Page 13 of Grace Notes
“I’m afraid you lost me, Ma’am.”
She waves a hand at me as if shooing off a fly. “What have I told you about that ma’am nonsense?”
“To not call you that?” I ask like it’s actually a question.
Setting her tea down, she turns her head to me, giving me a stern, motherly stare before continuing. “Anger isn’t a bad thing. I would say it’s rather healthy and natural. It’s when we bottle that anger up and let it eat at us that it becomes bad. Don’t let her bottle it up. Talk to her about it, and let her talk to you. But don’t ask her not to feel it. We all have a right to be angry sometimes. We just don’t have a right to stew in it.”
A million different ways I’ve been angry in my lifetime flit through my head. Mrs. Evert is right. There were moments when I needed my anger, but each time I sat in that anger, things began to fall apart.
“I think you’re right,” I say, taking another bite of the cake on my plate.
Mrs. Evert grins. “I usually am, dear, but could you maybe tell my husband that.”
My laugh is like a breath of fresh air. “Yeah. I’ll make sure to tell Pastor Evert next weekend at church.”
She pats my hand. “That’s all I ask.”
Chapter 8
Emryn,
You’re not quitting school. This is just a hard moment. It won’t last forever, and we will make it through together.
Remember, I’m your cheerleader. I’m shaking my pom-poms that you got me for Christmas.
Just—don’t tell Grayson that.
Love,
Brooks
Chapter 9
Brooks
“Emryn, my dad’s here,” I yell up the stairs.
I can see my dad’s truck winding up our long driveway out the front window. Avery is in the living room, playing with her dolls. Today has been better, but she’s still not the normal, spunky girl we’re used to.
I’ve thought about Grayson’s advice since that day we tried on the tuxes.
I can’t stop thinking about the times when I’ve been angry with God—and there has been a lot in my lifetime—yet now, in my moment of peace, I can look back and see that he never left me. Sometimes, it takes getting over that chasm to look back and see how you crossed it. And even though Avery is too young for that kind of self-reflection right now, I think one day, this moment of anger will be one she looks back on—but only if Emryn and I help guide that anger to a safe place.
Footsteps bound down the steps, and I turn just in time to see Emryn jump off the bottom step onto the floor.
Reaching out, I grab onto her waist and pull her to me.
“What do you tell Avery about jumping down the steps?” I ask, hiding my smirk behind a stern glare.
Emryn purses her lips and pretends to think, “I can’t recall what you’re talking about at the moment.”
She gives me a sassy grin, and I roll my eyes. “Mm-hmm. Sure, you can’t. It’s a good thing she didn’t see you. Otherwise, you’d be in for a world of scoldings.”
“Then it’s a good thing it’s our secret,” she says, pecking my lips and stepping out of my grasp.
My hands itch to pull her back to me and remind her what a proper kiss should feel like, but two things stop me. One, there’s a knock at the door, and two, Avery is in the next room.
I would hate to gross her out.
