Free Summer Shadows by Killarney Traynor Page A

hip. She looked around the room with a critical eye. “Have you seen everything?”
    “We didn’t get to the basement,” Ron said.
    “Well, there isn’t too much to see down there. Just the furnace. Have you picked out which rooms you want yet?”
    The two exchanged glances.
    “We get to pick?” asked Dana, surprised.
    “Sure, if you have a preference. Dana, you’ll have your own room, but,” she turned to Ron, “I’d like to pair you and Jack up, if you guys don’t mind. We only have three rooms available for bedrooms right away and Jack said he’d prefer to stick with you. Is that alright?”
    Ron nodded.
    Dana said, “It’s really dirty in here, Aunt Julia.”
    “I know. The whole house needs to be cleaned and painted, but we’ll deal with that in the next couple of weeks. Right now, let’s just figure out where everything’s going. So, which room do you want?”
    Dana looked at Ron and shrugged. “I don’t know,” she lied. “It doesn’t really matter.”
    Julia looked at her steadily for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “All right, then. So you don’t mind if I pick?”
    She shook her head.
    “And you, Ron?”
    “I don’t really care,” he said politely.
    Julia hoisted Jack and looked around the room. “Then, why don’t we make this your room, Dana, and the boys will take the larger one down the hall. How does that sound?”
    Dana brightened – Aunt Julia had chosen well. Ron genuinely didn’t care and was glad to see his sister smile.
    “Okay, let’s get a move on,” Julia said. “We’ve got to unpack the van, and I want to take a run into town as soon as we have room in it for some supplies.”
    “We’re going shopping?” moaned Dana, as they trooped down the stairs.
    “Just a quick hit, Dana. We have to get some spray for the ticks and some cleaning supplies for the house.” She opened the screen door, looking around. “And, if we manage to find a hardware store that’s open, we can pick up some paint chips. Start thinking about what colors you’d like– we can do whatever you want.”
    Julia was excited, but both Ron and Dana, who were trailing behind on the stairs, stopped in mid-step and looked at one another. Julia went out the door, but came back in when she noticed that they weren’t following.
    “Did I say something wrong?” she asked.
    Ron noticed the circles under her eyes and hesitated, not wanting to irritate her. But he was unnerved by this decorating idea. Was it a scheme to get them to want to move up to Franklin permanently? This house was too small for them; and anyway, there weren’t too many jobs up here. Everyone said so. Besides, he didn’t want to leave his home – the very idea hurt. But how could he say any of that?
    Dana had fewer inhibitions than he did. She blurted it right out: “But we aren’t staying here.”
    Julia’s frown deepened. “Well, we are, actually.”
    Dana’s face fell. “We are?”
    “For the summer, Dana,” she said patiently. “We’re going to fix the place up to sell, remember?”
    Dana shot her brother a puzzled look. “So, we aren’t living here, right?”
    “No, of course not. What would make you think that our plans would change?” Then, to everyone’s relief, Julia caught on and shook her head. “Oh, for goodness sake. When I said you could pick the colors, it wasn’t because you would live in them for the rest of your lives. I just thought it would be fun for you to have a hand in it. We’re only staying here until the fifteenth of August, then we go back to Springfield to get ready for school. You have my word on it, okay?”
    “I’m sorry, Aunt Julia,” Ron began, but she dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand.
    “Not a problem. But if we don’t get that van emptied soon, we won’t be able to get to the store before it closes, and that means we won’t have enough supplies to clean with. So let’s get a move on. Ron, you and Dana start unloading and put everything in the dining