Strangely Normal Read Online Free PDF Page B

house?”
    “Among other things.”
    She had short legs and I had absurdly long ones, but I had to hurry to keep up with her frantic pace. The pig had to nearly gallop on his stumpy legs. We reached a door that vibrated with loud music.
    “Stay,” Finley told Some Pig and she reached for the knob. The sound system would have made my dad drool. It nearly blasted me off my feet.
    A long, hardwood floor stretched out beneath a field of exercise equipment and weight machines. The room had a lower ceiling than the other rooms and half of the walls were covered in mirrors. It seemed deserted as I followed Finley around two large weight machines to the farthest corner. Then through the pounding music, I heard the rhythmic sound of grunting interspersed with fists smacking a punching bag. The last mirror held the reflection of a shirtless guy with broad shoulders and a muscular back. Sweat dripped down a large, intricate tattoo of Black Thunder’s famous black wing logo. The punching bag bounced with each hit.
    Finley walked over to a panel of buttons on the wall and turned down the volume just low enough to stop the reverberation in the room.
    Wrapped hands steadied the punching bag, and her brother peered around it. “Shit, Doolittle, why’d you turn that down? You threw off my rhythm.” Then he saw me and stepped out from behind the bag. Green eyes assessed me coldly as he dragged the gray beanie from his head. His short black hair stood up all over his head. Like the smooth muscles of his chest and stomach, his hair was drenched with sweat. He reached up and wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist.
    “This is the girl Dad hired to keep me company this summer. She’s from the valley.”
    His mouth tilted up in a sardonic grin. “I guess it’s true. You can buy friends.”
    “Oh, shut up, Jude.” Finley motioned down to his foot and for the first time I noticed the large, official looking cuff around his ankle. “What did the lawyer say? When does it come off?”
    He stared down at it for a moment as if he’d forgotten it was there and then lifted his piercing green gaze. He didn’t seem pleased that she’d brought it up in mixed company. “In a week. When does yours come off?”
    “You’re such an ass,” Finley said, and though I hadn’t known her long I wasn’t imagining the hurt in her tone.
    There was no apology in his expression as he turned his attention to me. He stared at me for a long, uncomfortable moment. “So does Valley have a name?”
    “I’m Eden,” I told him grudgingly.
    “Eden?” his mocking grin returned. “I hear they have some pretty wild apples down there.”
    “Only a true snake would know,” Finley interjected.
    “So how long is your hired companion staying?”
    “She’s staying the summer. So get used to it.” Finley took hold of my hand, and I realized that even in the short amount of time, I’d already grown fond of her. She pulled me around to leave.
    “I think Dad has lost his fucking mind,” Jude called to us as we walked away. “And take the dogs with you. I’m going to take a shower.”
    Finley’s whistle startled me but not as much as the sudden appearance of two lion-sized dogs trailing along with us. I scooted closer to Finley.
    “They’re harmless,” Finley said. “Unless you’re a wolf. They’re Irish wolfhounds.”
    The dogs trotted past us like small horses and stopped to sniff Some Pig who sat obediently in the hallway waiting for us. I gasped in terror for the poor pig, but he didn’t seem to take notice of the massive prey animals. Then they lifted their large snouts and trotted ahead of us down the hall.
    “What are their names?” I asked, hoping to get my mind off of the fact that her brother hated me already.
    “Butch and Sundance,” Finley replied. “At first, I’d named them Leo and Julius but then one day I made the mistake of—”
    “Let me guess. You let them watch the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and they got