Read Online Curiosity Killed the Cat by Sierra Harimann - Free Book Online Page B

but net, baby!”
    Then he turned and noticed Hannah standing at the end of the driveway. Hannah recognized him immediately. This time, he was the one whose cheeks turned tomato red.
    “Oh, hey,” Ryan mumbled. “Did you see that?”
    Hannah couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah,” she said. “Nice shot.”
    “Er, I meant my victory dance,” he said. Even the tips of his ears were pink.
    Hannah laughed. “Yup, saw that, too. It was very, uh, original.”
    Ryan laughed. “Have you met my sister, Taylor?” He pointed to the girl who was now holding the basketball. She had short blond hair, a big smile, and she looked a lot like a female version of Ryan.
    “Hi,” Hannah said, looking from one to the other. “Are you —”
    “Twins?” Taylor finished. “How could you tell?”
    Suddenly, Ryan took in Hannah’s scraped palms, skinned knee, and dirty T-shirt.
    “Whoa, Hannah, what happened?” he asked, a concerned look on his face. “Are you okay?”
    Hannah glanced down at her clothes. Her shirt was torn and muddy, and her palms were speckled with bloody scratches. She suddenly remembered how she had ended up at Ryan and Taylor’s house.
    “Oh, yeah,” she replied. “I was just going for a hike behind my house, and I tripped and fell. And I, uh, also got a little turned around. That’s how I ended up here.”
    “Do you want to clean your hands and put on some bandages?” Taylor asked. “Our mom’s a nurse, so she’s good at this kind of stuff. Come on.”
    Hannah followed Taylor into the house, where Taylor and Ryan’s mom kindly cleaned her palms and knee and put gauze and medical tape over the cuts and scrapes.
    “There you go,” Mrs. Walsh said sweetly as she secured the last piece of tape. “Good as new.”
    “Thanks so much,” Hannah said. “Do you mind if I use your phone and call my dad? He’s probably wondering where I am.”
    “Of course not,” Mrs. Walsh said. “There’s a phone in the kitchen. And when you’re done, you’re welcome to stay for lunch.”
    Hannah’s stomach rumbled loudly at the word “lunch.” It seemed like it had been ages since she had packed a sandwich and apple and taken them out into the cemetery that morning. She realized she was ravenous.
    “That sounds great,” Hannah agreed.
    After a lot of explaining, Hannah hung up with her dad. At first, he had been angry that she had gone for a hike on her own, but she explained that she hadn’t meant to go so far, and she hadn’t meant to get so turned around either. She hadn’t mentioned the cat at all — she knew her dad wouldn’t believe her even if she had. Finally, he had let her go when she promised Taylor or Ryan would walk her home after lunch.
    Ryan came into the kitchen just as Hannah was hanging up the phone.
    “There’s a peanut butter, banana, and jelly sandwich out on the porch with your name on it,” he told her.
    “Mmmm, that sounds so good!” Hannah said as she followed him outside.
    Ryan poured her a glass of lemonade and handed her a plate with a sandwich and a pile of potato chips on it.
    “This sandwich is my specialty,” he said proudly. “Usually I put the potato chips in there, too, for some extra crunch, but Taylor made me leave them out of yours in case you thought that was too weird.” He shot his sister a look.
    “What?” Taylor asked. “It’s gross, Ryan. I like to eat my potato chips on the side, like most people. I thought Hannah might feel the same way.”
    Hannah laughed. “Well, I usually
do
eat my potato chips on their own, but I’ve also never put banana in my PB&J, so I’m willing to give it a try.”
    She pulled off the top piece of bread and added a layer of chips before replacing the bread. Hannah picked the sandwich up and took a big bite. She chewed and crunched thoughtfully before making up her mind.
    “Taylor, I respect your position on keeping the chips out of the sandwich, and thank you for leaving the decision up to me,” Hannah said. “But,