The Dream Thief by Kari Kilgore (books for 10th graders txt) 📕

something new she simply must have, and she pays extremely well."

"What changed?"

"The last time I was there to make a delivery, she brought out her husband for the first time. He kept trying to get me to come to a party with all their friends. He made me twitch in my skin, like I haven't since I got away from the assholes who raised me, and all their friends. I learned a long time ago never to ignore a warning like that. I made my excuses and got out of there. I was almost home before I noticed he'd given me an absurd amount of coin."

"And that night," Karl said, "Rhysto paid you a visit."

Loretta closed her eyes, hoping Karl wouldn't notice the flush in her face. That had been a night to despise, and to remember.

"He did," she said. "Carrying on about me working with other shaws. And then I had my little encounter with Rullin."

Karl turned onto his back, hands under his head. Loretta couldn't stop herself from wondering how good it would feel to curl up against him, her head on his chest. She wasn't used to the cold up here after years away.

She wondered how warm his body would be, how good he would smell after a day of hard work. She did manage to stop herself from moving toward him.

"We need to figure out if all those things are related, Loretta. Or none of them. I doubt any of them would willingly answer questions."

"I don't think they'll have to," she said. "Not answering them knowingly might be the key. If we can get Walton to participate, Bill's paranoia might come in very handy."

Karl nodded. "Neither of them are going to be happy with Rullin right now. Maybe not with each other."

"That's the beauty of my little plan," she said. "We use Rullin to get them on the same side."

"Want to tell me about this little plan?"

"You know," she said. "I think you were right about not getting enough sleep. If we're to get Gemma packed up tomorrow and get down this mountain, we'll have a long day tomorrow."

Loretta surprised herself by kissing Karl on the mouth. He blushed again, and a slow smile broke across his face.

"Night, Karl."

Chapter 32

Loretta's worries about getting Gemma packed and ready dissolved as soon as she opened the bedroom door. It was barely after sunrise, but the burner and most of the pipes and pulleys leading away from it were already dismantled. Morgan and her grandmother had been hard at work.

Karl spoke from behind her.

"Looks like we missed all the fun."

"Since the first day we met," she said, turning to face him.

His grin showed he was as well rested as she was. Waking up with her back warm against his had put her into a better mood than she wanted to admit to herself.

"Nothing lasts forever," he said. "I'll make sure Rullin didn't do himself in during the night."

Gemma walked in with Morgan hard on her heels before Karl could open the front door.

"Well, good morning!" she said. "I trust you slept well?"

"Like logs, Gemma," Karl said. "What can we do?"

"I was thinking about my poor animals," Gemma said, wringing her hands. "I can't just abandon them up here. Do you think Walton might take them?"

"I think Walton can pay you for them," Loretta said. "He's been paid very well over the years. Certainly after we bring in the criminal who did this to his son, you won't owe him a thing. How are you, Morgan?"

Bruises were more visible around the boy's face and neck, but he seemed to be moving just fine.

"I'm a little sore, but not too bad," he said. "It's worth it to miss a day of classes and get to see all of Ms. Gemma's electricity."

"That's all right for today," Gemma said. "You need school if you're going to make electricity for yourself." Gemma poured another cup of cafei and handed it to Morgan. "Go take this to Karl, and don't get too close to that wagon. That awful Rullin will get what he deserves soon enough."

"How much more goes with us today?" Loretta said, filling her own cup.

"The kitchen and my bedroom are packed. With the circuits taken apart, Walton can bring the rest into town."

Gemma stared at Loretta, the questions she was dying to ask with everyone else out of the house painfully obvious.

"No, we didn't do anything besides sleep," Loretta said. "I told you he's my friend. That's it. We really did sleep well."

"Your friend for now," Gemma said, nodding once. "That's the best way to start out. We saved breakfast for you. As soon as that's cleaned up, we'll be ready to go in an hour."

By the time everything was loaded and arranged, Rullin was perched on top of a towering pile of furniture and wires and pipes. Karl assured Loretta, out of Rullin's hearing, that everything was stable as long as the wagon itself didn't turn over.

With Gemma and Morgan fast asleep barely an hour into the journey, Loretta told Karl her plan. Before she finished, she knew from his eyes that he wished she hadn't started.

Loretta brought the wagon slowly through the dirt roads of the village several hours later. The handful of shops and merchants, tiny and modest by city standards, each had at least a few people standing in the doorways and windows watching them go by. A good-sized crowd followed along behind. The horses grumbled at all the attention, and she kept expecting Karl to do the same on the seat beside her. Gemma and Morgan only stared.

She finally brought the wagon to a creaking halt in front of Walton's stable. Just as she'd expected, he stood outside with both fists clenched.

The red-and-black balloons of Bill's airship still loomed over the river's edge, so he wouldn't be far behind once word of who had attacked Morgan got out. Walton's face was bright red, the most upset Loretta had ever seen him.

"Do