Hannah was making tiny throat clearing noises. She wrapped Katie with one arm. Her other hand was open over Brynna’s knee. Dwight waited. He did that a lot—waited like a circus guy who has the job of catching but the net was never big enough. Mommers and I stayed locked on each other. Then she did it—blinked, like a person waking. She dropped her head into her own hand, her thumb and finger pressing her temples. I knew that pose. That meant she was done with the angry stuff. I sat back in my chair, still watching her. She looked like a car out of gas on a hill. “Denise? Everything all right?” Dwight asked. Mommers slowly let herself into a chair. Her purse hit the floor at her side. “I’m just …just so …I don’t know …tired,” she said. “And I was worried. I couldn’t find you all.” She looked from person to person at the table. “None of you were at the school.” “Well, here we are,” Hannah said softly. “You’ve found us now.” Mommers looked at her—no particular expression.
![Crunch [Book Review] (2000) by Leslie Connor](/i/cover.jpg)