Chapters (54)
- Cover
- Colophon
- ALSO BY RICHARD PAUL EVANS
- Title Page
- Copyright
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Dedication
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- Epigraph
- Grace
- THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL
- CHAPTER One
- CHAPTER Two
- CHAPTER Three
- CHAPTER Four
- CHAPTER Five
- CHAPTER Six
- CHAPTER Seven
- CHAPTER Eight
- CHAPTER Nine
- CHAPTER Ten
- CHAPTER Eleven
- CHAPTER Twelve
- CHAPTER Thirteen
- CHAPTER Fourteen
- CHAPTER Fifteen
- CHAPTER Sixteen
- CHAPTER Seventeen
- CHAPTER Eighteen
- CHAPTER Nineteen
- CHAPTER Twenty
- CHAPTER Twenty-one
- CHAPTER Twenty-two
- CHAPTER Twenty-three
- CHAPTER Twenty-four
- CHAPTER Twenty-five
- CHAPTER Twenty-six
- CHAPTER Twenty-seven
- CHAPTER Twenty-eight
- CHAPTER Twenty-nine
- CHAPTER Thirty
- CHAPTER Thirty-one
- CHAPTER Thirty-two
- CHAPTER Thirty-three
- CHAPTER Thirty-four
- CHAPTER Thirty-five
- CHAPTER Thirty-six
- CHAPTER Thirty-seven
- CHAPTER Thirty-eight
- CHAPTER Thirty-nine
- EPILOGUE
- A LETTER FROM RICHARD PAUL EVANS
- JOIN THE RICHARD PAUL EVANS MAILING LIST, GET A FREE GIFT AND HELP A CHILD
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I looked down. My pants were soaked. “I was walking by the creek and kind of fell in.”
“Through the ice?”
“Yeah.”
“What were you doing by the creek?”
“Walking.”
He just looked at me blankly. He likely would have said more but he seemed pretty much baffled by most things I did these days. “It sounds like there’s water running.”
“Yeah, uh, it’s the toilet…you know how it runs sometimes.”
“It sounds like the shower.”
Just then the Bee pulled into the driveway.
“Looks like Mom came home early,” my father said.
Now I was worried. “I’m going to take a shower,” I said. “Mom wouldn’t want me to catch a chill.” I hurried back to the bathroom. Grace’s clothes were in a pile on the floor outside the shower.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes.” She sounded normal again.
“You scared me,” I said.
“Me too.”
“We have a problem. My mom just got home.”
She stuck her head out. “What do we do?”
“Just stay in there, I’ll figure something out.”
“I need some clothes.”
“I’ll find some.”
Fortunately my mom saved my clothes after I grew out of them for Joel. I could hear my brother talking to my mother in the hall. When their voices quieted, I opened the door a crack and peered out. Joel was just a few yards away. “Hey,” I called in a loud whisper.
He turned to me. “What?”
“Get me some of my old clothes from the hand-me-down box.”
“Why?”
“Grace fell in the creek.”
It took a moment for him to make the connection. “Is she in there?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“Just get the clothes,” I said. “And don’t let Mom see you.”
As if on cue, my mom came around the corner. “What are you doing?”
“I was just asking Joel to get me some dry clothes. I fell in the creek.”
“Through the ice?”
“Yeah.”
“What were you doing by the creek?”
“Walking.”
She looked at me with the same blank expression my father had. Then she said, “Supper will be ready in a half hour.”
When she was gone, Joel asked, “What should I get?”
“Just something warm. Not my summer clothes.”
“Does she want underwear too?”
I thought about it. “I guess.”
I shut and locked the door. A few minutes later Joel knocked. I cracked open the door; he was holding a stack of clothes.
“Did you get socks?”
“You didn’t say to.”
“Of course she needs socks. Where’s Mom right now?”
“She’s making dinner.”
“I’ve got to get Grace out of here.” I thought for a moment. “I need you to create a diversion.”