“I’m going to go get the kids,” she said with a final sniffle.
Theo glanced toward her SUV, probably thinking she had to pick them up. “Where are they?”
“Oh, um…just playing in back.” She forced her brain to get back on track. Just because he was fixing her porch didn’t mean she could slip up and reveal that they were hiding in the barn. “Did you want me to keep them out of your hair?”
He shrugged. “They can help.”
Jules beamed at him.
“What?”
“You are such a sweetheart.”
His wary look shifted back into his usual scowl. “Am not.”
With another laugh, she turned away, moving toward the back door so she could give the kids the all clear. He really was. A porch-fixing, heroic, heart-stealing sweetheart.
* * *
“Maybe we could be homeschooled?” Ty asked hopefully.
As the five of them stared at the two-story building, a mustard-yellow box with just a few narrow windows on each corner, Jules was tempted to agree. Then she thought about the reality of trying to teach her siblings—especially Tio—and she sighed.
“C’mon, y’all.” She shoved the driver’s door open with more confidence than she felt. “Dee, you too.” Even though just a few people were around, and the few extra-early students were headed into the school, Jules didn’t want Dee to be left alone. It was going to be hard enough having them out of her sight for the whole day while they were in school.
Ty groaned, but Tio got out of the backseat more enthusiastically. Sam didn’t say anything, but Jules could feel his tension. If he’d been drawn any tighter, Sam would’ve snapped like an overstressed steel cable. Catching his sleeve—but being careful not to grab his arm—she held him back a few steps, allowing the twins and Dee to walk slightly ahead of them.
“Dennis is good at what he does,” she said very quietly, so only Sam could hear. “We have new names, new social security numbers, new ages, new lives.”
Sam stared straight ahead, the muscle in his jaw working.
“She won’t find us.” She looked for any sign that her words had reassured him, but his expression hadn’t changed. “If there’s any chance she even has a clue where we are, we’ll run again. I’m sure Dennis has a new-life warranty of some sort.”
It was a sad attempt at a joke, but it made Sam finally meet her eyes. “I’m okay, J-JuJu. It’s j-j-just…” He gestured toward the ugly building. “N-n-new school.”
“Oh.” It shouldn’t have been such a surprise that Sam was worried about such a normal thing as his first day at a new school, but it was. They’d been freaking out over getting away and staying away from Courtney so much that Jules had forgotten any other worries existed. “You’ll do great, Sam. All the work will be old hat to you. If anything, you’ll be bored.”
Sam came as close as she’d ever seen to rolling his eyes. “Sure, J-Ju.”
The twins and Dee waited at the main doors for Jules and Sam to catch up. Feeling like a parenting failure, she asked, “Are you nervous about starting school, Ty?”
“Nah.” His shrug was a hair too nonchalant as they passed through the door into the dimness of a hallway. “I’m not scared. Not that excited about getting homework and stuff, but school is school. Kids are kids. Some are nice and some are assholes.”
“Language!”
Tio looked at her seriously. “It is the most appropriate term for some people in our demographic.”
Since she couldn’t really argue with the truth of that, Jules changed the subject. “What about you, T? Any first-day jitters?”
The look her brother gave her was completely uncomprehending. “Why would school make me nervous?” For him, school had always been his safe place.
“Good,” she said. A sign that said “office” pointed to the right. “That’s…” Her attempt at a pep talk died as they turned the corner.
“Th-there’s one r-r-reason to b-b-be n-nervous about school,” Sam muttered under his breath as they all came to a startled halt—all except for Dee.
“Viggy!” she called, lurching forward. Grabbing a handful of her shirt, Jules caught her little sister just in time.
“Dee! Viggy’s working!” she whispered, excitement making her stomach buzz despite her efforts at staying calm. After Theo had fixed their porch the previous evening, she’d spent a sleepless night alternating between grinning like a besotted idiot and scolding herself for being a besotted idiot. At around three in the morning, she’d resolved to try her best to avoid Theo, so her crush on him would fade. Apparently, the universe was not cooperating with her plan. Theo—looking like hot, broody forbidden fruit—was already turning away from Hugh and moving toward them. Viggy was trying to plunge forward to get to Dee, and Theo’s arm strained, his biceps bulging under his uniform shirt as he held back the dog. Jules’s attention was caught by the way his sleeve looked on the verge of ripping, as if it was struggling to contain the impressive muscles underneath.