Chapter 28. Call from the School

It was a Wednesday afternoon, and Calla was home alone while Eli was at school.

She had decided to try out a new cookie recipe she’d found online, and so far, it was turning out pretty well.

She wore blue denim shorts and a white tank top, her hair twisted up in a messy bun, and bare feet padded across the kitchen floor. Music floated from the speakers, and she hummed along, sometimes singing a few lyrics out loud as her hips and arms swayed to the beat. For once, she felt light—free and alive.

Then her phone rang.

Calla slipped off the oven mitt and hurried toward it. Her smile faded when she saw the caller ID. A frown tugged at her face as she wondered what could be wrong. Still, she answered and lifted the phone to her ear.

“Good morning, Principal Brown,” she greeted Eli’s school principal.

“Good morning, Miss Monroe,” the woman in her late forties replied. “Do you have a minute?”

Calla’s frown deepened the more, her heart had already st