Sliding On The Edge Read Online Free

practically left my
skin.
    She pulls to a stop in time
to save my teeth from coming loose and falling into my lap. We’re
in front of a dark red house with white trim that looks like a
squat version of the barn a hundred yards or so behind it. A
cluster of trees shades the truck and I look up, wondering what
happens when one of those suckers falls. I’m not used to trees that
big . They look like they might reach down
to nab me by the back of the neck when I walk underneath. In Vegas
big trees are edged in blinking neon. Guys hose the dust off and
change the bulbs. I’d like to see anyone try to dust one of these
giant mutants. There’s a fenced area in
front of the house with three naked sheep nosing the grass while a
white, ragged-looking dog roams behind their bare backsides. The
dog, tongue out in a summer pant, turns to look at us, then trots
over and thumps his tail against Kay’s leg when she steps out of
the truck.
    Kay strokes his head and he wags his
tail so hard, his whole body sways side to side. “This is Buster.
Buster, Shawna.”
    A man sitting on the front porch
waves, sets aside his newspaper, and comes down the steps. His
knees point in opposite directions, and his legs form an arch big
enough for a Volkswagen to drive through.
    “ That’s Kenny. He works for
me.” Kay slams the cab door.
    “ This her?” The old man
spits to the side and wipes his mouth with the back of his
hand.
    “ Yep,” she says.
    “ You got suitcases to carry
inside?” he asks.
    “ No. She travels light. Come
on inside, Shawna. Are you hungry?”
    I shrug.
    Her lips pull up tight in a bundle and
she gives me a look.
    What did I do? What didn’t
I do?
    “ Well, let’s go see what
we’ve got anyway,” she says.
    Inside, the house is cool, but I can
tell by the way it feels that she doesn’t have air conditioning. By
two, the furniture is going to melt in this place. Even Tuan’s dump
had air, well, it did most of the time. But this house is way
bigger than anything I’ve lived in besides the Casino Royale, which
I kind of consider mine because I eat there a lot and use the
restrooms—those marble columns and gold faucets are the
best.
    “ You want a ham sandwich?”
Kay stands in front of the open fridge.
    I shrug. “I guess.”
    “ Milk?”
    I shrug.
    She turns and, uh-oh, she’s bunched
her lips again.
    “ Do me a favor. Don’t shrug
all the time, like nothing matters.”
    “ Sure,” I say, before I
realize my shoulders are heading north to my ears.
    Man, having a grandmother
is way different than I’d imagined. Come to think of it, I never
did imagine a grandmother. I’d thought about having a dog once, but
Tuan told me he’d eat it if I brought one into his apartments.
That’s something else I never imagined, eating a dog.
Gag .
    But now that I study her face, I’m
thinking maybe that would be easier than getting used to living
with a grandmother like this one. It’s kind of like getting a
computer or software without a manual, you know?
     
     

Chapter 6
    Shawna
     
    I’m concentrating on keeping my
shoulders still. When I shrug it makes Granny go sour, and I don’t
want her pissed from the get-go. Since she hasn’t handed me a
user’s manual, I’ve decided to make one up. Entry #1 under Getting
Started: No Shrugging.
    Kay gives me a quick tour of her place
and lets me wash up. I’m not used to so many rooms. I’m thinking I
need a map, but I find my way back to the kitchen and sit at the
table. I know I’m in a way different world already because the legs
on this table are even. I don’t have to stick a matchbook under one
to keep the milk from sloshing over.
    I chew on a ham sandwich while Kay and
Kenny talk about things I’ve never heard of before, like tacks and
soapy saddles.
    I can tell the two of them are close.
Every once in a while, when Kay is going on about some horse, the
old man’s eyes go kind of soft. He loves my grandmother, I’m pretty
sure. But I can tell it’s a