“The pictures are awesome,” Charlie said excitedly. “Andy drew the last one today.”
While Charlie and Andy told her what they’d have to do to self-publish their book, Andrea thought about Scotty. He’d missed out on so much of their sons’ lives. If he’d been a better person, their lives would be completely different.
“What are those men doing at our house?” Andy asked.
Andrea stopped in her driveway. “They’re putting security lights around the house and adding more locks to the doors.” Thankfully, Penny, her landlord, was happy to have them installed. It wouldn’t help if Scotty tried to break in, but it would give them a few precious minutes to get help.
“Why do we need security lights?”
“So we can see everything if we go outside at night. The locks on the doors are old, so the men are adding new ones at the same time.” She undid her seatbelt and studied their home. If Scotty knew where the café was, he could track her down to this house. Just thinking about him coming here had given her nightmares and made her even more determined to keep out of his way.
“I made pizza for dinner. If you take your backpacks inside and wash your hands, I’ll put them in the oven.”
Charlie opened the passenger door and flew up the front steps. Andy took his time, watching what the men were doing with keen interest.
She rested her arm across his shoulders. “They’re doing a great job, aren’t they?”
“Why are they really here?” he asked softly.
No thirteen-year-old should be told it was to give them time to escape from his father, but Andy wasn’t a normal teenager. He’d grown up in a home full of violence and abuse. It had scared him beyond belief and left scars that were still healing.
Andrea gave his stiff shoulders a quick hug. “I want to make sure we’re safe.”
“From Dad?”
“From anyone who comes here. A lot of people have security lights and extra locks on their doors.”
“Not in Sapphire Bay. Pastor John never locks his front door.”
“Pastor John was in the army.” She didn’t need to tell him that John knew how to look after himself.
Andy gripped the straps of his backpack tighter. “If Dad comes here, what will we do?”
She repeated the words she’d told the boys when they first moved here. “We make sure we’re safe and then call Pastor John. He’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“What if we can’t get to the phone?”
Her heart squeezed tight. “You use the emergency phones I gave you and Charlie. If you can’t find them, go to our safe place and stay there until I get you. We’ll be all right, Andy.”
He dropped his head to his chest. “That’s what you used to say before we came here.”
Guilt and regret brought tears to her eyes. “I was wrong to stay with your dad for so long. I’ll never do anything to put us in danger again.” She pointed to the men on the ladders. “This is to keep us a little safer, that’s all.”
Andy’s heavy sigh told her he was having a hard time believing her. “Okay.” He walked inside, holding his backpack tight against his chest.
She didn’t know what the future held, but it wouldn’t include Scotty. Not if she could help it.
Chapter 15
The next three days passed in a blur. Andrea dropped off the boys at The Welcome Center each morning and went to work. She kept her cell phone close in case someone at the center needed to contact her. At the end of each day, she picked up the boys and brought them back to the café.
She constantly looked over her shoulder, expecting the worst. It was stressful and exhausting, and it couldn’t go on forever.
“That’s the last pasta salad made,” Rosalie said from the other side of the kitchen counter. “Do you want me to start on a dessert?”
“If you could slice the fruit for the apple tarts, that would be wonderful.”
Tomorrow, Katie and Peter were getting married at The Lakeside Inn. Even though she was exhausted, catering for their wedding was a welcome distraction.
