Hope leans forward. “That’s because they are. They’re a force of nature. A violent one at that.”
Pull. Fold. Press. Repeat. The mix-ins slowly spread through the dough.
“Really. Do they break their girlfriends’ hearts?”
Hope snorts. “They don’t date. The world is afraid of the Spawn of War.”
Cammie takes a gulp of fresh air.
“Are you afraid of them?” Autumn leans back against the tiled wall.
“No. They wouldn’t ever hurt me.”
“Would they hurt one of us?” Autumn’s hand goes to her throat.
This is why my life is a bad teenage romance novel filled with all the angst.
“I’m not afraid.” Cammie scoops up some of the cookies and puts them on a plate. “Just you watch. I’m going to be dating one of them by the end of the month.”
Uh oh!
***
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Hope asks a few hours later.
“Sure. Want to go back by the picnic tables to talk?”
“Yeah.”
“Put on a jacket. It’s gotten chilly out there.” I grab a coat and a blanket to place over Dash, even though he’s wrapped tightly to my body.
Once we’re outside, I sit on the picnic table and wait for her to talk.
Hope reaches up to tug on her hair, but it’s tied up in a braid. “Is it a good idea for Autumn to date? She told me she was raped by her stepfather. How could she ever want to think about dating again?”
My day just got harder.
She takes a deep breath. “Should I tell my cousins to leave her alone? They’ll listen to me. And if they don’t, they’ll listen to Sasha.”
Interesting that she didn’t say they’d listen to her dad. Time to give an innocent a dose of reality. “I don’t know.”
“Huh?” She stares at me like I’ve grown three heads.
“I don’t know. Every woman reacts differently to being sexually assaulted. For some, dating might be impossible. For others, it might be a way to see that there is still good in the world. Another might realize that she needs more therapy. And some are never ready.”
Hope sinks down next to me. “How do you know which a person is? I want to be a good friend to her.”
“You don’t. She might not even realize what she needs. The only thing you can do is support her decisions and be there for her if she needs help.”
“But—“
“That will be hard for someone like you.”
“Like me?” Hope stares up at me.
“You’re a fixer like your grandmother and father. Which is a lovely person to be, but it’s going to be challenging when the answer is wait. And honey, you need to wait. You need to give Autumn a chance to decide for herself what she wants to do.”
“Even if that’s dating my cousin?” Her nose wrinkles.
