Tighter Read Online Free PDF Page A

toppling the umbrella holder in the corner.
    “He shoots, he scores!” Milo cheered himself. Then turned to see if I was watching.
    “Two points,” I said.
    “Points for who?” Isa had crept up to peep around from the dining room. “Who are you talking to? What’s going on?”
    “Surprise,” I said, pointing. “Milo heard you missed him.”
    I’d really shocked her. For a moment she stood frozen, dumbfounded, her eyes wide and her shoulders tensed. “Milo?” she whispered. Then she started laughing, amazed, as she crept a few steps closer. “Miley! Miley! You came home! For how long?”
    “Till I go.” He reached out and palmed her head like a basketball. I could tell Isa wanted more, a hug maybe, but felt shy about it.
    “When’s that?” she asked.
    “Isa, roll with it,” he said.
    “Okay,” she conceded quietly. And I was relieved that while Isa was clearly stunned by the fact of him, she also seemed just as happy with her brother’s arrival as with the promise that her dad might have come back. “C’mon, then. Let’s eat, Miley.”
    I followed them both through the dining room, into a surprisingly modern but unsurprisingly spotless kitchen. Its corner booth was set with silk napkins, and the silverware was huge, like what rich Vikings might have used. Connie and Dr. Hugh were chatting about local island news, but Milo didn’t wait. He ladled up from the pasta bowl.
    So I went for the loaf of bread, sawing off a chunk as Isa picked the sesame seeds from the salad.
    “Who would win in a fight?” she asked. “An owl or a raccoon?”
    “No thilly talk at dinner,” said Connie.
    “Owl,” I said.
    “Raccoon by a landslide,” added Milo.
    Isa giggled.
    “ Adultth will eat later.” Connie gave me a look. I didn’t care. Silly talk was the only kind of talk I wanted. Au pair trumps housekeeper on that one. “Jethie, you’ll need to look after your and Itha’th kitchen meth.”
    Milo snorted. “Hear that, Jeth? Gotta handle your own kitchen meth.”
    “My name isn’t Jessie, it’s Jamie ,” I corrected loudly.
    Connie ignored me, bustling around the pantry to find a bottle of wine for the doctor. I wished he’d just go—he exuded “pompous know-it-all” like a bad odor. After Milo had shot downstairs to the basement-level family room for TV, I challenged Isa to a yodeling contest. Just to annoy the adultth.
    But I could feel it coming. Hugh looked too purposeful, and when Isa escaped downstairs to join Milo, he followed me through the kitchen door and out to the porch, where I’d been planning to sneak a smoke. Tobacco wasn’t one of my addictions, or even habits, but I’d bought a pack of mentholated lites right before I left home, and had stuck one in my jeans pocket while I was upstairs. Just in case I was in the mood for a vice.
    “Jamie?”
    “You said it.”
    “Well, no, I haven’t, yet. But I did want to note that you’ve got yourself a set of challenges this summer.” Hugh cleared his throat. “As you can see, Isa’s a special, sensitive girl.” He spoke gravely, as if confiding CIA secrets. He probably read the grocery list the same way. It made me twitchy. “She’s always been introverted. More so since the unfortunate—tragic—events of last year.”
    “You’re talking about the other babysitter?”
    “Yes.”
    When I didn’t say anything, he continued. “Jessie Feathering died in an accident. It was a terrible thing. Heartbreaking, a shock to the community.” Ha, he was practically begging for me to ask for more. No way. I didn’t want to get into it, to give Hugh an opportunity to ensnare me in any conversation. Intriguing as this topic was, I could learn the whole deal of what happened to Jessie Feathering from anyone.
    In fact, I liked not playing along, not asking the natural questions. It bothered him, I could tell in his eyes.
    “I get along great with kids,” I said instead. “And Isa’s sweet. So, it’s all good.”
    “Yes, well. I