Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. “Just because your aunt wants to take you guys away doesn’t mean she can. Did you ever hear about those kids who get emancipated from their own parents?”
Julia thought a moment. “Yeah, there was that kid whose parents were anti-vaxxers and he got a judge to legally separate him.”
“Exactly. What about something like that?”
Julia seized upon the suggestion. The idea went hand in hand with what she’d been thinking. Maybe she could appeal her parents’ will. “But first I need to decide who would take us. It’s not a small thing, taking in two kids.”
“True. But you’re not some poor foster kid lost in a system. You’re Julia Lancaster.”
The way he said it made her laugh. “So what?”
“So, there are tons of people in this town who know your family and care about you. I’m telling you: we’ll find somebody.”
Julia leaned in to him, letting the idea spill over her. It wouldn’t be easy, but it might be possible.
Later, when they’d talked themselves into the deep darkness of night, Sam walked her home. As they crept across the yard, Julia glanced up at her aunt’s dark bedroom window.
Even though their talk in her father’s office earlier had been brutal, Julia had swallowed her pride and gone to find Candace shortly afterward. It wasn’t because she had any intention ofmaking peace; it was to protect Pippa and buy herself some time. Julia’s biggest fear was that Candace would tell Pippa, who had already been through too much. Better to let her aunt think she was going along with the plan until she could figure something else out.
She’d found her aunt in the sunroom, slouched in a wicker chair with an iced tea. “Sorry about earlier,” she’d said, even though she meant not a single word of it.
Candace regarded her curiously. “Julia, this is not easy for any of us. But it will be for the best.”
“I know.” Julia stared at her feet, hoping her voice was convincing. “But I have to ask you for something: please don’t tell Pippa yet. Not until I get used to the idea and tell her with you. She’s too fragile right now.”
As drained as her aunt looked, this seemed to relieve her. “All right, I suppose that’s fair.”
After that, they’d had what constituted a normal dinner together, and later, Julia had helped Pippa with a bath. She’d tried not to watch the clock as each passing minute brought her closer to seeing Sam at midnight.
Now she and Sam ducked among shadows until they reached her front door. “You didn’t have to come all this way,” she whispered, reaching behind her for his hand.
“The hell I didn’t,” he said.
She turned to face him. “Thank you. For all of it.”
Sam tilted his face down toward hers. In the faint light from the house, his jaw was strong, determined. There was no trace of the gangly kid she’d known in middle school. And if she’d ever been sure of any one thing, it was this: Julia Lancaster loved Sam Ryder.
“So, you’ll call Eliza first thing tomorrow?”
Again, his worry for her made her smile. “You mean today. Yes, and you’ll be first to know what she says.”
Sam pecked her once more on the lips. “Good night, Jules.”
She slipped inside and turned the lock on the door, holding her breath. To her relief, the house was still and heavy with slumber.
Through the front window, she watched Sam trot down the yard and slip effortlessly into the darkness. It occurred to her he’d done the same thing to her heart.
FifteenGinny
There was nothing like having supportive parents, but one person’s idea of supportive was another’s of suffocating.
“Huh. That’s not the welcome I was expecting.” Her mother stood at the front door with her arms crossed.
“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t expecting you to drop in.”
“Well, maybe if I’d been invited, I wouldn’t have to drop in.”
Ginny was exhausted. It was Sunday afternoon, and what she wanted to do was close the door and crawl back under the covers, but that plan was scratched.
