Chapter 91

"Is that you, Hope?" Her mother walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "Everything okay, darling? You mad at the door?"

"Sorry, Mama," Hope replied, setting her books down on a table near the stairs so she'd be sure to take them up later and crossing to kiss her mother's cheek. "I'm just a little out of sorts."

Cordia opened her arms and pulled her daughter in close, smoothing down her dark, curly hair as she did so. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked as Hope took a step back.

Looking into hazel eyes the same color as her own, Hope replied, "Jimmy Brooks gave me a ride home from school."

Her mother's eyebrows lifted. "Oh? That was nice of him."