Read Online Little Blackbird by Jennifer Moorman - Free Book Online

said.
    He shook his head. “Absolutely not. I only meant that I don’t know how I feel about you being around boys.”
    Kate’s lips parted and she glanced at her mama. “But I’m around boys all the time at school. We’ll be in public, Daddy. Completely out in the open. During daylight .”
    Her daddy and mama looked at each other. Her daddy’s shoulders lifted in question, and her mama nodded. When her daddy picked up his fork and continued eating, Kate unclenched her fingers.
    “Only if your dad drops you off. No riding your bike into town. At least he can see if he approves of the people in the park.”
    Kate sighed. “Mama, you know these kids. They’re not roughnecks.”
    “Are you sure about that?” she asked.
    “Mama,” Kate said with a small groan.
    Her mama stood from the table and filled a plate of eggs and grits for Kate. She slid the plate in front of Kate along with a cup of steaming lavender tea. “Maybe your goodness will rub off on them.”
    “Oh, yeah, I bet they all want to be just like me,” Kate said, stabbing her scrambled eggs with a fork.
    “You’d be surprised.”

    A S KATE AND her daddy neared the park, Kate’s muscles quivered, and she bounced her knees up and down. The blazing August sun beamed off the hood of the car, making it difficult to see anything in front of them. Her daddy turned onto one of the streets that lined the park, and Kate scanned the grassy area for kids her age. She saw a couple of groups of young people sitting on quilts with picnic baskets weighing down the corners. Two young men threw a football back and forth. The ball sailed from Matthias’ hands, and Geoffrey barely shifted his body at all, catching the pass in his long, thin hands. Matthias’ aim was straight.
    An ankle brace replaced Geoffrey’s white cast, and there were no crutches in sight. Geoffrey’s head turned just as their car approached, and his green eyes found hers. She pressed herself back against the seat and stared at him, feeling the energy as it twirled its way up her spine and dispersed throughout her body like a starburst, shaking her like a tuning fork. Geoffrey lifted his hand in a wave before walking toward them.
    Kate’s daddy slowed the car. She felt her heart slipping up toward her throat, and she swallowed, trying to open up the passageway for air. “You can drop me off here,” she said in a breathless voice.
    Her daddy shifted the car into park. She fumbled trying to move out of her seat, and her sweaty fingers slipped off the door handle. She grabbed the plate of lavender cookies her mama made for the picnic, and they tilted in her hand like a seesaw. Her daddy caught them and righted the plate in her hands. His gaze drifted up and out through the windshield.
    “Is that Geoffrey Hamilton?” her daddy asked.
    “Yes, sir,” Kate said. She flung open the door when Geoffrey was halfway to the car. It didn’t look as though Geoffrey had any intentions of stopping and waiting for her to approach him. He was headed straight for them. Her daddy probably doubted that she had any sort of relationship with Geoffrey—even a speaking relationship—and Kate worried Geoffrey would appear too friendly with her.
    “Okay, Daddy, thanks. I’ll see you later.”
    “What time should I pick you up?” he asked.
    Kate paused. She had no idea how long these sort of get-togethers lasted, seeing as how she’d never been to one. Before she could come up with an answer, Geoffrey stood by the car. He grabbed her car door and leaned down to look inside at her daddy. Sweat glistened on Geoffrey’s forehead and neck. His red-striped button down shirt had been rolled up to his elbows.
    “Good afternoon, Mr. Muir,” Geoffrey said. “It’s good to see you.”
    “Good to see you, too, Geoffrey. What time, Kate?”
    Kate glanced at Geoffrey. “How long do you think we’ll—I mean, everyone —will hang?”
    Geoffrey shoved the football beneath one arm and shrugged. “A few hours.”