Lucy’s “Perfect” Summer

Lucy’s “Perfect” Summer Read Free Page A

Book: Lucy’s “Perfect” Summer Read Free
Author: Nancy Rue
Tags: Ebook, book
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Navarro’s cruiser blocked the intersection, and the sheriff himself stood in thigh-high boots in the middle of it, waving off the few cars that tried to crawl through like turtles going uphill.
    J.J.’s ponytail flapped from side to side, and Lucy knew he was looking for a way to escape before the sheriff saw them. Lucy grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the car. By now, its hubcaps had all but disappeared into the Highway 54 river.
    Sheriff Navarro peered at them from under the dripping bill of his hat, and even through the downpour, Lucy could see the I-should-have-known-it-was-you-two in his sharp, black eyes. She’d seen that look plenty of times, from the sheriff and his son.
    “Get in the car!” was all he said.
    Lucy kept a tight grip on J.J.’s T-shirt so he wouldn’t bolt and waded with him to the cruiser. The sheriff could barely get the door open to let them in. They were already soaking the backseat when he climbed into the front.
    “I’m not even gonna ask what you’re doing out in this,” he said.
    That was good, because J.J. probably wasn’t going to answer, which meant Lucy would have to think of something, and right now all she wanted to do was get home to Dad.
    “I gotta park this thing anyway before it turns into a boat,” the sheriff said, more to himself than to them. He didn’t talk to kids that much.
    Then he didn’t say anything at all as the car nearly floated down Granada Street and fishtailed to a stop in front of Lucy’s house. He twisted to look over the seat.
    “I’m gonna have to carry you kids in.”
    J.J. just grunted and opened the door. Water rushed onto the floorboards and drowned his feet, but J.J. splashed out and flailed his way across the now-flooded street toward his house. His front yard was a sea of broken bicycles and wash tubs and old tires, all bobbing like bathtub toys. Lucy hoped he didn’t get bonked in the head with any of it as he swam for his front door.
    “Let’s go,” Sheriff Navarro said to her, and he didn’t wait for Lucy to climb onto his back. He just hauled her out of the car and threw her over his shoulder the way she’d seen firemen rescue people from burning buildings on TV. She sure hoped none of her friends were witnessing this.
    But Mora was at the kitchen window, of course, her always-huge brown eyes twice their normal size as she watched Lucy pass by practically upside down. Lucy could see that Mora’s lips were fully operational. She was probably giving Inez an inch-by-inch description of Lucy being delivered like a sandbag to the back porch.
    Inez met them, barely able to keep the door from blowing off as Sheriff Navarro deposited Lucy inside.
    “Don’t let her out,” he shouted at Inez above the wind. “We got flash flooding. I’m surprised she didn’t drown already.”
    “Gracias, Senor Sheriff,” Inez said. “You want to come in and dry your — ”
    Sheriff Navarro just grunted at her and, to Lucy’s relief, ducked back into the storm. It was going to be bad enough enduring what Inez had to say. She didn’t need both of them telling her she should know enough to come in out of the rain. She would rather hear it from Inez anyway. It wasn’t so bad in Spanish.
    “Oh, my gosh, you’re, like, totally soaked!” Mora said from her perch on the edge of the kitchen sink. Her fingers, as usual, were punctuating every word in the air. She was all about exclamation points, too.
    “Seriously?” Lucy said.
    Inez grunted. “Mora, get the towels for Senorita Lucy.”
    “Towels? She needs, like, a giant blow-dryer.”
    But Mora didn’t have to be asked twice. You didn’t argue with Inez, even though her English wasn’t that good. She was a short lady with a haircut like a little Dutch boy, only black instead of blond, but she had powerful eyes and a voice that got bigger the more softly she talked.
    Mora produced five towels, and Inez rubbed at Lucy until her skin was almost raw, all the while muttering things in

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