when she saw the granola bars and fruit snacks hidden underneath.
“I hope that’s okay. I was going to ask about allergies before I gave her
anything.”
“Yeah,” Taylor said tightly. “That’s fine.” She rubbed her hands on her
jeans but not before giving a once over, like she just couldn’t believe this
was the same person as the day before. “I better get to work out there. By
tomorrow, we should have it all done.”
“That’s great news.”
/> Taylor gave Chloe a hug. Chloe squirmed, trying to get back to the bag
of goodies. Taylor just grinned at her daughter before she walked off
towards the back.
“So?” Christina was basically just faking whatever confidence she’d put
out there. She had no idea about kids. Her brothers didn’t have any. She’d
been sent to boarding school growing up. She hadn’t had a normal
childhood. She had no friends with children. She really had no friends in
Austin, period. “What should we do first?”
Chloe was apparently an easy child. She held up the paint book, but
stayed silent, waiting for Christina to approve her choice.
“Sure. That looks like a good one.”
“Do you like to paint?” There was no doubt that Chloe was utterly
adorable. Christina felt some of the nervous anxiety tightening her chest
give way.
“I do. I used to paint while I was growing up. When I was in school. Art
was my favorite thing to do. I liked it much better than math and science.”
“Craft and paint station is my favorite too!” Chloe exclaimed. She
sobered as she looked down at the book, then held it out to Christina.
“There’s only one. You can paint it if you want. I can color instead.”
Christina was so touched that she felt moisture hovering on the
periphery of her vision. Kids really were refreshingly innocent. Why
couldn’t more adults be like this?