HERE'S A LITTLE EXCERPT:
Two beautiful Girl Scouts greeted me at the front door. A little girl in a priceless Brownie vest held hands with another wearing a green sash. Their pressed outfits beaming with neatly sewn badges. They looked as delicious as the cookies they wanted to sell.
I wanted to eat them up. Give them a few more years, though. They needed to mature, maybe then they’d be perfect for my collection downstairs.
“Well, hello.” The grin on my face stretched my skin. How I loved little girls, full of such promise for the powerful women they would become. Strength I would one day twist and bend until they broke beneath me.
I leaned forward and brushed a curl away from the Brownie’s face. Behind them, waiting on the curb, a mother supervised their task. I raised my hand and waved, ever the cheerful neighbor. She returned my gesture with one of her own. So friendly and trusting.
Her children were younger versions of herself, and turned my thoughts in delectable directions. I couldn’t have the girls—I had standards—but the woman held promise.