A Walk in the Sun by Michelle Zink

Author:Michelle Zink
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

Thirty-One

Rose’s dad was standing in front of the microwave when she came in carrying two bags of groceries.

“What are you doing?” she asked him.

He looked confused, and for one terrifying minute she thought he’d really lost it.

“Heating up dinner,” he said a moment later.

She set the bags on the counter. “I was going to cook.”

“You were?”

“Yeah, for you and Bodhi. He’s been working on irrigation all day. I figured he could use more than a warmed-up casserole. And you, too.”

“Oh, I’m just fine with this, honey. Don’t go to any trouble on my account,” he said, opening the door of the microwave after it dinged.

“It’s not any trouble.” She said it softly.

He set the plate on the counter and stared down at his hands. “I know you have a lot of responsibility these days, Rosie.” She blinked back the tears that rose to her eyes at the sound of the old nickname. “I’m . . .” He looked up to meet her eyes. Until lately, her dad hadn’t been the kind of man to avoid anyone’s gaze, but she realized now that he hadn’t really looked at her in a long time. “I’m sorry. I haven’t taken care of things like I should. I’ve been . . . your mother . . .”

She walked over and put her arms around him. “It’s okay, Dad. We have Bodhi here to help out around the farm. I just miss you, that’s all.”

It wasn’t the whole truth. Not really. She was drowning in the responsibility his depression had placed on her shoulders. But she couldn’t stand to see him so sad. Sad and sorry at the same time.

“It’s not okay, Rose. I know it’s not okay. I’m going to get it together, I promise.” He tried to smile. “I’ll be riding Mason right next to you by the end of summer.”

A knot of dread formed in her stomach, and she wondered if it was because she didn’t believe him or because the thought of still being in Milford at the end of summer, doing the same things over and over again, made her want to scream.

“It’s fine,” Rose said.

He pulled away and smoothed the hair that had escaped from her braid. “Do you mind if I leave you and Bodhi to dinner? I was going to watch some TV upstairs.”

She forced a smile. “Sure. I’ll save you some leftovers.”

He took his plate and left the room. She listened to the sound of his feet on the stairs, then turned to unpack the groceries. When she had everything laid out on the counter, she took a deep breath and reached for her mother’s cookbook before she could change her mind.

She thought it would hurt. That she would be hit with something powerful, a reminder of her loss. But it wasn’t like that. The memories weren’t in the book after all.

She put potatoes on to boil and went to work breading chicken like her mother had taught her. While it fried, she roasted garlic to

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