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Then he leaves with Maddox and Oliver. I don’t get a chance to process any of my brief chat with Eddie or even speculate before Lara Crandall slips inside the library. Wonderful. My good mood is about to dampen. The woman means well, or at least this is what I tell myself, but no conversation with her is very pleasant or easy.
Lara marches straight to me, face pinched. “Wren, a word.”
“Oh, hi, Lara. How may I help you?” I put on my brightest smile, hoping a positive outlook will make this quick and painless. It’s naïve of me, but one can hope.
“I’m quite concerned with what I’m hearing about Bright Horizons.” She looks down her nose at me.
Now if that isn’t vague and alarming. I try to get the words past the growing lump in my throat. “Sorry, what are you hearing?”
“That Bright Horizons is on shaky ground. It may not be approved by the city council. Something to do with misconduct or something…on your part.”
No. Is Dot talking, spreading lies about me around town? Or did she get to her father? My insides coil tight, and my chest feels like it’s about to burst open, the air filling my lungs trapped and expanding by the second.
“Lara, I haven’t heard anything. I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I wouldn’t worry?—”
“Excuse me?” She slaps a hand onto the counter. “If you don’t think this is cause for concern then perhaps you shouldn’t be the one running this program.”
“But…” I snap my mouth shut even as my defensive words boil on my tongue.
I will not gain anything by sparring with Lara Crandall. Anything I say or do will be used against me, reshaped, and retold by this woman.
“Answer me this.” She squares her shoulders. “Has the city council approved the program?”
We both know the answer. She may even know more than I do about where things stand or the program’s chances with the council. Lara’s only making a point.
“No. It’s still with them for review.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve been saying for some time now?”
I don’t know how to get her to back off, short of telling her so, but every second I stand here, I grow more nauseous. Beads of sweat gather at the back of my neck and my hands tremble. First, the news of Dot laying down new threats, this time about Oliver’s father, and now this.
“Miss Wren.” Brayden, a stocky, muscled boy, slides out from behind Lara along with Jack and Courtney. “Is Bright Horizons not gonna happen?”
At some point while I was talking with Lara, the other kids left the library and only three remain. The very kids who stand to gain or lose so much depending on the approval of my program.
How much did they overhear?
If the town rejects the program, the family sponsorships are likely to fall apart.
“No. We don’t?—”
“You children need to prepare yourself for the worst.” Lara Crandall walks past them toward the door and stops to look back at me pointedly. “All of you should.”
“What’s she talking about?” Courtney rushes to my side.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” Even as I say the words, I’m not so sure they’re the truth.
What if this is the end of the program? Something cracks inside my chest, a hot pulsing sears through me, and I’m sick to think all could be lost. These children might not get a chance at college. And why? Because I had to take on Dot Malone.
Chapter17
Oliver
It’s well after midnight when I slip into Wren’s home. Usually, I would find her in bed but not tonight. After we left the library and Maddox went to his mom’s house, Eddie told me about his visit to the library. That he’d gone to talk to Wren and never got a chance to explain things to her.
Despite my brother’s aloof exterior, he cares. Initially, he may have acted like Dot’s threat was no big deal, but his actions said otherwise. He went out of his way to find Wren. He wanted to make sure the added complication of Merrick Winslow’s embezzlement wouldn’t send her running.
Not long after leaving the library, as expected, Wren texted that we needed to talk. If I didn’t know better, I’d have been worried.
