strep test was positive, but there's no guarantee it can't come
back again. We call it the boomerang effect. Anyone else at home
sick?"
    "No." Lucy hesitated, knowing she sounded
over-protective. "She's been looking pale to me even before the
strep, and she has no energy. She's not herself."
    "I'm fine." Megan threw Lucy a Magnum
caliber stare before she could say more. "It's only that we just
moved here and with a new school and new friends and soccer and
teachers giving out so much homework—"
    "I'll bet that wasn't easy, leaving your old
friends behind." The pediatrician stood in front of Megan, focused
on her, warming his stethoscope with one hand, skillfully shutting
Lucy out of the conversation. She straightened, irritated at first,
but then took a breath and relaxed when she saw how he put Megan at
ease.
    As he examined Megan, he kept talking. "Mono
is pretty common in kids your age and a lot of kids will get it and
strep at the same time. Open up." He glanced at Megan's tonsils.
"Actually those look pretty normal. Let's feel those neck
glands."
    Lucy watched as he danced his