“We have a choir camp with other churches during the summer. It would give you something to do besides being stuck in the house.”
She paused at unpacking her bag. Anything that got her out of Lisa and Dalt’s house was better than being stuck with them.
“When do they practice?”
“Wednesday and Friday evenings until school lets out for the summer. You can ask Lily Cornett for the summer camp’s schedule.”
“I will. I don’t know if the Wests will let me go, though.”
“Would you like me to talk to them?”
She unconsciously bit down on her bottom lip. Would that make them angry at her? She learned the best way to get along with the couple was to make the least demands on their time or patience.
“No, don’t do that. If I decide to do it, I’ll talk to them about it.” It was better to be on the safe side with them. If it made them angry, they would turn Pastor Dean down and make her pay for him asking.
The pastor opened the book where they had left off before lifting troubled eyes to hers. “How is it going with the Wests being your foster parents? Are you happy?”
Ginny sat on the chair, seeing that the pastor was concerned and sincerely wanting to help. As much as she wanted to confide in him, she knew she wouldn’t. She knew Lisa would be vindictive if she felt like Ginny was bad-mouthing her. It had taken Lisa and Dalt flipping out on her to understand why Silas was trying so hard to keep his younger brothers—he didn’t want the same thing happening to them that was happening to her.
The thought of gentle Moses having to live with people like the Wests sent a cold shiver down her back. She might not like living with them, but she’d deal with it until she was old enough to get away. Moses didn’t deserve being taken from his family. He belonged; she didn’t.
“It’s going fine.” Unable to meet his eyes, she picked up her pencil. “Did I work the problem right?”
Their eyes dueled in silent battle for her to tell the truth. Staring back at him blankly as if she wasn’t getting the silent message he was trying to give her, she could see the sympathy in his gaze and wanted to tell him she didn’t deserve it.
Her dad and Leah deserved his sympathy. What had happened to them wasn’t their fault. She was the only one responsible for being at the Wests’ mercy. Just her. And as much as she regretted it, she couldn’t take back the day that was becoming less clear as she grew older.
She had been born on Clindale Island. Her earliest memory was of her tucked into her mother’s lap as she sat on the white sand with the water lapping over them. She remembered clapping her hands, then calling for the water to come back when it ebbed out. She could still hear the distant memory of her mother’s laughter when she had started clapping when it had come back. Her father, wanting in on the game, laughingly swung her into his arms and carried her into the water, with Trudy and their mother running with them.
Her father had taught her how to swim before she could walk. It was a magical place that became her playground. By the time she was walking, it was difficult for her parents to keep up with her. She always darted away from them to play in her magical playground. Her mother had her hands full teaching children and adults to speak and write in English, and her father was just as busy building a water system for the small island.
Trudy was too young to take the responsibility of watching her, so they had turned to one of her mother’s older students. He had become her best friend as Trudy had been expected to take classes with the children that her mother taught and was no longer able to spend the majority of the day with her.
Looking back, the teenager had been as much a part of her family as she and Trudy. She had loved Manny like a big brother. He let her run wild on the beach, swam with her, and was the one who taught her how to sing. He clapped for her when she remembered the words to songs.
In hindsight, she could look back and see the difference between Silas and Manny, neither had been related by blood, but one had been a true brother to her and the other had used her affection and innocence against her. It didn’t make her love Manny less, but as she had grown older the love she felt came with a clear-sightedness, allowing her to see through the eyes of experience and not those of the innocent child she’d been.