Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1) Read Free Page B

was pinched. Poor thing was jealous, Naomi realized.
    “Silly bean, I’ll always need you and you know that. Besides, I’d wager that if Eli asks me to court, Matthew Yoder won’t be far behind in asking you.”
    The girls flopped down in the grass near the volleyball nets the same as they’d done every Sunday for the past fewyears. Naomi didn’t enjoy playing volleyball. Instead, she liked sitting on the sidelines and watching the other girls look foolish as they tried to hit the ball over the net. Of course, a few of the girls were really good, like Melinda or Susie. But they were built similar to boys, with no curves at all to get sore after a whack from a hard ball.
    The other girls who weren’t playing the game didn’t approach Naomi and Sandra. They took their seats on the far side of the net. Naomi was glad that she didn’t have to be bothered by the company of the snooty, goody-two-shoes girls anyhow. They were all so boring. Still, Naomi followed the girls with her eyes, watching them whisper back and forth to each other, and wondering what they were saying.
    “Did you see the look that Lydia gave you when she spied Eli making eyes in your direction?” Sandra spoke softly into Naomi’s ear after she’d taken a good look around first to make sure no one was close enough to hear.
    Naomi tore her gaze away from the gossipy girls at the same moment that Lydia looked up, staring straight at her. Naomi felt the hair on the back of her neck tingle. It was almost as if the horrible girl had heard Sandra’s whispered words from across the net and over the voices of the players. Of course, Naomi knew that was impossible, but she couldn’t help the wariness that swept over her. The threat of spies was always present.
    “Course I did. Like she thinks she’d have a chance with a guy like him anyway. Is she nuts or just stupid?”
    “Maybe both!” Sandra giggled.
    When Sandra calmed herself, she added, “You were probably too busy to notice that David was watching how you and Eli were acting too. He wasn’t pleased either.”
    “Oh, who cares about him anyway? David is so moody—I don’t know how any girl could put up with him. He always looks as if he just swallowed a lime.”
    Naomi did her best impression of the sour look that usually resided on David’s face, sticking her tongue out limply for good measure. Sandra shook her head and scolded, “You’re awful!” Her outburst drew the eyes of the girls standing nearby.
    Naomi felt his presence before he even sat down in the grass beside her. When she looked over, she wasn’t disappointed. Eli held the same amused expression on his face that he had earlier. A handful of dark brown locks nearly covered his left eye. She was surprised that his mother hadn’t gotten onto him about his hair needing cutting yet. But then, knowing that she had eight children, and four of them under the age of five, she probably hardly even noticed her oldest son’s head. Naomi really wanted to reach out and brush the stubborn hair away from his eye, but of course she couldn’t do that. Instead, she let her fingers play with the soft blades of grass, plucking them in frustration.
    “How’s it going?” Eli asked. His voice was deep and husky, making Naomi’s heart speed up. She was well aware of the closeness of his body to hers. She could even smell the cologne on his skin.
    “I’m wonderful. What about you, Eli? Are you enjoying this lovely night?” She tried to keep her face straight, but the tug of a smile was too great. She glanced down, shielding her mouth from his gaze for a second.
    When Naomi looked up, he was grinning at her confidently. “Do you want to help me get the marshmallows? Mothertalked Father into starting a bonfire. We’re going to roast them.”
    It was way more information than she needed or cared about. She would have gone with him to clean the toilets if he’d asked.
    “Sure!” She bounced up and he was right behind her. Seeing the