Second Chance Mom. Emilie Rose

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      Chastity shifted restlessly and wouldn’t meet Rachel’s gaze. “I just do.”

      The reaction seemed over the top. “How did acting up here solve your problem at school?”

      Chastity shot her a fierce scowl but remained mute.

      “If reading aloud is an issue for you, then your best bet is to speak to the teacher privately. I’ll go with you if you like.”

      “No,” she answered a little too quickly. “I’ll handle it myself.”

      “If you change your mind, let me know. Now, I need help getting things down from the attic before you start your homework. Please.” She tacked on the last politely but firmly, letting Chastity know her assistance wasn’t optional.

      The teen sighed as if greatly put out. “I’ll mess up my nails.”

      “Then you can redo them after homework. If you have time.”

      Chastity followed Rachel into the hall. Rachel ignored her sullen attitude and pulled down the attic stairs. “The attic is too hot and dimly lit for us to examine the contents up there. So I’ll pass the boxes down to you. Stack them along the wall in the dining room, then later, we’ll go through them and sort the contents into keep and donate piles.”

      “Whatever,” Chastity muttered with zero enthusiasm.

      Rachel ascended the ladder and headed for the neat pile of boxes in the far corner. She carried them one by one across the plywood floor and handed them down without doing more than a cursory check for spiders.

      When she returned with the eleventh box, Chastity was gone. “Hey! Where’d you go?” No answer. “Chastity?”

      “What’s all this?” came the muffled reply, the previous belligerence missing from Chastity’s tone.