Peas and Carrots Read Online Free PDF

wearing a padded bra?
    Unfriendly eyes. Hope realized, with a twitch and a glance away, that she’d been staring, and now the girl’s hostility was almost palpable. As usual, Mom was still talking, pleasant little nothings that both girls were ignoring. Hope felt her heart pinch a little as an expectation she hadn’t even known she’d had faded and died. They wouldn’t be instant best friends. Austin’s sister wouldn’t replace Savannah in the hollow space in Hope’s heart. No matter what Mom said, they had nothing at all in common.
    But Hope knew the drill: she’d been the foster sister to an endless parade of scared, angry, confused little kids, and her job was to be friendly and open. She smiled as her mother reached a pause in her getting-to-know-you spiel. “Nice to meet you. You’re from North Highlands, right?”
    The girl shrugged, the jerky twitch her only movement, then said, “I’m from West Texas. North Highlands is just where my last placement was.”
    “Texas. Oh. Cool.” Hope cleared her throat and smiled, then caught a sidelong glance at herself in the mirror above the sink and cringed. Way to make a first impression—hair rumpled, sheet-creased and shiny-faced, and not wearing a bra. Meeting anyone for the first time, standing in the bathroom, being squeezed to death by your mother?
Awkward.
Worse, Hope could feel a zit coming on right next to her nose. And now Mom was prodding her in the back, so Hope gave another polite smile and tried to find something to say. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dess,” she repeated lamely. “If you need anything, just knock on my door.”
    The girl ignored this and jerked her chin at Hope’s mother. “You going to leave Baby in the car all day?”
    Baby?
Hope blinked. What baby? Did Dess have one? Or was she talking about Austin?
    Hope’s mother looked up and smiled, relaxing her grip on Hope’s shoulders. “I promise, Austin can get out by himself, but if it makes you feel better, Dess, I’ll go and unbelt him now.” She checked her watch. “The little turkey should be just about ready to wake up anyway.” She turned back to Hope. “Keep an eye on Austin for me while Dess and I go pick up Jamaira, please. He’s just going to want his snack and his trucks.”
    “Okay,” Hope said with a sigh. So much for finishing her nap. Oh, well, Austin was easy, as long as you weren’t trying to get him to do anything except what he wanted to do. “Oh, Mom? Aunt uh…Henry said he might swing by after dinner.”
    Mom beamed. “Aw, sure he will. Henry’s such a softie, checking up on you.”
    “No, he’s my good auntie who promised me he’d be my ibuprofen hookup if my crazy mother”—Hope dropped her voice, but Dess was walking away—“tried to make me do yoga or something for cramps. I’m serious, Mom. Aromatherapy candles and meditation are
not
a cure for cramps.”
    Mom snorted, smoothing a hand over Hope’s snarly bedhead. “Okay, let’s compromise. How about a little something for the pain
and
this great primrose tea I found? Dess, would you like a cup of…” Her mother paused, then frowned at the empty doorway. “I guess she’s gone to get Austin. Hope, come give the boy his snack, please. Maybe some apples and a cheese stick? And make yourself some tea. Odessa—Dess—and I need some time.”
    —
    Hope smiled as her father came through the hallway from the garage, loosening his tie and pulling his shirttails out of his slacks. On hearing the door close, Austin barreled out of his room, sliding across the kitchen floor in his socks. “Hey, Dad!”
    “Hey, big man!” Mr. Carter gave an exaggerated grunt as Austin threw himself against his legs for the catch-and-release type of hug he preferred. “How was school, Hope?”
    Hope tilted her face for his kiss. “Meh.”
    Her father yanked his tie over his head and tossed it on the counter. “Just ‘meh,’ huh? No strong women? Good-looking men? Nothing above average? Just