Page 100 of Falling for Keeps

Carson nods.

“Penny supposedly went to the maze by herself, and the other two went to the bouncy balloon thing.” Katie’s cheeks warm. “I was watching them⁠—”

“It’s fine.” Carson brushes her off, his gaze pinned on the drone flying overhead.

“A few of us walked through the maze,” Tom says. “But we couldn’t see her.”

“We called her name,” Ann adds.

Tom’s phone rings, so he pulls it out. “Find her, Luke?”

“I think so,” Luke says through the speakerphone. “There’s a purple jacket in a dead-end. Go through the entrance, skip the first two turns, then take a right, left, skip a turn, then two lefts.”

Carson doesn’t wait. He runs through the entrance, and I take off behind him. After the first right and then left, he starts to go left again.

“Stop! Skip this one, remember?”

He shakes his head but listens to me. After we’ve followed all Luke’s directions, Carson crashes to a stop. Penny is sitting on the ground, back to the corn, knees pulled up to her chest. She’s crying.

“Pen,” Carson says, falling to his knees and pulling her against his chest. “I was so worried.”

“Why?” She sniffles.

“We couldn’t find you. I thought you were lost.”

I look over my shoulder. Ann followed us in, so I give her a thumbs up. Her shoulders drop in relief. “I’ll let everyone know.”

Penny and Carson stand and he pulls her against him, hugging her tightly. “That was one of the worst moments of my life.”

Penny startles. “I wasn’t lost, Dad. I just didn’t want anyone to see me cry.”

She pulls herself free and I want a hug too, to feel her safe and here, but I keep a healthy boundary there and let her decide.

“What happened with the girls?” Carson asks.

Penny frowns. “They didn’t want to play with me anymore. I don’t know all the things they know.”

Carson looks thunderous.

“Girls can be clique-y sometimes,” I say.

Penny drifts toward me. “They wanted to know why I don’t have a phone anymore.”

“I’d like to know that too,” Carson says. “When I called, the line said it was disconnected.”

“Mom canceled it.” She frowns, looking at the corn, and I see a wobble in her chin that tears my heart into a million pieces. “She broke up with Stephen, so he said he won’t pay for my phone anymore.”

Carson closes his eyes, breathing through his nose.

“I’m sorry, Penny. That must have been awful to hear.”

She nods, stepping closer, then hesitating. I put my arms out and she starts to fully cry, stepping into my hug. I wrap her up tightly, closing my eyes and breathing.

“Sometimes adults make decisions we aren’t happy about, and as a kid, you can’t do anything about it. I’m sorry if you felt helpless and frustrated.” I open my eyes and find Carson watching us, a furrow in his brow. I panic, immediately worried I said the wrong thing.

He must read my face, because he cracks a sad smile.

Penny cries harder, so I squeeze her tighter. Carson brings his arms around us and envelops us both so tightly, I feel like my entire world just grew a little brighter.