“Did you ever tell Bennie anything about her mother? She asked me what Katie was like during dinner.”
“I have. Not a lot and not as much as I should. I thought hanging up the old pictures I’d hidden away would be a good start. When I get home, my plan is to get out some albums to show her. Bennie doesn’t remember her to miss her. It’s both a blessing and a curse.”
“I can imagine. I’m proud of you for hanging the photos.”
“It was time. It was time years ago, but I did what I could when I could. Someone very wise and kind enough to tell me to snap out of it mentioned that.”
“They must be very smart.”
“They are. And pretty damn amazing.”
Swooning over compliments from Lee was as useless as it was inconvenient, yet I never could stop myself.
“I’ll make you the macaroni and cheese when you’re home. You don’t have to butter me up.”
“I meant every word. I’ll text if dinner doesn’t run too late to see if she breaks you at bedtime.”
“She’s not going to break me. I’m tougher than I look.”
“I didn’t say beautiful women couldn’t be tough. My daughter is a mastermind. The cuteness is how she gets under your defenses.”
Did Lee just call me beautiful?
For fuck’s sake, Stella. Get over yourself.
“I’ll speak to you later and let you know how victorious I was. Tell Nate we both say hi.”
“No, I don’t think I will. Talk to you later.”
I hung up and scrubbed a hand down my face, praying Bailee had been right and when Lee came back home, he’d have enough annoying habits to finally knock him off the pedestal I’d put him on when I was sixteen.
For now, I only admired him more for how hard he was trying with Bennie and what he was doing for me. Maybe he left his dirty socks on the couch or didn’t put the toilet seat down.
I could hope.
“Stella, I think if we read these two books,” Bennie said, coming up to me with two small books nestled in the crookof her shoulder, “we should probably read this one right away since it belongs to the other two.”
“Or maybe we could stretch them out, one a night.”
“Hmm,” she said, her lips pulling down. “It’s not as good if you read this one—” she pulled one book from under her arm “—and wait for this one. And by then, you may as well read all three.”
“Then bedtime is going to have to be earlier. So you choose one or three.”
Her shoulders drooped before she headed back up the stairs, mumbling to herself. I looked forward to what she’d come up with to get around what I’d just said.
She really was a cute mastermind.
I’d have to find ways not to let either of them pull me in too much, or it would be that much harder to move on at the end of the season and let them go.
FOURTEEN
STELLA
About a week in, I’d fooled myself that taking care of a second grader was a piece of cake. Bennie was pure joy, even when she was angling for another cookie or fifteen more minutes before she had to take a bath. She was sweet enough to help me forget my adult troubles, like where I went from here in October.
While I’d waited outside her school at dismissal today, watching all the kids empty out of the building with no sign of Bennie, my heart sank into my stomach with the worst kind of dread.
Her teacher had come out to get me and ushered me into the principal’s office. Bennie met my gaze with red and swollen eyes, fat tears streaming down her cheeks. Two girls sat on the opposite side of the office, whispering and glaring at Bennie.
