Granny hobbled toward the den to answer the phone. A sick feeling washed over me, and I was afraid to move.

“What?” Granny said.

I grabbed the counter to brace for bad news.

“Does Charlie know? When did it happen?”

My stomach churned, and puke rose up in my throat.

“Sarah, come quick,” Granny yelled. “Your mama needs to talk to you.”

I stumbled to the telephone, and my legs gave out. Sinking into the green armchair, I put the receiver to my ear. “Mama, Mama, what’s wrong?”

“Sarah, I didn’t mean to scare you. Robin’s awake!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“How … how did it happen?”

“I was reading a Billy and Blaze book to her, and when I got to the part about Billy getting a pony for his birthday, she opened her eyes! It was as simple as that.” Some of the excitement left Mama’s voice. “The doctors are examining her now.”

The change in Mama’s tone made me cautious. “Why are they examining her?”

The silence on the other end of the line lengthened. “They’re checking for brain damage,” Mama said. “But there’s no need to borrow trouble. She’s awake. Let’s focus on that.”

But I couldn’t just focus on that. Brain damage could be almost as bad as dying! I handed the phone back to Granny. I ran out the back door and climbed my favorite oak tree. I found the spot where three branches met and cuddled up there. Tears nearly blinded me. There was only one thing left to do. I would become such a perfect big sister that I would make up for the accident. I started keeping a list inside my head. I’d read to Robin, tell her stories, play with her, and protect her from bullies. Maybe if I was absolutely perfect, it would make up for what happened. Maybe nobody would ever have to know the real truth.

Later that afternoon, Dad showed up for a visit. “Now that Robin’s doing a little better, I wanted to see my other best girl. It’s been a tough week for all of us.”

He gave me a little smile, and that eased the sick feeling in my stomach.

“Sit, sit,” Granny said. “How about a plate of stewed potatoes and some hot biscuits? Sarah’s turning into a first-rate cook.”

“That sure sounds good,” Dad said. “I haven’t had much of an appetite, but now that Robin’s awake, I’m nearly starved.”

“How is she?” I asked.

“Pretty good,” Dad said. “She doesn’t seem to remember the accident at all, but she knows her name, told the doctor she’s six years old and that her favorite TV show is Gunsmoke.”

If Robin didn’t remember the accident, then she couldn’t tell about me not paying attention. But why couldn’t she remember? That bothered me a whole lot.

Dad attacked his potatoes like he’d been through one of Pharaoh’s famines in the Bible. He even wiped his plate clean with a biscuit. “How about seconds?” he asked.

Granny refilled his plate, and he shoveled that down too.

I waited until Dad had pushed his chair back from the table. “How about Robin’s leg?” I asked.

Dad’s shoulders slumped.

Answer me, I thought. Just tell me the truth.

Instead, he looked up at Granny. “Maybe I should take Sarah Beth for a walk.”

I followed Dad on the rocky path toward the tobacco barns. He had his head down and his hands jammed into his pockets. “Hey, daddy long legs,” I called. Robin and me had nicknamed him cause he walked too fast for us to keep up.

He slowed down. “Sorry. I do my best thinking when I’m moving.”

Finally, Dad stopped in front of Uncle John’s house. It had been empty ever since he died. Dad sat down on the porch steps. He motioned for me to sit down too. “Nobody knows for sure about Robin’s leg. The doctors say it’s a blessing that she’s so young. Young bones heal better than old ones.”

“That’s good news,” I said.

Dad nodded. “But here’s the tough part. She’s gonna be in the hospital for several weeks and, when she gets out, she’ll be coming home in a body cast. Do you know what that means?”

I shook my head.

“Robin will be flat on her back. One of us will have to feed her. She’ll have to use a bedpan. She’ll be about as helpless as a newborn baby.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. “Robin likes to run and jump and climb.”

“I know,” Dad said. “That’s why this will be a hard summer for her.” He raked his hands through his Elvis Presley hair. “Once her cast comes off, she’ll have to go back to the hospital for physical therapy. She’ll probably walk with crutches for a while. Maybe even have a brace and special shoes.”

I didn’t say it out loud, but I worried other kids would make fun of a brace and special shoes. Thinking about that made me want to hit somebody.

“We’re gonna be faced with a lot of medical bills,” Dad said. “That’s why your mama and I think we need to sell our house in town.”

“Are you kidding?”

Dad shook his head no.

