Page 37 (1/2)

"Boo!" I say, and she jules

"Where were you?" she asks I flip my eyes to

"No you didn’t You’re not wearing your shirt," she says Dairl is smart

"True It was a special workday I just had to help with so," I lie

"Oh," she says, turning her attention back to the small cheese crackers on a plate in front of her

"One day, you’re not going to get off so easily," my mom whispers in ainst the counter and watchit She’s so curious about everything She’s soin We’ve had five roo out the spare room, and each tiht Change h she was barely a month old when her mom died, I think there’s a part of her that always thinks about it The slightest changes to her routine seem to send her anxiety up

I pull up a chair to talk to her about it, reaching over and grabbing one of her crackers and stuffing it in h that turns into a cough "You didn’t ask"

"May I please have a cracker?" I say with a full les and nods yes

"So I need to talk to you about soain to steal another cracker She stands her own fingers up and walks therab her hand instead and pull it tonoise, then I kiss her tiny knuckles "We’re going to have a new roo that she’ll do better with a girl, that so her botto it slowly I can tell she’s already getting stressed

"Her naht hate uess what?"

"What?" Leah whispers