Cool Shade Read Online Free

but didn't surprise her. Enid had never been afraid of anything. She hadn't been out of grade school when she started smoking.
    "Come on. Try it. Take a puff," she'd dared Maddie.
    Maddie had reluctantly sampled the cigarette. A Kool. Ten minutes later, she was throwing up and Enid was laughing at her.
    Enid quickly went from cigarettes to drinking. Then drugs. Then sex. Like it was nothing. Like losing her virginity was something she had to get done and out of the way so she could get down to the real nitty-gritty.
    Anything dangerous, anything off limits, anything bad, Enid tried it.
    No, now that Maddie thought about it, prostitution was exactly something Enid would do.
    Maddie continued to thumb through the book, the only thing keeping her from feeling guilty was knowing Enid would have done the same to her without a qualm.
    More about the same guy. She really had it bad for him.
    I must be the only person in town who didn't know about Eddie Berlin, about his being crazy and all.
    Eddie Berlin.
    Why did that name sound familiar?
    They say he hasn't left his property in four years. That's crazy. No wonder none of the other girls wanted to go on the call, no wonder they left him for me. Lucky me.
    When he smiled his slow smile—God. My legs went weak. My stomach hit the ground. And in that second, I was afraid. I mean, what if I fell for him?
    Another entry:
    I just couldn't stay away. He lives so rustically. It should really be a turnoff, because I hate that stuff. I really do. Give me good old concrete under my feet. Give me the sound of traffic. He really flips my switch. I just have to look at him to get horny. I don't know what it is. Maybe because he's so aloof. Maybe I want to know what it would be like to drive him crazy, to make him come undone. I'd like for him to look at me and really see me. I'd like to be the one to drive him wild.
    Another page:
    He told me not to come back! I can't believe it! No guy has ever told me not to come back! I hate him! Hate him!
    A woman scorned. And not just any woman. Enid.

Chapter 4
    Don't Follow
    Maddie sank her teeth into her third slice of homemade bread. At the same time, she looked across the table to see Evelyn eyeing her with amazement and possibly a little disgust.
    "Your sister was a good eater, too," was Evelyn’s blunt observation.
    The bread stuck halfway down, bringing Maddie to the realization that she'd been putting away food like a sumo wrestler.
    A curse.
    "The people in my family have always had a high metabolic rate." Her father used to say that their engines ran a little faster, but they weren't as fuel efficient.
    Maddie swallowed. "This is wonderful. I don't know when I last had a home-cooked meal."
    "More applesauce?"
    "Why not?"
    When she was finished eating, Maddie patted her mouth with her napkin. "I'd better get back and check on my cat."
    "You have a cat?"
    "Is that a problem?" Maddie certainly hoped so. Maybe Evelyn would be willing to box up Enid's stuff after all.
    "I don't much care for animals," the older woman explained. "They make messes."
    Maddie picked a few long black cat hairs from the front of her T-shirt. "Don't we all."
    "Well, just don't let it mess on the carpet."
    Oh, that kind of mess. "He's litter-trained." Maddie didn't think it was necessary to mention Hemingway's penchant for gagging up the occasional hairball.
    Maddie got to her feet, thanking Evelyn for the meal. She was reaching for the front door when a photograph on the doily-covered buffet caught her eye.
    She reversed. Slowly, she picked up a framed picture displayed next to one of Evelyn. She stared at the light-haired young man in the photo. "Is this Rick Beck?"
    No answer.
    Maddie swung around. "I could swear…" Her words trailed off, arrested by the sad expression on Evelyn's face.
    "I always called him Ricky."
    "You knew him?"
    Maddie meant no offense to Evelyn, but it was hard to put the two together. Rick Beck, of the deep, passionate, thought-provoking lyrics;