Lovely Shadows Read Online Free Page B

seriously involved, he'd pushed curfew back to supper time. He loved us but he was strict.
    “Who are those from?” Luke asked, coming into the kitchen.
    “A parishioner,” I lied quickly, turning away from him.
    “Yeah, right. I saw Levi delivering them. So are you guys serious or something?”
    I spun around. “You breathe one word...”
    He held up his hands in surrender. “I ain't saying a thing. When Gramps brings the hammer down on you, I get nailed too. My lips are sealed.”
    “Thanks Luke.” I ruffled his hair. “Was Levi here?”
    “Lunchtime, I think.”
    “Cool. I'll call him.”
    I raced up the stairs two at a time. Aidan floated close behind.
    “I think I'm going to go haunt someone else for a while...”
    “You don't have to go.”
    “Yeah, I do. I need to go back to the crash site, see what the cops might have missed.”
    “It's three in the afternoon. Are you going to check on your parents?”
    “I don't think I am ready for that yet.”
    “Let me know what you find,” I said as I dialed Levi's number. He was still in the field when I called. He immediately invited me over to watch movies later that night.
    “Don't think I am going to get naked every time we're together,” I warned.
    “Darn! Well, I guess we should break up then.”
    “Suit yourself...”
    “You know I'm kidding. We'll watch movies. Hell, we can watch birds for all I care. I just want to see you.”
    “I'll be there around seven.”
    “What will you tell your grandfather?”
    “It's Saturday. He'll be so obsessed with tomorrow's message he won't even know I'm gone.”
    “Then I guess it's a date.”
    I hung up then went downstairs to the computer. Grandpa didn't allow us to have computers in our rooms, I think more because of Luke than anything else. Grandpa was afraid Luke would start surfing porn or something. The funny thing was Luke really wasn't interested in girls. Correction: he wasn't interested in any girl except Billie. Luke was only seventeen months younger than me, ten months younger than Billie. I didn't think she realized he had a crush on her. I certainly wasn't telling her. I've told him dozens of times to ask her out. The idea of my best friend and my brother dating didn't creep me out. I had a ghost following me; nothing creeped me out.
    After the computer wheezed to life, I searched the archives once more. Unfortunately, I still couldn't find anything new related to the crash. The investigation closed two weeks after Aidan died. With no witnesses, how were they going to prove otherwise? Somehow, I'd have to convince the police that something suspicious occurred, and I couldn't do that without evidence. So, really, Aidan was no better than when he first started. Hopefully, he'd find something at the crime scene.
    I washed several loads of laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, mopped the floors, and made dinner. Like he always is on Saturday nights, Grandpa was distracted. Luke and I play this game where we try to say something outrageous while being as subtle as possible, just to see if we can get a rise out of Grandpa. So far, neither of us have won. Tonight, Luke was determined to get Grandpa's attention. He held up a steamed baby carrot speared on the end of this fork.
    “Look familiar?” he asked me, wiggling his eyebrows.
    I shook my head. “It should to you, though.”
    “Is Levi's bigger?”
    So Luke wanted to play hardball. “I wouldn't know. You're in the locker room with him.”
    Grandpa's head snapped up. “What about the locker room? Lucas David, are you spreading rumors at school?”
    “No, sir.” Luke dropped his head guiltily.
    “Then what is this locker room talk?”
    “Nothing sir. I asked Jessa about Aaron's new tattoo. She hasn't seen it, but I have because I'm in the locker room with him.”
    I had to give the boy credit—he could lie like the devil.
    Grandpa nodded. “I see. Are tattoos something you're considering?”
    “No sir.”
    “Good.” Grandpa cracked open his