Winter's Dream (The Hemlock Bay Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

punishing me.” He shook his head violently but I ignored him. “There was … something outside, something that made her remember. She just wanted to keep me safe and so she ran away, knowing I would follow her. When the police came she thought they were one of you trying to trick her again. She fought and they arrested us.” I had to pause to wipe my nose on a rag he kindly placed in my hand. “She was so sick and I didn’t know it. Now she’s stuck in a nursing home and I’m stuck in juvie. And Linc—” my voice broke again. “He knows, he knows about everything. I told him about you and about me and everything.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “He hates me. He left after I told him and didn’t come back. He wasn’t there when it happened and no one has seen him since. I thought you took him, that you were punishing me.”
    Jordan shook his head again, his mouth gaping open. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
    I glared at him, my tears momentarily forgotten. “Again? You wouldn’t do that to me again?”
    He flushed and looked down. “I told you before, I’m not human. I don’t see things the same way you do. But I want to be with you and I don’t ever want you hurt again, so I’ll play by your rules. I didn’t touch your brother but I will help you get him back.”
    Faster than I could see, he moved to kneel in front of me and took my hand. “Bixby, I swear to you I will find out what happened and fix everything .”
    The beautiful glowing eyes I had once loved so much momentarily distracted me. “Wait, what? No, oh no, you’re not fixing anything. Whether you pulled this latest round of crap or not, this is all still pretty much your fault for interfering in the first place.” He tried to interrupt but I held up the hand he wasn’t holding. “No. No ‘helping’.”
    I could see his temper rising. He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. I was a little impressed. “Bixby, it will be fine. I will just send you and your grandma back home, then find your brother and send him back home as well. Easy.”
    I managed to pull my hand out of his and folded my arms over my chest again. “Uh huh. And when the nursing home realizes they have a missing person? When the juvie people realize they have a missing kid? Easy—they call the police and come looking for us and when they find us, I’m in even deeper crap than I am in now.”
    Jordan frowned. “Then you can come here instead of going back home.”
    “And what about my grandma? She already can’t handle reality. And what about the next time she gets sick? She needs doctors, hospitals, medicine and laboratories. Not to mention I really don’t think Linc would be cool with being roommates with you.”
    Jordan gave a tiny smile. “But there doesn’t seem to any problem for you coming here?”
    “Not happening,” I snapped, wiping the smile off his face.
    “You’re not going back there.” He was having a harder time keeping his temper.
    “Yes. I am.”
    “No. You’re not. That maniac was going to … he was going to do something awful, besides what he had already done. And I’m going to guess you didn’t exactly choose that hairstyle yourself.”
    Shame flashed white hot over me and my hands flew up to cover my scalp. I slammed my eyes shut in embarrassment as if he hadn’t been looking at me for the last ten minutes. I had forgotten about my horrible haircut, or at least gotten used to it.
    Jordan pulled me up and stepped in close. I didn’t open my eyes and so jerked back when he wiped a tear away. “Don’t cry.” His voice was soothing and he ran his hands through my dull, sheared hair. In some places it only stuck up an inch. Over and over he ran his hands over my scalp and through my ugly locks, gently tugging each strand. His hands flowed to the nape of my neck, then to my shoulders, then down my back. Curious, I peeked one eye open to see him totally focused on my hair.
    He gently grabbed my shoulders and spun me around.