I checked my rearview mirror at least fifty times as I drove home. Every time, the Riley women were still following right behind me.
Chapter 14
Morgan
Going to Trevor’s house wasn’t my smartest idea. I knew that. However, when I’d made the suggestion to Miranda and she’d agreed, I hadn’t had the heart to refuse. At that point, I would have done anything to make her feel safe.
Trevor seemed to do that for her. I’d seen her glance out the tinted windows of the doctor’s office more than once and watch as Trevor had played with Etta in the grass. For some reason, he seemed to help her. Maybe it was from his “I’m big and strong” speech when we were standing in the hallway, or the inherent kindness that seemed to ooze out of him. I think a part of her may have been reminded a little of the day our dad had come to get us from our caseworker’s office. Whatever it was, I wasn’t willing to take it away.
She’d been through enough.
I refused to let myself think about the things that had gone down in that doctor’s office. Miranda had let me stay only after I’d promised not to go crazy. She’d known even before they’d called us back that it wasn’t going to be pretty. There’d been a lot hidden under the baggy clothes she was wearing. Things that I couldn’t bear to think about. Not yet.
“This is it,” Trevor announced as I climbed out of my car. “I’ll get everything opened up, and you guys can make yourselves at home.”
I nodded as he nervously headed toward his front door. I wasn’t sure what he was nervous about—we were the ones who were intruding on his space. As soon as he disappeared into the house, I turned to where my sister was gingerly climbing out of the car. The long drive must have made her achy because she winced as she stretched.
“He lives in the middle of nowhere,” she said, her voice scratchy after the hours of silence.
“Like a serial killer,” I replied.
“Or a hermit,” she shot back with a shrug.
“Is that better?”
Before she could answer, Trevor’s garage door rolled open and he strode out, carrying a wriggling black puppy.
“Jesus,” Miranda mumbled. “It’s like a freaking lumberjack calendar.”
“Sorry,” Trevor said sheepishly as he set the puppy down. “I let him out this morning, but my cousin hasn’t been here yet to let him out again.”
“You have a puppy,” I said dumbly. He’d told me during our long conversations that he wanted one, but I hadn’t known he’d actually gotten one.
“Oh, hey,” Miranda said softly as the puppy went straight to her. “You’re freaking adorable. What’s your name?” She crouched down, and I inhaled sharply at the grimace she tried to hide.
“He doesn’t have one yet,” Trevor replied, striding toward us.
“You haven’t named him?” I asked as the puppy jumped around Miranda like she was the best thing he’d ever seen.
“Any ideas?” Trevor asked.
“He looks like a bear,” Miranda said, getting slowly to her feet as the puppy went to look for the perfect spot to pee.
“Koda,” I said softly, watching as the little furball sniffed every tree and bush.
“Brother Bear,” Miranda said, her lips curving a little bit.
“Good choice,” Trevor replied. “I haven’t seen that movie in years.”
“Etta likes it,” I mumbled, shrugging.
“Henry liked it, too,” Trevor said nonchalantly. “He used to watch it even when he was a teenager.”
“That’s because Henry was a lost boy,” Miranda said.
I stiffened. I’d heard her use that phrase before.
“Lost boy?” Trevor asked.
“Yeah.” Miranda wasn’t looking at us, and I gritted my teeth because there was no way to stop her from saying whatever insulting thing was about to come out of her mouth. “He never grew up.”
Trevor made a choking noise in his throat.
“Jesus, Ranna,” I hissed, shaking my head in embarrassment.
“No,” Trevor said slowly. “That’s a pretty good description.”
My gaze shot to his, and I was surprised to find understanding there.
“I’ll never pretend he was perfect,” Trevor said, loud enough for Miranda to hear. “But he was my baby brother and I love him.”
“That’s how I feel about my little sister,” I replied through my teeth, glancing at Miranda. “Even when she’s unkind.”
“Sorry,” Miranda said, leaning against the side of the car. “It’s been a long day.”
