Read Online Last Stand by Niki Burnham - Free Book Online

kind of person other people like to be around. That’s rare. Who else do you know at West Rollins with no enemies?
     
    Amber might be an enemy now, not that I’m going to point it out. “So why do I feel like there’s a big ‘but’ that comes after your nice guy statement?”
     
    “Oh, probably because there is.” She shrugs. “I’m not sure being the nice guy always makes
you
happy. I bet you’d help Keira even if she didn’t pay you.”
     
    “She’s my sister.”
     
    “Doesn’t matter. Remember back when we were in fourth grade together?”
     
    “Yeah. So?” Her peanut episode will ensure I never forget fourth grade.
     
    “You were always the first person to volunteer to help the teacher with stuff. Or to help other kids with their assignments. You’re a pleaser.”
     
    “Gee, thanks, Dr. Phil.”
     
    “Eww. Now you’re not being nice at all!” She shudders. “What I’m saying, though, is that you help out no matter what. It’s just who you are. Keira’s lucky to have you for a brother, and you’re lucky she never takes advantage of that. A lot of girls would take advantage of a guy like you. Especially girls who are serious attention junkies. They know you’re the guy who’s going to give them their fix, and that makes you a target.”
     
    “Can I go now, or do you get to berate me a little longer as payment for the ride?” I can’t help but grin at her. Ginger Grass, amateur psychologist. Who knew?
     
    She swoops a hand toward the sidewalk. “You’re free to go. Just lookin’ out for you is all.”
     
    I flick the ribbon that holds the crystal on her rearview mirror. “You keep it quiet that I’m a nice guy and I’ll keep it quiet that you have the world’s most hideous name.”
     
    “Deal.”
     
    I thank her for the ride, then hop out of the car. She pulls a quick U-turn, and I wave as she heads off, presumably toward her own house. I wonder where she lives. Not Rocky Knolls, since she was never on my bus when we were kids. Funny that she knew I lived there. Huh.
     
    My cell phone pings in my pocket. I pull it out, wondering if Amber’s going to do a one-eighty and apologize, or if she’s calling to rant at me some more. Instead, it’s a text from Griff:
     
hey toby where r u…u missed c-c
     
    I text back that I had to skip—I’ll give him the details later—and that I’m standing in front of Fair Grounds. A few seconds later, I have a reply:
     
stay put…getting ride
     
    I let him know I’ll be inside. I open the door to the shop, expecting to see one of the morning girls, but Keira’s manning the counter alone, just as she would on any other weekday afternoon.
     
    “Where’s Stewie?” I ask after she finishes with a customer.
     
    “Home napping. Mom told me she’d cover.” At my look of surprise, Keira adds, “I know, I know. But she insisted. I figured just this once I could accept her help.”
     
    “Speaking of which—”
     
    “Go home, Toby!” She grabs a large bag of coffee beans and refills the grinder. “Isn’t it enough that you got up in the middle of the night with Stewie? I swear, he yelps, you run. That boy’s no dummy; he knows who’ll bend over backward to make him happy.”
     
    Did I just have this conversation with Ginger, or what?
     
    “He was wet,” I argue.
     
    She reseals the coffee bag and puts it away. “I figured that much out when I saw his pajamas. But you could’ve gotten me when you heard him cry. And you definitely didn’t need to take him to your room when he pulled his fussy routine on you.”
     
    “How’d you know he was in my room?” I put the kid back in his room just before Keira got out of bed. I was wide awake, so I decided to clean up the crib.
     
    “When I got him this morning, he said” —she waves her arms in reenactment— “‘Mama, Mama, I sleep Unnca Tobeeeeee!”
     
    Busted.
     
    “Go home,” Keira tells me. “Take a nap, do your homework. You’ve helped me enough