Shoddy Cove by Betty Levin

Author:Betty Levin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2003-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

20

The first shelter she came upon was a hollow beside a fallen tree. It didn’t provide much overhead cover, though, and it was obvious from sheep droppings that this was one of the spots where the flock bedded down. On she went, pausing at stony outcrops, always on the lookout for signs of occupation.

She was ready to give up before she was ready to return to the Grimes homestead and carding. Idly she plucked a wisp of wool from a dead spruce bough studded with broken branches. More than one sheep had scratched its back here. She gathered up another swatch, pulled out twigs and prickles, then spun as fine a thread as she could. The wool was almost as dry as the pale green moss that hung from the upper branches. What would happen if she tried to ply the two fibers together? Reaching for the moss, she froze. Just above eye level, a tiny cradle, made of grass and stems, nestled against the trunk.

She removed it slowly, fearful that it would fall apart in her hands. But it was tightly woven and held its shape. It contained a woolen infant, perhaps a kitten, perhaps a baby. Had Adam fashioned it for May? Or had someone bought it in one of the gift shops along the coast and left it behind by accident? Should she put it back? A good hard rainstorm would demolish it.

Undecided, she tipped it on end, looking for a label indicating a maker on the other side of the world. Finding nothing, she cupped the cradle in her hands, swung around, and nearly walked into Adam.

“Oh!” she cried. “Don’t do that. Why are you so sneaky?”

“I’m not,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get to you for days. You’re always with your mother or brother.”

“I thought you’d gone,” she told him.

He shook his head. “I can’t stay much longer, though. May got caught. She latched on to some motherly type, who insisted on knowing where her mother was. Turned her in where they sell tickets. I had to bail her out and show my season’s pass. They didn’t like it. They’re suspicious. I think the less we’re seen together the better. And May’s getting tired of being cooped up. I’ve run out of things to read to her. I keep going over the same thing, just because she thinks it’s a story with a kid in it like her. But she’s hard to keep happy.”

“Happy!” Clare exclaimed. “She’s miserable most of the time. Why don’t you let her go back to your aunt until your father comes?”

“Because they’ll come after me and send me somewhere.”

“That’s stupid. They should be glad to have your father take you off their hands. You know what you can do? You can come home with me, both of you, and explain everything to my mother, and she’ll help you.”

“No!” he shouted. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain. Where is your father? Why can’t you get to him?”

Adam held out his hand for the cradle.

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