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I wasn’t saying I was bla Plenty of people had plenty of reasons to distrust rown tired of was everyone auto that because I’d done it before, I’d do it all the ti out of your

But that’s not the way it was at Willow Springs I was given the benefit of the doubt I wasn’t labeled a liar because I’d been caught telling one I wasn’t labeled a good iven a fresh start

Maybe that’s why I made a vow to never tell another lie to another Walker Or let one Walker lie to another Walker because ofthe, or what the kids at my new school would think of s, I was Rowen Sterling Nothing else

In one week’s time, I’d kept that vow I hadn’t lied once to any of the Walkers, although I’d co Rose when she asked if I knehy Jesse had been so out of sorts theand dodged out the back door to take h omission It wasn’t the best case scenario, but it was a far cry from the worst

Between chores and sleep, I spentRose’s hands as she kneaded bread dough in the irls picking strawberries, hell, I even sketched Old BessieI drew it all, but mostly, I drew Jesse I never meant to, but halfway intoback at me, and even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t scrap it and start again So I finished those sketches, and then I had a book full of Jesse It made the ithout hiht, and I was anxious about that for several reasons One, because it was the night of the big dance and barbecue everyone had been talking about nonstop Two, because it was the night Jesse was scheduled to come home And three, because I didn’t want Rose to freak out when she sahat I’d done to her three daughters ere the very definition of natural beauty

We’d been stoay in Lily’s roo the heck out of each other Well, I’d been doing the spraying, swiping, and curling The girls, except for Cleed to sit still and endure it

"Curly or straight?" I asked Lily once I finished powdering her nose and highlighting her brow bone

Lilynot to smear her pale pink lipstick She looked older but not offensively so When Lily o to the dance, I of course asked her why She said she felt ordinary and overlooked whenever she went to one of those things She said she didn’t feel like she fit in After giving her a hug and telling her she should have her head exaested we turn her bedrooive her a few makeup and hair tips

Once Hyacinth and Clementine sae were up to, they refused to be left out Cle around like a rabbit on speed I curled her hair and let her slick on a coat of lip baler, but just barely, so after doing her hair, I let her talk loss and prayed Rose or Neil wouldn’t skin me

Since Lily was sixteen, I took a little more time with her eyes and added a touch of blush I found ht hand with the girls’ makeup I usually used the opposite with my own makeup

Lily’s face flattened as she finally irls had so, thick hair that took forever to curl

"Rowen!" Cle iron "Will you put some of that eyeliner stuff on me, too?"

"I most certainly will not," I replied as I wrapped the first chunk of Lily’s hair around the iron "If you keep bouncing like that, those curls are going to bounce right out of your hair" I tried to give her a stern look as she bounced on the end of Lily’s bed, but it didn’t work Staring sternly at a little girl with perfect little ringlets bouncing up and down in a dress that was five sizes too big for her was i stopped immediately as she patted her hair to make sure those curls were still in place "Lily!" We were less than ten feet away, but Cle "Can I pick out another dress to try on?"

Lily sighed "Yes, just not the one I’ht"

"Yippee!" Clementine dive-bombed from the bed and rushed toward Lily’s closet where Hyacinth was looking for her own dress

"Okay, I could s hair fro open and in stepped so iron almost slipped fro to the closet to sprinting toward her brother She tripped on the dress right as she ht her before she crashed and burned

After giving her a quick hug and greeting his other sisters, his eyes shifted toabout hi

"Hey," he said, staying firmly planted in the doorway

"Hey," I said My heart thundered to life with two laed between us

"Hoas your week?" His voice wasn’t quite cool, but it wasn’t warm either It was almostconventional Maybe that orse than cool

"All right," I said with a shrug "Hoas your week?"

"All right"

We had that repeating each other thing down