Page 36 of Christmas Homecoming Secrets
“I thought I might have to. Mia kind of gave me a heads-up last night.”
Jade made her way down the hall and into the playroom, where she found Jessica sitting on a beanbag under the window. She was reading a book about teen sleuths who managed to get tangled up in a series of mysteries in their elementary school. “That was one of my favorite series when I was your age.”
The girl didn’t bother to lift her eyes, so Jade sat in the beanbag opposite her. “I know you’re mad at me, and that’s okay, but in this family, we talk things out.”
Jessica finally looked up, jaw set, eyes shadowed. She didn’t set the book aside. “You lied. There, we talked it out.” Her gaze dropped back to the printed page, but Jade had a feeling she wasn’t really reading.
“Well, technically you talked, but you didn’t listen to my answer.”
“What answer? That adults always lie about everything? It’s okay. It’s not my first rodeo, you know.”
Jade raised a brow. “Where did you hear that expression?”
Jessica shrugged.
“Put the book down, please, and do me the courtesy of listening—just like I would do for you.”
With a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes, Jessica complied and crossed her arms to glare at Jade.
Instead of addressing the defiance and the attitude, Jade ignored it. “So, you’re right,” she said. “I didn’t keep my promise about the Christmas tree and I owe you an apology.”
The girl went still, and her mouth rounded in a silent O. Then she snapped her lips shut. “What?”
“I owe you an apology,” Jade repeated. “Has no adult ever apologized to you?”
“Not that I can remember.” The attitude had lessened quite a bit, and Jade slid her hand over Jessica’s.
When the child didn’t pull away, Jade took it as a good sign. “Well, that’s lousy, honey. I think every adult in your life probably owes you an apology.” She blew out slow breath, tossing words around in her mind, hoping when she strung them together, they’d make sense. “Look, Jessica, I have a very demanding job. One that I love. I’m good at it, too. And while I try to make plans—with every intention of following through on them—sometimes life derails those plans and I have to change them.”
Jessica looked away. “Lolly said your friend was hurt.”
“He wasn’t just hurt, he died. It was Frank, honey.”
The child flinched. “Frank? Frank died?”
Jade nodded.
The attitude was all gone and tears spilled over Jessica’s lashes. “But why?” she gasped. “And how? Was it a car accident?”
“No, it wasn’t a car accident. We’re trying to figure out exactly what happened.”
“I’m sorry,” Jessica whispered. “Lolly didn’t tell me that part.”
“She was probably trying to protect you.”
“I don’t want to be protected. I just want people to be honest with me.”
“I know.” Jade held the child while she cried. When she pulled back and swiped her eyes, Jade pulled a tissue from the box on the small table under the window. “You have to remember, you’re still a kid. And while you’ve probably been through more than most children your age, you’re still a child. We adults want to protect you—well, the good ones in your life do. It’s actually in the job description.” She offered Jessica a small smile and brushed the child’s dark curls away from her flushed cheeks. “And I don’t mean that as a potential big sister, but as aresponsibleadult. Most of the adults in your life have really fallen down on the job, but Lolly and Pop and I, we’re trying to change that.” She tilted Jessica’s chin until their eyes met. “And while I’ll always want to protect you, I’ll always be honest, too.”
“No matter what?”
“No matter what.” She paused. “But there might be some things I can’t tell you. If I can’t, I’ll simply say that I can’t tell you, but I won’t lie.”
The child turned into a missile, propelling herself into Jade’s arms. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I love you, Jade, and I’m sorry about Frank. I didn’t know him for a long time, but he was always nice to me and Gage. I’ll miss him.”
Once again, Jade’s throat went tight for the thousandth time in the last twenty-four hours. “I love you, too, sweetie, and thank you. He’s going to be missed by a lot of people”
“I hope you get to be my big sister. I’d really like that.”
