Somehow, she would keep her son safe.
And she’d have a better chance with a team behind her. She dialled Dot’s number.
“I need help.”
***
Arthur let himself into the town house with a smile on his face. It had been an amazing weekend. He’d cleared the air with Amy and Brandon and spent time with Gretchen. Even his time with the kids had been a blast. He whistled a little ditty as he moved into the living area where he found Sam and Penelope in the kitchen.
Penelope was facing away from him, brushing down her top and Sam had shifted in front of her, blocking Arthur’s view.
He’d interrupted something. He grinned. “Sorry, should I have knocked?”
Sam laughed. “The whistling did the trick. You look happy.”
“I had a great weekend.”
Penelope turned around, her cheeks not quite as red as her hair. “Hi, Arthur.”
“Hey. I’ll go to my room.”
“No, it’s fine. We were just making dinner.” She reached for a bottle of pasta sauce and unscrewed the lid.
“Need a hand?”
Sam shook his head. “Take a seat. Tell me about your weekend.”
“It was fun.” He still couldn’t quite believe how much fun. “The kids were enthusiastic about everything. I went on a ride with them in the evening and the Ridge land is incredible. It looks so barren, but there’s life everywhere.”
“Brandon loves it there,” Sam said.
“You can tell. After dark, the kids played spotlight and they were terrible at hiding.”
“Did you show them how it’s done?”
Arthur grinned. “Yeah, and they wanted to know all my secrets.”
Penelope looked between them. “Is Arthur good?”
“He was our number one sneak. He could infiltrate and hide for hours until it was time for action. The man’s a genius.”
Arthur blushed. “The entire team was talented.”
“He’s being modest,” Sam said, stirring something on the stove.
Arthur took a moment to take in the praise. He’d been good at his job, but never as good as his father wanted. He should have never held himself to his father’s unachievable standards. “Today we went to the beach after most of the kids had left. I taught Gretchen’s boy, Jordan, and his friend, Cody, how to hide. Brandon taught Lara and Mischa.”
“Who won?”
Arthur raised his eyebrows. “You have to ask?”
“Brandon’s going to hate that.” Sam laughed.
“How did the sleepover go?” Penelope asked. “I bet Faith and Amy are exhausted.”
“The kids were pretty good.” He hesitated. He had spent little time with Penelope, but Sam had spoken about her a lot, and he knew that most of what he’d told his friend, Penelope would know. “I spoke with Amy.”
Both of their gazes sharpened on him. “How did it go?” Sam asked.
