Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9) by Diane Greenwood Muir Page A

and waited.
    "Hello?" She recognized Stephanie's voice.
    "Hi, Stephanie. This is Polly Giller."
    "Is everything okay?"
    "Yes and no. Kayla hasn't hurt herself, but she just woke up from a nightmare and Rebecca came to get me because she was huddled in on herself sobbing. The poor girl is pretty scared and I suspect that she might feel safer if she was in her own bed and at home with you."
    "I'm so sorry she did this to you."
    "She hasn't done anything to me. I'm sorry that she's frightened. Rebecca is with her right now and we'll get her things packed up. I'm not going to have her change, just put a coat on."
    "Tell her I'll be there in ten minutes. I need to close down a few things before I leave. Will that work for you?"
    "Sure. Do you know how to get to our back garage door?"
    "Yeah. I've seen it."
    "Then come around back and we'll be watching for you."
    "Thank you so much, Mrs. ..."
    "It's just Polly. And I'm glad this happened while you are still at work and can come get her. I'll tell her you're on the way. That will help a bunch."
    "Thank you, Polly."
    "Thanks for coming over. We'll see you."
    "She's coming here to get Kayla," Polly said to Henry. "Would you want to turn lights on in the media room and kitchen?"
    "Finally. Something to do," he said. "I was feeling really inadequate."
    Polly went back into Rebecca's room and picked up the bag that had held Kayla's clothes. "Stephanie will be here in ten minutes. Your timing was perfect. She hadn't left work yet."
    "I'm sorry," Kayla said. "I didn't mean to be a baby."
    "You're not a baby," Rebecca insisted. "It's okay to be scared. Right, Polly?"
    "Absolutely. The first slumber party I ever went to was when I was in sixth grade and my friend's mom had to call my dad to come get me because I threw up. I wasn't sick. I was just scared."
    "Really?" Kayla's eyes brightened and she relaxed her death grip on the bear.
    "Really. Dad didn't say anything at all. He just gave me a hug and two weeks later, told me that I could invite my friends AJ and Dev to spend a night at the farm. He took us out to dinner and gave us a ride on the tractor and told us we could stay up all night if we wanted."
    "You stayed up all night?" Rebecca asked.
    "No. We were asleep by ten thirty. He knew that all we needed to do was get exhausted. But those two girls lived in town and they had sisters and had done sleepovers before. He wanted me to find out that they were fun so I'd get comfortable."
    Rebecca patted Kayla's arm and said, "Maybe we can try again sometime,"
    "Maybe you can spend the night at Kayla's house one of these days," Polly offered, ignoring the look that Kayla gave her. "Friends figure out how to spend time with each other."
    "I've done a lot of sleepovers," Rebecca said. "But most of the time they're at Andrew's house."
    Kayla looked at Rebecca in surprise. "You had a sleepover with a boy?"
    "I get my own room, but we stay up late making up stories and stuff. It's only on the weekends, though."
    "Okay girls, we need to pack Kayla's things. Make sure you get all her school clothes in there and then be sure that everything is in her backpack, too."
    Kayla held out her pants. Should I put these on?"
    "If they'll go over your pajama pants, you can. Otherwise, you can just wear your pajamas. But put your shoes and socks on. You'd best hurry," Polly said. "Come into the media room when you're ready. Stephanie is coming to the back door."
    She left the room and strode across the living room. Henry was in the kitchen. "How do I pack Kayla's leftovers up with more food so Stephanie doesn't think we're just being charitable?" he asked.
    "Good heavens, I love you. Let's not worry about that tonight. I have a feeling we might see more of Kayla." Polly hugged him. "I'm glad that Rebecca has a new friend, but it's going to make Andrew jealous. He liked having all of her attention."
    "That boy just needs to learn that having two girls pay attention to him is much better than one. All he needs to