The Silent Waters Read Online Free Page B

me, but even after I apologized to her, she still didn’t want to be my maid of honor, so I had to sneak off on my own to go meet Brooks in the woods. I skipped down the streets of the neighborhood, taking in the perfectly mowed lawns and perfectly planted flowers. Harper County was a small town where everyone knew everyone, so it wouldn’t be long before Mama got a call saying so-and-so saw me skipping down the street alone. Therefore, I had to be quick.
    Just not too quick, because I always had to stop on the corner of my block, look both ways down the road, then cross the street to Mrs. Boone’s house. Mrs. Boone’s lawn was the complete opposite of everyone else’s. She had flowers growing everywhere, with no kind of order at all. Yellow roses, lavender, poppies—you named a flower, and it was probably growing in Mrs. Boone’s yard.
    Nobody ever bothered stopping by the old lady’s house. Everyone called her rude, grumpy, and standoffish. Mostly she sat alone on her front porch, swaying back and forth in her rocker, mumbling to herself as her cat, Muffins, rolled around in the yard.
    My favorite time of the day was when Mrs. Boone went inside to make herself some tea. She drank more tea than anyone I’d ever seen. One day Cheryl and I watched her from across the street and were blown away by the number of times Mrs. Boone left her rocker and came back with a cup of tea.
    Whenever she disappeared into the house, I’d sneak into her front yard, which was guarded by a white picket fence. I’d smell as many flowers as possible then roll around in the high grass with Muffins.
    That night, I hurried into her yard, because I didn’t have much time before I had to meet Brooks.
    “Hey! Eric’s girl! Get off my lawn!” Mrs. Boone hissed, pushing open her screen door with a cup of tea. I’d told her my name hundreds of times, but she refused to ever acknowledge it.
    “Maggie,” I said, standing up and holding a purring Muffins in my hands. “My name is Maggie, Mrs. Boone. Maggie .” I said it slow and loud the second time, to make sure she understood.
    “Oh, I know who you are, you little rascal! Now get away from my flowers and my cat!”
    I ignored her. “Gee, Mrs. B, you got the prettiest flowers I’ve ever seen in your yard. Did you know that? My name’s Maggie, again, just in case you forgot it. You can call me Maggie May if ya want. A lot of my family calls me that. Speaking of family and flowers, I thought I might ask…do you think I can borrow some of your flowers for my wedding tomorrow?”
    “Wedding?” she huffed, narrowing her eyes, which were covered in too much makeup. Mama always said less was more. Mrs. Boone obviously said the opposite of that. “Aren’t you a bit young to be getting married?”
    “Love knows no age, Mrs. B.” I reached for a poppy, picked it, and placed it behind my ear as Muffins leaped out of my arms.
    “Pick one more flower and you’ll never be able to pick another thing in your life,” she warned, giving me a grumpy frown.
    “I’ll even toss in some ice cream for the flowers, Mrs. B! I can pick them all now, so you won’t have to worry about—”
    “ Leave! ” she shouted, her voice sending chills down my spine. I stood up straight, my eyes wide with panic and stepped backward.
    “Okay. Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be passing by tomorrow, too, before the wedding. You can even come if you want. It will be between the two twisty trees in the woods at five tomorrow night. Mama’s making cake, and Dad’s making punch. You can bring Muffins, too! Bye, Mrs. B! See you tomorrow!”
    She grumbled some more as I hurried out of her yard, picking two yellow roses to take with me. I skipped along and waved goodbye to the grumpy lady who probably wasn’t really grumpy, but just liked to live up to the rumors her neighbors made up.
    The closer I got to the twisted trees, the more my heartbeat increased. Each breath was filled with more and more urgency,