Page 46 of Blindly Yours

“Yes!” She claps. “They used to have one at school, but they took it down this year. I miss it.”

“Well, we’ll have to find a park that still has one,” Nate replies.

“Miss Rose?” Kara asks me.

I take a drink. “Yes?”

“Do you want to help me gather the eggs from the chickens in the morning?”

Nate laughs dryly. “I don’t think she wants to do that. She might get a little dirty.”

I ignore him. “You have chickens?”

“Yeah! Six of them.” She puffs out her chest. “Dad and I raised them from chicks. You shoulda seen them back then. They were so cute and tiny and fluffy.” She cups her hands together like she’s holding one. “And they went ‘cheep, cheep, cheep.’”

“That’s really cool.” I smile. “Do you have any other animals?”

She nods eagerly. “We have a dog, but he’s at the trainer’s this week. Dad says he won’t chew up my shoes anymore when he gets back.”

I widen my eyes at Nate. “He chews shoes?”

He laughs again and winks. “Yeah, you should be glad he’s not here now.”

I glare at him.

“Miss Rose?” Kara asks. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Hmm…” I return my eyes to her and rub my chin. “Purple, I think.”

“I have a purple notebook in my room. I have all my drawings in there. Want to see it?” She starts to get up.

Nate points at her plate. “Finish your dinner, first.”

She shoves a huge bite of broccoli into her mouth.

In the time it takes us to finish our meals, Kara tells me the names of all her chickens, sings the song she learned in her first-grade class today, lists all the places she’d like to visit, and explains how to make a French braid, which she recently learned from her friend, Maddy.

She helps Nate with dishes while I clear the table, and then brings me her purple notebook of drawings—which is also sparkly, by the way. We sit in the living room, and she flips through the pages. She’s actually a really good artist for her age. She promises to draw me a tall skyscraper with a rooftop playground tomorrow.

Eventually, she goes to bed, and then the room is finally quiet. I watch the fireplace from the sofa as Nate sits down in one of the armchairs with a grunt.

“Sorry, she’s kind of a lot,” he shakes his head.

I smile just slightly. “She’s adorable. And really, really smart.”

He scratches his beard and watches the flames too. “Yeah, she’s gonna show me uprealfast.”

I laugh quietly and run my finger over the smooth leather sofa arm. “You’re great with her.”

He nods but doesn’t look at me. “So, did your room look ok? Anything you need?”

I shake my head. “No, it’s great. Thank you again.”

He clears his throat and pushes up from his chair. “Good. Well, I’ve got some work to do in my room. Some invoices to file. Fire’s almost out. You can add a log if you want.”

I glance at the glowing coals. “Oh…um…”

He looks at me and raises a brow. “You don’t know how to tend a fire, do you?”

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