The Trustworthy One by Shelley Shepard Gray

The Trustworthy One by Shelley Shepard Gray

Author:Shelley Shepard Gray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2020-05-05T00:00:00+00:00


NINETEEN

“I wasn’t real happy to be putting on Andy’s clothes. They were too big, and it felt weird to show so much of my legs. But I wasn’t really thinking about modesty too much. See, the real problem was that I have a bad scar on my leg, and I had some pretty bad bruises on me, too. But I decided I’d rather have Andy Warner see my cuts and bruises instead of thinking I smelled.”

MONDAY

Kendra was so glad she’d decided to start closing the shop on Mondays. She needed a day to do laundry and clean her little house from top to bottom, and now that she had a younger sister to look after, she liked to spend a few moments being home alone, just relaxing with a cup of hot tea and a book.

She’d always done her best to be organized, but her new venture meant that she always had paperwork to check and banking to do. Yes, it was a lot, but she was doing her best, that was for sure and for certain. And today? Well, so far, it was proving to be a mighty good day. She’d made banana bread early that morning and had even managed to send off two big slices with Naomi and Kane, who seemed content to pick Naomi up every morning.

Kendra also had fresh laundry hanging on the line outside, had already cut up a chicken that was soaking in buttermilk before she would fry it that afternoon, and had changed the sheets on both her and Naomi’s beds.

Pleased with all of her accomplishments, she decided it was time to relax for a bit, especially since a new library book was calling her name. After cutting a slice of bread and placing it neatly on a plate, she sat down, feeling a sense of peace that had eluded her during her childhood.

Of course, she wasn’t even sure if she’d longed for peace in those days. Mostly, she’d just tried to take care of her siblings, avoid her father, and keep everyone fed. More often than not, she’d failed at all three things. Her younger brothers and sisters would go to bed hungry, she’d be sporting a welt from whatever her father had decided to hit her with, and she’d be overwhelmed with schoolwork.

No, back then, her sense of peace had come from being around her friends or in the pages of a book.

Annoyed with herself for letting those sad memories intrude on her sunny day, she motioned for Blue to hop up next to her, opened up the book, and slowly read the first page of the next chapter. She’d never be a good reader, but she did enjoy a good story.

She’d read only a few pages when two raps on the front door interrupted her.

Blue ran to the door, barking.

“It’s all right, Blue. No need to get excited.” Sure one of her girlfriends from the Eight had come to visit, Kendra opened the door without looking through the window.

And immediately regretted that decision.



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