Free The Trap by Joan Lowery Nixon

funny story about my sister, Bitsy, who was probably the most spoiled four-year-old in the world. And I hadn’t left out my six-year-old brother, Trevor, who had perfected the art of pouting in a big way.
    Ashley hadn’t laughed or groaned at my stories orcome back with a family story of her own, as any other girl I knew would do. She’d abruptly told me she had to meet her grandmother, and she’d walked away.
    I said to Millie Lee, “Please tell Ashley I hope she comes tomorrow.”
    Millie Lee just grunted as she began unloading the dishwasher. I took that as a yes.
    As I helped put dishes in the cupboard, I tried making conversation. “Ashley told me that Damien Fitch, the lifeguard, lives next door to you.”
    Millie Lee turned to me, rolling her eyes. “Don’t go gettin’ any ideas about Damien just ’cause he’s so good-lookin’. For one thing, he’s much too old for you.”
    Startled, I giggled, and she scowled. “That’s not a joke,” she said.
    “I’m not interested in Damien,” I assured her. “I guess that’s why I laughed. The idea struck me funny.”
    “It’s not,” she said. “Besides …”
    I waited, but she was silent.
    “Besides what?” I finally asked.
    “Never you mind,” she said. “That’s all you need to know about Damien.”
    What she had said made me even more curious, but I knew I wouldn’t get any answers from her. She picked up a fistful of rags and a can of cleanser and headed down the hall toward the bathrooms, and I walked to the den to play cards with Glenda and Gabe.
    What had Millie Lee meant when she’d said “Besides” and didn’t finish? I wondered.
    “Wake up and pay attention, Julie,” Gabe said. “It’s your turn.”
    “Sorry,” I told him. I pushed all thoughts of Damien out of my mind and concentrated on the card game.
    A short while later, as we tallied the scores from the first game, Gabe asked, “Julie, would you mind getting my reading glasses? I really don’t need them—my eyes are as good as they ever were—but the marks on these cards seem to be getting smaller.”
    I returned Glenda’s smile. “Sure, Uncle Gabe. Where did you leave them?”
    “Probably in the bedroom,” he said. “Or maybe in my study.”
    “You haven’t been in your study,” Glenda told him.
    I got up quickly. “Wherever they are, I’ll find them,” I said, and headed in the direction of Gabe’s study, just to satisfy him.
    As I entered the room, Millie Lee slapped down the top of my laptop and took a step backward, her eyes wide. “You scared me, poppin’ in like that,” she said. Then she quickly recovered, adding, “You got a nice little computer. I just had to take a look at it.”
    All Millie Lee was doing was looking. I shouldn’t mind. “Would you like me to show you some of its special features?” I asked her.
    “Maybe some other time,” she answered. “Right now I’ve got work to finish, and you’ve got things to do.”
    “Okay,” I said. “I’m looking for Uncle Gabe’s glasses.”
    “On top of the dresser in his bedroom,” she told me, and began dusting the top of his desk.
    I found the glasses right away, and the game went on,but I couldn’t help wondering how much of my computer Millie Lee had investigated. My Internet password was automatically stored, so anyone could have gone into my e-mail. But surely there’d be no reason for her to do that.
    “Julie, pay attention,” Gabe said impatiently. “I just ginned. How many points do you owe me?”
    “Too many,” I said. I began to count, putting Millie Lee and my laptop out of my mind.
    I was lonesome for someone my own age to talk to, so I was glad when Luis arrived in the early evening.
    I brought him some iced tea, which Uncle Gabe called the national drink of Texas, and two of the cookies from the package we’d served for dessert after supper. We sat on the front steps to talk.
    It was a lot easier to talk with Luis than it was with Ashley.
    Once I’d told him