Sonya stood staring at them from one to another. She appeared to be smiling at the exchange.
“First of all, please check your tone. Secondly, I was merely asking Sonya if she wanted to participate in the preschool play. Hardly an unforgivable offense.”
“She doesn’t. She’s not interested.”
Her eyes narrowed on him and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Shouldn’t she have any kind of say in the matter?”
“She’s barely six. Why would you even ask her to make such a decision?”
“Because I teach a class here and also volunteer to put together the annual summer play.” She extended her hand. “I’m Jess. Jessalyn Raffi.”
Jordan shook the hand she offered and introduced himself, reflexively and out of sheer common courtesy, despite his impatience.
The introductions seemed to somehow only further increase the awkwardness.
She cleared her throat before continuing. “Your daughter seemed interested in the flyer and—”
He cut her off. “Sister.”
She blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
“She’s not my daughter. She’s my sister. And she won’t be acting in some play.”
“She’s your sister?” She sounded incredulous.
“Half sister to be totally accurate.” Jordan rammed a hand through his hair in frustration. Again, none of this was any of her business.
“I see,” Jess responded. “Why?”
Was she serious? “Why is she my sister?”
She gave a small shake of her head. “No. Why don’t you want her to be in the play? I think it would give her a chance to get to know other children. I know you’re new to Martha’s Vineyard.”
If she couldn’t guess why, he wasn’t going to explain it to her.
Between Sonya’s difficulties with her hearing and her reluctance to speak, being involved in a play could open her to all sorts of taunts from the other children.
Damned if he would put Sonya through such exposure and embarrassment.
Not after all that she’d already been through.
CHAPTER TWO
JORDAN WAS FEELING like a heel once more. And Sonya had made it clear she thought he’d acted like one during the entire ride back home from the community center. Perhaps he’d overreacted back there. Again. But something about the woman seemed to be making him act like a curmudgeon whenever he saw her. He couldn’t explain it.
It probably had something to do with the way she’d assumed his sister would want a hand-drawn immaculate castle on her bedroom wall. Or that she’d get some sort of social benefit from participating in a community center children’s play.
But it turned out she was a teacher. So she probably knew quite a bit about school-age children. More so than he did, certainly. Now he could only watch as Sonya was frantically relaying what had transpired at the center to Elise, using hand gestures and a writing pad. When she was done, they both turned to give him glaring looks of disapproval.
He threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, look. I admit I could have handled it better. Especially considering I already chewed her out our first night here.”
They both looked at him in shock. “What are you talking about?” Elise demanded to know.
Damn it. He hadn’t meant to let that slip. Jordan stared up at the ceiling as he explained. “It just so happens, she’s the artist who’s responsible for the castle on the wall upstairs.”
His little sister’s mouth formed a surprised round O. He continued, “Only, I wasn’t expecting to see anyone here at that hour when I arrived and I sort of communicated my displeasure about it.”
Elise swore in some unknown dialect. She was fluent in three languages and he never knew which one she was speaking when she did that. “And you admonished her again today? Simply because she asked Sonya about participating in a play at the children’s center?”
Well, when she put it that way... “Why would Sonya want to be in some silly play?” he asked what he thought was a fairly obvious question under the circumstances.
Elise rammed her hands on her hips as Sonya continued to glare his way.
“Why wouldn’t she?” Elise asked.