Read Online The Summer of Moonlight Secrets by Danette Haworth - Free Book Online

Clay. “She just came out of a secret panel.”
    He cocks an eyebrow at her.
    Opening the bottle, she pours some cleaner on the rag and swipes the brass rail. “Move, please.”
    I lift my hand before she polishes it. “Is there a secret panel down there?” I glance from her to Clay.
    He raises his palms and chuckles. “I’m not saying anything.”
    â€œOkay,” I say, straightening up. “I’ll go find out for myself.” I march away from the desk.
    â€œGet back here!” Allie Jo orders.
    A grin crosses my face, but I wipe it off before I turn around.
    â€œYe-es?” I ask.
    She glances around, furrows her eyebrows, and motions for me to come closer. Taking my time, I swing my arm and whistle. But I can’t wait to hear the secret. I lean on the rail.
    She looks at me and drops her shoulders. “First of all,” she says, “you just messed up my work.”
    â€œOh!” I pop my hand off. Sure enough, my fingerprints stand out on the brass.
    â€œSecond of all, only employees are allowed to know this stuff, so …” She runs her eyes over my cast. “How good are you at polishing brass?”
    â€œDo I get paid?”
    She huffs at me.
    I try to cross my arms, but it doesn’t work so well with the cast. “Employees always get paid.”
    She gives me a hard look. “There’s almost a quarter-mile of brass on this floor. You think you’re up to it?”
    I scoff at her. “Gimme those rags.”
    She pushes a clean rag into my hand. “Employees are usually on a three-week probation,” she says, pursing her lips. “But I’ll let you get by on three days.”
    â€œThree days!”
    She shrugs.
    â€œJust show me what to do,” I say. I don’t mind making some money. Besides, I intend to figure out those panels before three days are up.

20
    Allie Jo

    Even though it’s daytime, the porch behind Dad’s office is shady enough to invite mosquitoes, and they’re needling the heck out of me. I swat one on my shin and my own blood smears on my leg. Blech . I flick the mosquito off and wipe my hand on my shorts.
    Sophie’s fingers fly over her knitting needles; if she goes any faster, smoke will come off them.
    â€œHave you seen Chase today?” she asks, eyes on her knitting.
    I push the glider back and we sway under the fan. “He went somewhere with his dad.” Then I tell her about him working for me yesterday and how he is now an employee but still has two days left of probation.
    She steals a glance at me. “What do you think of him?”
    â€œWell, he’s a pretty good worker, and he’d be even better with two arms, but—” I look at her face. “ Oh! ” I say. “You mean, what do I think of him, right?”
    She bites her lip and grins.
    A smile plays on my mouth. “Okay …” I wonder if I should tell her that I think he likes her too, which I’m almost positive he does, but since I haven’t discussed it with him, it’s sort of a secret. “Yeah, he’s pretty cool.”
    â€œAnd cute!” she bursts out. We both laugh for a moment before getting lost in thought.
    One thing I love about this porch is that the jacaranda tree has decorated the ground with orchid petals. Dark green azalea bushes encircle the trunk, but they already bloomed in spring; now they’re setting their buds for next year.
    â€œ Eew! ” Sophie snatches her feet up onto the swing.
    I inspect the floorboards. “Just a lizard. They don’t bite.” He starts his lizard push-ups.
    â€œWhat’s he doing?”
    She seems so grossed out. It makes me think of Melanie and her trick and I laugh out loud. “He’s showing off, like this is his territory.”
    I slam one foot onto the floor and he scurries away. They’re especially gross if you accidentally snap off their tail and the tail just