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

wiggles on its own while the lizard escapes. I’m careful not to catch the tail under my heel.
    â€œYuck,” Sophie says, then leans over and inspects my scarf. “Good job.”
    â€œThanks.” I glance over at hers, which is a good foot longer than mine. “I’ve just been kind of busy.” With Tara. Suddenly, I’m aching to tell her about Tara, how pretty she is and how wise she seems. But I know how to keep a secret. Instead, I say, “We’re getting ready for Taste of Hope.”
    She takes on a look of recognition. “Oh! You mean that big festival on July Fourth?”
    â€œYeah!” I’m pleased she knows about it.
    â€œI can’t wait to go! It sounds like fun!”
    She knits without looking. I watch as a whole row comes out of nowhere.
    â€œYou know,” I say, considering her speed, “I’ve got to help assemble favors for The Meriwether.” I get a big boost in my allowance because there’s so much work to do. Usually, Dad lets me pay the boys to help, but having people around my age to help with the work is even better. So I say very casually, “I could use another employee.”
    She stops knitting. “You mean me? I would get paid?”
    Enthusiasm is a quality I like in my employees. “You could help me hand them out at Taste of Hope too.”
    All the restaurants and boutiques around here have booths where they give stuff away. It’s fun because The Meriwether puts up a booth and I get to pass out free samples of our food. We also have brochures, but I like passing out the food better because when you hand someone a flyer, they don’t really care, but when you hand them some food, they are always happy.
    Sophie’s whole face lights up. “That sounds like fun!”
    â€œIt is!” I tell her how we’ll get to wear waitress uniforms and have our hair all fancy, and we’ll still get to go around and get stuff from the other booths. “People come from all over the country for this,” I say. “Everyone turns out.”
    â€œI wonder if Chase will go,” she says.
    I’m glad I don’t like a boy. It seems to control all your thoughts.
    The glider sways back and forth. Absentmindedly, I say, “I wonder where his mom is.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œI mean, first he told me she was visiting other people; then he told me she was gone, like disappeared or something.”
    Sophie stops knitting. “Disappeared? Like, what do you mean?”
    I shrug. “I don’t know. He sort of got mad at me when I tried to ask him.” It can’t be good, though. And it sinks in now that maybe this was a secret. Me and my big mouth.

21
    Chase

    I’m encrusted with salt and I smell like a fish, but I am happy.
    Today Dad and I drove to St. Pete to explore the area and ride in something called a Duck. It’s this bus that takes you on a tour of the city. The driver talks about the history of the area, and then all of a sudden the bus splashes into the water and you’re sailing!
    By now, the sun was setting and Dad was gazing off into the distance, looking all writerly. I could practically read his thoughts: The breeze washed the man and his son in the scent of the bay . Coloring the sky in hues of orange and watermelon red, the sun melted into the horizon, leaving the father and his boy in awe at such glory. Dad had his head in his camera bag when I saw a black fin circle out of the water behind the boat.
    Shark!
    â€œFolks, if you look behind us, you’ll see we’ve got some dolphin friends.”
    Okay, dolphins! The crowd gasped, and lucky for me and Dad, we were sitting in the last row. Two dolphins launched out of the water and nose-dived back in. Everyone broke into applause. Then they loop-de-looped across the surface—real dolphins! Click, whir; click, whir —the sound of Dad’s camera, capturing it all.
    My skin