The Shade of the Moon Read Online Free

said, a worried expression on his face.
    Sarah got up laughing. “I’m glad to hear it,” she replied.
    “Jon, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Lisa asked, walking over to the front hallway.
    “Oh yeah,” Jon said. “Lisa, this is Sarah. She’s new at school. Sarah, this is Lisa.
     Lisa Evans. My stepmother.”
    Lisa smiled and extended her hand for Sarah to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Sarah,”
     she said. “Jon’s friends don’t come over nearly enough.”
    “She didn’t come to see me,” Jon said. “She wanted to meet Cowboy Gabe.”
    “It’s time for Cowboy Gabe to go to bed,” Lisa said. “Jon, let him down.”
    “No!” Gabe screamed, but Lisa and Jon ignored him. Jon set him on his feet, and Lisa
     took hold of his hand. Gabe struggled, but Lisa held on and managed to get him upstairs.
    “Gabe’s nanny has a headache,” Jon said. “Lisa always says good night to him, but
     she doesn’t usually have to get him into bed.”
    “I don’t care about Gabe’s nanny,” Sarah said. “I want to talk to you, Jon.”
    “Not here,” Jon said. “We have a garage. Let’s go there.”
    “The garage?” Sarah asked.
    “It’s private,” Jon replied. “I don’t want Lisa to hear us.”
    “You don’t even know what I’m going to say!” Sarah cried.
    “I can guess,” Jon said. “All right?” He walked out the front door, and Sarah followed
     him to the garage.
    “This is awful,” Sarah said. “Has anyone been in here in five years? Can you at least
     turn a light on?”
    “I don’t think there is one,” Jon said. “Just say what you want, Sarah. I’m ready.”
    “Ready for what?” Sarah asked. “Ready to embarrass me some more? I thought you liked
     me. I didn’t invite you to sit with me. Not at lunch, not on the bus. One minute I
     see you; the next minute you’re gone. And the minute after that, you act like I’m
     invisible. You walk right past me like I’m not even there.”
    “I know,” Jon said. “Sarah, I’m sorry. I do like you. I like you more than any girl
     since I moved here. But Zachary, my friend—well we’re on the team together—and the
     thing is you moved into his grandfather’s house. Your dad took his granddad’s job.”
    “Do you know what that man did?” Sarah asked. “What he did to his patients?”
    “No,” Jon said. “I don’t know, and even if you tell me, I won’t believe you. Grubs
     lie, Sarah. They lie all the time. Zach says they lied about his grandfather, and
     I believe him. And my friends believe him. Try to see it from Zach’s point of view.
     His grandfather was forced out of town, and you stole his home.”
    “Daddy didn’t ask for the job,” Sarah said. “And we sure didn’t ask for that house.”
    “Tyler says you were thrown out of your enclave,” Jon said. “That someone pulled strings
     and got your father this job.”
    “My father is a great man,” Sarah said.
    “That’s exactly what Zach says about his grandfather,” Jon replied. “I’d probably
     say it about my dad if he were still around. Sarah, I can’t afford to let Zach hate
     me. Tyler’s on his side, and his father’s on the town board. Lisa’s up for her evaluation.
     I have to protect her.”
    “Do you like them?” Sarah asked. “Zach, Tyler, all of them? Do you even like them?”
    “Yeah,” Jon said. “As it happens, I like them a lot. They’re my friends, Sarah. My
     teammates.”
    “What would I have been?” Sarah asked. “If Tyler and Zach didn’t hate me?”
    Jon reached over and kissed her. Sarah kissed him back, then pulled away.
    “Oh boy,” she said. “Now I see the advantages of this garage.”
    Jon laughed. “I want to see you,” he said. “Just not where it will upset the guys.
     Not until after Lisa’s evaluation.”
    “When is it?” Sarah asked.
    “In a week or two,” Jon said. “Can we keep things quiet until then?”
    Sarah stood there, absolutely still. Jon felt her slipping away. He