Page 43 of The Challenge

Effie came running toward me from the small yard behind the house.

“Hey!” I smiled, relieved to see her welcoming face.

She caught her breath. “You came back!”

“I did.” I knelt. “I missed you. What are you up to?”

“Naomi came over, and Daddy asked me to play outside while they talk.”

“What were you doing in the yard?” I asked.

“Looking for rabbits. Our old house had a lot, but I haven’t seen one here yet.”

“I bet if you hang out long enough, you’ll see one. I saw a couple earlier today in the front yard of the other place I was staying.”

“Do you like your new house?”

“Well, actually…” I hesitated, unsure what to say without having spoken to Evan first. “That’s part of why I came back, to talk to your dad about letting me stay here again. But it’s going to be up to him. I didn’t like the other place at all. I wasn’t as comfortable there as I am here.”

“Daddy will let you stay, but I don’t know about your friend Scott. Where is he?”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “He…decided to go back to Chicago.”

“He didn’t like it here?”

“He liked it here, but he needed to leave.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, don’t mention anything to your dad about me wanting to come back. I’d like to talk to him first, okay?”

“Okay.” She shrugged.

I saw movement and looked to my left. “Oh my gosh, Effie. Look! It’s a little bunny.”

She gasped. “I can’t believe it.”

“You wished it, and it came true.”

“Just like I wished for you to come back.” She beamed.

Oh my God. I wanted to cry. “Aw, honey.”

That tugged at my heartstrings, but it also made me wonder if messing with her head like this was a mistake. How many times could people enter and exit her life—in my case, in the span of twenty-four hours?

Effie and I went around back to see if we could get lucky again and spot more wildlife. We saw some chipmunks, but there weren’t any other rabbits.

About fifteen minutes later, I heard a car start out front. Then the back door opened and Evan walked out into the yard.

Effie ran to him. “Look who’s here, Daddy!”

“Hi.” I smiled awkwardly, my heart speeding up with each step Evan took toward me.

“Hi,” he said in a low voice, seeming pretty calm, considering I’d barged in on his talk with Naomi.

I’m sure they’d had a multitude of things to discuss, thanks to me. Evan and I had a lot to talk about, too, but I couldn’t say what I wanted to in front of Effie.

“I have to do my homework,” Effie suddenly announced, perhaps sensing that her father and I needed privacy.