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As he did, Brey spun around to nail me with a look. “Foster, can I?—”
“Yes,” I told her before she could finish the question. I hitched my head toward my bedroom. “You can use my bathroom.”
“Oh, thank God.” As she streaked past me, Little appeared at the end of the hallway and shouted my name.
“Foster!”
“Hey, hey, kiddo. Good morning.” As she ran toward me, I bent down to swoop her up into my arms. “You ready to go back to school today?”
“Uh-huh.” Nodding, she set her hand on my shoulder and then tipped her face in to rest her brow against my temple as I carried her toward the kitchen. “I’ve decided I’m going to feed Thomas today.”
I blinked at first, not catching on, before I remembered who Thomas might be. “Is that the class turtle or fish?”
“Turtle,” she said. “I was scared before. But I’m not scared now. ’Cause I’m older today.”
“Oh my God, she is just too cute,” Raina cooed from behind me. “I want a roomful of students just like her.”
Ignoring her, I nudged my temple affectionately against my little sister’s and teased, “Older and wiser, huh?”
“You betcha.” Then she blinked in confusion. “What does wiser mean?”
I was explaining the definition as we entered the kitchen, where my mother was filling three lunch boxes and preparing breakfast at the same time.
“Morning,” I greeted as she glanced over, tossing a sandwich into a lunch box before immediately pouring milk into a bowl of cereal.
“Morning, sweets,” she told me, carrying the cereal over as I tucked Little into her booster chair next to where Reed had fallen into a seat and was still engrossed in his story. Mom set the cereal in front of Little before swiping a loving hand over her hair. Then she kissed the crown of Reed’s head before turning to slap her lips against my cheek.
“Dad already gone?” I guessed as I glanced around.
“Yep. He had to head out at four this morning.”
“Bleh.” I shuddered and headed toward the refrigerator so I could pull out my morning juice. As I twisted the cap off, I turned back to ask, “So what do you need help with?”
“Actually, I think I have the food ready,” Mom answered as she finished the lunches and zipped them closed. “But, oh, can you take Kacey to school today too?”
Straightening in surprise, I frowned at my mom. “Kacey?”
“Who’s Kacey?” Raina asked, wandering over to check out the available breakfast food sitting on the counter.
“Brey’s best friend,” I answered without thinking.
My mom shot me a funny look before slowly saying, “Yes.ThatKacey. Her mother has an appointment this morning and asked if we could take her.”
I nodded, even as everything inside me tightened at the mention ofMrs.Crowder. “Sure. Do we need to pick her up or?—”
“Nope,” Mom began to fill bottles with water. “Emma will drop her off here pretty soon.”
“Oh.” Oh no. Swallowing in dread, I glanced toward Raina.
Paying no attention to the conversation between me and my mother, she pointed at the blueberry muffins. “Are youstillnot going to eat one of these? Come on, Foster. They look so good. I can’t handle how everyone just ignores them.”
I gritted my teeth to keep myself from responding as Amy swept into the kitchen. “Mom, can I have some money to stop for a macchiato on the way to school?”
“I’m sorry, baby, I’m fresh out of cash this morning.” Scooping up one of the lunch boxes, Mom handed it over. “But here’s this for you.”
Taking the lunch, Amy turned to me next. “Foster…” she begged.
Sighing, I dug into my back pocket. “Let me see what I have.”
