THEO
“Thank you,” I said to Ava in the kitchen.
We were busy preparing dinner while Cory was upstairs, painting. Our last-minute exhibit seemed to have sparked his creativity, and he was eager to get to working on his own project.
Ava grinned as she helped me chop vegetables. She’d put my cooking apron on, which was much too big for her, so she had to double knot the strings behind her back to keep it from slipping. I thought she looked adorable.
“No need to thank me. Teaching’s what I do.”
“Have you always been this good with kids?”
“I guess. Must just come naturally to me or something.”
“Tell me your secrets.”
She giggled, light and bubbly. “There’s no secret. I treat them like miniadults. I think they appreciate the respect. Makes them a lot more open with you. If you coddle t
