Read Online Withholding Secrets by Diana Fisher - Free Book Online Page B

was a different story. The only thing wrong with that conclusion was the fact that the pain was deep in Keri’s eyes—pain she was trying to mask. Maybe there was a stronger force that had her under control. Seeing that she was so young, she could just be the decoy to hide something that someone else was doing. But, that just wasn’t sitting right either. Keri was a different story. A complete different story. She was angry and scared, just as the two kids were. As much as she wanted to hide it, everything was clearly passing through the shades.
    Looking out to the ice, she forced a smile to her face as she waved while watching the two. “I figured that I would pick you both up so you didn’t have to walk.”
    My heart slammed hard, skidding across my chest and knocking into my lung filled with air. Walk? Though Jordan would stay with Sky, I had no clue as to how far away Keri lived with the kids, or anything about them.
    And today’s news report on the missing pre-teen aged girl was still in the back of my mind. It was the first missing child case in the county in the past fifty years. Our neck of the woods was pretty vigilant on watching out for abductors, especially with the teenage girl abductions around the country at an all-time high. Young girls about Sky’s age were the targets, and there was rarely any chance of getting the girls back before they were killed and dismembered.
    Though the missing girl on the news at noon wasn’t anything like Sky, Jordan and Keri needed to be on high alert just in case.

Chapter 8
     
     
    Jordan and Sky were proudly working at the rink, and enjoying their time there; Jordan handing out and taking care of the equipment, and Sky with taking notes for the coach. After Jordan’s Saturday afternoon practice, I wanted to get Sky into that larger room upstairs so that she had more room, but I would need some help from Jordan to move some things around.
    “I can’t do this.” Sky groaned as she cupped her forehead and the tears were on the verge of spilling over. She hadn’t worked on her homework while she was at the rink, because she had given up and started taking notes for Kane. It bothered me at first, but seeing as he was paying her out of his pocket, I wasn’t too upset. Still, I would have to remind him that her schoolwork came first—what she could do without help, at least.
    “What’s the problem?” I checked the jar sauce to make sure that it wasn’t boiling before I turned to the two kids working at the kitchen table on their homework. The past couple of weeks had been pretty tense with the kids in school and falling into a routine, but they were actually getting more comfortable around the house.
    “Like you know this stuff.” Jordan hissed a little as he put his pen down on his notebook.
    “Try me.” Leaning against the counter, I listened to her rattle off the algebra problem. “Once more.” She repeated it. Nodding, I pressed my lips together and shrugged. “Once more.”
    “Come on, Sky. She doesn’t—”
    I said the answer, making them both look at me. “Hit me again with another one.”
    She gave me one that was a little harder.
    “Again.” I listened hard and paid attention to the whole equation. “Once more, Sky.” She said it slowly, and I had it. I spouted off the answer as I looked back at Jordan and smirked.
    Jordan grabbed the book and grumbled. “Try this one.” He read one off. I nodded, and he said it again. When he started with the third time, I gave him the answer. His jaw dropped and he stared at me. “How in the hell did you do that?”
    “It’s easy.” Going to the table, I picked up the pen and turned the notebook to me. “Give me the equation.” I wrote it as he said it. Walking Sky through the problem, I made sure that I went through every step for her to understand how to figure it out.
    “Yeah, but you wrote it here. How did you do that in your head?” Jordan stood as he put his hands on the table top, ready to