It was a short drive from the end of Clover Hill Lane to downtown Dogwood. Penny looked out her window as they passed the school. Some younger kids played on the merry-go-round, slide, and jungle gym. The football field next to the school was empty, but Penny saw more kids, some her own age, in the city park on the other side of a tall fence. Most looked like they were just passing through, on their way to one place or another. But a small group of boys played baseball, and a girl sat alone under a tree close to an aged gazebo reading a book.
“She’s new here too,” Susan said, nodding toward the reading girl. “She comes in every few days to browse my books.”
Penny did a double take at the lone girl.
“Can I go to the park?”
“Of course you can,” Susan said, and smiled at her. “That’s the
