Read Online Believe: The Complete Channie Series by Charlotte Abel - Free Book Online Page A

his mouth into a thin, hard line and said, “Oh. Okay, then.” He nodded his head once and took off, jumping ahead of her as if she’d been standing still.
    Channie knew she should just let him go, but the way his body slumped with disappointment tugged at her heart. “Josh, wait a minute. I want to talk to you.”
    He veered off the path and wheeled his bike around. Channie thought he was going to shoot right past her. But at the last minute, he hit the front brake. Hard. Gravel scattered across the path as the back end of his bike popped up off the ground.
    Channie gasped, but instead of tumbling over the handlebars, Josh caught the front tire with one foot and kicked the back end of his bicycle around with the other. He bounced his way back onto the concrete path without touching his feet to the ground.
    Channie sniffed the air but didn’t detect even a trace of magic. Josh did all that trickery without a balance spell. “How’d you do that?”
    Josh grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I just like goofing off.” He bit his lower lip then pulled it through his teeth again. It was obviously a nervous habit, but it brought back the memory of kissing him. Channie’s cheeks flushed hot when she realized she was licking her lips as she stared at his.
    He bounced in place on his bike as if it were a pogo stick. “So...Why didn’t you call me?” He stopped bouncing, but kept his feet on the pedals, perfectly balanced.
    “We don’t have a phone.”
    His eyebrows shot up and disappeared under the curls that fringed the edges of his bike helmet. “You don’t have a phone?”
    “Didn’t I just say that?” Channie didn’t mean to be so snippy, but this high-altitude was killing her. She pushed her hand against the stitch in her side and took a deep breath. “Momma and Daddy are still fighting over whether or not to spend money on a telephone. So no, we don't have one. But even if we did. I couldn’t call you.”
    Josh’s Adam’s apple bobbed twice before he spoke. “Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”
    “Huh?”
    “Is there some reason you can’t call me? Even if you had a phone?”
    “Yeah. My daddy would kill you.”
    He blinked and jerked his head back, ducking his chin. “Why?”
    “He doesn’t want me to have a boyfriend.”
    “I don’t want to be your boyfriend! Unless you want me...I mean...I just want to be your friend.”
    “I’d love to be your friend, but Daddy doesn’t know the difference between a boy that’s a friend and a boyfriend.”
    “I’d be happy to explain it to him.”
    “Look, Josh, it was nice talking to you, but I gotta go. If I’m late getting home, Momma and Daddy will lay into me.”
    “You live close to Heritage Park, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I’ll ride with you to the park and we can talk on the way.”
    “Okay, but if I tell you to leave, you have to do it immediately. I don’t want Momma or Daddy to see us together.”
    “Can I give you some friendly advice? You know, since we’re friends now.”
    Channie lifted her eyebrows.
    “Other kids might tease you if they hear you call your parents Momma and Daddy.”
    “Well, they can just kiss my lily white ass. I don’t care what they think.” The sudden tightness in her chest and flush of heat creeping up her neck did not support her vehement declaration.
    “Good for you.” Josh yanked the front wheel of his bicycle off the ground and grinned at Channie as he rode beside her. “I think we’re going to be great friends.”
    Channie thought so too. She couldn’t keep from grinning back at him. “Now, can I ask you something? You know, since we’re friends.”
    Josh laughed and nodded his head. “Sure, ask me anything.”
    “Why are you friends with Eric?”
    “I’ve known Eric Rickmond since grade school. We’re more friends out of habit than any thing else. He’s a jock and I’m...not. ”
    Josh slammed the front tire of his bicycle back down onto the concrete path. “BMX racing may be an Olympic