“Cae Cae!”
Ava hurled herself at me as soon as I crossed the threshold of the staff lounge at the sheriff’s station. I caught her, lifting her into my arms and rocking her back and forth. “I’m here now. You’re okay.”
She pressed her little face into my neck. “I was so scared.”
I held her tighter against me as I squeezed my eyes closed. “I’m so sorry, Avs.” As her small body trembled against me, I vowed that she would never feel scared like that again.
I scanned the room, my gaze catching on Harriet, Kenna’s adoptive guardian. She’d been the one to arrange a boat for us from Seattle to Shelter Island and had immediately headed to the sheriff’s station herself. She rose, little Mia fast asleep in her arms.
I blinked back tears. “Thank you so much, Harriet. I don’t know what I would’ve done…”
“Oh, hush now. You know I’d do anything for you girls.”
Kenna crossed to the older woman, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you.”
“I’m happy to help however I can.”
“Where’s Will?” I asked.
Harriet inclined her head to the hallway. “Deputy Raines was getting him a soda and a snack. I think the adrenaline was wearing off. He was getting a little shaky.”
My eyes fell closed again as if I could will away the nightmare of the past few hours. I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to ask any of them in front of little ears. I pressed a kiss to Ava’s head. “Can you go to Bell? I want to find Will.”
Ava nodded and went easily into Bell’s arms. Bell snuggled her close. “I missed you like crazy.”
The small smile that Ava gave Bell had my shoulders easing a fraction. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
I headed back into the hallway, looking for any sign of the vending machines. After a couple of wrong turns, I spotted a head of floppy brown hair. “Will.”
His head snapped up at my voice, and he shoved the soda at a deputy who looked vaguely familiar. Will charged, hitting me with a force that had me stumbling back a step. When had he gotten so big? I wrapped my arms around him as more tears filled my eyes. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” he whispered, a catch in his voice.
The deputy made his way over to us. “Hi, Ms. O’Connor. I’m Deputy Raines.”
“Please, call me Caelyn. Thank you for all you’ve done.”
“I’m happy to help.” A pained smile curved his lips. “The sheriff wants to chat with you whenever you’re ready.”
I wanted to chat with the sheriff, too. But first, I had a few questions for Will. I brushed the hair back from his eyes; he was in desperate need of a haircut. “When’s the last time you saw Mom and Dad?”
Will released me and winced. “On Friday.”
Blood roared in my ears. It was early Monday morning. “Why didn’t you call me?” I’d given Will the phone for a reason. Our parents had never been overly attentive. Why my mother hadn’t just gone on birth control, I’d never know, because she certainly wasn’t interested in raising her children. She did the bare minimum, which often consisted of a single bag of fast food for dinner and using the television as a babysitter. But they’d never left us alone for days on end before.
Will nibbled on his bottom lip. “I didn’t want you to come back from college.”
“Why not?” I couldn’t hide the hurt in my voice.
He squared his small shoulders. “You need to finish school and get a good job so you can get us out of there.”
“Oh, Will.” I pulled him into my arms, the tears I’d been trying so hard to hold back since I arrived at the station, sliding down my cheeks. I should’ve been embarrassed that this was all coming out in front of some deputy I barely knew, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. All I cared about was wrapping my tiny terrors up in hugs and taking them somewhere safe.
“What’s gonna happen to us?” Will whispered.
God, I wished I had an answer for that, but I knew I’d never let these kids go into foster care. “We’re going to figure it out together. But I’m not leaving you. You’re not alone.”
Will sagged against me. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I should’ve when they started getting worse.”
I stiffened. “What do you mean getting worse?”
Will released me, looking from me to Raines and back again. “They’re doing drugs.”
My jaw tightened. My parents had always been heavy drinkers, and I knew my dad smoked pot, but I’d never seen any hints of anything harder. The fact that my ten-year-old little brother could see the signs of drug use and knew what it meant… It shattered what little naïve hope I had left that my parents would get their acts together. “You don’t have to go back there. Not ever again.” I turned to Deputy Raines. “Right?”
“Correct,” he agreed. “Child Protective Services has already been here. The children have been placed in Miss Harriet’s care until a more permanent decision can be made.”
The roaring in my ears quieted a fraction. Harriet was a godsend, a true angel. Not only had she taken in Kenna when she needed a place to live; now, she was giving us safe harbor, as well. “Thank you.”
I gave Will’s shoulder a squeeze. “Why don’t you go hang with the rest of the crew while I talk to the sheriff? I know Kenna and Bell want to see you.”
Will nodded stoically. “You’re not gonna leave, right?”
My heart clenched. “Not without you.”
“’Kay.” He headed down the hall towards the lounge.
I couldn’t bring myself to look away from his small form until he disappeared from sight. I inhaled deeply, steeling myself for what was to come. I turned back to Raines. “How bad was it?”
Raines grimaced. “House was a wreck. Everywhere but in the girls’ room. It looked like Will had been sleeping in there, too. He’d moved his mattress between Ava’s bed and the crib.” I was going to kill my parents. For what they’d put these kids through, the fires of hell would be too kind. “There wasn’t a lot of food left in the house either.”
I swallowed against the bile rising in my throat. “Please tell me that means they don’t have a chance in hell of getting these kids back.”
“It’s not gonna happen. The sheriff wants to fill you in on why exactly that’s the case.”
There was an ominous tone to Raines’ words that had my stomach twisting. “Lead the way.”
The deputy guided me down a maze of hallways before stopping in front of a door and knocking.
“Come in,” a gruff voice called.
Raines pushed the door open. “Sheriff, this is Caelyn O’Connor. Caelyn, this is Sheriff Spaulding.”
I stepped forward. “Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for taking care of my brother and sisters.”
The man, who looked to be in his late fifties, inclined his head to a chair opposite his desk. “Have a seat.”
I did as instructed, and Deputy Raines took his leave. I couldn’t help twisting a loose thread on my jeans as Sheriff Spaulding took my measure, seeming to assess every weakness and flaw in a matter of seconds. “You’re in school at Seattle University.”