But Cess and Darnell were following. The three of us headed that way, piling into her office together. She looked up, her head swiveling between all of us, and her brow actually creased in confusion.
"What?" she asked.
"How do you feel about dogs?" I asked. "And let me clarify that before you answer. If Faith can hold it together at school for a whole month - until the custody is final - would you be ok with her getting a dog?"
"Of course," Violet said. "From the pound, though, ok?"
"Kinda what we were thinking," I assured her. "I'll have to make sure Luke is ok with it, and I know Cy won't care, but it'll give her something to work toward. A reason to keep trying without cutting."
Violet began to nod. "I like it. Luke will have to make sure there's a safe yard for it, and I'm not sure about the pool..."
"Just put up another gate," Darnell said. "There's the railing on the porch. Put up a gate that goes from there to the pool, and then we can make an exit that leads out to a side yard so the dog has a place to run. Easy stuff."
"Then do it," Violet said. "And let Faith see it happening." But she looked at me. "Is it bad?"
That was when I realized her phone was on the desk, face up, right beside her. She'd been waiting, and the silence had allowed her to believe that Faith might actually be doing ok.
"They're saying she slept with Brody," I told her. "She's trying, Vi, but no one should have to go through this."
"Then we'll all make sure she knows we're proud of her," Violet told us. "Do not ask her how her day went. When she gets home, ask her if she survived. Ask her if it was bad. Let her know that it's ok to admit that it's hard, and that we will all listen if she needs it. Don't make her feel like she has to shut up and smile, because then she'll take it out on her own skin."
"Can we call the school or something?" Cessily asked.
Violet shook her head. "Sounds like Luke's tried. He talked to the parents of the kids, and they're sure that their babies would never do anything like that. No, Faith doesn't have a good option." She leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed. "Why do we have to live in the one place that doesn't have a private school nearby?"
"How hard can it be to homeschool?" Cess asked.
Violet just waved at her desk. "Easy if I don't wantthisto happen. There are a ton of resources and such."
"What about Luke?" I offered. "You know he'd teach his daughter."
"Have to declare it before the year starts," Darnell told us. "I checked. And if Meredith gets custody, she'd have to do the teaching, and we all know she wouldn't."
"I fucking hate that bitch," Violet grumbled.
"You have no idea," Cessily agreed. "Why did Gran pick this place, anyway?"
"Because it was all she could afford," Violet admitted. "She and Bea didn't have a lot of money."
"And to rebuild it..." I said, pausing to let Violet finish for me.
"Thirty-five million. That would cover the home, the infrastructure for the kids, the cabins, and everything we already have here. The closer we go to Dallas, the higher that number gets, but we could probably get something like Whitewright or Gordonville for that price."
"Still rural," Darnell told Cessily. "Real rural, but not butt-fuck-nowhere."
"And this is home," Cessily agreed. "So maybe we need to change Cats Peak instead. Maybe we should stop railing against it, and start calling this crap out when we see it, making it easier for everyone else to do the same?"
"Because it's easier to speak up when you know you aren't alone," I realized. "I think we all learned that as kids, but most of the people in this town are all convinced that their opinions aren't valid because the loud ones don't agree."
Violet just looked at all of us and smiled. "Gran's version of Southwind made an entire generation of problem kids into successful adults. Our version should do more. Let's do it. Slowly, and do not make a scene until Luke's mess is handled, but I think that's a damned good long-term goal." Then she laughed. "And we need to figure out what puppy-proofing the house will require."
"I'm all over that," I assured her. "If Luke's on board, then we're going to get a dog.”
Chapter Eighteen
At lunch, I sent Faith a text to make sure she was doing ok. She replied back that she hated the eighth grade, but she was ok, and some of her classes were kinda cool. When I asked where she was eating lunch, she told me it was nice outside, which meant she was avoiding the cafeteria. I didn't really blame her.
We talked for a bit, me keeping her company while she ate. Naturally, she asked what I had for lunch. I loved her a little more for that, so I lied and said I was eating yogurt. In truth, I'd completely forgotten, but when she had to go to her next class, I got up and made myself a little cup so that she wouldn't need to know.