I couldn’t believe what he had just said. “But it’s our home. Where would we live?”

“Here,” Dad said, gesturing toward the rundown house. “We have a mortgage in town, but Grandpa inherited this place. He’s willing to let us live here for free.”

I didn’t want to move to the farm. I didn’t want to be the new kid in school and live far away from the library and the town pool. I didn’t want to give up my lavender library. “Do we have to?” I asked.

“I don’t see any other way,” Dad said. “Sarah Beth, I’m as sorry as I can be about all of this.”

That made two of us.

Granny was waiting for me in the kitchen. “How did the talk with your daddy go?”

I shrugged.

“I know moving will be hard,” Granny said.

I didn’t want to talk about moving. I wanted to pretend it wouldn’t happen. I pointed to the mixer, box of cocoa, and other stuff lined up on the counter. “What are you making?”

Granny smiled. “I thought I’d teach you to make a chocolate pound cake. We can take it to the hospital and pay Robin a visit. What do you think about having a little party to celebrate her waking up?”

For the first time all day, I smiled too.

Grandpa circled the parking lot, but there were no empty spots near the hospital entrance.

“Please hurry up!” I begged.

“Just be patient a little longer,” Grandpa said. “You know I have to park near the front door so your granny won’t have far to walk.”

We made a second loop around the lot, and finally on the third time found a parking space.

As soon as Grandpa turned off the ignition, I scrambled out of the truck and raced through the parking lot.

“Slow down,” Granny called. “You’re walking too fast for my bad leg.”

I tapped my foot on the pavement until they caught up.

Once inside, Granny stopped by the front desk to check the room number. Now that Robin was awake, the doctors had moved her to the third floor.

The elevator moved slow, slower than molasses stuck to the jar and only coming out in a trickle. When it finally stopped on the third floor, I pushed past the pokey nurses and headed down the hall.

“Be careful with the cake,” Granny ordered.

I stood outside Robin’s door with my heart slamming against my chest. It bothered me that she couldn’t remember the accident. I had to see for myself that being in a coma hadn’t changed her. That she still remembered me.

After all my hurrying, I couldn’t make myself knock on the door. Granny did it for me.

Mama answered. “Come in! We’ve been waiting for you.”

I handed the cake box to her and shot past the pile of stuffed animals and balloons straight over to Robin. Her bandaged leg still hung from a sling. The rails around her bed were like the bars on a jail cell.

Mama said in a matter-of-fact voice, “Being in traction will stretch Robin’s muscles and tendons to help her heal.”

“Can I hug her?” I wanted to be sure it was okay.

Robin held up her arms and I bent down. I closed my eyes and felt her soft skin. I took a deep breath, sucking in the smells of soap and baby lotion.

I would probably have hugged her forever, but she started to squirm. “Did you see all my presents?”

Her room looked like a Western toy store. It was filled with cowboy stuff, horse books, puzzles, stuffed horses, model horses, a wooden stable, even a pair of chaps.

“Where did it all come from?” I asked. “It’s not even Christmas.”

Mama threw her arms open wide. “From all over! Neighbors, church people, customers at your dad’s service station, and some people that just read about her in the newspaper. Everybody has been so kind to us. We’re blessed to live in such a good community.”

“Who sent the chaps?” I asked.

“Cathy,” Robin said. “They’re my best present.” She pointed at the Tupperware container. “What’s in there?”

“Chocolate cake,” Granny answered. “I’ve been teaching Sarah to bake.”

Grandpa reached into the party bag he had brought from the car. He put on a triangle-shaped paper hat and blew on a kazoo.

“Would you act your age?” Granny asked.

Instead, he slipped a hat on her head and pestered me into wearing one too.

Mama pulled a hospital tray over and fed Robin a big bite of cake with lots of icing.

“You have a chocolate mustache,” I teased.

“The cake is delicious,” Mama said. “Maybe you should try for a ribbon at the county fair.”

Robin stuck her tongue out and licked icing off her lips. “Sarah is good at everything,” she said.

I looked at Robin’s bandaged head. I stared at her leg hanging in a sling. I knew one thing that I was not good at. I was not a good babysitter.

“Why is Sarah crying?” Robin asked.

“Those are happy tears,” Mama said. “Sarah is just so glad you’re getting better.”

Robin didn’t seem to have brain damage, and I was happy as could be about that, but her leg worried me. I wanted her to be able to run and jump and play. I wouldn’t feel better until she could.