“Yes, sir.”
“You working? Taking out loans?”
He must’ve known my parents weren’t helping me in any way. They’d just been happy to have one less mouth to feed. “I have a full academic scholarship. I work part-time to cover my room and board.”
Spaulding nodded, seeming pleased with my answer. “Your parents…”
“Are total and complete wastes of space?” I offered.
“I’m afraid it’s worse than that.”
I gripped the loose thread on my jeans tighter. “Will said he thought they were using drugs.”
“Your father has gotten mixed up with a bad crew. We had suspicions before, but tonight confirmed it. He’s dealing, and I’m not talking pot.”
The string popped off my jeans. “Dealing? He was bringing those people into the house? With the kids there?”
Sheriff Spaulding’s gaze hardened. “I’m afraid so. In and out of the house.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“You’d have to find him first. And we can’t seem to do that.”
I stiffened. “What do you mean?”
Spaulding leaned back in his chair. “We found your mom holed up in a motel room, high as a kite, needle by the bed. But no sign of your dad.”
Needles. We weren’t even talking prescription pills. “I was home this summer. They were neglectful, yes, but Mom was still caring for Mia. They drank too much, but I saw no sign of drugs.”
“A lot can change in four months, Caelyn.”
Apparently, a whole life could fall apart. “What about the guy who broke in?”
Sheriff Spaulding laced his fingers together and rested his hands on his desk. “Dave Herbert. Arrested on a slew of charges. He won’t be breathing free for a few years, at least.”
It wasn’t enough. He’d scared my siblings to death, probably would’ve hurt them or worse. My stomach roiled at the thought.
“That’s not all,” Spaulding continued. “Your brother gave us a cell phone. I think he thought it might help us find your folks because it belonged to your dad. What was on that phone…it’s going to lead to a lot more arrests.”
“That’s good, right?” I wanted all of these assholes off the streets and far away from my family.
“It is good. But while all this is shaking out, I want you to be cautious.”
All of my muscles seemed to seize at once. “You think they’ll come after the kids?”
Spaulding’s jaw went hard. “I’d like to think not. But desperate people do stupid things. They could think going after the kids might shake your dad loose. Or that the kids know where your dad is. Miss Harriet has assured me that she has a state-of-the-art security system. I think you’ll be safe on her estate, but I want you to be careful when you’re out around town. Maybe give the kids’ schools a heads-up.”
My mind swam with all of the possible risks. I hated that we might bring trouble to Harriet’s door. But what other option did we have? “Thank you. We’ll be careful. Will you keep me up-to-date on the arrests?”
“I’ll keep you in the loop as much as possible.”
“I don’t need to know the ins and outs of the cases. I’d just like to know when I can take a deep breath again.”
Spaulding’s expression gentled. “I understand. We’re going to put Harriet’s estate and the kids’ schools on the drive-by loop so there will be a police presence. That should discourage anyone from doing something stupid.”
“Thank you.” It should’ve made me feel more at ease, but the fact that the sheriff thought it was necessary just ramped my anxiety up another level.
Unease slid over the sheriff’s features. “We’ll need Will to testify about the phone and the people he saw coming and going from the house. Possibly Ava, as well.”
“What? No. That can’t be safe.”
Spaulding met my gaze dead-on. “If we want this Herbert clown and your mother to get the maximum sentences, we need that testimony.”
I closed my eyes, letting my head fall forward. For Will, Ava, and Mia to be truly safe, to heal, anyone involved needed to go away for as long as possible. “They’ll testify.”
“Good—”
I held up a hand, cutting the sheriff off. “But I need you to do something for me in return.”
His eyes grew shrewd. “And what would that be?”
“Help me get custody of my siblings.”
1
Caelyn
PRESENT
“Come and get it, tiny terrors,” I called from the kitchen.
Will appeared, shaking his head. “You know I’m not actually tiny anymore, right?”
I clutched at my chest in an overdramatic move. “Don’t remind me. You’re forever eight in my mind.” But it didn’t change the fact that my little man was now sixteen years old. He had a driver’s license. And was shaving. I didn’t even want to think about all of the girls who made googly eyes at him.
I shook myself out of the downward spiral I was rapidly descending into. “Where are the girls?”
“I just finished Mia’s braids and she was looking for the right bracelet to go with her outfit. Ava was packing her backpack. What do you need in here?”
God, my brother was the best kid on the planet. Too good. But no matter how much I tried to get him to cut loose, it never happened. “Can you pour some OJ for everyone?”
“You got it.”
While Will got everyone glasses of juice, I slid the rest of the scramble onto plates. The toaster dinged, shooting up the bread in a little hop. I quickly buttered the slices. “Girls, the countdown is on.”
“We’re here! We’re here!” Mia huffed. “Look at my braids. Will gave me ribbons.”
I turned to take in my little spitfire. “You look beautiful. And I love your outfit.”
Mia was into anything brightly colored or that had glitter of some sort. Today it was a white t-shirt with a sparkly rainbow, pink pants, and gold glitter slip-ons. The pink, polka dot ribbons and a wrist full of bracelets just completed the look. “Thank you.” Her face scrunched. “You can still see my string, right?”
The worry in Mia’s expression had me crouching so that I was eye-to-eye with her. “Let’s see.” She held up her arm for my inspection. There was an array of jelly bracelets, some beaded ones, but peeking out between the bangles was a rainbow-colored friendship bracelet.
Two years ago, these fancy bead kits had become all the rage with Mia’s and Ava’s classmates. They were ridiculously expensive, and we didn’t have a lot of extra money for that kind of thing. So, as an alternative, I’d taught the girls how to make simple friendship bracelets with string. They’d become obsessed, and Mia had made us all matching rainbow bracelets. Even Will wore one.
I held up my wrist, touching it to Mia’s. “Rainbow power in full effect.”
She beamed at me. “Good.”
Ava appeared in the doorway. “Morning.” Her voice was soft, just like the rest of her. My girl was the most sensitive of souls. The therapist I’d taken both Will and her to for the first year I’d had custody of them had told me that she might always be this way. Growing up in such an unstable home had made her constantly take the measure of those around her, always cautious to avoid any volatile situations. As much as it hurt my heart, I knew that Ava’s empathy and sense of others’ emotions could also be a superpower.