Hope wasn’t a kid person as such, mainly because she’d not been exposed to many, but this one, wow, she packed a punch.
“Hey there.” Hope found herself dropping to her haunches. “How you doing?”
The smile showed a mouthful of perfect little white teeth. She wore a sundress sprinkled with blue and white flowers, and little white sandals on her feet. In her hair was a blue satin ribbon.
“She’s so sweet.”
“Today, she’s sweet,” Mikey said as he skipped another stone. “Yesterday she was the child from hell.”
Hope looked at Branna to see how she took this piece of news about her beloved toddler.
“It’s true. Yesterday she screamed for a solid hour when she went down for her nap. Mikey was watching her. He’s tougher than me and Jake.”
“You could never be a hell child, could you, Rose?” Hope gave the child a smile, which she returned. She then moved closer, wrapped her arms around Hope’s neck, and squeezed. Quietly literally, every thought in Hope’s head fled. She couldn’t breathe and her chest hurt. It was bliss.
“Rose McBride, you are a suck-up,” Mikey said, unimpressed.
“It’s true,” Branna added. “She’s not happy unless everyone loves her, which they pretty much do.”
“Meany,” the little girl said, easing back from Hope and glaring up at Mikey. She then patted Hope’s cheek and went to annoy the boy.
“How old is she?” Hope said when she could find her voice.
“Three.”
“If I could have one just like that, I’d do it,” Hope surprised herself by saying.
Branna laughed. “Yes, she’s really something, isn’t she. She told her daddy this morning that she felt he should give her another cup of hot chocolate because she wanted to be as smart as him.”
“Bet that worked.”
Branna sighed. “You’d think because he’s a doctor he’d have more resistance to such a ploy, but no.”
Hope laughed.
“I heard about what happened to you, Hope. And before you get all bent out of shape, it was only because I saw Annabelle in the Hoot and she and Buster were discussing it, and I threatened to break her fingers if she didn’t share.”
“It’s okay, I think most of Howling will know by now.”
She felt Branna’s fingers on her arm.
“No, this is too serious for that. It won’t go outside our group, I promise you. But, Hope, we want to help.”
“I don’t think you can, and after what just happened in the Roar, I’m pretty sure I’m sunk.”
“Okay, that I don’t know, but right now I have to take Rose to meet her nana for lunch. So I’ll hear about it later.”
“See you.” Hope waggled her fingers at the little girl as she left Mikey, after urging him down to her level so she could kiss his cheek. Rose then did the same to Hope.
“Bye, Hope.”
“Can I take some pictures of her before I leave, Branna? I’ll give them to you.”
“Oh, yes please!” Branna hugged Hope and left.
“Right, let’s go, Faith is waiting for us,” Mikey said.
“I thought we were taking more photos of the water?”
