The Forever Stone by Repp Gloria

Author:Repp, Gloria [Repp, Gloria]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: MTL Resources LLC
Published: 2012-12-07T07:00:00+00:00

She wanted to sleep in the next morning, just a little, but Aunt Lin was up early, taking a shower and bustling around, as if she were eager to get back to New York.

The wind had increased. “Listen to that!” her aunt said. “The way it tears at this house is downright eerie. They’re saying it might snow.”

Her aunt left soon after, in spite of the forecast. They had briefly discussed what Madeleine could do while she was gone. The dining room. The parlor. Inventory the Blue Room. Plenty of reasons to stay inside and mind her own business.

She had discovered three dead mice in the Blue Room traps when Bria knocked on the back door.

Jude had come too. “No school today,” he said with a grin. “Teachers doing stuff.”

“Perfect. I’ve got some mice for you to dispose of.”

He emptied and reset the traps, using a piece of walnut as bait, and she wondered whether he would say anything about the girl.

He glanced up. “I went to see her this morning. She don’t—doesn’t—look too good. She’s got a sore leg. Do you have any extra food?”

“Take all the food you want. But what about her leg?”

“She cut it. I don’t know how. It’s swelling up.”

“Jude, she needs help. She can’t keep doing this.”

Worry darkened his eyes. “I know. She won’t go home. Says she’d rather die.”

Madeleine gazed across the room, crowded with sofas and chairs. The rug under her feet was thick and warm and dry. That girl was sleeping in the cold. It might snow.

But this wasn’t her house. The girl wasn’t her responsibility.

“Where is this place?” she asked.

“Not very far.”

The girl was hungry. Love your neighbor as . . .

“Come on,” she said. “Help me pack up some stuff. We’re going over there.”

She hurried down the hall with Jude scrambling to keep up with her. “Bria,” she called, “can you get me a first aid kit?”

“Sure.” Bria stepped out of the dining room. “For the girl? From what Jude says, she’s going to be upset.”

“She’ll get over it.” Madeleine started heating water in the microwave. “Jude, find some chicken in the fridge and make her a sandwich. With cheese. I’ll need a thermos too.”

When the box was ready, she glanced at Bria. “Do you want to come?”

Bria looked grateful, but she said, “Maybe I’d better stay here and keep working.”

“Okay. Listen for the phone.”

Once they were in the car, Jude gave her directions, taking back roads she hadn’t seen before. Finally he pointed out a driveway.

“Let’s bring just the thermos to start with,” Madeleine said, glancing through the trees at the gleaming logs of a two-story home. Some cabin! It looked deserted.

At the back, a deck extended toward the trees, and a second-story balcony formed a roof above it. They tiptoed up the steps until Jude paused. In the corner lay a pile of blankets.

As they went closer, the blankets stirred, and a voice muttered.

Jude bent down. “Hey,” he said in a low voice.

A hand pushed back the blankets, revealing a girl’s pallid face and closed eyes.

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