as Faith hurried in, one fist flapping the front of her blouse to create a breeze. She shoved a limp strand of auburn hair away from tired green eyes and gave Katie a weary smile, her breathing winded. “Of course, it could have been the three blocks I ran to rescue Miss Kewpie, I suppose.”
Katie jumped up with a smile. “Sit. How about a lemonade? You look like you could use one.”
Hesitation flickered across Faith’s features as she glanced at the clock, then relaxed into a smile when she dropped into a chair with a groan. “Actually that does sound pretty good, Katie, thanks. Mother in bed?”
“Yes, I think this heat wrings her out worse than it does Lizzie, and Father headed up a while ago. Something about a headache, I think.” Katie poured a cool glass of lemonade for Faith, then one for herself before settling back in her chair. Faith drained half her glass in one thirsty swallow. She clunked it down on the table with a grateful sigh. “Oh, that hit the spot – thanks. A headache, huh? Mmm . . . now that you mention it, Father did seem a touch cranky at dinner.”
Katie’s lips skewed to the right. “Oh, you noticed, did you? Can you believe he’s making me spend my summer working for that annoying twit?”
“I thought Luke seemed rather nice.” Faith’s smile was gentle.
“Nice?” Katie’s tone raised several octaves. “See, that’s the problem with that pest – he always treated everyone nice but me. A regular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Charmed the socks off of my family, but treated me like dirt.”
“I don’t remember that,” Faith said with a crinkle of her brows.
“You wouldn’t – you never see the bad in anybody. But trust me, I didn’t crown him King of Misery for nothing.” She leaned forward with elbows on the table and squinted, the awful memories all flooding back. “Remember the baseball game at Lizzie and Brady’s house when I gashed my knee?”
Faith nodded, her eyes suddenly solemn.
“The little beggar tripped me,” Katie said with certainty. She hiked her leg up to tap a small, white scar on top of her knee. “Fifteen stitches, remember?”
“Come on, Katie, it was an accident.”
Her gaze thinned. “So he said, but I know better. That twerp hoarded home plate like a vulture with an evil glint in his eye, and you’re not going to tell me that it wasn’t for one purpose and one purpose only – to send me flying.”
A smile flickered at the edges of Faith’s mouth, as if she were trying to stifle it. “He simply did what any great catcher would do, Katie, try to block the plate so you couldn’t score. Besides, you know how important sports and winning always were to the poor little guy. God knows he didn’t have much else going for him.”
“Well, not friends, that’s for sure, not with a nasty streak a mile long.”
“Come on, you’re going to have to do better than that. What else did he do to warrant your wrath?”
She jutted her chin. “In addition to pestering me when nobody was looking, you mean?”
Faith grinned. “Yeah, something where you can produce a witness.”
“Okay.” Katie leaned in with a retaliatory gleam in her eyes. “Once when I was playing hopscotch in the schoolyard with my classmates, that little pest rode by on Brady’s bike and yelled, ‘Hey, O’Connor, what’s new in the dog world?’ I was mortified.”
A full-blown laugh escaped her sister, who promptly put a hand to her mouth. “Sorry, but to me, that sounds like a boy with a crush rather than one who hated you.”
Katie gasped. “Bite your tongue!” She pressed a palm to her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Rising with a chuckle, Faith washed her empty glass in the sink and proceeded to dry it, casting a wary smile in Katie’s direction. “Nope, Katie Rose, as a young woman who hopes to be a lawyer someday, I’d say you have no grounds for your case.”
Katie studied her sister for several seconds, the smile on her face fading
Katie jumped up with a smile. “Sit. How about a lemonade? You look like you could use one.”
Hesitation flickered across Faith’s features as she glanced at the clock, then relaxed into a smile when she dropped into a chair with a groan. “Actually that does sound pretty good, Katie, thanks. Mother in bed?”
“Yes, I think this heat wrings her out worse than it does Lizzie, and Father headed up a while ago. Something about a headache, I think.” Katie poured a cool glass of lemonade for Faith, then one for herself before settling back in her chair. Faith drained half her glass in one thirsty swallow. She clunked it down on the table with a grateful sigh. “Oh, that hit the spot – thanks. A headache, huh? Mmm . . . now that you mention it, Father did seem a touch cranky at dinner.”
Katie’s lips skewed to the right. “Oh, you noticed, did you? Can you believe he’s making me spend my summer working for that annoying twit?”
“I thought Luke seemed rather nice.” Faith’s smile was gentle.
“Nice?” Katie’s tone raised several octaves. “See, that’s the problem with that pest – he always treated everyone nice but me. A regular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Charmed the socks off of my family, but treated me like dirt.”
“I don’t remember that,” Faith said with a crinkle of her brows.
“You wouldn’t – you never see the bad in anybody. But trust me, I didn’t crown him King of Misery for nothing.” She leaned forward with elbows on the table and squinted, the awful memories all flooding back. “Remember the baseball game at Lizzie and Brady’s house when I gashed my knee?”
Faith nodded, her eyes suddenly solemn.
“The little beggar tripped me,” Katie said with certainty. She hiked her leg up to tap a small, white scar on top of her knee. “Fifteen stitches, remember?”
“Come on, Katie, it was an accident.”
Her gaze thinned. “So he said, but I know better. That twerp hoarded home plate like a vulture with an evil glint in his eye, and you’re not going to tell me that it wasn’t for one purpose and one purpose only – to send me flying.”
A smile flickered at the edges of Faith’s mouth, as if she were trying to stifle it. “He simply did what any great catcher would do, Katie, try to block the plate so you couldn’t score. Besides, you know how important sports and winning always were to the poor little guy. God knows he didn’t have much else going for him.”
“Well, not friends, that’s for sure, not with a nasty streak a mile long.”
“Come on, you’re going to have to do better than that. What else did he do to warrant your wrath?”
She jutted her chin. “In addition to pestering me when nobody was looking, you mean?”
Faith grinned. “Yeah, something where you can produce a witness.”
“Okay.” Katie leaned in with a retaliatory gleam in her eyes. “Once when I was playing hopscotch in the schoolyard with my classmates, that little pest rode by on Brady’s bike and yelled, ‘Hey, O’Connor, what’s new in the dog world?’ I was mortified.”
A full-blown laugh escaped her sister, who promptly put a hand to her mouth. “Sorry, but to me, that sounds like a boy with a crush rather than one who hated you.”
Katie gasped. “Bite your tongue!” She pressed a palm to her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Rising with a chuckle, Faith washed her empty glass in the sink and proceeded to dry it, casting a wary smile in Katie’s direction. “Nope, Katie Rose, as a young woman who hopes to be a lawyer someday, I’d say you have no grounds for your case.”
Katie studied her sister for several seconds, the smile on her face fading
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