Page 87 of Crazy Love

She’s so small, delicate as a bird, with pale blonde curls that frame her face and wide green eyes that don’t blink enough. Herexpression is a mix of uncertainty and quiet bravery, like she’s scared but determined not to show it.

“Hi, Winnie,” I say softly.

Her gaze darts from Penn to me to Sam, and when she sees Sam, she runs to him. He catches her in his arms and lifts her up, hugging her tight. Even Mrs. Murphy looks emotional when she sees the two of them interact with each other.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he says. “You’ll love it here. Penn and Addy are the best and you’ll have a nice bed with warm clothes…and Addy makes the best food you’ve ever tasted. Penn’s parents are great, and Addy’s are super nice too.”

She looks up at him and nods, not speaking. And then she turns back and looks at Penn and me and swallows hard.

“Trust me,” Sam says. “This is the best possible place to be.”

“We’re really happy you’re here too,” Penn says. “Would you like to take a look around? Are you hungry?”

She nods and lifts the blanket she’s been holding up to her face. I want to give it—and her—a good washing, but first things first.

“Sam and I can show you around. And I was thinking about having breakfast for dinner,” I tell her. “Do you like pancakes or waffles?”

She stares at me, unblinking, then looks at Sam and nods.

“Great,” I say, grinning. “Maybe you and Sam can help me in the kitchen while Penn talks with Mrs. Murphy.”

I’m not sure if Mrs. Murphy will be agreeable to that or not, or if she’ll want me to be part of the conversation, but I want to surround these kids with normality as quickly as possible. The last thing they need to hear is the adults talking about all the horrible things they’ve been enduring in the foster home.

Sam tries to get Winnie talking and she smiles a few times at him, but otherwise, she’s quiet and doesn’t leave his side. We walk upstairs and I show her the room next to Sam’s.

“Look at this big bed!” Sam says. “And my room is just next door. Penn and Addy are in that room there.” He points to the room at the end of the hall. “You even have a bathroom in your room. Crazy, right?”

She takes it all in. By now, Sam has set her down and she’s holding his hand as we walk through the rooms.

“If you tell me what color you like, we can fix your bedroom to look more like you,” I tell her. “Something fun. When I was little, I had a bunch of rainbow pillows on my bed. I also really loved unicorns and Belle fromBeauty and the Beast.”

Her eyes flicker with interest, but I still haven’t heard her make a peep.

Sam points at her and grins, “You loveBeauty and the Beasttoo, right? And Elsa.” He looks at me and nods. “ShelovesElsa.”

“Oh, I love Elsa too and Anna and Olaf…maybe we can turn on that movie after dinner.” I lift my shoulder and her eyes brighten, but she sticks her thumb into her mouth and looks at Sam.

“I think she’d like that,” he says quietly.

“Great. You can pick out another movie if you’re not feeling that tonight, but let’s get started on dinner. I’m hungry. How about you?”

“So hungry!” Sam says.

We go back downstairs and I can hear Penn and Mrs. Murphy still talking in the living room. We move into the kitchen and I pull out the ingredients. I hadn’t really planned on this for dinner, but it feels like a safe bet for tonight. I’ll cut up lots of fruit and focus on more vegetables tomorrow. Tonight, we just want to make this little girl comfortable.

“Sam, can you get the turkey bacon out of the fridge too?” I ask.

I start whipping up the batter and then show Winnie all the toppings. Sam tries to figure out what she wants. She nods yesto chocolate chips in her pancakes and also to whipped cream on top. And she looks the most excited when she sees strawberries and bananas.

Penn walks in about fifteen minutes later and I have a huge pile of pancakes ready. Still flipping another batch of some without the chocolate chips.

“I’m excited about this. Didn’t know I was getting your pancakes tonight,” he says, coming over to kiss me on the cheek.

Then he walks over to where Winnie and Sam are sitting on stools near me and leans on the island next to Winnie. She tenses and Penn shifts so he’s closer to Sam. She takes it in when Sam tilts his head over on Penn’s chest and Penn ruffles Sam’s hair. Her thumb goes back into her mouth. She’s the absolute cutest.

“Okay, let’s get these in our bellies!” I say.

I place the platter of pancakes near the toppings and Sam has already set the plates nearby.

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