This girl was aPierce.
Mr. and Mrs. Pierce left the room moments later. Mrs. Delaney blew out a breath and closed the door to the classroom. When she turned back to face her students, she had a big smile on her face.
“Okay, everyone! We’re going to have a great day. Let’s start by getting to know each other. Tell us your name, your birthday, something you did this summer, and then a few of your favorite things.”
Mo knew most of his classmates from church and T-ball. He already knew their names and what they’d done this summer. But when Bronwyn introduced herself, he listened.
“Hi. My name is Bronwyn Pierce. My birthday is in October. I went to California this summer, but I didn’t get to go to the beach. My favorite color is blue, and my favorite food is shrimp tacos.”
A few kids laughed at that. Shrimp tacos? Mo had never hadanything but ground beef on a taco. He liked shrimp though. Maybe it would be good?
Bronwyn froze for a moment before she finished in a rush. “I like to swing and ride my bike, and I think I would like camping, but I’ve never been.”
She sat down, and from Mo’s seat behind her, it looked like she was breathing heavily. Cal leaned over to her and whispered, “Good job.”
She gave him a weak smile.
Mo spoke up. “Camping is fun. You’d definitely like it.”
Bronwyn turned around in her seat and grinned at him. “You think so?”
“I do.”
“Do you go camping a lot?”
“No. But we camped by a waterfall in June and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs over a fire.”
“Really?” Bronwyn’s eyes shone. “That sounds amazing.”
Mrs. Delaney cleared her throat, but not the way adults did when they were mad. “Thank you, Bronwyn.”
Mrs. Delaney wiped her eye and called on the next student. Mo decided that she looked happy about something, which was weird since she also looked like she was trying not to cry.
Adults made no sense. He didn’t think he would like to be one. But he had a long time before he had to worry about that.
Three
Present Day
Mo looked up from his computer and glared at the door to his home. “Go away!”
Cal knocked again.
“I said go away.”
“You’re going to change your tune when I tell you why I’m here.” Cal’s voice held a challenge.
“Don’t hold your breath.”
“Are you going to let me in?”
“Let yourself in.” Mo went back to work.
The beeping on the keypad told him that Cal messed up the first time he entered the door code but got it on the second.
Mo didn’t look up from his screen as Cal entered. “You’d better have a good reason for showing up at five thirty on a Monday morning.”
“Why do you care what time it is?” Cal closed the door behind him, then leaned against it.
