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“You’re sure there’s no one bothering you?” She looked toward the bushes and Kelsey started to sweat.
“Positive.”
“Because you know, whatever might happen, if you talk to your dad or me or anyone else here at school, we can help. Teachers and parents are kind of like Santa Claus sometimes, the way they can get things for kids that kids don’t believe they can get.”
Kelsey nodded. She had to go.
“Even if there’s an older kid from next door trying to bully you.” She nodded toward the junior high and Kelsey’s stomach started to hurt. Did Meredith know?
“There’s no one.”
Meredith wrapped her arms around her middle. “Promise me something.”
“Sure.” Kelsey’s backpack was getting really heavy.
“If you ever do feel you’re in trouble and you can’t go to your dad, come to me, okay? I promise, no matter what, I’ll help you.”
Kelsey thought about running up and throwing both arms around Meredith and begging Meredith to take her away. But Mom was waiting. Loving her. Trusting Kelsey not to get any of them in trouble.
She’d feel horrible if she screwed up and her mother had to go to jail, even if Meredith could keep Kelsey out of it.
“I will,” Kelsey finally said. And with one more look at her, Meredith walked across the field. Kelsey watched her the whole way and Meredith never turned back to look. She couldn’t know or she wouldn’t have left Kelsey alone to go with Mom and get more drugs.
Kelsey brushed away some stupid tears and climbed through the bush.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“HI, IT’S MEREDITH.”
“I know.” Mark held the phone in the dark, the covers down at his waist, leaving his chest naked to the night air. He was hot as hell. “I recognized your voice.”
He’d just gone to bed—at an embarrassingly early nine-thirty on a Saturday night. But Kelsey was asleep and there wasn’t much else for him to do except fold laundry. He’d scrubbed all the floors during the morning cleaning session.
“Is this a bad time?”
“No.” He’d been thinking about her.
“I was just calling to see if you’d like some time to yourself tomorrow. I have a hankering for Doris Day and cookies, and wondered if Kelsey would want to join me.”
What a coincidence. “She asked me to call and see if you wanted to come over for breakfast.” He semi-issued the invitation he’d just about talked himself out of. “We’re going to try making crepes and she seems to think we need a woman around to supervise.”
“Have you ever made them before?”
“No, but I make killer pancakes, and it can’t be too much different.”
She kind of laughed. “That’s what I thought the first time I tried them. How is she, by the way?”
“Fine. I haven’t seen any grades yet, but she was my little pal all day—followed me around chattering the whole time while I took care of the house. And she did her chores, and didn’t grumble a bit when I lugged her off to the hardware store.”
“I take it she doesn’t like to shop there?”
“She hates it. Says it’s ‘boring enough to die.’” It felt good to be talking to Meredith—probably because she was older than nine.
“So how’d you get from hardware to crepes?”
“They learned about French food in school this week and one of the mothers had made some for the kids to try. Apparently they had powdered sugar.”
“I make mine with fruit. She might not like the healthy kind.”
