Cold Death by Mary Stone (best e reader for android TXT) 📕

Bethany dropped her hand and scooted closer to the talking woman, moving across the bed until their shoulders touched.

“Everything okay?”

No. Nothing is okay. I want to go home and see my mama. But Bethany didn’t want to sound like a baby. “What’s your name?”

“Helen. Helen Kline.”

“That’s a nice name. I don’t have any friends named Helen.”

“Then I am very honored to be your first. What do you like to do for fun, Just Bethany?”

Bethany giggled again. “No, not Just Bethany. My name is Bethany. No Mizz, and no Just.”

“Oh dear, my mistake.” The woman…Helen…had such a nice laugh. “I guess I’m the silly goose now, aren’t I? We can be silly geese together.”

Bethany could hear the smile in the woman’s—Helen’s—voice and knew she was teasing. “Did you know that boy gooses are called ganders?”

“As a matter of fact, I did know that, but I’m very impressed that you know it too. Is learning about animals what you like to do for fun?”

“No, this kid in my class named Justin did a report on geese, though, and he told us that. His family lives on a farm. They have pigs, goats, geese, chickens, and a horse. Isn’t that neat?”

Another of those nice laughs. “Very, although I suspect they spend a lot of time cleaning up animal poop.”

Bethany scrunched up her nose. Ew. She’d never considered that. Maybe she didn’t want to live on a farm, after all. “I think maybe I just want a dog.”

“Dogs sound like a much more manageable pet. Did you know there are some breeds that don’t shed very much? That’s less time you’d have to spend picking hairs off your clothes.”

Interesting. “But they still poop.”

The woman’s soft laugh filled the room. “Yes, I’m afraid they do. What does your mother say about having a pet?”

Good question. Bethany nibbled her lip as she tried to predict her mama’s reaction. “I don’t know. I haven’t asked her yet.” But surely Mama wouldn’t say no to one little dog?

“I see. Well, good luck with that. What’s your mother like?”

“You mean, the one I have now?”

There was a very long pause before Helen spoke again. “Did you have other mothers before this one?”

“Yeah. Lots more than the other kids at my school. First, I lived with the Jacksons, and then with Mrs. Spellman, but she was old and grumpy and always yelled that I was too loud and underfoot, so she gave me to her nephew’s family.”

Bethany never remembered what a nephew was, exactly. Just that it was some kind of relative.

The nice lady rubbed Bethany’s hair. “I see.”

“They were really nice and bought me lots of stuff, but my favorite mom is the one I have now. She’s my real mama, and she searched all over the country until she found me. A bad person stole me when I was a little baby. That’s why I had all those other mommies. But my real mama promised that she’d never let anyone take me away from her again.”

Bethany’s lip started to tremble. She didn’t believe her mama had meant to lie, no matter what Doctor Rotten told her. But the truth was, someone had taken Bethany away because…look where she was now. Away from her mama and their cozy little house near the mountains, and trapped in this smelly old house with a scary man who hurt people.

This Helen woman was nice, but she was still a stranger. Bethany wanted her own mama, her own bed, the food in her own kitchen that she could eat whenever she was hungry. She wanted to run from this place, as far away as possible, and never ever have to think about the bad man ever again.

Bethany sniffed once, and again. After that, it was like she’d turned on a faucet. Her nose turned all snotty, and tears streamed down her face, no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. The sobs came next, wrenching out of her chest so hard that her ribs hurt.

“Oh honey, I’m sorry. I know you must miss your mother so much right now.”

Bethany didn’t resist when the woman’s gentle hands gathered Bethany tight to her chest. Hugging another person felt so good, even while she was crying. Made Bethany feel safe for the first time since the bad man stole her.

Her sobs grew quieter, but Bethany wasn’t ready for the woman to let her go. She snaked her arms around the woman’s neck and clung with all her might, pressing her damp nose to the woman’s soft skin. Not her mama, but at least Helen smelled good, like flowers and vanilla. Her hands were soft and gentle as they rubbed Bethany’s back and head.

The lumpy old mattress creaked when the woman began rocking Bethany, back and forth, back and forth. She hummed as she moved, stroking Bethany’s hair until her quiet sobs softened to quieter ones, and then those turned into hiccups.

The woman stopped rocking but kept Bethany safe in her arms like a caterpillar in a cocoon and continued to smooth her hand down Bethany’s head.

“I remember doing this with my daughter when she was a little girl sometimes, but now she’s a big girl, all grown up. I’m so proud of her. She’s fierce and brave and stronger than most people can dream of. She could have had an easy life, but instead, she chose to put herself in dangerous situations to help people. And she does help a lot of people, all the time. She’s beautiful, inside and out. Kind of like you.”

Bethany hiccupped once more before leaning back. “She kinda sounds like Wonder Woman.”

“Does she? What’s Wonder Woman like?”

“Brave, and strong, and beautiful. She was born on a secret, magic island but left so she could fight bad guys and for truth and justice. Her family was upset with her, and she was very sad, but she left anyway because she knew that helping people was her destiny.”

The hand on Bethany’s hair stilled, and when the woman spoke, her voice sounded