Firestone by Claudia Hall Christian Read Free Book Online Page B

standard kid uniform of new jeans and a
T-shirt. Feeling their eyes, Keenan turned to look.
    Katy gasped.
    “ But
that’s . . .” Katy leaned forward to whisper to her
mother.
    “ He’s going to live with
us,” Jill said.
    “ Why?” Katy
asked.
    “ Because he needs a nice
place to grow up,” Jill said. “Not like before
when . . .”
    Jill gave Katy a knowing nod, and Katy
wrinkled her nose.
    “ I know you,” Keenan said
to Katy. His voice had a slight almost-British accent, which made
him sound formal. “I had a dream about you.”
    Katy nodded.
    “ You were my princess,”
Keenan said.
    “ She wasn’t your princess.” Paddie
moved between Keenan and Katy. He stood up to his full height. Even
at four years old, he was almost as tall as the thin, small Keenan.
“Katy’s nobody’s princess.”
    “ I belong to me,” Katy
said.
    “ And me,” Paddie
said.
    “ And Paddie,” Katy said.
“He’s my best, best forever friend.”
    “ Oh.” Keenan looked
confused and embarrassed. “Um . . .”
    “ You could be our friend
too,” Paddie said. He gave Keenan a big smile.
    “ I could?” Keenan looked
relieved.
    Katy nodded.
    “ How come you aren’t a
princess?” Keenan face fell in sadness. “I thought you were a
princess.”
    “ We don’t have princesses
here in America,” Jill said. “We belong to ourselves and each
other.”
    Jill gestured to the adults and children
standing around talking. Keenan turned to look at Jill. She smiled
at him. As if taking her in, he looked at her for a while.
    “ Katy’s is your little
girl,” Keenan said. “And Paddie is her knight.”
    “ That’s right,” Jill
said.
    “ And you are our friend,”
Katy said.
    “ I am?” Keenan looked down
at the ground. “Are you sure? I
feel . . .”
    “ Of course you’re our
friend,” Paddie said.
    Keenan looked at Katy and then at Paddie. He
scowled.
    “ I feel like I did
something really bad and hurt you
or . . .”
    “ You didn’t hurt me,”
Paddie said.
    “ You didn’t hurt me,” Katy
said.
    Jill gave him an assuring smile. He smiled
at her.
    “ Maybe you haven’t had
friends before,” Katy said.
    “ I think that’s right.”
Keenan nodded.
    “ We have lots of friends,”
Paddie said. “My daddy has lots of friends and my mommy has lots of
friend and Katy’s daddy has lots of friends and Katy’s mommy has
lots of friends. Now you have lots and
lots of friends!”
    Paddie beamed at his logic. Keenan grinned.
Jill reached out her arms and scooped all three children up in a
hug. She kissed each of their cheeks. Keenan put his hand over
where Jill had kissed him and smiled.
    “ Come on,” Paddie said. He
held out his hand to Katy and to Keenan. “Let’s go get a good
seat.”
    The kids ran to the dining room.
    “ They worked it out,”
Delphie said. She held out her hand and helped Jill up.
    “ Paddie,” Jill said. “He’s
a charmer.”
    “ You think there will be
friction between Keenan and Katy?” Delphie’s eyebrows furrowed with
worry.
    “ I doubt it,” Jill said.
“Katy’s pretty involved in her own life. Keenan has so much on his
plate — learning to read, getting settled here and at school,
eating and growing. He won’t have time for much trouble. I mean,
I’m no psychic. Thank God.”
    “ Were you speaking of us?”
Anjelika came toward Jill with the boys. Jill smiled, and Anjelika
laughed. Jill took her sons from her mother.
    “ Let’s eat!” Delphie
said.
    Everyone moved toward the dining room. Jill
stood next to Delphie.
    “ Do you think there’ll be trouble
between Katy and Keenan?” Jill asked.
    “ No,” Delphie said. “I
think everything is going to work out just fine.”
    “ Me too,” Jill
said.
    ~~~~~~~~
    Saturday — 10:32 P.M.
     
    “ Hi,” Sandy said when Aden
came into their bedroom.
    He gave her a partial smile before going
into their bathroom. He came out a few minutes later and went to
Rachel’s crib.
    “ You can get her,”