Free THE SHADOWED ONYX: A DIAMOND ESTATES NOVEL by Nicole O'Dell Page A

Mom.
    L ET’S EAT AT H OKE’S . 6:00. I F YOU NEED $$ FOR THE DAY, THERE’S SOME IN THE DRAWER .
    Cool. One great part of having parents who worked so hard was their guilt made them way more free with their money than other teens’ parents. Little did they know, as much as Joy loved them, she didn’t mind the time alone. At all.
    Another text buzzed in. J OY? I T’S B-B. W HEN ARE YOU COMING?
    R IGHT NOW .

    “My Joy!” Beatrice grinned her lopsided smile as she jumped from the porch, loped to the driveway, and reached into the open car door to help Joy out by tugging on her arm. Oh, that smile brightened Joy’s day instantly. When Joy finally stood in front of her on the driveway, Bea threw her arms around Joy’s neck and squeezed.
    Beatrice wanted nothing from Joy except love and attention in return. Two things Joy was perfectly happy to provide. At least to Beatrice.
    “What are we going to do today, Joy?” Beatrice linked arms with her hero, her grin never wavering, as she pulled her toward the house.
    “I don’t know. What did you have in mind?” Joy was game for anything.
    Beatrice scrunched her face in confusion and tapped her chin. “Hmmm.”
    “Well, do you want to go somewhere, or do you want to stay home?”
    “I know one thing. I want to get a taco with extra sour cream.” She licked her lips.
    Joy should have seen that one coming. “No problem. We can get tacos for lunch.” Good thing she’d pocketed that twenty-dollar bill from Mom’s cash stash in the kitchen. “But what else?”
    Bea’s eyes brightened. “Can we go play checkers right now? I have a new one called Trapdoor Checkers. It’s so much fun. The pieces fall through the trapdoors.”
    Joy felt her heart rate slowing more and more the longer she was in Beatrice’s presence. God sure knew what He was doing when He gave the world her innocent heart. “Perfect. Let’s go.” Joy smiled and stuck her hand out.
    Beatrice grabbed Joy’s hand and practically bounced with excitement all the way to the front door. “I missed you so much.” She glanced behind her as she pulled, grinning.
    “I missed you, too.” Joy squeezed her cousin’s hand, embarrassed by her selfishness. She should have thought of Beatrice’s feelings during the past weeks. Of course it had been too long, and Bea simply didn’t understand what might have kept Joy away. She took it as a personal affront … assumed Joy didn’t want to be with her. The thought broke Joy’s heart in two.
    “What happened? Why didn’t you come see me for so long?” Beatrice’s lip poked out in a pout.
    Be honest. But not too honest. “Like we talked about the other day, I had some hard things happen, and I stayed at home being sad.”
    “I’m sorry you were sad. I heard my mom say on the phone that your friend died. I’m very sorry about that.”
    “Thank you, sweetie.” Bea had mastered the art of eavesdropping when no one thought she was paying attention or assumed she didn’t understand.
    “But I’m here now. I need to have some fun, so I’m just glad to be here with you. Let’s be happy and play some games, and then we’ll go get those tacos. If you win, you can have two.
    Deal?”
    Beatrice beamed. “Deal.”
    “Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you.” Beatrice pulled Joy to her bedroom, dragged her inside, and shut the door. She pressed her finger to her lips. “Don’t tell anyone. It’s a surprise, okay?”
    “I’m not going to say a single word about your surprise.
    What is it?”
    Beatrice dove onto the floor and scrambled as she reached for something under her bed. “Got it.” She stood up and handed Joy the sheet of construction paper with crayons and stickers and glitter all over it.
    “Look, look.” Beatrice pointed a stubby finger at a stick figure kneeling by a bed. “That’s you praying. Look up here.” She pointed above Joy to what looked to be an angel, as evidenced by the halo and the wings.
    “This is great, Bea.