"A pirate."
"Where's your eye patch? And your hook? And your wooden leg?"
"I don't have anything of those things." Ross had dressed in black jeans, black T-shirt, and black sneakers. He tied a red handkerchief on his head; Susan had provided clip-on gold hoops for his ears. He'd drawn a scar on his jaw with her eyebrow pencil.
She walked to him and touched the fake scar on his cheek. "It's okay if you're not a full pirate yet."
"Do you think there's a pirate school I can go to?"
Her hand against his cheek and her quick smile made his gut clench. A rare gift was Kelsey's smile, although the sprite had opened up quite a bit due to his mother's boisterous behavior. No one could maintain a bad mood—or a silent one—around his mom. Ross was afraid he'd fallen for Kelsey just as hard as he'd fallen for Susan.
"Granny Ally told me to come get you. She said you're being a fuddy duddy again."
