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“Hi,” I squeak. Katy immediately recognizes me. There is no doubt in my mind. I’m sure I’m the last person she ever wants to see again, but she doesn’t scream or yell at the sight of me. “Sorry, I said booger butt.” Thankfully not something worse.
“I think it’s something this little troublemaker would have said, right?” Callan asserts.
Katy nods. “Jamie McAlister in my group at camp is a booger butt.”
Callan nods. “I wholeheartedly agree with that.” He glances back up at me. “Can you do me a favor since you’re already out here?”
I squint up at him since his face is blocking the sun. “Sure. What’s up?”
“I forgot my watch here yesterday and I need to charge it tonight. Katy does not want to go inside. Is there any way you can keep an eye on her for a few minutes while I go and grab it?”
“I’ve got her. Go. I mean it,” I urge when he hesitates. “I’ll stay with her.” I twist my head down so I’m nearly eye level with Katy. “Can I stay out here with you while your uncle goes in and gets his watch?”
She shifts her weight from one foot to the other and chews on the corner of her thumbnail. Finally, she nods her head.
“I’ll be right back, Ladybug. You stay here with my friend, Layla.”
“I will,” Katy promises, and then Callan gives me a meaningful look and runs inside the building.
I hold out my hand to her. “Do you want to go sit on the bench? It’s hot out here in the sun.” She doesn’t answer, but she places her small, warm hand in mine and allows me to lead her over to the bench.
“He’s mad at me,” she says in a low voice as we sit down, taking in not a whole lot other than the steaming asphalt the ambulances use to bring in traumas.
“Why would he be mad at you?”
“Jamie McAlister was teasing me on the playground today. He called me an orphan.”
That little shit. He’s lucky I wasn’t there or I would have kicked his ass, six years old or not. “He sounds like a real booger butt.”
Her face turns up to mine and she smiles, the sunlight reflecting off her blue eyes that are so much like Callan’s it nearly steals my breath. “I told him he was a dick and kicked him in the shins.”
I spit out a laugh and then start choking as I try to stifle it. “Where did you learn that word?”
“Uncle Cal’s friend, Asher. He swears a lot.”
I don’t know the guy, but I’m guessing Asher is going to have to learn to watch his mouth around this one. “What did this boy do when you did that?”
She puffs out a breath and drops her cheeks to her small fists, her elbows digging into her thighs. “He cried like a baby and told the teacher on me. They called Uncle Cal and he had to come and pick me up. The teacher made me say I was sorry, but I’m not sorry.”
Damn. I seriously love this girl. She issome. “Do you think there was a better way to tell him you didn’t like what he said?”
She hikes up her shoulders. “He’s never nice to me. He chases me around and throws dirt at me. I don’t want to be nice to him if he’s not nice to me.”
Wow. Kids set it straight in ways adults do not. “I get that. What did Uncle Cal say?”
“He told me it’s always good to stand up for myself, but violence is never the answer and that next time I shouldn’t use a bad word. He said Jamie is only looking for my attention and to ignore him.”
I think about that. “Uncle Cal has a point. Boys tend to bother us the most when they want our attention. But you know what? I understand you being upset and reacting the way you did even if there are better ways to do it next time. I’m an orphan too,” I tell her. “I lost my parents when I was your age, and it hurts a lot. When someone reminds you of that, it makes the hurt worse. Still, this guy isn’t worth your attention and certainly not worth getting in trouble for.”
She sits up straight and peers at me through her lashes. “How do you make the hurt better?”
Good fucking question. “When I figure that answer out, I’ll let you know. Having people you love around or people who make you laugh helps. I read a lot of books, particularly when I’m feeling sad, and they make me feel better.”
“How?” She presses.
“It takes my mind to another place, sometimes another world depending on what I’m reading. I talk about my parents too, but you might not be ready for that yet.”
She shakes her head and gives a little sniffle, wiping her nose with the back of her arm the way kids do. “Do you think he’ll take away my tablet?”
