The Way It Should Be by Christina Suzann Nelson

Author:Christina Suzann Nelson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Fiction;Christian Fiction;FIC042100;FIC042000;FIC044000
ISBN: 9781493429936
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2021-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

KELLY ARRIVED RIGHT ON TIME. It wasn’t possible to be that punctual without parking alongside the road and waiting for the exact right moment to drive the remaining bit.

She was a middle-aged woman, slightly thin for her frame, with gray streaks coming in around her face and oddly smooth skin.

Zara had put the puppy in his crate to keep the distractions to a minimum, but the way Charlotte had looked at her since then was hot enough to shrivel the hardiest plant. She knelt down in front of the little girl. “Listen, I promise I’ll let Pickles back out as soon as our visit with Ms. Kelly is over. Okay?”

“I wouldn’t want to be locked in a box.”

Kelly knocked on the door about three feet from where they stood.

“Of course you wouldn’t. And that will not happen to you.”

“But you did it to the puppy.” Charlotte fisted her hand on her hips, her mouth a straight line.

This was not how Zara wanted to welcome yet another caseworker. She stood and answered the door. “Come on in.”

Sammy leaned from her arm, trying to reach the edge of a picture frame, and toppled it before she could move.

“Oops.” The blush that must have covered Zara’s face in scarlet heated her as it rose. “I’m sorry.” She moved to the side so Kelly could come in, then replaced the photo on the shelf.

“Hi. I’m Kelly Pratt, the permanency worker. You must be Zara.”

She held her free hand out to shake Kelly’s. “And this is Charlotte and Sammy.” Zara turned to find Charlotte missing. Internally, she slapped her hand against her forehead about ten thousand times. “Charlotte?”

“Let me take this little guy while you get her.” Kelly took Sammy, and Zara’s arms sang at the relief.

Turning around the corner, she found Charlotte sitting on the floor, her arms crossed against her chest. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“I want you to let Pickles out. It’s making me sad.”

Zara sat down beside her and took a deep breath. “How about you come in and meet Ms. Kelly, and when she leaves, I’ll give you a special treat to give to the puppy?”

Charlotte cocked her head. “How about two special treats?”

“Deal.” Zara stood and reached down to pick Charlotte up, but the look the little girl shot her way was a strong warning to keep her hands to herself.

They reentered the living room and found Kelly and Sammy sitting on the floor with a ball. She must have brought it in her oversized woven bag. They pushed it back and forth, Sammy’s face lighting up each time she returned it to him.

“Kelly, this is Charlotte.”

The little girl went right over to the caseworker and hugged her around the neck.

Zara could have choked on the shock. She’d been trying to get the tiniest bit of affection from Charlotte since she’d arrived, and nothing. But the moment Kelly came in the door, she was treated like an angel.

“I’ve met the kids once before.” Kelly returned the hug, then got up and sat on the sofa.

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