Excerpt from Winterkill by Karen Wunderman, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"I, um, slipped in a puddle and got real muddy and I tried to wash it off at the pump instead of messing up the bathroom but it just kept getting worse and worse and I didn't know what to do so I just kept washing and-"

"All right, all right, never mind. Just hurry upstairs and get changed and then come down for dinner."

Kate went back to the kitchen to finish basting the roast, washing the peas, mashing the potatoes--jobs she performed with a business-like efficiency. She took comfort in the normalcy of the meal she'd prepared, and when she saw her husband and her daughter at their usual places at the table, and the food all laid out like in a magazine picture, she felt a glimmer of hope.

"So, anything interesting happen in school today?" Kate asked, encouraging the air of normalcy.

"The usual stuff," Nicky answered, doing her best to remain cheerful, hiding her upset about the deer and her lie about where she'd been, and above all being careful not to talk too much. She always talked too much when she had something to hide. "Jack and Ned had a big fight during recess," she added, thinking maybe she hadn't said quite enough. It was so hard to strike the right balance. And then it all came bubbling out. "I don't know what the fight was about because it was over in the big kids' area-probably some girl or something-but the principal had to call their parents. Lisa and I were still there when their parents came. Boy, are they in trouble. And Rebecca pulled down her pants again for the boys-"

"Nicky!"

She looked down at her plate quickly, knowing she'd gone on too long, come so close to giving it all away. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "but it's true, Mom. She's really weird, you know. Lisa even said she saw her talking to the wall today."

"That's one strange place, that school. Don't you think, Ben?"

Ben shrugged, not looking up from his plate.

Nicky continued nervously, not knowing if it was better to talk or be quiet. "Right now we're learning all about where we live. Mrs. Fenmore says this whole place used to be covered by a giant sheet of ice. Did you know that? And you know what else? Mrs. Fenmore asked us to raise our hands to show how many of us have lived here always. I didn't know what to do. We've lived here always, at least almost always, right?" She panted between bites of mashed potatoes. This was such hard work.

"Your dad and I used to live in New York. You know that. You were born there. We moved here just before your first birthday."

"Oh, well at least I didn't lie," Nicky said, relieved at not having to bear the heavy load of two lies in one day.

"What do you mean?" her mother asked.

"Well, I raised my hand twice. I couldn't decide which was right. I mean, really I've lived here always, at least as far as I know. But if I was born in New York, then I didn't always live here. So both answers are kind of right . . . aren't they?"

Kate ignored the question, watched Ben, who seemed to be oblivious to the conversation. He cut his meat and stabbed at a few peas, scooped up some mashed potatoes onto his fork. Then he put the whole thing in his mouth and, suddenly aware of the silence, looked up to find both Kate and Nicky staring at him. Potatoes and peas spilled from between his teeth as he broke into a spontaneous, wide grin, and they all laughed, Kate more than anyone, carried away on a tide of relief. It was going to be okay.

"Guess who called me at the shop today?" Ben said after they'd finished laughing.

"Who?"

"Jonathan Shore."

Kate clutched at the napkin in her lap and cautiously wiped the corners of her mouth. "Jonathan? Are you serious? It must be ten years since we've spoken to him, and to call all the way from New York. Is everything all right?"

From Winterkill by Karen Wunderman. Copyright 2002 Karen Wunderman, all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the author.