Just like that, Julia’s heart started slamming against her chest. “What kind of decisions?” she asked.
“Decisions that are in everyone’s best future interests. As you know, my life and work are in London. At some point, I will need to return. And as your guardian… as yourfamily,” she added, “I will have to bring you girls with me.”
“To London?” Julia sputtered.
Candace pressed her lips together. “Don’t worry, we can stay here through summer to give you girls a chance to pack up and say your goodbyes. I think mid-August will be best, so you have time to settle in and get to know the city a bit before you start school.”
As her aunt spoke, Julia’s mind began to spin noisily. Some of her aunt’s words penetrated the noise: “museums,” “theater,” “Buckingham Palace.” But the spinning continued, along with a fresh onslaught of images: Chloe and Sam laughing in the school cafeteria. Riding Raddy along the soft edges of the lake. Her parents. Her thoughts screeched to a halt there. Her parents werenowhere in London. Any remnant of her parents was here at White Pines.
Candace was still talking. “You can see much of the city from the London Eye—”
“No!” Julia leaped to her feet. “We’re not going to London.”
“Julia, please.”
“Pippa and I are stayinghere.” She glared at her aunt. She had to make her understand, right now, at this very moment. This was not a conversation she would even tell Pippa about. Because they were not leaving.
Candace cleared her throat. “I don’t think you understand—”
“We’ll find another guardian,” Julia interrupted. And before Candace could open her mouth to protest, “Chloe’s mom! Mrs. F will take us. She’s known us our whole lives, and they’re like family.” She did not add, “unlike you.”
“It’s not that simple,” Candace said. Though her expression had softened slightly, Julia could tell she was not wavering. “I am your court-appointed guardian. It’s what your parents wanted.”
“You didn’t even know my mom and dad!”
Candace stood, too. “Julia, that’s not fair. This is not easy for me, either. But your parents have appointed me, and I will not be turning you girls over to a stranger.”
“Don’t you get it?You’rethe stranger!” Julia could not stand there another second. And she couldn’t risk Pippa, who she prayed was still playing Barbie upstairs in her room, hearing them. “I’m sorry, but we are not leaving our home. I’ll figure something out.” She halted in the doorway. “I’ll talk to Mr. Banks if I have to. You can go back to your life in England, and we’ll stay here in ours.”
Then she spun on her heel and ran through the house and out the front door. Outside, she headed for her only sanctuary: the barn. When she got to Raddy’s stall, she threw her arms around hisneck and buried her face in his mane. She hadn’t even asked about what would happen to Raddy!
There were plenty of other people who’d want them—reallywant them—in Saybrook. Not just Chloe’s family but also Eliza! She had no kids of her own, and she’d known Pippa and Julia forever. Her parents had loved Eliza. There were others, too, she’d think of once she’d calmed down. Candace was not their only choice.
She pulled her phone from her pocket. The text between her and Sam was open, waiting for her reply.
The last message he’d sent was: “Please Jules. When can I see you?”
It was time. She stabbed at the screen with her index finger: “Midnight. Tonight.”
“She can’t just take you away,” Sam sputtered as he paced back and forth in front of their rock. “Everything you know is here. Your home. Your friends and school.”
“You.”
He halted and looked up at her.
Julia smiled. If she’d had any doubts about her growing love for him, this cemented it. Sam was incensed, and that didn’t just validate her feelings. It drove home her plan.
Sam clambered up on the rock beside her. “We can get you a lawyer. Or some kind of guardian from the court—”
Before he could say another word, she pressed her lips against his. It wasso goodto be with him again.
When they parted, there was only the sound of the peepers and their breath between them. “We will figure something out,” he whispered.
“You said ‘we.’?”
They sat on their rock together, shoulder to shoulder. She’dbeen wrong about Sam. Seeing him had not brought back a flood of guilt, as she’d feared. Instead, for the first time since the accident, she felt a small piece of her old self. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so alone anymore.
“I’m calling Eliza tomorrow,” she told him. “She was my mom’s assistant. But that sounds wrong—she’s really like family. She’s been with us for years, from holidays to birthdays to everything in between. My parents trusted her completely.”
