BlackWind Read Online Free

he replied, staring into her eyes as though he dared her to rebuke him for what he'd done.
    “Dave Cox,” she said in a flat voice. “My Dave Cox?”
    Something evil moved in his eyes; his mouth tightened. “I wasn't aware he belonged to you,” he snapped and drew in his legs to push erect on the bench.
    “He's my friend, and I know you know that.”
    “Aye, I have the scars on my ass to remind me.”
    She flinched. “I'm sorry about that. I never—”
    “Don't apologize, Bronwyn. Don't ever apologize to me for anything.”
    “But—”
    The door to Coach Barton's office opened and the Dean of Boy's stuck his head into the hallway. “Let's go, Cullen,” he said, his round face hard as flint.
    Sean sprang up from the bench and, without a backward glance at Bronwyn, walked past Coach Barton and into the Dean's office. The door closed behind him with a snap.
    Bronwyn stood there a moment longer, her lower lip tucked between her teeth. She wanted to wait, to be there when Sean was released from the Dean's office, but she knew she couldn't. She'd been on her way to the restroom and if she dallied much longer, Mrs. Gentry would send someone to look for her.
    She was about to turn away when she heard the popping sound coming from the office.
    She stilled, her hand going to her mouth. The unmistakable sound of the paddle being applied was one every student recognized. Not immediately realizing she was doing it, she counted the hits: eight, nine, ten.
    The door opened and Sean walked out, his jaw clenched as tightly as the fists at his side. He seemed to look right through her as he walked past, but when he got about five feet away, he stopped.
    “Meet me at Burdette's after school,” he said without turning to look at her. When she didn't answer, he jerked around. “Did you hear me?”
    She nodded. Her heart thundered. “I'll be there.”
    Her palms were suddenly sweaty, her legs weak. She watched him until he entered one of the classrooms at the end of the hall. It was the detention class and she had a feeling he was going to be there for a few days—if not weeks—to come.
    The rest of the school day passed in a blur. As the hands of the big clock on the wall of her Biology class crept slowly toward 3:15, she grew more and more restless. She had licked her lips so many times they were fast becoming chapped. Her skirt was wrinkled from the repeated drag of her sweaty palms against the fabric. When the bell rang, she nearly jumped out of her seat.
    Without taking time to think, she hurried out of the classroom to the school's west entrance, where she knew her mother would be parked, waiting for her.
    “I gotta go to town,” she said when she got into the car.
    “Not today,” her mother replied, starting the engine. “I promised your Aunt Doris I would—”
    “Mama, please! I have to go to town!”
    “To do what?”
    “I gotta go to Burdette's.”
    “Again, to do what?”
    She locked eyes with her mother. “To see a boy.”
    Deirdre McGregor's eyebrows shot up into the thick chestnut of her bouffant hairdo. “Oh, really?” she drawled. “And just who is this young man?”
    “He's my soul mate,” Bronwyn said fiercely. “The man I am going to marry one day!”
    Her mother sat back in the seat. “I see. Is this someone of whom you believe your father and I would approve?”
    Bronwyn's face puckered in a frown. “Probably not, but it doesn't matter.”
    “Oh, I'm quite certain it will matter to your father.”
    “Mama, please! I have to meet him. I swore to him I would. I have to keep my word!”
    Deirdre shook her head. “I'm not ready for this,” she said with a long sigh and put the car in gear. She cast her daughter an exasperated look. “You'd better tell me who he is.”
    Bronwyn crossed her fingers in the folds of her skirt. “Sean Cullen.”
    Deirdre pulled out into the traffic. “The butcher's son.”
    “I love him, Mama.”
    Her mother made no comment, but Bronwyn couldn't overlook