Just fifty-two miles away, in Hartford County, Austin Hicks was pulled over by Connecticut state troopers on Interstate 84. He was arrested for attempted murder.
Thirty-TwoJulia
The week with Wendell had gone fairly well. There were issues, of course. The house was no White Pines. It was dated and kind of dark, and the relics that Wendell called antiques were kind of ugly. The TV was ancient. The Wi-Fi was terrible. She missed her bedroom and all her belongings, despite the nice things Roberta and Ginny had done to make them feel welcome. Wendell didn’t know what to make them for meals, but then again, neither had Candace. “Are you sure you don’t want to come for a sleepover?” Chloe had asked. But Julia knew she couldn’t. “I have to show the judge I can handle this,” she explained. “Wendell is the only one who has agreed to take us in for now. I’ve got to make it work.”
But it was a far cry from home. Outside, Wendell’s place was beautiful, and of course, there was Raddy, but she missed her view of the fields and the knowledge that her parents’ bedroom was just down the hall, even if they were not in it. Even after they got used to staying at the farmhouse, they couldn’t shake the feeling that they were houseguests.
Most of all, Julia missed the security of knowing what the future held in store for her. The hearing at the probate court couldn’t come soon enough. Julia needed to know what was next for them.
Now, back at White Pines, Julia wanted nothing but to run down to the lake and meet Sam. There was so much to tell him. Like how Candace had welcomed them back politely that morning. If her aunt was mad or felt betrayed, she did not show it. She was too busy with the family lawyer and was already on the phone. Candace’s attention was on the buyer she’d apparently secured. A heartbreaking fact that Julia had to tell Sam right away. “I’m going out for a walk,” she told her aunt, who barely looked up from her laptop at the kitchen island.
“Very well. But be back at noon.” She didn’t elaborate, and Julia didn’t ask. All she wanted was to go find Sam.
She’d hoped to see him standing near their favorite tree by the egret nest. Or waiting by the edge of the woods, at the mouth of the path. After all, he knew that she was coming home that morning. To her disappointment, he was in neither place. Julia walked along the edge of the lake, scanning the sand for a sign. There was nothing.
“I’m back,” she texted him, wondering if he was home and could come meet her. But she already knew: they had no reception by the water, and that was part of the thrill. Sometimes their meeting up was left to chance.
She sat on their rock, scanning the ground for a sign. There was no message on the beach. Nothing written in the sand; no treasure left on the shore.
But then she saw it. There, at the base of the rock right next to her foot, was a small pile of stones stacked just-so. Julia hopped down. They were perfectly smooth, flat on each side. Perfect for skipping. She looked up, half-expecting to see Sam watching her from some hidden spot. “You remembered,” she said aloud. She scooped one up and held it in her palm, enjoying the cool weight of it. Then, the way her father had shown her, she skipped it. The rock bounced once, twice, then plunked beneath the surface. “Damn,”she muttered. She tried another. This one sank immediately. For no reason at all, tears pricked at her eyes.
She’d been good at this. She’d told Sam so. Was everything her parents had taught her or done for her fading already? Julia grasped the last rock and let her gaze rest on a spot in the distance. Then, with the flick of her wrist, she released it. The stone flew parallel to the lake’s surface, hitting the surface once, twice, three times. Then another. “Five. Six!” she shouted as it skimmed across the surface before sinking with an audibleplunk. With just the birds for spectators, Julia did a quick bow. “Thank you!” she shouted across the lake.
Back at the house, at noon, Pippa and Candace were in the kitchen. With them was a young woman with short curly hair and an ugly striped brown skirt. Candace had on her “company face” but was wringing her hands.Thiswas interesting.
“Here she is!” Candace said, motioning her in. “Julia, this is Miss Blake, and she is here to talk to you and Pippa about some things.”
Julia glanced between the two women and put her hand on Pippa’s shoulder. “Things?”
Miss Blake was not about to have Candace speak for her, and she stepped forward, extending her hand with a huge smile. “Hello, you must be Julia. You can call me Katy. I was asked to come here by Judge Bartlett, remember him?”
Julia nodded warily.
“He’s asked me to come and speak to you girls today. I was hoping we could sit down together and get to know one another.” She glanced at Candace. “Just the three of us.”
Instantly, Julia forgave her for the bad skirt.
Katy invited them to sit with her in the living room, and Julia liked her take-charge attitude straightaway. She was soft-spoken butdirect. “I was sorry to hear about your mom and dad,” she began once Candace stopped hovering and finally left them alone. “It must be a very sad time for you girls.”
Pippa nodded. “I miss Mommy. And Daddy.”
“I’m sure you do. There is no one better to take care of you.” Katy paused. “It’s very nice your aunt Candace is here to help care for you now. Family is very important. But sometimes there are other people we know and like who might help take care of us.”
Both girls nodded. Julia watched as Katy pulled a pad of paper and a pen from her bag. She also pulled out a sketchbook and a box of Crayola crayons. Irritation rose within her. Julia was tired of therapists and court systems. She knew all their tricks. Katy was probably going to ask Pippa to draw a stupid picture of her family and analyze it. But she put aside the art supplies and set the pad of paper on her lap.
“I hear you have a lot of good people like that. I wanted to ask you about one of them. Can you tell me about Mr. Combs?”
To Julia’s surprise, Pippa piped up. “Oh, you mean Wendell. He’s our friend. He lives here a lot, but he also has his own house. He takes care of Raddy.”
Katy glanced curiously at Julia. “Is that the horse?”
She had really done her homework. “Yes,” Julia said. “He rescued him for us.”
“I see.” Katy made some notes on her pad. “How much time have you spent with Wendell?”
Pippa shrugged. “Some. A lot. But not every day.”
Clearly, Julia needed to chime in. “He works here, so he’s here every day. Actually, he’s known us since we were really little. Since Pippa was born.” At that, Pippa started nodding exuberantly. She liked when the conversation turned to her. “But we never really spent a lot of time with him, just us. Until recently. Until our folksdied and our aunt came.” She paused. “He’s the only adult I like spending time with these days.”
