Read Online Follow the Stars Home by Luanne Rice - Free Book Online Page A

the one to win. That Dianne had stayed with Alan, never married Tim at all.
Things that Alan wished himself.
Amy came home from school early. Her mother was in bed, and her mother's boyfriend, Buddy, was rehearsing with his band. They were in someone's garage down the street, and Amy could hear the ugly metal sound. Who wanted to make music that sounded like train wrecks? But the good news was, he was busy and she would hear if he stopped playing.
The shades were pulled down, but spring sunshine outlined the window frames like square halos. Emptied beer bottles gave off their usual fragrance. Amy walked through the dark room with a can of pine-scented air freshener, spraying full blast. She thought of brooks and forests, hoot owls and whippoorwills. Peeking into her mother's room, she saw her mother lying under the blankets.
“Mama?” Amy whispered.
Her mother didn't move. Thick curtains were pulled over venetian blinds, so the air was dark and heavy as brown corduroy. It was stiflingly hot, and Amy resisted the impulse to throw open the window. She knew her mother needed her rest. Wanting company, she went back to the living room.
“Hi, puppy,” she said, falling on her knees before the dog cage.
The young dog bared his teeth, growling and cowering in the back of the cage. Buddy, training him to be a guard dog, had named him Slash, but there was no way on earth Amy would ever call him that.
“I'm your friend,” she said.
“Grrrr.”
“You don't believe me?” Amy ran to the kitchen and came back with two slices of American cheese-even Buddy wouldn't miss two little slices. Breaking them up into small pieces, she placed one near the front of the cage.
“Grrr,” the dog growled. Amy thought back to an early time in Dr. McIntosh's office. Amy had been scared-she had had a sore throat, burning like fire, and a fever of one hundred and four. She had been so afraid to open her mouth. Dr. McIntosh hadn't rushed her at all, just won her over slowly with a lollipop, a story about dolphins, and his gentle voice.
“I'm your friend, puppy,” Amy said, trying to imitate Dr. McIntosh's voice. And it was working, because soon the small black dog began creeping forward. Both eyes on Amy, he inched ahead.
It took ten whole minutes, but the little dog finally took the cheese. Then another piece, and another. Very carefully Amy unlatched the metal door. The hinges squeaked, and the dog scurried back. But Amy just kept putting out cheese, and the little guy came up to eat it all. Soon he was eating out of her hand. His coat was bristly and warm, and he had that baby-animal smell that made Amy wish she were a dog.
“The music!” Amy said, realizing one second too late that it had stopped.
“What's going on here?” Buddy asked, standing in the door.
Amy tried to shield the dog from his sight. The room was so dark, even with the window halos, he might not be able to see. The little dog could crawl back into his lair, and everyone would be safe. Amy lay full-length in front of the cage, praying for the dog to retreat.
“Nothing,” Amy said. “How was band practice?”
“Lousy. I broke a string, and our bassist had to get to work. What—”
“You sounded great,” Amy said, her heart pounding. Reaching behind her, she tried to shove the puppy back.
“You heard us?”
“Yes. Even with a broken string, you play the best. Who's that famous guy, the one Mom listens to-not James Taylor, the other one …”
“Eric Clapton?”
“Yes! You play better than him.”
“Huh,” Buddy said. No one could get more out of the word “huh” than Buddy. Coming from his string-thin lips, he could make the word sound like a ton of cement falling from the Empire State Building. But just then he made it sound like an expression of wonderment. When Ponce de León had emerged from the hot jungle to find the Fountain of Youth his “huh” had sounded just like Buddy's.
“Much better,” Amy said warmly, her chest cracking with anxiety. The puppy