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Back A Penny for Your Thoughts Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. A PENNY
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Thirty-Five
  40. Thirty-Six
  41. Thirty-Seven
  42. Thirty-Eight
  43. Thirty-Nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-One
  46. Forty-Two
  47. Forty-Three
  48. Forty-Four
  49. Forty-Five
  50. Forty-Six
  51. Forty-Seven
  52. Forty-Eight
  53. Forty-Nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-One
  56. Fifty-Two
  57. Fifty-Three
  58. Fifty-Four
  59. A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
  60. About the Author
  61. Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
  62. About the Publisher

He stood and took a step forward into the water, the legs of his pants becoming wet. He took another step forward, and the water was now up to his hips. I hesitated, calculating just where I could go if I managed to make it out of the pool. Nick was big, yes, but sometimes big meant slow. Perhaps I could outrun him. Perhaps I could make it into the house, lock the door, and call the police before he could get inside.

“Why could you not just leave it alone?” he asked sadly. “Alan Bennet has been arrested. If he lives, he will go to trial. He will pay for his crimes.”

“He’ll pay for his crimes, alright,” I said. “But should he have to pay for someone else’s as well?”

Our eyes met. I saw Nick poised to jump, and I chose that moment to spring backward, diving into deeper water. Heart pumping, I swam as fast as I could through the black water to the other end of the pool. Reaching the cement side, I grabbed hold and hoisted myself out. I was almost up when I felt a hand at my ankle, gripping, pulling, yanking me.

In one motion, I landed hard on the side of the pool and fell helplessly under the water. Then his hand was around my neck. I fought, twisting fiercely, but he was just too big, too strong. He pulled me up out of the water, his arm wrapped around my neck, my back pressed tightly against his body.

“Please,” he whispered, his lips at my ear as I gasped for breath. With his other hand, he grabbed my arms and pinned them to my body. “I do not want to hurt you. I just want you to promise you will not tell.”

Was he insane? Did I have any hope at all? I thought about us there in the deep water. He was fully dressed, the water in his clothes weighing him down, his legs kicking furiously beneath me. After a while he would begin to get tired. He would lose strength, and then I could get away.

“I won’t tell,” I whispered. “I promise.”

I thought of Angelina, the night I overheard her in the pantry with Alan. Nick will kill me if he finds us, she had said. Until now, I had thought it was just a figure of speech.

He changed his grip on me and began dragging me toward the shallow end. He was crying now, his sobs echoing across the top of the water. I wanted to understand why. I just wanted to know what made him do it.

He dragged me all the way to the steps, and then he pulled me against him again, his arm tighter around my neck. I could barely breath. I closed my eyes, willing my heart to slow down, forcing myself to think clearly.

“It’ll be our secret, Nick,” I rasped. “Yours and mine.”