“Just ask me. I always know. I’m her big brother.”
“She’s lucky to have you, isn’t she.” Kelly picked up a plate, handed it to Mick for pizza, then placed it in front of Amanda. “Is this what you want Amanda?”
The little girl didn’t so much as nod. But she did give a tiny smile before biting off the very tip of her slice. Beside her, Billy wiggled with impatience.
“Yours is coming, Billy,” Mick said. He noticed Kelly had set out glasses of milk and a bowl of those tiny, scrubbed carrots he’d bought when he’d stocked up for the kids’ visit. He watched as she offered the bowl.
“Want a carrot?”
Once Billy took one, Amanda did, too.
“I don’t really like vegetables,” Billy said, sniffing suspiciously.
“You might like carrots,” Kelly replied. “They make a great snapping noise when you bite into them. Listen.”
She bit. The carrot snapped. Amanda giggled.
“It’s a little tricky to make that loud of a sound,” Kelly said. “Give it a try and see if you can do it.”
Mick was interested to find that both kids rose to the challenge.
“How ’bout you, Uncle Mick?” Billy asked. He was already on his third carrot.
“Oh, I’m sure I can make the loudest snap of all.” Mick ground his teeth against the carrot in a sawing motion that was barely audible. Pretending to be disgusted, he took another carrot from the bowl and tried again with the same result. “This is harder than I thought—”
Crunch! The sound came from Amanda. She held up the remains of her carrot in triumph, as though to say, “Like this, Uncle Mick!”
If only the words would actually come out of her mouth. Mick had been wondering if his niece should see some kind of counselor. This not talking had been going on too long. Maybe he’d ask Kelly her opinion later. She seemed a natural with kids, but then, she’d mentioned she had a niece of her own.
That would be Maureen’s daughter, he realized. Of the three Shannon sisters, she was the one he knew the least. Not that he knew any of them all that well.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.