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“Let’s all go inside with Nonna,” Chance said, breaking the sudden tension.
The girl looked past Willa to meet my gaze. “Who is he?” she asked.
Willa stood up and turned to me. “That’s Gunner. He’s my boyfriend,” she told her, then held out her hand for me to come closer and take it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Bella,” I told her.
She gave me a shy smile, then ducked her head.
“He does that to most girls. It’s that pretty face of his,” Willa said, making Bella giggle.
Chance took Bella’s hand and led her back inside. Willa leaned against me just enough for me to feel it but not enough to be obvious. Her hand squeezed mine, and I squeezed back. This was a lot for her, and now she hadmore to learn. It was clear Chance was holding back the complete truth. Willa needed me and I would be whatever she needed. I wasn’t leaving her side. We would face whatever else was to come together.
Ms. Ames was putting food on the table, and the house smelled like fried chicken and biscuits. I’d loved both those things as a kid, and Ms. Ames made the best.
Her eyes lifted, and she met mine. “There’s my other boy,” she said, smiling. “Now y’all find a seat and let’s eat. Best talking is done around the dinner table.”
Willa moved to the table, and we took a seat while Bella kept her eyes on Willa as she chose the chair beside her. I glanced over at Chance, and the pleased look on his face said more than any words could. He had wanted his sisters to know each other. Their mother had done a lot of damage to all of them. Maybe more to the ones she’d kept.
“This looks amazing. Thank you, Nonna,” Chance said as he took his seat across from me and beside his grandmother.
“No need to thank me. I’ve been cooking for these two since they were babies. I miss not getting to do the same for you and Bella. I have a lot of time to make up for,” she told him, then patted his cheek before turning to Bella and asking her what she wanted to drink.
Willa stood up then. “Oh, let me help with the drinks,” she said.
“Sit! You’ve got things to take in, and, well, I want you to sit. At least for tonight,” Ms. Ames told her with a serious expression.
Willa sat back down slowly, and I squeezed her thigh, then left my hand there once she was seated beside me again. She had relaxed somewhat since we’d arrived. She turned her attention to Bella.
“Chance tells me you’re a great student. He said you were reading before you were four years old. That’s very impressive,” Willa said to her.
Bella lit up at the compliment. “Chance taught me to read. I love books. They tell the best stories,” she told Willa and glanced at me a moment to smile shyly.
Willa looked over at her brother. “He left out the part where he taught you to read.”
Chance shrugged. “She was a fast learner. I realized she was trying to read everything from cereal boxes to magazines mother left lying around. So I went and got a library card, and we began getting books each week.”
“The library is our favorite place. All the good things happen there,” Bella said as if she was sharing a wonderful secret.
Willa placed her hand on mine under the table, and I turned my hand over so that I could thread my fingers through hers. This was going to be a journey, but it wasone she had needed for far too long. I just feared the steps it took to get her through it. Pain was going to be involved and I hated to know she would hurt. I wanted to save her from everything. I always had. This time I couldn’t but I would be there while she waded through.
CHAPTER FIVE
WILLA
Bella had kept us very entertained during dinner with stories about her school, Chance, and her friends. Not once did she mention our mother. When the topic went in any direction that Mother might be brought up, she would pause and go in another direction. She was way too wise for her years, and I knew that had a lot to do with the home life she had been given. Although Chance seemed to have done an excellent job taking care of her. The guilt that I hadn’t been there to do the same for him and her weighed on me heavily.
Rick had always kept Chance by his side. They had gone to ball games together and played catch in the yard.He had even taken Chance on trips with him that I didn’t get to go on, and when Mother had to stay behind with me she resented me for it. Not once had I considered that my brother’s life had been hard. That he had been neglected. If I had… I wouldn’t have kept my distance. I wouldn’t have let our mother keep us from being together. All three of us.
Sitting around the living room, Chance and Gunner were talking while Bella showed me every special item she had in her backpack. They ranged from shiny rocks she had found to tiny little dolls that Chance had bought her as rewards for good grades. I learned all about her best friend Mags and how they could swing the highest on the playground.
When Chance finally told Bella it was time for bed, she sulked only a moment, then hugged me tightly before going to do the same to Nonna. She paused at Gunner and ducked her head, unsure what to do, and he held out his arms. “Hey, I like hugs too,” he told her.
That was all the encouragement she needed. She threw herself into his arms and gave him a hug before blushing as she called out good night to us all and then followed Chance to the bedroom that had been mine once.
I looked at Nonna as I fought back the emotion clogging my throat. I had made a mistake and I couldn’t go back in time. I should have known my sister. Tonight, I wasseeing all I had missed. Hearing about her life rather than being a part of it.
“Not sure how luck had it, but none of my grandchildren inherited their mother’s meanness. I just don’t know where I went wrong with that one. I shouldn’t have let her daddy spoil her so.” Nonna looked so sad in that moment I wanted to get up and wrap my arms around her, but she stood up before I could move. “You need to talk to Chance. I’m going to go clean up the kitchen.”
