42097609460

“I love that little girl,” Jo said, drawing her knees up to her chest.
“But it doesn’t surprise me that the two of you get along. Or that
she reached for you when she was scared.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because she’s a perceptive little thing. She knows you’ve got a
good heart.”
Katie made a skeptical face. “Maybe she was just scared about her
brother, and when her dad took off I was the only one there.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Like I said, she’s perceptive.” Jo pressed
on. “How was Alex? Afterward, I mean?”
“He was still shaken up, but other than that, he seemed all right.”
“Have you talked to him much since then?”
Katie gave a noncommittal shrug. “Not too much. He’s always
nice when I come into the store, and he stocks what I need, but
that’s about it.”
“He’s good about things like that,” Jo said with assurance.
“You sound like you know him pretty well.”
Jo rocked a little in her chair. “I think I do.”
Katie waited for more, but Jo was silent.
“You want to talk about it?” Katie inquired innocently. “Because
talking sometimes helps, especially with a friend.”
Jo’s eyes sparkled. “You know, I always suspected you were a lot
craftier than you let on. Throwing my own words back at me. You
should be ashamed.”
Katie smiled but said nothing, just as Jo had done with her. And,
surprising her, it worked.