Read Online Home with My Sisters by Mary Carter - Free Book Online Page B

from the hospital,” Faith said. “Grandma Garland came to visit. The first time we ever met her.”
    â€œHow can I not remember it?”
    â€œI don’t think she stayed long. She was tall. I remember that.”
    â€œLike you,” Hope said.
    â€œI’m nothing like her,” Faith said. “I remember her as scary. With a hard look on her face.”
    â€œYou were just a kid.”
    â€œAfter she left I asked Dad—‘Was that woman a witch?’ ”
    â€œYou did not.”
    â€œI swear.”
    â€œWhat did he say?” Hope loved hearing a new story about her father, a borrowed memory she could steal as if it were her own.
    â€œHe laughed and said, Sometimes. ”
    Hope laughed. They fell into a comfortable silence. Faith was the first to snap out of it. “Count me out.” And without so much as a satisfying click, Faith was gone.
    Hope flopped back down on the bed and caressed the dog. He treated her to a yawn. As long as Hope could get Joy on board, then Faith would come around. If there was one thing the oldest Garland girl could not endure, it was being left out. Hope sighed. Her sisters had no idea how much work she did behind the scenes, orchestrating everything without taking any of the credit. Yes, the middle child was the unsung hero of siblings. Oh ye of little Faith, and Joy to the world. “Watch me pull off a Christmas miracle,” she said to the dog. He yawned in return. Looked like she’d have to show them all. Kale didn’t wilt, did it?

CHAPTER 8
    Austin’s truck pulled up to the last known address for Joy, a busy shopping street located in the heart of the Capitol Hill District. It was usually filled with skateboarders, tattoo artists, and homeless teens. Hipster shops snuggled up against eateries, bars, and coffee shops. A community college nearby supplied an endless stream of youth. At ten in the morning, however, it was a ghost town. Forget Sleepless in Seattle, they slept just fine here. In fact, hardly any of the shops opened before noon. Ironic given that Hope thought of them as the coffee capital of the world. Hope suddenly wished they’d brought the dog. Then at least they could walk him up and down the street while checking things out. Instead, they’d taken him for a morning walk and then fed him and left him in the room where he happily commandeered the bed and didn’t even look up as Hope left. They would come back for him at checkout, giving them exactly two hours to find Joy. “This can’t be right,” Hope said. The exact address Joy had given was a giant shopping market that was currently closed. The sidewalk in front was littered with homeless teenagers, most sound asleep, their signs resting at their sides. Hope counted six teenagers and two pit bulls. Austin dug around in his pockets and pulled out some change.
    â€œThey’re so young,” Hope said. “Do you really think giving them money is the solution?”
    â€œYou can’t always see change,” Austin said. “Doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
    â€œI think that’s exactly what it means.”
    â€œIt’s not about them, it’s about me.”
    â€œHow so?”
    â€œMakes me feel a little better. So I do it.”
    â€œYou know pot is legal here now, right?”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œThe number of runaways to Seattle and Colorado has increased dramatically. Would it make you feel good if you knew you were supporting their decision to wake and bake?”
    â€œIf I give, I give. It’s not my place to be judgmental.”
    Ouch. She did sound sort of judgmental. She was cranky that Joy had lied about her address. She was tired of being punished for an unknown offense. Austin stepped out of the car and approached the kids. They were paired off, a boy and a girl sitting close but not touching, their heads resting against a brick wall, and another pair asleep with their