Still ignoring her, Wren turned on the television and started watching a morning talk show.
“Wren, we’re not watching TV right now. Please turn it off and come help me make your breakfast.”
“No!” Wren wailed. “No breakfast!”
Oh boy. It was going to be one of those days.
Savannah stepped in front of Wren, blocking her view of the television. Wren craned her neck to try to see around her. “Sweet girl, we are not starting our day with television.”
“Lee-by lets me.”
“Levi’s not here.” She gently extracted the remote from the little girl’s hand, turned off the television and gestured for Wren to come to the kitchen. “Let’s get some breakfast, and then we can get ready to go to story time at the library. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“Not fun at all.” Wren flung herself face down into the pile of unfolded clothes and burst into tears.
Savannah blew out a long breath. As Wren cried into the clean laundry, Savannah closed her eyes and prayed. Lord, please give me extra patience today. Help me show Wren that I care about her and I’m here to keep her safe.
She’d taught a handful of students who had lived in foster homes, but none as young as Wren. Or this spunky. Somehow, she’d find ways to establish a positive bond with Wren. Not just because it was the right thing to do, but also because she feared if word spread that she couldn’t handle a four-year-old, she wouldn’t get a permanent teaching job.
“Where’s Jasper?” Levi stood in the doorway of the break room at the store. A box of doughnuts sat in the middle of the table. Coffee percolated in the machine on the counter beside the sink.
Dad pulled paper plates and napkins from a shopping bag. “He’s running late.”
Levi bit back a frustrated groan. He’d been running late, too, and he wasn’t proud of how his conversation had gone with Savvy, but he’d still made the effort to get here on time. “How late?”
“We’re probably going to have to push the meeting back to ten thirty.”
“So we’re having a meeting while the store is open? How’s that going to work?”
“Your mom’s going to come by and cover things for us.” Dad crossed over to the fridge and pulled out his favorite vanilla creamer.
Irritation simmered in his core, threatening to boil over. “When is she coming by? Because I’ve already asked her to pick up Wren from the library at eleven fifteen.”
“You might have to rearrange your plans, son. Sometimes people oversleep.”
“Are you kidding me? I can’t ask Savannah to keep Wren longer because Jasper didn’t hear his alarm. She’s supposed to be working on the parade float for our store, remember?”
Dad crumpled up a receipt and tossed it in the trash can beside the door. “Like I said, sometimes people oversleep. Maybe you should have thought about how taking on single parenthood would affect your career.”
Levi scoffed. “Maybe you should consider how letting Jasper be a slacker is impacting business.”
Dad pinned him with a fiery look. “Excuse me?”
“My brother didn’t show up for work on time. His inability to get out of bed is forcing the rest of us to rearrange our plans for the day. It’s weird how you’re excusing his laziness but criticizing my choices.”
The whir of the refrigerator filled the tense silence. A muscle in Dad’s jaw twitched. “Did you ever consider that if you and Tori hadn’t split up, maybe you wouldn’t be a single dad?”
Wow, don’t hold back. He drew a withering breath. “This is an emergency foster care placement, Dad. That means Wren literally had nowhere else to go.”
“Yeah, that’s too bad.” Dad stepped around him, opened the cabinet and pulled out a mug with the store’s logo on the side. “Want some coffee?”
“No, I want to have the staff meeting like we planned.”
Dad filled his mug. A tendril of steam curled up from the coffeepot. “That’s pointless since Jasper’s not here.”
“Unbelievable.” Spots peppered his vision. Half a dozen sharp retorts zipped through his head. None worth popping off for, though. He’d already said enough. Levi hung his backpack on an empty hook by the door, then strode out into the store. He flipped the sign around from Closed to Open, unlocked the door, then got the till from the safe in the back and installed it in the register.
The familiar routine of starting a new day brought him a little comfort.
But he was still too angry. After pulling his phone from his back pocket, he crafted a terse five-word text.
Hurry up. You are late.
With irritation still humming through his veins, he hit Send, then jammed his phone back into his jeans pocket. Wasn’t like Jasper was going to answer him, anyway.
Dad strode out of the break room and came toward him, a steely glint in his eyes. “Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”
Levi made sure they had plenty of shopping bags on hand and a jar of pens on the counter before he selected a station to play music on the overhead speakers. Performing those tasks gave him a minute to gather his thoughts.
“I was pretty clear, Dad. My brother’s not responsible enough to get out of bed and get to work on time, and you chose to criticize me. I don’t appreciate it.”
“Look...” His father sighed, rubbing his palm across the top of his bald head. “You’ve not been yourself since you and Tori went your separate ways. I just can’t figure out why you’ve added a child to your life.”
“And I can’t figure out why you don’t support my decision.” Levi crossed his arms over his chest and fought to keep the anger from his voice. “Kids need stable homes. Yes, ideally, I would be married and there would be two of us, but that’s not what Tori wanted. I wasn’t going to turn my back on a helpless child who was living in a very dangerous environment.”
“But you’re in over your head.”
“Not sure where you’re getting that.”
