Once Dead Twice Shy Page 0,28

that frightened look. Pulling himself straight, he exhaled. "Sounds like his guardian angel was working overtime."

A glowing ball of light zipped into the room. "You got that right, baby cakes," Grace said, her glow lost as she hovered in a sunbeam. "I'm not even supposed to be guarding him, but Madison's not nice to me, and he is. Gave me a bell to sit in and everything."

I glanced at her voice, seeing the backyard behind her and the hedge that Mrs. Walsh somehow saw around, over, or through. "He's really a good driver, Dad," I said. "Wears his seat belt and everything."

My dad laughed, his hand landing on my shoulder again before it dropped away. "I know your mother gave you a lot more freedom - "

"Not really," I interrupted, recalling her strict rules and early curfews, demands that I be proper and respectable like her when all I wanted to do was be myself.

"Call me next time you want to have friends over, okay?"

He turned me around, and together we started back to the kitchen. "I'm sorry; I will." I'd apologized, stated my case without whining - much - and he'd accepted that. I was getting better at this responsibility thing.

"Did you get enough to eat?" he said as we entered the kitchen, and I nodded.

Josh was on his cell phone, and seeing us, he said, "Bye," and closed it. I had a moment of worry that he might be talking to his buddies about that "weird chick Madison," but then dismissed it when he smiled at me. Cripes, he had a nice smile. Better yet, he believed me. It was as if a weight had been lifted. I wasn't alone anymore.

"Thanks for bringing Madison home," my dad said, and I felt better. He liked him, too.

Josh seemed to get that I wasn't in trouble, and he found a more relaxed position. "It wasn't a problem," he said, fiddling with his glass. "Right on the way home."

"On the way home from what?" my dad asked as he got the iced tea out of the fridge.

I hesitated. I hadn't told my dad I was going to the school today.

"School," Josh said, adjusting his glasses and clearly curious to hear the excuse I was going to give my dad for being there. "The track team is running tomorrow at the carnival, so we had a practice. Would you like to sponsor me? It's a dollar per circuit."

"Sure. Put me down," he said, hunched over as he rummaged in the dishwasher for a glass. I winced, remembering I was supposed to empty it this morning. "You're not a long-distance runner, are you?" he asked with mild worry, clearly thinking big bucks out of his wallet.

"No. I'm a miler."

My dad smiled as he poured his tea. I was starting to wish he would go away. I had things to do. People to save.

"Madison, you didn't tell me you were going to do anything for the carnival."

"Uh..." I scrambled for an answer, thinking. "I thought I could, uh, take pictures. But it's a stupid idea."

"No it's not," Josh said, and I could've smacked him. "People love that kind of stuff."

I gave him a look that said to shut up, then smiled when my dad turned from closing the fridge. "Who'd pay for a picture they can't see and won't get until two days later?" I protested.

My dad was nodding, but not in agreement with me. I'd seen that thoughtful expression on him before, and he leaned against the counter with his drink and crossed his ankles. "If that's all you need, I'll get you one of those printers that lets you do it right there," he said, and my stomach dropped. "You give them a ticket, and they pick it up before they leave."

"Really?" I said with forced enthusiasm. Maybe I could call my boss at the flower shop and offer to come in tomorrow to get out of it.

"Sure," he said, then shoved his glasses back up his nose. "I almost got you one for your birthday, but I wanted you to have a better camera first."

I thought of my new camera up on my dresser, used mostly for taking shots of my flashy new wardrobe my dad had gotten me and e-mailing them to Wendy. She'd probably die when she saw the picture of my skull-and-crossbones sneakers. "Thanks, Dad," I said, giving him a pained look, trying to tell him I wanted to be alone with Josh. "I'll talk to someone about