come stay with us.”
“For the summer,” she mutters, with the gaze of a wounded bird. “Why even bother?”
“No, for good. You’ll be going to Swampy Bottom High School.”
“Why?”
I arch an eyebrow. “How else would I get you to work off the cost of repainting those buildings?”
“Oh.” She tilts her head to the side. “That makes sense. So…when I’m done paying you back, I’m gone?”
“No! Clean out your ears, Little Miss Trouble. You are now an Abernathy. I care about your annoying, snarky little self. And Gramma Mae would be really sad if you left town.”
Fiona nods. “That’s true, I’m one of her best friends. And I’m her protégée. She’s teaching me everything she knows, because Daisy’s too busy with the baby, and you’re too uptight.”
“Gahh.” I make a face. “A junior Gramma Mae? Don’t make me rethink this.”
Then I glance at Sheriff Buckley. “Any rumors of us illegally using child labor are highly exaggerated. But I do plan on running Fiona ragged for the rest of the summer.”
He fixes his sharp gaze on me. “I would expect no less. I’ll go notify child services. If you’re lucky, you can get an emergency hearing for guardianship this afternoon.”
I glance at my watch. Two p.m. “Gramma Mae plays bingo with the social worker every Wednesday. I think we’re good.”
A sigh slowly pours from Fiona’s thin body. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this. And Gramma Mae could have gotten in big trouble because of me. If I come stay with you, maybe I’ll turn you into a bad person just like I am.”
I swallow hard. I’d hug her, but I’m afraid she might bite me. She’s not the huggy type. “You’re not a bad person. You were just bored and angry. I know you were throwing away the spray paint because you were done with vandalism,” I tell her. “Your aunt is just being a cow. Not that you should ever refer to your elders in that fashion. But she is.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon arranging the guardianship. My mother, Daisy, and Chase come to assert that I am of good character and will care for Fiona appropriately. We leave Gramma Mae at home. I don’t want to risk her derailing the whole process by flipping someone off or busting out obscenities.
As we sit in the hallway waiting for the judge to sign off on everything, Fiona’s Aunt Reba strides up with a garbage bag and drops it on the floor at Fiona’s feet. She’s only in her forties, but her forehead is furrowed with the frown lines of a very angry eighty-year-old. “Here’s all your junk. Good riddance.”
Fiona shrinks in on herself. I rake Reba with a murderous gaze.
“Watch yourself,” I snap.
She ignores me and keeps laying into Fiona. “And to think, I took you in and fed you and clothed you. And this is the gratitude I get. You’re nothing but a common criminal.”
I leap to my feet. “Excuse me. Number one, she’s an uncommon criminal. She’s an uncommonly talented artist, and she was uncommonly good at not getting caught. Number two, maybe if you hadn’t thrown her out of the house every morning, she’d have been less inclined to spend her time finding ways to get in trouble. And number three, shut your pie-hole or I’ll shut it for you.”
I sneak a glance at Edna, the social worker, who is sitting across the hallway working on her cross-stitch.
“You going to let her get away with that?” Reba hollers at her.
Edna glances up. “Get away with what?” She winks at me, then looks back down and keeps stitching.
Reba’s face flushes an unhealthy red. “High falutin’ snobs, the lot of you. Think you’re better than the rest of us. Well, good luck with that nasty, no good little—”
I shoot to my feet, fists clenched. Reba’s stream of vitriol ends in a startled squawk.
“One more word,” I threaten her. “One more word and I will punch your buck teeth straight.”
My mother stands up and puts her hand on my arm reprovingly. “Not now, dear.” Unfortunately, she’s right. If I sock Reba in the kisser, I might not get guardianship of Fiona.
“Nasty, no good little criminal just like her mama,” Reba finishes, with a look of loathsome satisfaction on her face. She turns and stomps off without another word. Once the door shuts behind her, Fiona lets out a long, deep breath of relief.
“I am so glad we left Gramma Mae at home,” I say to Mama. “We’d be cleaning