“No worries,” Trevor replied before I could chastise her again. “You guys want to come in before it starts raining?”
My little sister started toward the house without another word. We watched her walk slowly inside, and I took a deep breath. It looked like we were definitely staying. Why was I so anxious about going into that house?
“Want me to grab Etta?” Trevor asked, resting his hand on my back as he passed me.
Oh, yeah. Now I remembered why I was so damn jumpy. Just that small touch, and my skin felt like it was on fire.
* * *
After a tour of the house and bathroom stops for all of us, I stood in the kitchen with Etta, unsure what to do. Miranda had closed herself into a bedroom the minute she’d seen it, and I was trying to give her a little while alone before I intruded. My normally chatty sister was anything but, and I had a feeling that she needed the quiet.
I wasn’t going to leave her alone for long, though, especially after the things I’d seen during that doctor’s exam earlier. This wasn’t the first time I’d watched Miranda retreat into her shell, but it was the first time since we’d reached adulthood. Whether it had been the luck of the draw, or the fact that she’d been younger than I was, she’d dealt with far more abuse when we were in the system than I had. I’d been placed with families who were mostly like the Harrises, but Miranda hadn’t been so lucky. When we’d reunited I’d barely recognized the sister I’d been separated from. It had taken years for our relationship to go back to what it once was. I’d always felt guilty for that.
“Are you guys hungry?” Trevor asked, coming in from whatever he’d been doing outside.
“Twevo!”
“Hey, sweet thing,” Trevor said, grinning at Etta. “Did you have a good nap?”
“Me no nap,” Etta argued, wrinkling her nose.
“Oh, sorry,” Trevor conceded, lifting his hands in mock surrender.
“Me hungwy.”
“I’m okay,” I cut in with a small shake of my head. I wasn’t sure how I’d choke anything down, my stomach was still so upset.
“I’ll just grab Etta something, then,” he said, watching for my nod before he moved toward the fridge. “I’ve got some apple slices in here.”
“Apples!” Etta said, kicking her legs to get down.
I set her on her feet and moved to the counter, practically collapsing onto the bar stool there. Man, I was exhausted. I hadn’t really slept since the night before last and now that the adrenaline was wearing off I was beginning to feel the effects.
“You have presliced apples?” I asked, leaning my elbows on the counter as Trevor crouched down to hand Etta the small package.
“Yeah. It’s wasteful,” he said sheepishly. “But I don’t like eating apples whole.”
“They taste different when they’re sliced?” I asked, sort of joking, but mostly confused.
“No.” Trevor smiled up at me. “I just don’t like biting into them. The skin gets stuck in my front teeth.”
“I feel that way about corn on the cob.”
“What?” He shook his head in disappointment. “You don’t like corn on the cob? That’s just wrong.”
“I never said I didn’t like it,” I murmured, resting my head on my arms. “I just always cut it off the cob instead of eating it like a savage.”
“Sabbage,” Etta said dramatically, chomping into an apple slice.
“You’re so ferocious,” Trev
or replied, poking her gently in the side.
“No, Me is sabbage,” Etta growled, baring her teeth and half the apple in her mouth.
“She’s something,” I mumbled with a snort.
“Hey,” Trevor said quietly, coming to his feet. “Why don’t you lay down for a while?”
“I’m okay,” I argued, straightening. I was tired, but it wasn’t like I was about to drop. I still had things to do. I needed to check on Miranda. Etta was peeking inside all the kitchen cabinets she could reach, and I had to make sure she didn’t get into anything she wasn’t supposed to. At some point, I needed to call my dad and tell him where we were, without telling him why we were there. I couldn’t just go to sleep, I had to keep an eye on everything and everyone. That was my job.
“Well, I can keep an eye on the little miss,” Trevor said, replying to the words I hadn’t realized I’d muttered under my breath. Maybe I was more tired than I thought. “Why don’t you go in and check on your sister? Your dad can wait.”
