Chapter Twenty-Seven
SUSPICIONThe next morning brought rolling black clouds and more heavy downpours. The rain turned the dust of the camp to a sticky grease, which stained everything it touched to a dirty orange.
Phoenix woke to find Kylie back in her own bed. The child seemed less needy as the girls dressed. She whined less and didn’t draw attention to herself as she had on other mornings. Her covert smiles for Phoenix appeared genuine and she sought the older girl out before leaving the cabin for breakfast duty. Slipping her small hand into Phoenix’s, she smiled up at her and gave her fingers a squeeze. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered. “Tina hasn’t noticed yet.”
Phoenix nodded and frowned. The smell of yesterday’s clothes wafted around her and she hated the sense of being permanently
