page7 (2/2)

“Great And, Lindsey?”

The girl tensed but gave Toni her attention

“You have ht?”

She nodded

“Anything At any time And I mean that I hope you’ll use it if you need it”

“Thank you,” she whispered, then scurried out the front door

“Gosh, that poor child,” Stephanie said, a hand pressed to her chest

With a sigh, Toni nodded, her brown eyes following the girl as she darted across the parking lot “Tell et some more information out of her, but she’s pretty locked up She swears she isn’t ho, Shell?”

“I don’t know So seems off Just breaks my heart” Shell said as she tried to envision how difficult life would have been as a young teen on her own It’d been hard enough surviving without help in her early twenties

Across the diner, Shell’s own daughter let out a squeal of laughter as she sent her Barbie doll diving over the edge of a table Shell couldn’t iine a future where she’d kick Beth out of the house or one where Beth felt the need to run away No, that little girl knew just how loved and cherished she was, no matter who she became or what she did Hopefully, there was someone out there who felt the same about Lindsey, and if not, she had no doubt Toni would work her irl

Shell’s lips curled as she watched her child entertain herself Without thinking, her hand autoh Beth was conceived in a trau in ways Shell never could have ihter finally had the father she’d been denied for the first four years of her life