I looked at him, then at Etta, then back at him again. I trusted him. I wouldn’t be in his house if I didn’t. However, leaving my child in someone else’s care had never been easy for me, and his muscular shoulders and beautiful smile didn’t change that.
“We’ll stay in the house,” he promised, lifting Etta into his arms. “Watch a movie. Maybe go get the P-U-P-P-Y out of his kennel for a little playtime.”
I shook my head. “I’m okay—”
“Let me do this for you,” Trevor said firmly, cutting me off. “Let me help.”
“You’ve already helped,” I replied, waving a hand through the air at his clean but oddly impersonal house.
“Then let me help some more.”
We stared at each other for a long time before I finally conceded with a small nod. I rose wearily from my seat and ran a hand down my ponytail, glancing around to make sure there wasn’t anything else I needed to do before I went in to Miranda.
“We’re good,” Trevor said, coming around the counter. “Go.”
“Mama’s going to take a nap,” I told Etta. “You want to hang with Trevor for a while?”
“Twevo,” she mumbled around her mouth full of apple, nodding happily.
“Be careful,” I warned him. “Make sure she chews it up really good.”
“I will,” he said, resting a hand on my back for just a second before giving me a gentle shove. “This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“Yeah, yeah. She has a sippy cup and diapers in the diaper bag. There’s also a change of clothes. Not sure why she’d need them, but—”
“Morgan,” Trevor mumbled in amusement. “Go.”
“Fine.”
I walked down the hallway and knocked quietly on my sister’s door but didn’t wait for her to answer it before I pushed my way inside. She was lying on the bed on top of the linens, but she’d pulled the sides of the comforter up until she was wrapped like a burrito, and she was fast asleep.
I breathed a sigh of relief and climbed in next to her, careful not to touch her. We’d always been able to cuddle up when we shared a bed—it wouldn’t be anything new, but I didn’t want to chance it. She’d seemed okay when I’d touched her earlier in the day, but after she’d shied away from Trevor, I wasn’t sure if I should make contact, especially when she was sleeping.
The pillow was thinner than I liked, so I gingerly folded it in half and stuffed it under my head, careful not to jostle the bed. Then I just lay there, staring at my baby sister’s face. The lines between her brows were furrowed, and the dark half-moons under her eyes were still there, but for the first time since I’d walked into her dorm room she looked almost peaceful. It eased the tightness in my chest, just a little, but I knew it wouldn’t last. Eventually, I fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
“Sis, you better wake up,” Miranda said, shaking my shoulder sometime later that night.
When I opened my eyes, what little sun we’d had was gone and it was almost completely dark outside the window. I wasn’t sure how long I’d slept, but it wasn’t nearly long enough. I still felt like crap.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, searching her face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she replied. “You snore.”
“No I don’t.”
“You really do.”
“Is that why you woke me up?” I asked in irritation, scrubbing a hand down my face.
“No, I woke you up because someone’s here. A woman.”
“What?” I sat straight up in bed and turned my head toward the door.
“She got here a few minutes ago,” Miranda said, unwrapping herself from the blanket. “Trevor sounded annoyed that she was here, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”
“Shit.” Considering the fact that Trevor lived on his parents’ property, I shouldn’t have been surprised that someone had stopped by. I just hadn’t thought about it because I was too worried about other things. I swung my legs off the bed and paused to let the dizziness pass. Ugh, I hated when I got up too quickly and felt like I was going to topple over. “Stay here,” I ordered as soon as I had my land legs again.
“Bullshit,” Miranda countered, following me to the doorway. “You’re not leaving me in here.”
As soon as I opened the door, I could hear Trevor’s voice. He clearly wasn’t annoyed any longer as he chuckled at something the woman said. My stomach twisted. I knew I shouldn’t have taken a nap.
As soon as we reached the end of the hallway, Etta came into view. She was sitting in the middle of the living room with a bunch of coloring books spread out around her, calmly coloring something with a marker.
“I really hope that’s not permanent,” I said stupidly. It was the first thing that had popped into my head.
