Free The Other Child by Joanne Fluke Page A

other parents and call us again tonight. She doesn’t think there’ll be any trouble. After all, it was an accident. Leslie was really lucky she didn’t get stung.”
    “Maybe it was because she was standing so still and not running,” Karen suggested. “I bet that was it, Mike. When hornets are angry, they attack any moving object, don’t they? I think I remember reading that somewhere.”
    Mike shrugged. Karen could be right. Now that they were sure Leslie was unharmed, there was a lot of cleaning up to do.
    “Leslie? I think you’d better sit right here for a while,” Karen guided her daughter to a chair. “Mike and I will clean up the party things and take care of the caterers. You just rest right here at the table. And try not to feel too bad, honey. You were a wonderful hostess today, and nobody can blame you for that awful accident with the hornets.”
    “Just stay here until we bet back inside,” Mike added. “We’ll hurry as fast as we can. And if you need anything, just come to the door and holler. We’ll be listening for you.”
    Leslie closed her eyes for a moment. She was still dizzy and confused. She remembered holding the key and wishing the party would be over. That was when she had first heard the voice. Then the hornets’ nest had fallen and the rest was a blurry montage of images.
    Carefully Leslie drew the key out of her pocket and looked at it. Why had she found it? Had she heard a voice or had she just willed herself to hear it? Could it possibly belong to a boy named Christopher? Had he made the hornets’ nest fall, and could he make all her wishes come true?
    She dropped it back into her pocket and shuddered. It couldn’t have happened that way. She was making up stories again. The key was just any old key and the voice was only her imagination. The hornets had been an awful accident, just as her mother had said.
    She sat quietly for a long time and finally raised her head. She felt better now. She blinked and stared out the window. Her eyes hurt a bit, but that was all. Now that her mind was starting to clear she felt silly for having imagined things.
    She could see Mike and her mother working in the yard. He was taking down the decorations and Mom was gathering up the plates. The caterers were making trips back and forth to their trucks, and two men were dismantling the soda-pop fountain. Leslie sighed in disappointment. She hadn’t even had a cup of strawberry soda and it was her favorite.
    At last the job was finished. The caterers drove off and Karen and Mike came back into the house. Mike flopped into a chair, and Karen sighed as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
    “You look much better, honey—I bet you can’t wait to open up all those presents. I know it won’t be as much fun without the rest of the kids, but the three of us will have our own little party right here.”
    “Presents!” Mike snapped his fingers. “We forgot all about Leslie’s present from us!”
    “Let’s give her that one first,” Karen said, cheerful again. “I think this would be a good time, don’t you?”
    “Come on, Leslie—up to your tower room.” Mike pulled her to her feet. He could hardly wait to see what Leslie would do when she saw the telescope.
    They let her open the door and step in alone as they stood on the landing and watched expectantly. Leslie took one look inside the cupola and stopped in the doorway, her eyes wide with surprise. Then she wheeled around and hugged both of them hard.
    “Oh, Mom! Mike! What a super present! Is it really mine? Is it really just for me?”
    “You bet it is!” Mike nodded. Leslie’s reaction was worth every cent he’d spent on the telescope. There was no doubt he’d have to win on Sunday if he wanted to pay it all off, but that shouldn’t be a problem. He was on a lucky streak now and it was going to last. He might even bet a little heavier on this Sunday’s score and really clean up. In any event, the money he’d spent on Leslie’s