Read Online Trial by Fire by Norah McClintock - Free Book Online

that.
    “It’s not your beach. It’s a public place, just like that conservation area.” I nodded
toward the shore.
    Char lie tapped Mike on the shoulder again. “Ahem.”
    Mike spun around. “I told you to buzz off.”
    I’m not one hundred percent sure what happened next because it happened so fast.
But for sure Charlie executed some kind of martial-arts move, and for sure Mike flew
into the air and described a perfect arc before landing flat on his back in the sand.
A collective oooh! went up from the crowd.
    Charlie smiled down at Mike. “How about that?”
    “Nice move,” I said.
    “When there are guys like Mike in this world, and when there are people like me who
are, well, vertically challenged…” He shrugged. “I spent the first year of high school
being shoved into lockers. I got sick of it. So I’ve been taking measures.”
    “And studying hard, I see.” I didn’t really approve of fighting, but it was quite
a move.
    Mike rolled over. Some kids hurried over to him. One of them, I noticed, was Madison.
    “Are you okay, Mike?” she asked.
    A couple of guys helped Mike to his feet. He was seething. He glared at Charlie—and
at me.
    “What’s going on here?” someone—a man—demanded. I didn’t remember seeing him around
the fire.
    “That’s Ed,” Charlie told me. “He’s a park ranger—and a good guy.”
    Ed must have overheard him, because he said, “That’s right, Charlie. I’m a good guy.”
If we’d been standing in daylight instead of the glow of a beach fire, I’m sure I
would have seen Charlie’s cheeks redden. “As long as there’s no trouble on my turf,
that is. No trouble means no fighting.” He looked pointedly at Mike and his friends,
who were lined up in menacing formation. “So again, what’s going on?”
    “She works for Goran,” Mike said, jabbing a thumb at me. Some of the kids who weren’t
part of his posse peered at me with new interest. Some of their faces betrayed disdain.
I was glad Ashleigh wasn’t among that group. Neither was Charlie.
    “I don’t care if she works for the Wicked Witch of the West,” Ed said. “No fighting,
period. If I catch you guys at it again, I’ll shut down your beach parties—for good.
You got that?” He stared at Mike until Mike nodded. Then he turned and looked at
every face in turn. One by one, kids nodded. “Good. And don’t think I won’t be keeping
an eye on you guys.”
    Ed stood where he was until Mike and his buddies backed off to the edges of the crowd.
    “Hey, Madison,” I heard Mike growl. “Did you bring my jacket?”
    Ed watched them for a few moments before melting into the darkness.
    “Is it true?” Ashleigh asked. “Do you work for Goran?”
    “I helped him sell vegetables at the market this morning. Mike and his friends showed
up and destroyed the stall and the produce. What does he have against the Gorans?
What does everyone have against them?”
    “ Them ?” she asked. “There’s more than one?”
    “Mr. Goran’s son is in town. He’s the one I was helping.”
    Ashleigh shook her head. “If you want to fit in around here, maybe you should stay
away from him.”
    “You mean Mike?”
    “I mean Goran. People don’t like him.”
    “ Most people don’t like him,” Charlie corrected. “And even that’s an overstatement.
The Winters and their friends don’t like him.”
    “The Winters?” I said. “There was a Winters Farm stall at the market.”
    Ashleigh nodded. “That’s them.”
    “What do they have against Mr. Goran?”
    “You haven’t heard?”
    “Well, I know Mr. Goran—the father, not the son—bought the farm from Mr. Winters.
And Mr. Winters told Mr. Goran’s son that Mr. Goran stole the farm. But that’s it.”
    “That’s exactly it,” Ashleigh said. “Ted Winters’s family has farmed in this area
since the mid-1800s. Up until two years ago, his father, Clyde, was farming the same
land his great-grandfather cleared and planted way back when. I don’t