“Correct.” Tio turned to Theo. “Hiring personal protection is not illegal, I believe?”
Theo studied the twins for a long moment before asking, “Where does the punching fit in?”
“Like T said, just as a last resort,” Ty answered a little defensively. “Usually they back right off when they hear a kid hired us. And they’ve always hit first. Well, they tried to hit first, at least. It was self-defense.”
“Isn’t there a no-tolerance stance on fighting at your school?” Theo asked mildly, and Jules turned to the twins as horror filled her.
“You are not going to be kicked out of your school, do you hear me?” Her accent thickened as her voice rose. “We joke about homeschooling, but that’s not an option. How am I supposed to teach you two? How am I supposed to teach T anything? He’s so much smarter than I am already!”
Reaching over, Theo gave her arm a gentle squeeze. Her panicked gaze met his, and she instantly calmed. There was something about his steady presence that made her feel like everything would be okay.
“We won’t get kicked out, Jules,” Ty said. “We’re careful not to get caught.”
“Besides, the punishment for a first offence is a week of in-school suspension,” Tio added, although not nearly as soothingly as Ty. “We’d have to get caught four times before we were kicked out of school.”
Jules’s laugh was more than half-hysterical. “Great. That’s very reassuring.”
“I l-like it,” Sam said. “They’re helping b-bullied k-k-kids.”
After a final squeeze, Theo dropped his hand from Jules’s arm and returned to eating. He looked not at all bothered by the twins’ self-employment strategy.
“So?” Tio asked him, more with clinical interest than with any anxiety. “It’s not illegal, is it?”
“Avoid the punching part,” Theo said, “and no. It’s not illegal.”
With a satisfied nod, Tio resumed eating.
Ty eyed Jules. “Are you going to make us stop?”
Sitting back in her chair, Jules regarded him and Tio as she thought. “No,” she finally said. “Just please, please don’t get kicked out of school.”
“We won’t.”
Somehow, Ty’s assurance wasn’t that convincing.
“How about you, Sam?” She turned to the only sibling who hadn’t revealed an entrepreneurial scheme. “Are you starting up a secret poker club you’ll run out of the basement?”
“I w-wish.” He frowned and poked at his casserole. “The gr-grocery store, that lawn service pl-place, even the g-g-gas station…everywh-where I’ve ap-p-plied has said n-no. M-m-my hours are wr-wrong.”
“Because of school?” Jules asked. Her stomach finally had settled enough for her to handle eating, although cold broccoli wasn’t very appetizing. Still, she ate it. They spent too much money on food to waste it.
“Yeah.” An idea made his eyes light. “M-mayb-be I c-c-could—”
“If you’re about to suggest that you drop out of school,” Jules interrupted in the iciest voice she could manage, “you better swallow those words right back down again, shove them in a closet, lock them inside, and throw away the key. We’ll manage on what I make at the diner.”
“B-but…” He trailed off when she gave him her fiercest look. She’d been on the fence about the twins’ bodyguard gig, but on this, she was adamant.
“You like dogs?” Theo asked Sam, who gave him a confused look.
“Um…sh-sure.”
“I know that Nan is looking for help at Bastian Kennels. Her place is just a couple of miles south of here. It’d be before and after school, so it should work with your schedule.”
“Yeah?” His face brightened briefly before dimming again. “I d-don’t have m-m-much exp-perience with d-dogs.”
“Probably won’t need it,” Theo told him. “It’ll be grunt work to start with—feeding and cleaning, mostly. You won’t be helping with training or grooming until you’ve been there a while. Want her number?”
“Yes, p-p-please.” Sam looked tentatively hopeful, although his gaze followed Theo warily, as if he were expecting the job offer to be ripped away at any moment. His caution broke Jules’s heart, and she had to look away from her brother so she didn’t burst into tears.
“Okay.” Her voice was slightly rough, and Theo gave her a probing look, which she avoided with great effort. “Now that everyone is employed or has the potential of being employed, who wants ice cream?”