Gray Moon Rising: Seasons of the Moon Read Online Free

had me going there for a minute.”
    “It gets better. The school counselor said I’ve done so much extra credit that I’ll pass all my classes with A’s, even if I flunk finals!”
    Gwyn flung her hands in the air and gave a whoop. “Damn, boy, you don’t do things halfway! Come here, come here.”
    Seth bent down and let her give him a hug. Her body was frail, but she wasn’t quite as gaunt as she had been around the New Year. Her embrace warmed him in a way that had nothing to do with record highs. He had never been congratulated for good grades before moving in with Gwyn. She made him feel like a superhero.
    “Thank you,” he said, planting a kiss on her temple.
    “Ah, shut up. You’re making me all mushy.” She swatted him on the shoulder. “Get out of here and find something useful to do, Einstein.”
    “You kidding me? I’m not doing anything useful for the next month.” He flopped onto the stool next to her.
    “You’ve still got to finish the year out.”
    “I know, I know.” His smile faded. “Have we gotten any calls today?”
    Gwyn cleared her throat and went back to trimming stems. “Only from folks wanting to see the ranch.”
    It was hard to feel too happy when they hadn’t spoken directly to Rylie in months. She had only called once, all the way back in February, and it was to ask her aunt about how treatments were progressing. She refused to speak to Seth. He did hear from Abel every Monday and Thursday, and he got secondhand updates about Rylie that way, but it wasn’t the same.
    “I still haven’t heard back from any of the universities,” Seth said, which was only fractionally less depressing than his girlfriend’s refusal to speak with him.
    “Bet things are just going slow.”
    Seth bent a flower’s stem in his fingers. “Maybe I’m that terrible. Maybe nobody wants to touch me.”
    Gwyn snorted. “Sure, wonder boy. You and all your perfect grades are so damn offensive that nobody will dare respond to your applications. I’m convinced. Tell you what: I’ll make some calls tomorrow and see what’s going on. All right? But you can’t sit around. I told you to find something useful to do, and I meant it.”
    Seth gave an exaggerated groan. “Fine. How’s the orchard going?”
    “Dunno. You can check on the gardener when the Realtor’s done showing the newest lady around.”
    “Is this one actually going to make an offer?”
    Gwyn shrugged. “Heck if I know. I’ve got plenty else to concern myself with.” She plumped the flowers up and tilted the vase to examine it from another angle. “What do you think? Pretty nice, huh?”
    “It’s… flowery.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Get outside.”
    Seth drained his glass of water, put it in the sink, and headed outside. He grabbed one of Gwyn’s spare hats on the way out and checked the weeds sprouting next to the steps. He had sprayed weed killer on them twice, but they kept coming back. Pulling them would be productive, but it was way too hot.
    Plopping the straw fedora on his head, he stretched out on the hood of the Chevelle. The glass was warm beneath his back as he reclined on the windshield. It would be a great time for a nap.
    But he didn’t close his eyes. He tipped his hat down to shade his face and leaned around to grab his binder from the passenger’s seat. Seth flipped it open to blank piece of paper and chewed on his pen for a minute before writing.
    Rylie,
    Spring’s here. You’d like it. There’s flowers blooming, and Gwyn’s on a cleaning frenzy. Getting stuff done makes her so happy.
    And you know, graduation is coming up. I’ve got such good grades that I’m definitely walking even if I blow my finals. It’s hard to believe I made it. I didn’t think I ever would. But even though I’m getting ready to graduate, it’s not as good as I expected.
    Not without you…
    Feet crunched on the dirt. Seth pushed the brim of his hat back to watch the Realtor return to her car. The prospective buyer was hidden