Don't Die Dragonfly Read Free Page B

to—want to get to know you.”
    “Well … that would be cool.”
    “Are you doing something later this week? Want to see a movie?”
    Did I ever! Of course, I didn’t say this; instead, I kept my dignity and answered simply, “Sure.”

A date!
    Penny-Love nearly choked on her pompoms when I told her. After school, the other cheerleaders crowded around and wanted to know all the details. I was reluctant to talk so much about myself, not comfortable as the center of attention. But they kept after me, so I gave in and enjoyed the rush of being almost popular. So different than how I was treated at my last school.
    And I couldn’t wait to tell my grandmother about Josh. Nona was the expert on romance. She ran an online dating service called Soul-Mate Matches. Totally high tech, using compatibility analysis charts and personal videos. Of course, her amazing success rate had little to do with technology—but her clients didn’t know that.
    Dumping my backpack on the living room floor, I looked for my grandmother. Only she wasn’t in the kitchen or her office. The light on her answering machine blinked, as if asking, “Where’s Nona?”
    Good question.
    Heading outside, I checked the garden, chicken pen, and pasture. All that remained was the barn.
    I still resented Nona’s hiring of Dominic, but not even that could get me down today. I was imagining my grandmother’s excited reaction to my news as I peeked into the rambling red barn.
    “Nona?” I called out.
    No answer, but I caught the scent of burnt lavender. Curious, I pushed open the door. Sunlight cascaded down through a high window, shining gold on stacks of hay. My footsteps on loose hay were soft. A calf, penned for its own safety because it was lame, mooed at the two barn cats who chased each other across a wood rail. I’d always loved this barn, the musty hay smells and all the animals, even the occasional scurrying rat.
    My gaze drifted up a staircase, to the loft apartment. The room had been off limits when Nona’s last husband was alive and used it as an art studio. I heard the murmur of voices through the closed door—my grandmother and Dominic. A clunk and a rolling sound piqued my curiosity. So I crept up the stairs. After some hesitation, I reached for the door. At my touch, it fell open a few inches.
    My grandmother sat cross-legged on a round carpet across from Dominic. Candles flickered and lavender incense wafted a sweet trail toward the ceiling. Whispering, Nona held out a handful of small stones to Dominic. Sparkling crystals, amethyst, and jade. Stones for meditation and healing. The true tools of Nona’s romantic trade.
    But why was she showing precious stones to a stranger who’d been hired to repair the barn, feed the animals, and muck out stalls? I felt sick inside, knowing Nona was keeping something from me. A secret was almost the same as a lie. And I knew too well how one lie led to another and another.
    Backing away, unnoticed, I fled.
    It was childish to feel hurt, left out, like the last kid chosen for a team. But that’s how I felt. The happy bubble that I’d floated home in had popped.
    I slammed the door behind me as I entered the house, heading for the kitchen, where I poured a glass of milk and ripped open a bag of wheat chips. I had just put the milk away when the phone rang.
    Instead of answering right away, I played a childhood game. Closing my eyes and concentrating hard, I tried to summon an image of the caller. Not my parents, I realized with relief. Someone younger, but neither Amy nor Ashley, my nine-year-old twin sisters. Someone older and not related. A dark-haired male …
    “OHMYGOD!” I blurted out. I snatched up the phone before the fifth and final ring.
    It was Josh, wanting to know if I would mind doubling on Friday with his friend Evan and his latest girlfriend. Yes, yes, yes! Anything you say, Josh.
    And with one short, magical phone call, my happy bubble was back. For the rest of the evening, I