Summer at Forsaken Lake Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Wow—looks just like
Goblin
, too. What’s this about, anyway?”
    “Well, I’m pretty sure it’s in England,” Hetty started. “And there’s this family on vacation, except for the dad, who’s in the navy and is on his way back from China, I think.”
    Hayley took over. “The kids are out in a rowboat, and they end up helping Jim Brading get his boat—
Goblin
—tiedup at the mooring. And then he asks if they want to come aboard, so they do, and then he invites them to go sailing with him. And, um, that’s as far as we got.”
    “Well, hurry up and finish it. I want to read it, too.”
    “You’re going to read a book?” Hetty teased.
    “He has to,” said Hayley. “It’s a rainy day and there’s no TV. Or video games.”
    “I read books,” Nicholas said indignantly.
    “About baseball,” the girls said together.
    “I
like
baseball. Now get out of here and go read your book or I won’t let you watch
The Seaweed Strangler
tonight.”
    “You have to let us!” cried Hayley, but she started back down the stairs anyway.
    The mention of baseball took him back to the strange experience earlier in the day.
Struck out by a girl
. That was definitely a first for Nicholas, but, oddly enough, it wasn’t that sweeping curveball that was stuck in his mind; it was that
smile
. What
was
it about her that was so … interesting? Or was it irritating? He couldn’t decide which. And why had she smiled like that at him, anyway? Was she making fun of him?
Or did she think I was … Oh, stop
. He shook his head sharply, trying to shake the memory of her face from his mind, and got up to look out the window at
Goblin
. The wind had shifted direction, and she pointed across the lake, bobbing gently. He took the letter out of his pocket and sat down on the edge of his bed to read it.
    Dear Will,
    I still can’t believe you’re going back to New York. It’s not fair that you got blamed for everything that happened. I know it wasn’t your fault, but nobody believes me, either. My parents don’t even want me to see you, so I’m going to sneak this into Nick’s house when you guys go to church Sunday morning.
    Will, I know a lot has happened in the past few days, and I don’t know how you feel about everything, but I have to let you know how I feel before you leave. Even though it’s being cut short, and I have to wear this stupid cast for the next six weeks, this was the best summer of my life. I’ll never forget a single moment we spent together, especially those times we snuck off to our “secret place.” No matter what else happens in my life, you will always be special, because every girl remembers her first kiss. I hope you’ll remember, too.
    I cried all night when I heard your parents were coming to pick you up on Sunday (I know, not like me at all, right?) and thought about being stuck here in Deming without seeing you for a whole year. Please, please, PLEASE write to me when you get this. It’s driving me crazy not being able to talk to you and know what you’re thinking. I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t hear from you,but I guess that will mean it’s over. Everyone keeps saying I’m too young to know what’s best for me, but I don’t care.
    I love you, Will Mettleson. There, I said it.
    Franny
    PS I’m really sorry you didn’t get to finish the movie after all the work you put into it. Maybe by next summer everybody will stop acting so crazy and you can prove to them what I already know: you’re a genius!
    PPS Remember, you promised me the first sail in the Heron, so you have to come back.
    Nicholas’s mind ran wild with questions. Who was this Franny person who was so in love with his dad? What was he being blamed for? He
kissed
her? The Heron?
    He read the letter a second time, but that only led to more questions and the only possible conclusion he could imagine:
Maybe there are two Will Mettlesons in the world
.

CHAPTER THREE

    F or Nicholas, Hayley, and Hetty, New Yorkers