14
" Annie, just once could you not give me a hard time?”
“Maybe someday, but not today.”
“Annie, you’re making Theo sad.” Neither of them realized Livia had been paying attention to them. She peered around Theo’s legs. “I think you should tell him your free secret.”
“I don’t!” She gave Livia a death glare. “And you’d better not, either.”
Livia peered up at Theo. “Then you better tell your free secret.”
He stiffened. “Annie doesn’t want to hear my free secret.”
“You have a free secret?” Annie asked.
“Yes, he does.” Livia puffed up with four-year-old self-importance. “And I know it.”
Now Theo was the one giving Livia the death glare. “Find some pinecones. A lot of them.” He jabbed his hand toward the trees behind the gazebo. “Over there.”
Annie could only stand so much. “Later,” she said. “We need to get back to the cottage and see if mom’s awake.”
Livia’s face turned into a thundercloud. “I don’t want to go!”
“Don’t give Annie a hard time,” he said. “I’ll finish the fairy house. You can see it later.”
The fire had disrupted Livia’s world. She hadn’t had enough sleep, and she was as cranky as only an overstimulated four-your-old could be. “I’m not going!” she cried. “And if you don’t let me stay, I’ll tell your free secrets!”
Annie grabbed her arm. “You can’t tell a free secret!”
“You absolutely can’t!” Theo exclaimed.
“I can!” Livia retorted. “If they’re both the same! "
― Susan Elizabeth Phillips , Heroes Are My Weakness
