And that meant nightmares were coming eventually.“I should probably get them all to their beds.”
“I can help,” January immediately said.Auggie let her take the baby.Sometimes, January needed to focus on doing something for the girls to get through whatever was hurting her heart.Auggie understood that on such a deep level.
Cal was already standing gently, trying not to dislodge Tobi.Junie woke in time to stop Auggie from lifting Tobi.“I’ve got her, Aug.”
“I want to put them in beds they’ve been in before.So they won’t be afraid when they wake up.”Her girls did okay during the day—they were starting to feel safe and secure—it was at night when they struggled the most.When the nightmares came.
Sage was already waking Avril enough to have her rolling over to her side.
Within fifteen minutes, all of the sleeping kids were in beds.And then Junie and Em took January and Jules upstairs for some cookies and a talk.
Sage lured Gil away with a crook of a finger.
And then it was just Auggie and…Cal.She’d tried to go with January and Jules, but Em and Junie had saidno.And shooed her toward herguest.
His hands went around her waist, and just like that, he was holding her.His lips were on hers.
And she didn’t really remember much after that.Not for a long, long time.
When they finally came up for air, she dutifully walked him to the front door.
And told him good-bye.Feeling like her entire world had changed once again.
49
It had been two days.Two days since Cal had made himself a vow.He was still working on the strategizing part of things.Children were vulnerable to the decisions of those adults in their lives.He would never take that responsibility lightly.It had felt right spending those hours with Auggie and the girls.He’d felt like he mattered again, like he belonged.He’d only ever truly felt that way with his family.They’d been trying to rebuild that connection since what had happened with his father and they were getting there.But…he’d felt whole again.
He’d had two days to think about what that really meant.
But for now, he was doing big brother duty of his own.And…scoping things out.He knew where his woman most likely was right now.Time to go find her.Claudia was helping him do that—she just didn’t know she was yet.
“Thanks for the lift,” Claudia said, eyeing him suspiciously.She made a good cop—she was always suspicious.“If you don’t want to go inside, I’m sure I can find a ride later.Or just stay the night at Sage’s.I have clothes there, already.I want to spend some time with the girls, make sure they are okay.Auggie said Jan is having trouble right now.Auggie wants me to talk to Jan honestly about what we’re doing to find him, that kind of thing.”
Auggie had told him that when he’d texted her the night before to check on her.Texting was a part of his strategy.He’d send a message—and it would be up to her when or if she responded.Or…she’d text him first.She’d done that a few times, too.With cute pictures of the girls making cookies.Even the baby had had some sort of egg-free cookie dough in her hands, cramming it into her mouth, in one picture.
“I didn’t realize you were planning for me to stop, drop, and roll with my precious baby sister.I shall…escort you inside and attend service.I am a good boy, after all.And need all the help I can get.”He needed to find his woman, too.No denying that.He looked at what he had on.He was more than adequately dressed for a Sunday service at a small country church.“I’ll stay.But I draw the line at Sunday dinner with those nine she-devils.Em threatened to use me as breeding stock, after all.”
But…then again…that was exactly his plan.The Sunday dinner, probably at Gil’s, with Auggie and her she-devil sisters—not the breeding stock part of things.
That part was still terrifying when he thought about it.
“Which is utterly hilarious, as Em has often bemoaned being the last living virgin in Masterson County.”
“Not listening!She’s too young to even think about more than just holding hands with a man.She and Clancy both.Hand-holding and supervised by me.Period.”
“She’s almost twenty-two.We’re not kids any longer, Cal.I think we are all finally starting to realize that.”An expression he couldn’t identify went across her beautiful face.
“What is it?”This sister of his kept secrets.He’d yet to get her to cough them up.He worried about her, no denying that.
“Just memories.The nightmares.The scars.”Her own scars were just visible above the neckline of the simple dress his sister wore.“Hard to forget.To be…hyper vigilant.Bruce is still out there.I thought I saw him yesterday—so I chased him down.It turned out to be his brother Ned, who gave me homemade cookies his wife had packed in his lunchbox because he thought I needed them more than he did.The second time, it was…Derrick Tyler.Derrick was quite happy I chasedhimdown, but now I think we might just be engaged.Or I have a date next weekend with him.I’m not entirely certain.But…Bruce is still out there, and we all know it.”
Bruce Tyler’s choices had cost too many people too much.
He followed his sister inside the little church.He’d never been there before.
There were kids everywhere.A lot of them were redheaded.As soon as they walked in, one immediately climbed Claudia, practically like a tree.He recognized that orange curly hair from a mile away.
Tobi just grinned at him.“Hey, Aunt Claud.Guess what?”
