Page 47

“So how many girls were there?” I asked, reaching for a bag out of the back seat and handing it to her.

“Eleven. But there were supposed to be twelve.”

Frieda must have been a saint. “That’s so many! Did you all have beds or were you in sleeping bags on the floor?”

“On the floor,” she said, adjusting her hands on the bag. “We lined all our sleeping bags up in a big circle in the basement. And Jesse’s mom had a lantern that looked like a fire inside, so we told ghost stories all night.”

I grinned, shutting the doors. “Did you pee your pants?”

“Ew, no.” She laughed. “I told the scariest one.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Well, I have to hear this.”

She told me the classic story about the kid hiding out in the closet saying, “I’ve got you where I want’cha, now I want to eat’cha.” But he was really talking about his booger all along.

I laughed out loud. “I’m pretty sure Uncle Rhett told your dad that one.”

“Everyone loved it. And then two girls argued over who got to braid my hair.”

I was way too happy about this. Maya, making friends, being the popular girl after being left out for years? It sliced right through the cold feeling in my heart her father left behind last night. “What did you do?”

“I said Jesse could braid one side and Eliana could braid the other. And you were right. I slept in the braids, and now my hair’s all curly.” She flipped her hair around so I could see it.

“It’s pretty,” I said, twisting the knob to my cottage and opening the door.

It was just as I left it. Perfectly neat for my date, even though no one ended up coming over afterward.

We set the grocery bags on the counter, and I started putting the cold stuff away. “How late did you stay there today?”

“Dad got me after lunch. We made pigs in a blanket that looked like mummies.”

“That sounds super fun. You’ll have to show me how you did it.”

“Really?” She jumped up and hugged me. “Thanks for taking me to swim lessons, Livvy. If I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have met Jesse and I wouldn’t know all those girls in my class.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile.

“Dad and I are watching a movie tonight. Do you want to come watch with us? Please?”

My heart ached at the mention of her father. I didn’t mind seeing him while I was working, but spending extra time around him? That was last on my list.

“Please?” she begged. “I missed you all weekend.”

My heart strings sang like she was playing a steel guitar. “Okay, I’ll come, but after I put on my PJs. And we need to check that it’s okay with your dad.”

I wassolooking forward to it.

24

Fletcher

I looked up from the stove where I was making popcorn in the kettle to see Maya and Liv crossing the yard together. Liv had on a white nightgown, such a contrast to the neon yellow one Maya wore, and they were laughing, talking to each other.

Maya adored Liv; you could see it in the way she looked at her, like she personally invented Uncrustables. And when Maya got home from the sleepover, she immediately was disappointed when Liv’s truck wasn’t in the drive.

The door opened, and Maya said, “Dad, Liv’s watching the movie with us. If it’s okay. Which it totally is, right?”

She’d saidtotallyat least seventeen times tonight, which was both adorable and exasperating. I swear just yesterday she was calling lemonade “lemalade” and crocodiles “cockadoddles.” Where had those days gone?