“It’s not,” Trevor said, standing up from the couch. “They’re washable.”
I turned to look at him, but didn’t say anything else as our eyes met. I registered that there was a woman and a man sitting around the room, but I didn’t acknowledge them while I waited for Trevor to explain what the heck they were doing in his house.
“I forgot to call and let them know they didn’t have to take care of Koda tonight,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry. I know you guys weren’t up for visitors.” He looked at Miranda, who was standing slightly behind me, and gave her an apologetic smile. “But once they knew you were here, they wouldn’t franking leave.”
“Jesus, you have him saying it now?” Miranda mumbled.
I didn’t bother to reply, just continued to stare at Trevor, my blood boiling. I’d trusted him to take care of Etta while I was in the next room. I’d let my guard down, and this was how he’d repaid me?
“She’s probably wondering who the hell we are,” the woman said to Trevor, like she thought he was an idiot.
Huh. Maybe I liked her. It was too soon to tell, but the odds were good.
Trevor made an annoyed sound, then swept his hand toward the couple in the room. “This is Anita and Abraham, and their baby, Arielle.”
My eyebrows rose as I glanced over and finally noticed the car seat with the sleeping baby on the floor.
“We’re his cousins,” Anita said, getting to her feet. “And you can call me Ani.”
I shot one more look at Trevor, then stepped forward. “I’m Morgan,” I said, reaching out to shake Ani’s hand. “This is my sister, Miranda.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ani said. She shook my hand, but only gave Miranda a head nod. Abraham waved from the couch.
“Mama,” Etta said, diverting my attention. “Baby!” She pointed to the car seat, then lifted a finger to her lips. “Her sleepin’.”
“I see that,” I said quietly, moving around the adults so I could kneel down in front of Etta. “What are you doing?”
“Me colorin’.”
“Only on the paper, right?”
“Wight.” She held up the book and proudly displayed the scribbled-on page.
“Nice work,” I said, nodding. ?
??I think that should go on the fridge.”
“I’m sorry we just barged in,” Ani said as soon as Etta was consumed with her task again. “We’re kind of used to bugging Trev whenever we want.”
“And she’s nosy,” Abraham cut in. “Once she knew you were here, I would’ve had to drag her out.”
“It’s okay,” I said slowly, looking over at Miranda. She was still standing outside the living room area, but she didn’t look uncomfortable. She’d leaned easily against the wall and seemed to be enjoying the show.
“Etta looks a lot like Henry,” Ani said.
“I know,” I replied. God, it was awkward. My hair was a mess from my nap, I was pretty sure my eyes had little crusties on them from sleeping, and I was in a strange house with a bunch of people I didn’t know. There was no way I could make a good impression.
“Jesus,” Ani said, shaking her head. “I know you do.” She laughed at herself, and I couldn’t help but admit that the sound eased my tension a little. “I’m no good at meeting new people. Swear to God, it’s like my mind goes completely blank and I have no idea what to say.”
“Just give her a minute,” Trevor teased. “She’ll figure it out pretty quick.”
“Shut it, Trev,” Ani said, shooting him a mock glare. “It’s just that I heard Etta looked like my cousin, but it didn’t really sink in how much until I’d actually seen her in person, you know?”
“Yeah,” I replied, glancing at Etta. “She’s pretty much all Hen.”
“She’s got your mouth, though,” Trevor argued. When we glanced at him in surprise, he cleared his throat and looked at Miranda. “Miranda does, too.”
“Oh, yeah,” Ani said. “I can totally see that. It’s the lips.”
“And the smile,” Trevor said, unwilling to let it go. “Same smile.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Miranda said jokingly. “We get it, man.”
Abraham chuckled then, and I was pretty sure it startled Miranda and Etta as much as me. His laugh was infectious, and completely at odds with the strong, silent vibe he was giving off.
“I was going to start dinner,” Trevor said uncomfortably in a clear attempt to change the subject. “Anyone else hungry?”