friends. She didn’t deserve to be happy, to get better. She should tell Hannah to stay away. She would only hurt her again, like she hurt everybody.
* * *
S LOW PROGRESS was still forward momentum. Evie refused to believe it was anything else. She had listened outside the door as Hannah had spoken so kindly and warmly to Taryn. Through the crack in the doorway, she had seen the excitement in Taryn’s features at having her friend there to talk to her. Though she hadn’t spoken much, Taryn had seemed brighter and far more interactive than usual. Evie was certain she had genuinely enjoyed having her friend over for a visit, just like any other teenage girl.
The whole one-step-forward, two-steps-back thing had her ready to tear out her hair, though. If Evie had expected Taryn to be cooperative after Hannah left, she would have been doomed to disappointment. For the rest of the afternoon, Taryn fought her at every turn. She was sullen and distracted and didn’t seem to want to do anything, no matter what Evie tried.
For the first time, she even refused to cooperate with the speech therapist Brodie had hired, a very nice middle-aged woman who, like the O.T., drove from Denver three times a week to work with Taryn.
All in all, what had started as so promising with Hannah’s visit deteriorated into a long, frustrating afternoon. By the time the home-care nurse arrived for the evening to help Taryn shower and administer her evening medications, Evie wasn’t sure whether she or Taryn was more exhausted. Every joint and muscle ached. She’d forgotten the sheer physical toll this kind of work could take on the therapist, twisting and stretching and lifting.
“I’m coming back tomorrow,” she told Taryn. “You can keep trying, but you’re not getting rid of me this easily. What will it take for us to have a better day?”
“Maybe…I should…put makeup on you.”
She stared at Taryn. “You made a joke! Wow! And it was a great one.”
Taryn’s smile was tired but mischievous. “No joke. I want to.”
The laugh bubbling up inside Evie was probably just a by-product of her emotional and physical fatigue but she didn’t care. It still felt great, especially when Taryn laughed along with her.
Warmth seeped through her like water trickling under the gate of an irrigation canal. Yes, Taryn might be sullen and uncooperative. Who wouldn’t be, given the lousy hand of cards she’d been dealt? She was a teenage girl whose world had been completely rocked. Despite it, she had these flashes of humor and grace that made her very, very tough to resist—even for someone determined not to care about her.
“All right. It’s a deal. Tomorrow before we go to the bead store, you can put makeup on me when I get here.”
“Even…lipstick?”
The way Taryn still struggled with fine-motor command, Evie shuddered to imagine what she might end up looking like but she vowed not to complain. A surreptitious tissue would take care of the worst of it, if matters came to that. “If you swear to work harder tomorrow, I’ll even let you put lipstick on me.”
“That should be interesting.”
The unexpected male voice in the room jerked her attention away from Taryn. She whirled and found Brodie leaning against the doorway, a warm, amused light in his eyes.
“Dad! Hi.”
For some ridiculous reason, Evie’s face heated. How did he keep doing that? The man had a very frustrating habit of turning up when she was most ill-prepared. To be fair, it was his house, but she’d still like to ask him to knock so she could have a little warning. Even a few seconds might give her time to brace herself against the ridiculous reaction she couldn’t seem to control.
“Hey.”
“Must have been a rough day if we’re bribing with extreme makeovers.”
“Nothing we can’t improve on tomorrow, right, Taryn?”
“I guess,” Taryn said.
“Hannah Kirk came by and we had a really nice visit earlier this afternoon,” Evie informed
* * *
S LOW PROGRESS was still forward momentum. Evie refused to believe it was anything else. She had listened outside the door as Hannah had spoken so kindly and warmly to Taryn. Through the crack in the doorway, she had seen the excitement in Taryn’s features at having her friend there to talk to her. Though she hadn’t spoken much, Taryn had seemed brighter and far more interactive than usual. Evie was certain she had genuinely enjoyed having her friend over for a visit, just like any other teenage girl.
The whole one-step-forward, two-steps-back thing had her ready to tear out her hair, though. If Evie had expected Taryn to be cooperative after Hannah left, she would have been doomed to disappointment. For the rest of the afternoon, Taryn fought her at every turn. She was sullen and distracted and didn’t seem to want to do anything, no matter what Evie tried.
For the first time, she even refused to cooperate with the speech therapist Brodie had hired, a very nice middle-aged woman who, like the O.T., drove from Denver three times a week to work with Taryn.
All in all, what had started as so promising with Hannah’s visit deteriorated into a long, frustrating afternoon. By the time the home-care nurse arrived for the evening to help Taryn shower and administer her evening medications, Evie wasn’t sure whether she or Taryn was more exhausted. Every joint and muscle ached. She’d forgotten the sheer physical toll this kind of work could take on the therapist, twisting and stretching and lifting.
“I’m coming back tomorrow,” she told Taryn. “You can keep trying, but you’re not getting rid of me this easily. What will it take for us to have a better day?”
“Maybe…I should…put makeup on you.”
She stared at Taryn. “You made a joke! Wow! And it was a great one.”
Taryn’s smile was tired but mischievous. “No joke. I want to.”
The laugh bubbling up inside Evie was probably just a by-product of her emotional and physical fatigue but she didn’t care. It still felt great, especially when Taryn laughed along with her.
Warmth seeped through her like water trickling under the gate of an irrigation canal. Yes, Taryn might be sullen and uncooperative. Who wouldn’t be, given the lousy hand of cards she’d been dealt? She was a teenage girl whose world had been completely rocked. Despite it, she had these flashes of humor and grace that made her very, very tough to resist—even for someone determined not to care about her.
“All right. It’s a deal. Tomorrow before we go to the bead store, you can put makeup on me when I get here.”
“Even…lipstick?”
The way Taryn still struggled with fine-motor command, Evie shuddered to imagine what she might end up looking like but she vowed not to complain. A surreptitious tissue would take care of the worst of it, if matters came to that. “If you swear to work harder tomorrow, I’ll even let you put lipstick on me.”
“That should be interesting.”
The unexpected male voice in the room jerked her attention away from Taryn. She whirled and found Brodie leaning against the doorway, a warm, amused light in his eyes.
“Dad! Hi.”
For some ridiculous reason, Evie’s face heated. How did he keep doing that? The man had a very frustrating habit of turning up when she was most ill-prepared. To be fair, it was his house, but she’d still like to ask him to knock so she could have a little warning. Even a few seconds might give her time to brace herself against the ridiculous reaction she couldn’t seem to control.
“Hey.”
“Must have been a rough day if we’re bribing with extreme makeovers.”
“Nothing we can’t improve on tomorrow, right, Taryn?”
“I guess,” Taryn said.
“Hannah Kirk came by and we had a really nice visit earlier this afternoon,” Evie informed
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