Summer on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #6)(69)

“I…don’t…need…anyone.” Each word was said from between clenched teeth.

“Who was that on the phone?”

“No one.”

“It would be kind of difficult for no one to make a telephone call.”

She clearly didn’t appreciate my weak attempt at humor. I stayed with her for a few more minutes. Everything about her body language told me she didn’t want me there. The longer I stayed, the more she seemed to stiffen with resentment. She couldn’t have made her feelings any plainer. I hate to admit how discouraged I was. I’d been willing to listen and reassure Casey. I wanted her to conf ide in me. I yearned to hold her and show her how much I cared, to tell her that if her heart was broken, then so was mine. Instead, she rejected every overture of comfort.

Her dismissal hurt. I blinked back tears as I silently rose and left her alone. I sat in the living room not sure what to think. After a while Brad lowered the paper. “You upset about something?” he asked. Sometimes men can be so obtuse. Obviously I was upset! All he had to do was look at me to know that.

“Yes,” I snapped.

My husband has the most expressive eyebrows I’ve ever seen. They inched toward his hairline, conveying sympathy—and a bit of shock at my rudeness. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. I crossed my arms and shook my head. I suppose I was acting like a rebellious child but at the moment I didn’t care. Having Casey live with us hadn’t been easy. This girl came complete with a matched set of emotional baggage.

“I take it this has to do with Casey?” Brad continued. Cody dashed into the living room, Chase at his heels. He halted abruptly when he saw us. “Are you guys f ighting?”

“No,” Brad answered. “Your mom’s worried about Casey. Can you tell us anything about that phone call you took earlier?”

Cody sat down next to his father. “I heard him say his name was Lee.”

“Lee,” I repeated, dropping my arms. I leaned forward and looked at Brad. “That’s her brother.” And then all at once I knew. “When I took Casey to visit him, Lee told her he was going to college and would be getting a job.”

“And he’d send for her,” Brad murmured.

“She also said he was considering the army.”

“If he does, she won’t be moving in with him.”

It was the only thing that would distress Casey this much. That short visit with her brother had given her hope—hope of getting out of the system, hope of being with him, hope of living a normal life.

“What should we do?”

Sometimes I worried that making an emotional investment in Casey was a big mistake. At the end of the summer she’d be leaving us and we had to accept that, just as she did. But how could we not care about her?

Brad frowned. “Should I see if she’ll talk to me?” he asked. Since I hadn’t gotten anywhere, I didn’t think he would either, but that was no reason not to try. After all, Brad was the one who’d devoted hours to teaching her about fractions.

“Let me try,” Cody piped up. “Me and Chase,” he said in all seriousness.

Brad turned to me for my opinion and I gestured helplessly.

“It can’t hurt.”

“Okay, son,” Brad said. “See what you can do.”

Cody nodded. “Come, Chase,” he commanded. “Casey needs us.”

The two of them trotted down the hallway to Casey’s bedroom. Cody knocked, then opened the door and went inside. Brad and I waited. My fear was that Casey would scream at him and hurt his feelings. Without realizing it, I sat on the edge of my cushion, ready to hurry to his rescue if the need arose. Probably ten minutes passed, with each one feeling like a hundred. If Cody and Casey were talking, I couldn’t hear their voices. I strained to listen and heard nothing.

“What do you suppose is happening in there?” Brad asked. He looked as tense as I felt.

“I don’t have a clue.”

Finally, just when I was about to investigate on my own, Casey’s bedroom door opened. “Mom,” Cody yelled, as if I was in the basement instead of one room away. “Do we have any ice cream?” He made it sound like a call to 9-1-1.

“I believe so,” I said as calmly as I could.

“We need two bowls, okay?”

“Two bowls coming right up.”

He closed the door, then jerked it open again. “What about chocolate syrup?”

“Ah…I’ll check.”

Brad was on his feet, too. “I’ll make a quick run to the store if necessary.”

I was already in the kitchen, investigating the cupboard where I knew I’d f ind chocolate syrup if we had any. “Got it,” I called out triumphantly.

“Good.” Cody’s voice was relieved. “Hurry, okay?”

“In a minute,” I promised him.

Working together, Brad and I quickly prepared two heaping bowls of vanilla ice cream covered with chocolate syrup. When I f inished adding the chocolate, I asked, “Should I look for whipped topping?”

Brad shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Each of us carrying a bowl, we approached the closed bedroom door.

Brad knocked and turned the knob. We stepped inside, holding out the ice cream as though we’d come bearing gifts of gold and precious jewels.