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“Even run away.”
Becky’s eyes widened. She wasn’t going to tell her, but... What was she going to do now?
“If I had, would you turn me in?” Not that she ever trusted adults. They lied constantly. She didn’t feel like she had much choice.
“I think I would get in trouble if I didn’t. But...maybe it will be possible that I can provide a place for you to live so you could see your sister. Would that sound like something you would be interested in?” Her voice sounded completely unsure, like she was throwing something out way in the left field, and she wasn’t sure how Becky would respond to it.
“Provide a place to live? Like... I could live in the stable with the horses?” That would be awesome. That would be better than anything she could ever think of. If she were allowed to stay in Strawberry Sands, if she were allowed to stay in the stable, if she didn’t have to leave every morning. If...maybe she could talk Kim into letting her help with the baby, or help cook, or help with something, where she could eat too. It wouldn’t be her own house, but she could save up to buy her own house. Eventually. Maybe when she was fourteen or something.
“Or... You could live in the house with Davis and me and Kathleen.”
Becky stopped, her head swiveled to Miss Kim, and her eyes opened wide, as wide as they could possibly go. “Live here?”
“Would you be interested?”
“I couldn’t. There’s no way. Somebody would find me, and you guys would get in trouble. And I don’t want you guys to get in trouble. You’ve already been so nice to me.” Her voice kept rising the longer she spoke, and she spoke faster because she was so upset, because even though Miss Kim had just given her the very best thing that she could possibly ever give her, she couldn’t take her up on it. Because she didn’t want Miss Kim to get in trouble.
“No. I would make sure that was okay. We’d go through all the proper channels, and we would make sure that everything was the way it should be.” Kim stopped talking and stared at her thoughtfully. “Unless there’s someone else you’d rather live with?”
Becky stopped. She wanted to live with Rodney. But his parents would never be okay with that. She loved Miss Kim, and she’d be happy with Miss Kim and Mr. Davis, but they had Kathleen. And they probably wouldn’t be willing to adopt her sister.
“I think... I’d like to live with someone who doesn’t have any children already.”
If Miss Kim were really going to help her, which she had her doubts about, she wanted to be honest.
There was hurt on Miss Kim’s face, and she felt bad about that, but it was the truth.
Still, it made her mouth move. “I love the horses. I love feeding them. I love working there. I want to have a barn of my own someday.”
“I’m sure you will,” Miss Kim said.
“But... You already have Alyssa and also Kathleen. And I have my sister. She... She’s not in a great place. I mean, they feed her, and they keep it warm in the winter. But they’re not very nice to her. She’s just money, you know?”
Miss Kim blinked, as though she had never considered that foster kids could just be money.
“Foster parents get paid for helping foster kids. That’s what my sister is to this family.”
“Oh, I think there’s a lot of work involved. Surely the money they get isn’t worth all the work they have to do.”
“To some people, it is. Especially if they can cut corners with the kids. Anyway, maybe, maybe not. But she’s not really happy there. She wants to be with me the same as I want to be with her.”
“You just need someone who will take two children?”
“And I’m too old. Nobody wants me. She is only five, and she’s cute. Anybody will take her. It’s me that’s the problem.”
That was the truth. As much as it hurt to say it, and she didn’t really understand, although she supposed she really did. She knew foster kids who, if given half a chance, really would slit someone’s throat while they slept. It seemed to be what all foster parents thought about teenage foster kids.
“Can I think about this for a little bit?” Miss Kim said as the buzzer on the stove went off, indicating that the casserole was finished. It made Miss Kim smile, and she said, “But in the meantime, we can eat, right? And we’ll take Kathleen, and we’ll deliver some to the guys so they have some lunch.”
“We get to eat?” Becky said, wondering if Miss Kim was mad at her now that she said she didn’t want to live with her. She was just being honest. But maybe Rodney wasn’t right, and honesty wasn’t always the best policy.
“Of course. We’ll get some out for ourselves and leave it on the counter to cool while we deliver the casserole and some plates to the guys. I have a jug I can fill up with water, and we’ll grab some cups, too. While we’re doing that, we’ll think about this. I think it’s a good thing to pray about as well.” Kim pursed her lips. “In the meantime, I’ll have to talk to Davis, but maybe it would be okay for you to stay here. Where have you been staying?”
“Around,” Becky said, not wanting to give the name of Rodney or his parents. Rodney had been a little bit afraid that he would get in trouble, and she thought he might be right. She didn’t want to implicate him in any way.
“All right. Maybe we can figure out where around is, but in the meantime, no one’s going to miss you if you stay here?”
“No.” She would be sure to tell Rodney what was going on. He would be the only one who would be concerned about her. And maybe she was flattering herself, but she thought he actually really liked her, and he truly would be worried.
