I look around, searching for an accompanying adult. Maybe someone is in the office with Laiyla or Chloe, talking business.
I make my way down the dock, and she looks up. Her expression is shuttered. She steps away from the boat and crosses her arms.
I stop a good distance away and smile. “Hey there, where did you come from?”
“I live up the street.”
I nod. “Where are your parents?”
“Working.”
“Who’s taking care of you?”
“My aunt.”
These terse answers expose just how defensive she is. I totally get it. I was a defensive kid too. Always getting into fights on the playground, taking on the bullies, girl or boy.
I keep my voice curious and caring. “Does she know where you are?”
The girl looks down at her feet, sullen.
“I guess that’s a no.” I pull my phone from my back pocket.
“Don’t call her.” The girl turns pleading. “I just needed to get out of the house. Can I watch? I won’t be trouble, I promise.”
“I’m not going to call her.” I offer the kid the phone. “You are.”
She gives an eye roll, and her face tightens in a way that makes it look like she’s going to cry, but tears have never swayed me.
She takes the phone and thinks a second. “If she says it’s okay, can I stay and watch? I’ll be really quiet. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“If it’s okay that you stay, I’m putting you to work. No one gets to just stand around.”
The girl surprises me by perking up. “Really? I can help?”
I laugh. “I like you already. Call your aunt.”
She looks at the phone, and her expression goes dark again. But she sighs and dials. “Aunt Jackie? It’s Violet.” She goes quiet a second. “I’m at the marina—” She rolls her eyes. “I know. Yes, I know. No. Wait. Please? I just needed to get out of the house. The girl here says I can stay if it’s okay with you.” Her gaze darts to mine. “She’s fixing boats. I’m just going to watch.”
I smirk.
Violet sighs heavily and offers me the phone back. “She wants to talk to you.”
I take the phone. “Hello.”
“I’m so sorry,” the aunt says. “She was in a time-out and she snuck out of the house.”
I laugh. “Been there, done that. Do you want me to send her back? She really is welcome to stay, but I’m not going to interfere. I’ll do whatever you want.”
She sighs and thinks about it a second. “Who is this?”
“I’m KT Rivers. I’m working with Laiyla Saxon and Chloe Hart on the renovation.”
“Hi, KT. This is Jackie Monahan. We met in passing at the auto parts store a while back. You helped me pick the right windshield wipers.”
“I remember. How are you?”
“I’d be better if Violet’s attitude would improve.”
I pin Violet with a look. “Attitude problems, huh?”
Violet shifts on her feet and lowers a guilty gaze to the ground.
“Growing pains,” Jackie says. “I don’t want Violet keeping you from your work.”
“Oh, she won’t.” I grin at Violet. “If she stays, I’m putting her to work.”
Jackie laughs. “If you’re sure it’s okay, that might be really good for her.”
“You got it.” I give Violet a thumbs-up, and the joy that fills her expression is priceless. “What time do you want her home?”
“Whenever you get tired of having her around or we come get her, whichever happens first.”
“Sounds good. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my eye on her.”
I disconnect and hold my fist up. Violet meets it with her own, a big smile on her face. Then I waggle a finger at her. “No more attitude problems.”
“Okay,” she readily agrees.
“Here or at home.”
She smiles. “Okay.”
“Ready to work?”
Her eyes sparkle with excitement. “Yeah.”
I step onto the boat, and she follows me. “I’m a really good swimmer,” she says. “You don’t have to worry about me around the water.”
“Good to know, but you should remember that at this time of the year, that water is really cold, and if you fall in, you could get hypothermia, which would make it incredibly hard to get out, no matter how good a swimmer you are.”
She nods. “Okay. I’ll be careful.”
I kneel in front of the motor and pull a pair of disposable gloves from my supplies. “Put these on so you don’t go home with greasy hands.”
“What are you doing?” Violet asks.
“I’m taking the engine apart so I can clean it and put in new parts.”
“Ew,” Violet says, making a face at the grayish-brown muck. “What’s that?”
“An engine uses oil and gasoline,” I tell her. “And it’s built to keep the water out, so when it breaks and water gets in, the oil and water mix, creating this crap.”
“I did an experiment like that in Science, only the oil and water didn’t mix.”
“That’s because they weren’t forced to mix. In here, the power of the engine pushes the molecules together, like it or not. That’s what happened here, which is no bueno.”
“That means not good.”
“Right.” I lift the manifold. “I’m going to give you the parts as I take them off. I just want you to go lay them on the workbench in the shop. If you run out of space on the bench, put them on the floor, but lay them faceup so all this muck doesn’t make a mess.”
I lose track of time like I usually do when I’m working. Violet is easy to be around, eager to help, and inquisitive. She’s a pretty little thing, with a long light brown braid and blue eyes.
My rolling stomach tells me it’s past lunchtime. When Violet gets back from the shop, I ask, “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve got peanut butter and jelly. Does that work for you? Or do you want me to walk you home?”
“I love peanut butter and jelly.”
I pull off my gloves and point to my boat. “See the Cecelia Anne? With the blue canvas? That’s mine. I’ve got sandwiches and drinks in the fridge. Grab them and bring them back.”
Violet jogs to the boat and disappears inside. I do some general cleanup, and when Violet returns, we sit cross-legged on the dock to eat lunch.
“Your boat is so cool,” she tells me right before she takes a bite of sandwich. “Do you like living there?”
“I do, but I’ve lived on a boat for a long time, so I’m used to it. Most people think it’s too small.”
“I didn’t know you could live on a boat.”
“What grade are you in?”
“Fifth. I’m a year behind. My mom and dad kept me back a year in first grade.”
“My dad did too. One of the best things he ever did.”
Her eyes grow wide. “Really?”
“Yeah, because when you’re a year older than everyone else, you’re smarter and more confident than everyone else too, so you always shine. It’s like having an advantage all through school.”