Contents ( 66)
- Cover
- Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map of Florida
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- forty-nine
- fifty
- fifty-one
- Epilogue
- Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
- Prologue
- one
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
His mother didn’t need the burden of his own disappointment, and he wasn’t sure he could hide it just yet, so he headed for the hospital cafeteria to collect himself. With a Coke and a piece of pecan pie from the cafeteria line, he took a seat at a table next to a plate-glass window overlooking a hallway filled with portraits of men Peyton didn’t recognize—all wearing suits or white coats. Probably the board of directors or something.
“Hey, mister, could Jasper here have a bite o’ your pie?”
Peyton turned to see two children standing beside his table. The little girl looked maybe six or seven years old. She was a pretty child, with big blue eyes and long blonde hair in need of a comb. Her cotton dress was frayed around the hem, and there was a button missing from the front. She wore dingy white sneakers with a small hole in the right toe. Clutching her hand was a boy who looked younger—maybe three or four—but had the same blue eyes and blond hair as the girl. He wore jeans, patched and threadbare, and a T-shirt that looked a couple of sizes too big for him.
“Hey there,” Peyton said with a smile. The children didn’t smile back.
“Jasper ain’t had nothin’ to eat since yesterd’y, and he’s real hungry,” the girl said. “Can he please have a bite o’ your pie?”
Peyton slid his plate toward the boy. “He can have all of it. How ’bout you? You hungry too?” The girl nodded as the little boy devoured the pie, eating it with his hands. “Y’all wait right here. I’ll be back in a second.”
Hurrying through the cafeteria line for fear the children would leave, Peyton filled a tray with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, chocolate cake, and two Cokes. They were still there, patiently waiting at his table, when he returned. Their eyes opened wide when they saw the food.
“There you go,” Peyton said.
“This here’s all for us?” the little girl asked.
“All yours.”
The children dug in to the food, and Peyton watched in silence until they finally began to slow down.
“What’s that there?” The girl pointed to a bottle of Coke. Until then, Peyton hadn’t noticed that neither of the children had taken a drink.
“It’s a Coke—something good to drink,” he explained.
The girl only blinked at him as the boy licked chocolate icing off his fingers.
“Just take a sip,” Peyton said. “I think you’ll like it.”
She cautiously lifted the bottle and took a sip. A smile broke across her face. “It’s bubbly and sweet,” she said. “I like it.”
“Thought you might.”
The girl turned to her companion. “Try it.”
The little boy stopped licking chocolate off his hands and took a sip of Coke. Immediately, he started giggling, which made Peyton laugh.
“Wipe your mouth, Jasper,” the girl said. The little boy cleaned his face with a napkin.
“Are you two brother and sister?” Peyton asked.