Anna
PRESENT
“Areyou wearing your mesh glove, Kenz? I don’t want you to lose a finger.”
Kennedy let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not going to chop off a finger.”
I set my knife down on the cutting board and turned to face my friend. “Do you not remember that hot man of yours gluing your finger closed after you sliced it open?”
“That wasonetime. I swear, neither of you will let me live it down.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me. “You’re lucky we let you back here after all the near disasters you’ve had.” But I had to admit it was nice to have her here again. Being the head honcho of the Community Center meant she was in charge of all the big-picture stuff and had less time to be in the trenches with me. So, when we got afternoons like this one where we cooked for the shelter’s thirty or so residents, I soaked them up.
“Traitors,” she grumbled under her breath.
“Traitors who care about keeping all of your fingers and toes firmly attached.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re just lucky I love you both.”
“Good thing because you’re stuck with me for life.”
My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I quickly wiped my hands on a towel and pulled it out. Being permanently attached to my phone was just one of the requirements of being head of Hope House. The shelter could have any number of emergencies pop up at any time, and I had to be ready to put out the fires.
The corners of my mouth tipped up as I saw my sister’s name on the screen.
Chelsea:How are the hooligans? Making you pull out your hair yet?
Me:I bribed them with beer and cigarettes. That seemed to do the trick.
There was a pause for at least thirty seconds, and I started to question if we were ready for those kinds of jokes. It had taken us a long time to get back to a place where we could be in each other’s lives, where Chelsea believed my truth about what had really happened all of those years ago. The fact that she was moving to Sutter Lake and trusting me with her kids while she wrapped up her life in Portland was a huge step.
Chelsea:Don’t waste the good stuff on them. Natty Light is all they need.
A laugh burst out of me, startling Kennedy. She let out a rather creative curse. “If you don’t want me to lose a finger, don’t scare me like that.”
“Sorry.”
“Who is it, anyway? New boyfriend?” She waggled her eyebrows in my direction.
I rolled my eyes and shoved my phone back into my pocket. Boyfriends had not been on the docket for me. Not since my first and last had landed me in juvenile detention for two and a half years. I’d gone on dates here and there, but it never quite seemed worth the risk. And I’d had other things to worry about—like staying alive.
“It was Chelsea, checking on Lyla and Justin.”
“Where are they, anyway?”
“They’re helping watch the younger ones on the playground.” There was little that made me happier than seeing my niece and nephew fall in love with the shelter. From the first time they’d visited with Chelsea, staying in my small cottage at the back of the property, they had simply understood the special nature of Hope House. And they always wanted to help.
Kennedy dumped a pile of carrots into the pot that would be beef stew in a few hours. “They have a way with them. It’s not typical for an eleven-year-old boy to be so eager to play babysitter.”
“Justin has a tender heart under that preteen bravado.”
A gentle smile stretched across Kennedy’s face. “You’re right there. And Lyla is the sister all the little girls wish they had.”
I chuckled as I remembered thegymnastics campmy niece had held yesterday afternoon. She’d taught cartwheels, handstands, and other things I didn’t know the names of. “The gymnastics teacher over in the rec center asked if she could hire her.”
“It’s not a bad idea. She’s got the touch.”
I poured my pile of veggies into the pot and turned down the heat. “Okay, this just needs to simmer for a few hours. Want to go find the munchkins, or do you need to get home to Cain?”
