A Shocking Request. Colleen Faulkner

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ a purse as well as her book bag. She had some work to do for the kindergarten class she taught. She, Ally and Grant had all started at the Starfish Academy as teachers, then Ally had gotten sick and had to give up her job. Last year, Grant had been named principal when their principal had taken a job elsewhere. Jenna loved her job. She loved the school. She loved her students. And having Maddy Monroe this year just made it all the better.

      Jenna let herself into the house with her key and flipped on the living room lights. The cottage was small with just a living room that also served as the dining room, a small galley kitchen, two bedrooms, a bath and a laundry/mudroom. What made the house, though, was the back porch, which her grandfather had closed in with glass panels. Even in the middle of the winter, it was warm and cozy on the sunporch, and plants thrived there as if living in a greenhouse. Beyond the porch, in the backyard, was a well-groomed garden of flowering plants, stone paths and dribbling water fountains that was Jenna’s pride and joy. Even now, in September, when the days were growing short, the garden was alive with late-flowering plants, fresh herbs and even a tiny patch of peas.

      Jenna tossed her backpack onto the couch and went back out the front door. At the house next to hers, she tapped on the door and walked in, knowing she was expected. She could hear the TV going and the sound of a familiar newscaster’s voice as he reported on unrest in the Middle East.

      “Your turn,” Jenna heard eighty-three-year-old Mrs. Cannon say. “One more roll.”

      “But I haf to go. Bedtime,” Amy answered.

      Jenna and Mrs. Cannon had no trouble understanding Jenna’s twenty-six-year-old sister, but she knew there were others who did. Amy’s speech was gruff and halting, but it just took a little patience to follow what she was saying. Amy, born with Down’s syndrome, was mentally handicapped and had been Jenna’s responsibility since their mother died just after Jenna received her teaching degree from the University of Delaware.

      “Jenna?” Amy looked up, bright-eyed and happy to see her sister when she walked into the living room. Amy and Mrs. Cannon were playing Yahtzee on the coffee table in front of the couch. The TV was on in the background, the sound of guns going off, low but audible, but no one seemed to be paying attention to the news show.

      “I won. I won,” Amy said, awkwardly waving her score sheet at Jenna. “Look, Jenna, I won the game.” She beamed at her partner. “Mrs. Cannon says I’m a good Yahtzee player.”

      The gray-haired woman began to clean up the game. “You’re the best I’ve seen,” she said, obviously genuinely pleased to have Amy there.

      It was an arrangement that seemed a gift from God to Jenna. Mrs. Cannon no longer drove and spent most of her time home alone, so she loved having Amy for company. And Jenna was fortunate to have Mrs. Cannon here to keep an eye on Amy whenever she needed her.

      “You ready to go home?” Jenna asked her sister. “It’s almost nine and I have homework to do.”

      “And I haf to take a shower,” Amy told Mrs. Cannon, rolling her eyes. “Work tomorrow.”

      Jenna smiled. Amy worked at the Starfish Academy, too, as an assistant custodian. Her sister loved the job and enjoyed getting up every morning to go to it. Hiring Amy had been a brilliant move on Grant’s part. Before her job at the school, Amy had been working at a shop that employed many mentally handicapped adults, but Amy had been bored there and hadn’t liked it.

      At the Starfish Academy she could easily handle the work that mostly included sweeping floors, refilling paper products throughout the school and picking up the grounds. Not only did she like the fact that she was good at her job, but she loved the excitement of being there with the children. Everyone loved Amy at the Academy, and they made her feel as if she were a part of something. With no family left except a brother who lived in Oregon, Jenna and Amy’s family included the children and staff of the school.

      “Thanks for having her over,” Jenna said, always careful not to imply that Amy needed to be taken care of. Amy had become very sensitive lately to her own independence.

      “You know I love Amy’s company.” Mrs. Cannon slowly rose from the couch as Amy popped up off the floor. “Having her sweet face around keeps me young.”

      “We can let ourselves out,” Jenna said, giving the elderly woman a peck on the cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

      “See you tomorrow,” Amy said, giving Mrs. Cannon a sloppy kiss on her other cheek.

      Mrs. Cannon smiled. “Good night, dearies. Lock the door behind you.”

      “We will.” Jenna ushered Amy out the door, turned the lock, and pulled it soundly shut behind her.

      Amy ran across the yard, leaping over a small azalea bush. “Cold out here.”

      Jenna followed Amy across the yard. “Not cold, but chilly. It’s late September.” She pointed to the oak and maple trees that lined the street. “You see, the leaves are beginning to fall. Autumn is coming.”

      “And we can cut pumpkins,” Amy said happily, clapping her hands.

      “That’s right, and we’ll go to the orchard and pick apples and make applesauce.” She opened the door for Amy.

      “And Halloween,” Amy squealed.

      “And Halloween.”

      “And we can get dressed up like ghosties and tell everyone ‘Boo.”’ Amy’s eyes were wide with the same excitement that Becka and Maddy had when speaking of Halloween, but that was okay because it was Jenna’s favorite holiday, too.

      Jenna closed the front door behind them and clicked the dead bolt in place. “Go get your shower and hop into bed.”

      “Will you read?”

      Jenna glanced at her wristwatch. “Amy, it’s late.”

      “Please?” Amy clutched her hands together. “Please, Jenna please. I’ll wash real quick.”

      “Okay, but a real shower, Amy, with soap and shampoo. I’m serious.”

      “All right.” Amy stomped off toward the bathroom. “I’ll be right back quick.”

      Jenna reached for her backpack to take it to the dining room table where she would cut out apples and stems and worms from paper for her students for tomorrow. “Then just a short book.”

      “Inside, Outside, Upside Down,” Amy chanted as she danced down the hallway, her short bobbed haircut swinging.

      “Not that book again,” Jenna groaned. Amy loved the Berenstain Bears. “We read that one last night,” she called after her sister who had slipped into the bathroom. But of course, Jenna would read it again. She would do anything for Amy.

      While she waited for Amy to finish in the bathroom, Jenna went to the dark kitchen to put on the kettle to make a cup of tea. As she leaned against the counter, she saw in her mind’s eye an image of Grant leaning against his counter tonight, looking at her. He’d had the oddest expression on his face, as if she were a stranger he had just met.

      The teakettle whistled and Jenna shrugged as she turned to fill her teapot with boiling water. Men.

      “Good morning, Catherine,” Jenna said cheerfully СКАЧАТЬ