Winter White by Jen Calonita Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t have kids.” She looked at her parents. “We were the youngest ones at the reunion.”
    “Sorry, I meant my cousin Chloe,” her dad said, and took a sip of water. “You haven’t met her. We weren’t close growing up, but the point is, she’s my cousin’s daughter, and your mother and I feel the need to step in and help her.”
    Mira stared at the ocean, feeling like at any second the waves would become a whirlpool that got bigger and bigger until it engulfed the restaurant. Her parents didn’t even make a dinner reservation without consulting Zagat’s. Now they were legal guardians to a complete stranger? And a girl from Harborside, no less? Weren’t they worried about how her cousin would mesh with the family? She saw stories on TV like this all the time, and things never ended well. And what were her friends going to say? She didn’t get it. But before she could voice her opinion, Lucas spoke up again.
    “I know this is hard on you three, but can you imagine how this girl feels?” Lucas asked. “She’s losing the only home she’s ever known.” Lucas’s face was solemn. “She’ll need counseling, Bill. We should talk about how you want to position this story in the press.” Mira resented his weighing in.
    “We can discuss that later,” her dad said. He looked at his children again. “The timing is rough, I know that. But your mom and I have discussed this a lot, and in the end we knew we had to do the right thing. We hope you’ll understand someday.” Mira noticed he sounded choked up. Suddenly she felt bad for grilling him.
    Two waiters arrived with trays of food. Lobster for Hayden, her parents, and herself, and filet mignon for Lucas. Connor had his standard mac and cheese with applesauce.
    Mira couldn’t even think of eating the lobster that was staring up at her mournfully. An hour ago, she had been worried about her hair and getting out of dinner early enough to make it to Taylor’s practice, and now she was getting a semisister? The idea was too much for her to comprehend. She didn’t do well with change. She’d had the same laptop for the past three years because she loved the keyboard. She refused to change her field hockey stick because she thought it brought her luck, and she slept with a Mexican worry doll under her pillow because a waiter had told her it would ease her fears. She might need to invest in a case of worry dolls after this news.
    “Does she know about us?” Hayden used his fork to expertly pull a piece of lobster from a claw.
    “I believe she only found out about us today, too,” their dad said, sounding like he was choosing his words carefully. “The social worker is bringing her tonight at nine.”
    Mira’s jaw dropped, and it took all her energy not to let her fork clang onto the plate.
    “The guest room is made up,” her mom told them. “I had Paula put fresh linens and flowers in there, and we registered her for school. We need her size for uniforms….” Her mom listed the items like she would for one of her to-do lists. But this was much bigger than needing to buy a new comforter at Bed Bath & Beyond.
    “We’ll introduce her next week or the following at a dinner, I think,” Lucas said, having a one-track mind. “And I’m readying a press release. I think the reaction will be positive. This is an incredible thing your family is doing.” Mira resisted the urge to gag. Of course Lucas was working an angle already. She was still trying to figure out how she and this girl were related.
    Her dad looked at her. “What are you thinking, Pea?” That’s what he always called Mira as a baby—Sweet Pea. Later it was shortened to just Pea. At the moment, that’s how small she felt.
    “It’s a lot to digest.” She thumbed her glass again and looked at the melting ice.
    Her dad hardly asked her opinion anymore. He used to all the time, but now he was too busy reforming the North Carolina school lunch program to ask Mira what she thought of his