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Not that there was a da with that if he had It just wasn’t her job to assume, one way or another

With the heat of sha on her fro

It was so not like her She’d discovered several ge her years with social services, people with integrity who’d been dealt blows and were struggling so hard to keep air in their lungs they couldn’t worry about the mud on their skin

A phone rang and Tressa pulled out the phone that had been sticking out of the back pocket of her skinny jeans “It’s A up for dinner I’ to take a while, I need to let her know I can’t make it”

Lacey had no real reason to stay Levi wasn’t in residence, and hisabout anyone else hurting him

“Do you o?” she asked

“Of course not” After sending off a quick text, Tressa stood “It’s this way,” she said, heading back toward the living roo camel-colored paint “I made it like a racetrack,” she said “He loves it”

She stepped into an opened door halfway down the hall, and Lacey stopped “Wow,” she said, sain The floor was a series of carpets painted with roadways The walls matched, so there was no break in the road There were stop signs, speed lihts There was a park, and a store with parking lot spaces out front

“He can run his cars to the store, the park” Even a firehouse

“Yeah He loves it,” she said again “It was Ah I offered to do one for Jem so that Levi would have this at hoood to keep it special for here so that Levi associated it with me”

She was dealing with aLevi had aware, concerned, loving parents who clearly doted on him

The only problem was, no one could explain bruises on the little boy’s body No one was even ad them

Except a day care worker

Who could have been wrong

CHAPTER NINE