‘You and me both!’ Becca laughed.
Lyndsey sensed they’d be better off without her there. ‘I’ll leave you two to talk. Griff’s in the kitchen with Theo. I’ll join them and listen for Nora, in case she wakes up.’
A couple of hours ago they’d been on the verge of reporting Theo missing to the police when Becca received a phone call from the airport. Her creative nephew had attempted to buy a ticket to London because he knew Deke’s band would be performing there soon, but his naiveté let him down. The two hundred dollars he’d saved up didn’t come close to covering the cost, and the airline would never have sold one to a boy his age anyway, even with the passport he’d stolen from his father’s office safe. Griff drove Becca to the airport to collect Theo while Lyndsey took care of Nora. She’d immediately popped the little girl in the stroller and walked around to let all of the neighbors know that Theo was safe. She’d even persuaded Miss Grey to open the door for the second time that day to give her the news. For a fleeting moment, she could’ve sworn a mist of tears blurred the old lady’s faded blue eyes.
‘I suppose Dad’s angry with me?’ Theo sounded despondent.
She debated how to answer. Lyndsey didn’t want to pile more agony on the boy, but he needed to realize the full effect of his actions so that he wasn’t stupid enough to try something similar again.
‘Hey, he loves you, kid.’ Griff patted Theo’s arm. ‘He’s glad you’re safe. It’s all that matters.’
Hardening her heart, she fixed her steady gaze on her nephew. ‘No, it’s not all that matters. You might’ve got a lift with someone who . . .’ It wasn’t easy to strike a balance between being too graphic while still putting her point across. ‘You’re twelve. That’s old enough to understand not all people are good. You could’ve been hurt. Or worse.’ Theo looked like a ghost. ‘Can you imagine what that would’ve done to your parents?’
‘Lyndsey, don’t be too hard on him,’ Griff urged.
‘No, she’s right,’ Theo muttered. ‘I just wanted to see my dad. He’s been gone so long and I . . .’ He dropped his head on his folded arms and the room filled with loud sobs.
Now she felt like the worst person in the world. Lyndsey tentatively put her hand on Theo’s bony shoulder. ‘I’m sorry I was harsh, but you frightened us all so much, and . . .’ She startled when Griff’s strong arms wrapped around them both. The scent of his air-dried clothes and the heat emanating from his big body acted like a warm blanket on her fraught nerves.
‘Your dad wants to talk to you, Theo.’ Becca appeared in the kitchen door, her eyes wide at the sight of the three of them holding on to each other. ‘He needs to see you’re all right with his own eyes. I . . .’ Her hand flew up to her mouth.
‘Don’t cry, Mom, please.’ Theo wriggled out of their arms and ran over to Becca. ‘I’m sorry—’
‘No, I’m the one who should be sorry.’
Lyndsey’s heart overflowed with happiness. Seeing the two of them reaching out to each other was awesome enough, but Theo had never called her sisterMombefore. Only the other day, Becca confessed that he painstakingly avoided calling her anything. The word might’ve slipped out unconsciously, but struck her as a major step forward.
‘Come on, or he’ll start to worry again.’ Becca touched Theo’s cheek. ‘I promise I’ll only stay a moment, then you can chat to your dad on your own.’
‘I’d just as soon you hung around.’ The ghost of a smile emerged. ‘He might not yell at me so much if you’re there. I totally get I deserve it, but it still won’t be fun.’
‘Let’s brave him together, then.’ Becca looped her arm through Theo’s and steered him out of the kitchen.
Lyndsey met Griff’s gaze, struggling to read his thoughts. ‘Was I too hard on him?’
‘No. I guess I’m a soft touch. I was too relieved to be mad at him.’
‘Children need consistency. Limits. Consequences for their actions. Without that they . . . flounder.’
‘Like Becca?’ he murmured.
‘Maybe.’ For now, that seemed the wisest response, rather than going into the difference in the way their parents treated Becca — the family princess — and her. Lyndsey realized her mum and dad probably weren’t even aware that’s what they’d done, and would be horrified if they found out the effect it’d had on the sisters’ relationship. ‘She flitted through life pretty much unscathed until this last year. A whirlwind romance suited her, but dealing with the reality afterwards — not so much.’
‘I reckon she’s starting to see that now.’
‘Let’s hope so,’ she said fervently. ‘Anyway, I need to see about dinner, and I’m sure you’ve got work to do.’
‘Tryin’ to get rid of me?’
Lyndsey fiddled unnecessarily with her silver necklace.
‘I hoped you might come over later?’
‘I’d better not tonight. I should stay here.’
‘Don’t tell me you’re goin’ to stay chained up all weekend as some sort of penance? None of this is your fault, you know.’
‘It’s nothing like that. I have work to catch up on.’ Nicola’s hints that she couldn’t manage The Right Place essentially on her own much longer were becoming more persistent. If she wasn’t careful, she’d have no business to go home to. ‘Tomorrow evening — if that suits you?’
