Losing Francesca Read Online Free Page A

twists and turns, and then I see the water sparkling in the morning sunlight. When the whole scene finally comes into view I'm surprised that it's pretty.
    I mean, it's Lake Erie .
    "It's so pretty here, isn't it?" Angela asks, like she's reading my mind. Or maybe she's just reading my expression, because I'm actually smiling.
    " Molto bene, si. "
    The horse is nowhere to be found and I laugh a little as Angela's face contorts into a state of confusion. "Now where the hell did the filly get to?"
    We search for her. We call her name—which is stupid because Angela just calls her 'girl', so I have to call her ' ragazza' , and I'm pretty sure she has no idea her name is 'girl' let alone ' ragazza' —so the whole thing is pointless.
    After about thirty minutes of peeking through undergrowth and walking into the forest at different points in the meadow, we give up and head back. Angela is convinced she's been stolen and she's about to call the police on her cell phone when we hear a snort through the trees.
    The face that greets us is so beautiful I almost moan. The filly is not just another horse, she is stunning. Almost white, but you can tell she was born darker because the gray still shows through as a dapple pattern across her back. She is silver.
    "There you are, you silly girl." Angela starts through the saplings with the halter but the filly bolts, picking her way through the undergrowth like she's some sort of ballerina dancing across a studio.
    Angela lets out a frustrated moan and then turns to me. "I probably need help. I'll talk to Sean and see if he can't come up with a better way to get her home because she doesn't seem to be interested in being caught. We'll have to find a way to persuade her, I guess."
    I follow Angela back through the trees, across the dirt road—staring at the spot where I saw the dirt bike boy—and then we're back in the bustle of the farm.
    I sigh. I prefer the woods, actually.

Chapter Four - Brody

    I'm still thinking about that girl in the tree last night when my teen brothers wander into my garage. "Get the fuck out."
    I don't yell it, but they step outside anyway, and then just stand there. I can still see their feet.
    "What?" I ask, rolling out from under the Jeep. "I'm busy, so if you're gonna come in here and bug the shit out of me, you better tell me what's on your mind or I'll kick both your asses for being pests."
    They don't budge, just stand there, half looking at me, half looking at each other. Like they got caught doing something and don't want to share.
    "I swear, if you guys are in trouble and I have to call Renn on his business trip, I'll kick your asses twice."
    "Uh…" Case gives it a try first, since he's older. "I was over visiting Lindsey and—"
    Lindsey. I lose track of what he's saying because that girl from the tree is in my head again. Her eyes. They were like the moon. I can't shake her off for some reason.
    I realize I just missed everything Case said. "What?"
    "Fiona."
    My stomach twists at the name. " What ?" I say again.
    "She's back," Park says.
    We stare at each other.
    "Back?"
    "She's back home. At the Sullivans' house. I saw a girl coming out of the woods with Angela, and we were talking to Jake and Quinn and they said she's Fiona."
    "Fiona. As in I've-been-missing-for-twelve-years Fiona?"
    "That'd be the one," Case says.
    "What's she look like?" My heart is beating so fast I can barely breathe. In fact, if I don't get up off this creeper I think I might pass out. I push off the undercarriage and slide out on the smooth concrete floor, then get to my feet and stand still as I deal with the blood rushing to my head.
    "Long brown hair, tall and thin. She's real pretty, actually."
    "Looks kinda like those pictures you see of her at the library bulletin board, except older, of course," Park offers.
    "What about her eyes?" I ask.
    "Gray," they say together.
    "Like a weird gray color, like silver almost," Case says. "I could see them from across the parking