“That may be, but a six-year-old doesn’t run away in the night for no reason.” He glanced over his shoulder, where Julia was rubbing Pippa’s back on the couch, and a wave of protectiveness rose within him.
Candace was not having it. “There is nothing wrong except for the fact that these girls are out of control.”
Julia joined them with Pippa, but she stayed on the inside of the doorway. “We want to stay here,” she announced.
Candace looked between the three of them, her eyes flickering. “Enough is enough, young ladies. Get in the car.” She strode across the porch and down the steps.
Wendell felt hesitation about sending them home, but it was best to let everyone sleep on it and circle back in the morning. “It’s late,” he told the girls. “What you need is to go home with your aunt and get some sleep.”
Pippa whimpered. “But I don’t want to.”
From the driveway, Candace flung the car door ajar. She screamed with such force, Wendell jumped. “Get in the goddamn car!”
Wendell had never seen her lose control, and to judge by the girls’ reactions, they had not, either.
Pippa started to cry. Wendell took her hand. “Come on, Pippa. I’ll walk you out.” He didn’t like being in the middle of this. But he didn’t want to stand aside and let things get any worse, either.
Julia bit her lip but did not budge. “Julia,” he said, turning to her. “Listen to your aunt for tonight. We can figure this out in the morning.”
“No. Pippa’s upset, and I’m not making her go. Let us stay.”Tears sprang to Julia’s eyes as she said it, and Wendell felt himself bend. It was all becoming too much.
“Julia, now is not the time to push things. I promise I’ll come by in the morning.”
But Julia had other ideas. “He has Radcliffe, you know!” she shouted across the porch.
Candace came to the bottom of the steps. “What did you just say?”
Wendell let his breath out. “Julia.”
“What? She might as well know everything.” She spun to face her aunt. “After you stole my horse, he went and bought Raddy back. He’s here in the barn. Go see for yourself.”
Wendell closed his eyes.
Julia was on a tear now. “And I’ve been coming to see him every day,” she went on. “You think you know everything, that you’re in charge. But you’re not.”
Wendell couldn’t even look at her. Julia didn’t realize it, but she had just cemented her aunt’s ire. He walked to the porch railing to face Candace.
“Is this true?” she sputtered.
He didn’t know which part of the story she meant, but he supposed it didn’t matter anymore. “Yes, ma’am. All of it.” He would not say he was sorry.
“What were you thinking?”
“I felt badly about the horse being sold. The kids had been through so much.”
Beside him, Julia crossed her arms as though she’d won the battle. But the war was Candace’s, Wendell already knew.
“Your judgment is baffling,” Candace said finally. She turned to Julia. “I’m leaving, with or without you.”
“Please?” Julia begged at his elbow. “Can we stay with you now?” But if she’d been expecting an ally, she did not have one.
“Julia, it’s time to go,” he said.
“I had to tell her. This way she’ll see that we have this under control. We don’t need her.”
Wendell shook his head. “Listen to your aunt.”
She would not budge. “Whose side are you on?”
