about the fight.”
“You’re quite astute, Colie Hollis.”
The girl sat up on her bed, crossed her legs. “I figured it was coming sometime. You probably would’ve yelled at me Friday night if Violet hadn’t gone and broken her arm and then I . . .”
Despite the nonchalant look she tried so hard to hold on to, Colie’s cheeks turned red. Of course she was remembering her tears in the hospital room. The way she’d cried for her mom, spilling all her hurt and fear.
And staking a permanent claim in Jenessa’s heart in the process. How could she feel so strongly about this little girl—about all three of them—so very quickly? The thought that Carmen could call any day, tell them Dustin Hollis had been located . . . she couldn’t let herself dwell on it. Had to find some way to focus simply on this little slice of time she’d been given, however long it stretched. An opportunity to lavish these children with a love she wasn’t sure she’d even realized she’d possessed before.
“I’m not going to yell at you, Colie. And as for what happened in the hospital, it’s okay if you feel a little bit embarrassed about that. I feel embarrassed too when I cry in front of other people.”
Please, God, give me the words. The words she’d needed as a child.
“But I sort of think crying can be a really good thing. It’s like on a really hot summer day when you’re standing on the edge of a swimming pool and you finally jump in and suddenly, you’re so happy you did. Maybe it was cold and shocking when you first hit the water, but then it’s pure, cool relief. And you wonder why you didn’t jump in sooner. That’s kind of what crying does, I think.”
“Yeah, but it also gives you a headache and a stuffy nose.”
“True enough. The thing is, as someone who isn’t always that great at showing people how she feels, I tend to think people who do show how they feel are really brave.”
Colie fiddled with her sock. “Even if showing it was kind of an accident?”
“Even if.”
Colie flopped back against her pillows. “If you’re not going to yell at me about the fight, what are you going to do?”
“Well, here’s the thing: Yesterday I stopped by Klassen’s Hardware and picked out a bunch of paint samples for you to look at. I don’t know about you, but I think these pale green walls are super dated. Personally, I’m looking forward to trying out a whole bunch of different colors and I bet Violet would love to come in and help out too.” She scooted her chair closer to Colie’s bed. “So, I’m thinking we make this whole conversation about the fight as fast and simple as possible so we can get on to the fun. How’s that sound?”
That was either hesitant relief or disbelieving doubt on Colie’s face. “I guess it sounds okay.”
“Maybe we could even save some extra time by skipping all my questions and you could just give me the quick lowdown and we can go from there.”
And just like that, the story poured out of Colie. Some silly volleyball drill. A student’s unkind words about Colie’s old kneepads. The kneepads her mother had given her two birthdays ago.
Colie had pushed, the girl had slapped, the coach had intervened. “I won’t do it again. Even if she says something stupid like that again. I’ll just ignore it next time.”
“You sure? I could talk to the coach—”
Colie sat up so quickly she knocked a pillow off the bed. “No way. That’ll only make things worse.”
“Okay, I won’t talk to your coach if you’ll answer one question for me. How are you feeling these days about the whole sixth-grade thing? I know you’ve only had one day of school so far and with everything that’s happened, we haven’t had a chance to talk much about it.”
Cole gave another of her signature shrugs. “It’s not so bad.”
“Really?” At Colie’s nod, Jenessa stood. “Then I think we can get to the paint samples.”
Another pillow dropped. “That’s it? You’re not going to punish me for the fight?”
“You just told me Coach Bertelli made you run line sprints. You paid for your crime before it even occurred, my friend.” She ducked into the hallway and grabbed the mini paint cans and sample swatches. “Ready to play interior decorator?”
She expected Colie to jump off the bed, relieved at the end of their discussion. But she didn’t move