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“Shows you how boring it is otherwise,” he replied, and shrugged. He walked along with me. “My dad told us that Foxworth is being sold.”

“How did he know so fast?”

“He’s on the bank board, one of the directors. Your dad’s going to do a lot of work there.”

“He told me.”

We paused outside my next class. My girlfriends were watching us and giggling.

“You know, I’ve never really been out there in the daytime,” Kane said. “Maybe you can give me a tour this week after school, before it disappears.”

“It wouldn’t be much of a tour,” I said.

“Any excuse to be with you works for me,” he replied, giving me one of his dazzling smiles, and he went on to his own class.

I watched him walk away and thought about how I would feel returning to Foxworth now that I was getting so deeply into the diary. If anything, it made the property seem more forbidden. While I had read how Corrine brought her children through the darkness from the railroad stop, I was envisioning the path they took that brought them to the rear of the mansion. Now that it had been abandoned, that route was very overgrown, but I was already toying with the idea of walking it, bringing that whole scene to life for me.

Could I do that?

I hurried into the classroom. All I needed to do now was be late for my next class. That would really get me into hot water.

Before the day ended, Kane again suggested we go to Foxworth, maybe to watch some of the removal of debris.

“I’m sure your dad will think it’s nice that you’re interested in his work.”

“Why is this suddenly so important to you?”

“I’m just interested in what you’re interested in,” he said.

“How do you know I’m interested in that?”

“I could tell. How about tomorrow? I’ll pick you up for school so you don’t have to worry about your car after.”

“I’ll let you know later,” I said.

“Complicated?”

“I’ll let you know,” I repeated with more firmness. He gave me that famous shrug again and walked off. How could I explain why I had any hesitation? It wasn’t only because I was reading the diary. I was afraid that my father would think I was so obsessed with it that I had talked Kane into going to Foxworth to watch the work. He might also believe I had disobeyed him and told Kane about the diary. I had to work that out without making Kane suspicious, too.

I had made up my mind before I left school for home that I was not going to touch the diary until much later, if at all today. I thought I should do that to ease my father’s concerns. Besides, I had a lot to do at the house, and I did have more homework than usual.

When Dad came home, he found me vacuuming the living room.

“What happened at school?” was his first question.

“Pink slip warning. I’ll set the alarm. Don’t worry.”

“Got a lot of homework?”

“Yes, why?”

“Herm Cromwell wants to take us to dinner.”

“He wants to take you, Dad, not us. Don’t worry about it. I’ll make a turkey burger and sweet potato fries. I’ve watched you do it enough times.”

He nodded.

“Oh, Kane Hill knows about the sale of Foxworth. His father . . .”


Tags: V.C. Andrews Young Adult