The Stepsister Read Online Free Page A

wind, challenge the rolling, dark waves. Maybe they had done it for the excitement. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
    She remembered Nancy and her mom waving to them from the wooded shore. She remembered them as tiny, light figures against the dark, bending trees. She remembered the roar of the small outboard motor, the bobbing of the boat, the funny weak feeling in her knees. And she remembered how cold it was, the wet spray on her face, her dark hair so wet, flying back against her shoulders, flying in the wind.
    She turned to see her father, who smiled at her, his hand on the control. Drops of water trickled down the front of his blue down vest. She could see them so clearly. The outboard motor roared. The little boat seemed to fly over the tumultuous waters. It was such a wonderful feeling. The two of them were enjoying it so much.
    It all turned to horror so quickly.
    Emily was handing the thermos to her dad. The hotcoffee had tasted delicious. Her hand was wet. The thermos slid away from her, into the water.
    Without thinking, her dad reached for it.
    The wind came up, such a strong, sudden wind.
    It felt as if the world were turning upside down.
    It took a few seconds for Emily to realize that the boat was capsizing.
    The frozen water didn’t make it any more real. It was all like a dream, a strange, frightening dream.
    She remembered thinking, This can’t really be happening.
    She went under. Forcing herself back up to the surface gave her time to realize what was happening.
    â€œDaddy! Daddy—where are you?”
    A wave slapped her hard. She started to choke.
    The overturned boat bobbed a few yards away. She swam for it, was pushed back, swam harder, still sputtering.
    â€œDaddy—where are you?”
    She grabbed the boat. It was so slippery, but somehow she managed to hold on. Another gust of wind sent the waters high. She gripped the boat bottom with both hands.
    â€œDaddy! Daddy!”
    Where was he?
    She turned and looked behind her. She looked all around.
    Was he swimming back toward the island?
    It was a low, dark line against the gray sky.
    â€œDaddy? Where are you, Daddy?”
    He wouldn’t swim away and leave her.
    The island was too far to swim to, especially against the current.
    Where was he?
    She remembered the panic. It filled her chest, made it hard to breathe.
    The panic spread over her entire body, froze her there, clinging hard to the overturned boat.
    It seemed like hours.
    It must have been only seconds.
    And then she saw him.
    He floated slowly past her, face down, his light brown hair floating on the surface of the water like seaweed.

Chapter

3
    Gone Forever
    â€œI ’ve got to get off the phone, Josh. Mom’s calling me down for dinner.” Emily twisted her fingers in the white phone cord. She had been lying on her back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, but now she pulled herself up and prepared to hang up the phone.
    â€œYeah. Okay. Come over later,” she said, hearing water running in the bathroom and figuring it must be Jessie. “But give me time to finish writing my report. I’ve got about another hour to go on it.”
    Josh had already finished the paper he was working on, of course. Mister Super-Speed. If he didn’t finish an assignment two or three days early, he thought he was slipping. It drove Emily crazy. She was a hard worker, but she always had to work right down to the last minute.
    â€œYeah, it’s going pretty well with Jessie,” she said, lowering her voice. “I really can’t talk now. She’s right across the hall in the bathroom. Yeah. Yeah. Wehaven’t really talked much. She’s been so busy getting used to a new school and everything. She’s still real tense. I don’t know if it’s me or what.”
    â€œIt’s definitely you,” Josh said, and then laughed, his silly, high-pitched laugh.
    â€œMaybe she’s just a tense person,” Emily said,