“Where are you going?” Lauren asked.
“To Camille’s.”
Oh, right. Her babysitting job.
“They want to take me back to France with them,” Thalia volunteered suddenly. “Like study abroad, only they’d be my host family, and I’d help Camille with the kids.”
“Wow. That’s exciting,” Lauren said.
“I know. I mean... France, right? I figured the farthest I’d ever get from home was Chapel Hill. I could never afford to go to Europe, and a whole year...” Her voice trailed off.
“How do your parents feel about this?” Lauren asked.
“They’re all for it. Dad says it’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. And Mom’s not really into the whole senior year, prom thing, so that’s okay.”
Momisn’t, Lauren thought. “How about you?” she asked gently.
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to get away. See the world. Only... I thought I’d have another year, you know? Before I had to say good-bye to everybody.”
To Josh, Lauren thought.
“You’ll figure it out,” she said.
“She’s so smart,” Jane said after the girl left. “I hope she doesn’t make a mistake.”
Lauren looked at her quizzically. “You mean, stay? Or go?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Jane sighed. “You don’t realize when you’re her age that you can make a decision that will totally screw up your life.”
“Not just at her age,” Lauren said wryly.
The front bell tinkled.
“I’ll get that,” she said.
A blond guy was standing by the cash register. A tall, blond guy in a stained T-shirt and ripped jeans. He looked up when Lauren walked in, and Lauren’s back tightened. Her heart began to pound.
Travis Tillett. Jane’s ex.
Eighteen
LAUREN’S PALMS WENTdamp. “Can I help you?” she asked politely.
“Where’s Janey?” Travis asked. A demand, not a question.
“She’s busy at the moment.”
“Travis?” Jane’s voice rose sharply on the word. She came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “What are you doing here?”
“I want to make sure my boy is taken care of.”
Jane’s soft chin firmed. “I can take care of my son without any help from you.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” Travis smiled, exposing too many yellowing teeth. “You can’t do jack shit. Because I got him in my truck.”
Every hair on Lauren’s body stood at alert.
“Aidan?” Jane whispered.
