Chapter 1
ANGELIE
FOUR YEARS LATER
Humming to myself, I pick up a few crayons that are scattered on the floor next to the play area, dumping them back into the large arts-and-crafts bin attached to the door that leads into my classroom.
It’s amazing how quiet this place can seem when the little ones are gone, and I savor this half hour or so between the end of class and my trip back home to take care of my own unruly gaggle of toddlers.
A little smile perks up the corners of my mouth as I picture them.
The looks I get when I tell people I have quadruplets, you’d think that I gave birth to every natural disaster known to man, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sure, the pregnancy wasn’t exactly easy, and the birth is something I would rather forget, but now that I have them, I can’t imagine having just a single child.
In fact, when I meet people who don’t even have multiples, I find myself a little taken aback.
What do you mean, you only have one? What do you do with all of that free time?
Of course, doing the whole quadruplets thing as a single mother adds an extra wrinkle of difficulty that I otherwise might not have had to deal with—but then, with four men as their potential paternal donors, it makes sense that I would have four kids as a result.
Chrissie, Stephanie, Chuck, and Jake—two girls, two boys, the best of both worlds. If a little excessive at times.
At least I have a better grasp on raising toddlers than most people.
When I found out I was pregnant, I was bang in the middle of my teacher training.
I only had a little more to complete due to the credits I earned in high school, and I debated between dropping out entirely or continuing at double speed to make sure I got my accreditation by the time the kids came along.
Eventually, I settled on the latter, and threw myself into my studies as I balanced my ever-growing belly with the career I had dreamed of all my life.
I had just made it back to Devin Ridge to move into a place of my own by the time they decided to make their arrival into the world.
I can still remember bringing them home for the first time, my sister Nathalie helping me carry them into the not-yet-decorated nursery.
I remember that feeling, all at once, of living in a real family home, one that was filled with life and energy and warmth.
It might have been overwhelming, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Within a year, I managed to land a job at Devin Ridge Elementary, where I teach the tiny kindergarten class three days a week.
It’s not always easy, balancing my home life and my work life, but Nathalie has made it her full-time job to look out for me in any way that she can, and I am beyond grateful for the efforts she has poured in to making sure I have everything I could possibly need.
In fact, she’s waiting for me outside the school gates as I emerge from the building.
The toddlers are at home with my parents, who try to squeeze in as much time with them as humanly possible.
Doesn’t seem to matter how many times I remind them that they are well into their fifties now and should be focusing on what they’re going to do in their retirement; they have practically taken on a whole part-time job in helping out with their grandchildren.
I didn’t expect to have a single grandchild for a long time, Mom told me when she first met them. If you think I’m going to miss out on having four, you’ve got another thing coming.
I lift a hand to greet my sister, and Nathalie leans on the gate with a smile on her face as I approach. “Made it through another day intact?”
“Just about.” I laugh as I step out of the gate, making sure it’s locked behind me.
For a moment, something seems off, though I can’t put my finger on what it is—something in the air, a strange haziness that doesn’t seem right.
I brush it off, assuming it’s nothing more than my tiredness after a particularly long day at school, and hook my arm through Nathalie’s as we head in the direction of the grocery store to stock up for the week.
It’s our little ritual, picking up everything we need together, and then she’ll help me bring it home and unpack as my parents keep the kids entertained.
A glow of warmth spreads in my chest—sometimes, I have to remind myself just how damn lucky I am to have my family so close to me like this, so willing to do everything they can to make sure I’m cared for and supported.
“How was your day?” I ask her, as we take the turn at the end of the road that leads up toward the high street.
Devin Ridge is a small town, no room for anything more than a scattering of stores, but that’s the way I like it.
When I went to college, I had access to way more than I did here, and I just found it overwhelming.
I like things to be easy, and that doesn’t include spending ten minutes trying to choose the right flavor of juice from the two dozen on the superstore shelves.
“Ugh, long,” she replies with a groan. Nathalie works at the same café I used to when I was a teenager, and I guess she finds it just as challenging as I did.
Like me, she’s putting aside some money to go to college, though she’s still a while away from actually pulling it off.
I wish I could help her, but it’s not like I have a cent to spare, with the quads to think of.
“We had this delivery of new coffee beans, and Tanya wanted to test them out right then and there,” she explains. We reach the corner of the high street and follow the slightly cracked pavement up toward the store. “But the grinder had broken, so I had to do it by hand, and—”
All of a sudden, a sound rips through the air, making us both jump out of our skin. It takes me a moment to realize where it’s coming from—it’s so loud, it pushes everything else out of my mind entirely, my heart pounding in my chest at the sudden shock of it.
“What the hell!” yells Nathalie, but she’s interrupted by another siren bursting out of a speaker attached to one of the streetlights above us. She clamps her hands over her ears and shoots me a panicked look, but I have no idea how to respond.
What the hell is going on?
“Prepare to evacuate,” a voice announces over the speakers. “A forest fire has been detected approaching Devin Ridge. All residents are advised to leave. Any residents on the East side of town are advised to go directly to the muster point…”
“The East side?” I mutter. That’s where my house is.
My stomach twists—that’s where my parents and the quadruplets are!
No wonder I felt something off in the air earlier; it was probably the first hint of smoke reaching the town.
Forest fires aren’t unheard of around here, especially at the height of summer like this, but that doesn’t mean this is a common occurrence.
For the town to be evacuated, things must be really, really freaking bad—and my kids are right in the line of fire. Literally.
Nathalie stands there for a moment, frozen.
In fact, the entire town seems to be holding its breath, waiting for someone, anyone, to break the quiet that beats between us in that instant.
A few people on the street just stand still, clearly too shocked to move.
The sirens ring through the air, the smell of smoke becoming more pronounced with every passing second.
And then, the door to the grocery store flies open. Margaret, the owner, is running out with a bag over her shoulder, sprinting toward the muster point like her life depends on it.
Maybe it does. Maybe it does for each and every one of us…
It seems like I’m not the only one coming to that conclusion, as her sudden movement sends chaos exploding around me.
People are rushing out of buildings, sprinting past us, knocking into one another as they hurry to close the distance between themselves and the evacuation point.
My head spins, half-aware of people yelling to each other, yelling at me, telling me to get out of the damn way so they can get to the muster point and get out of here.
I grab Nathalie’s arm, tight enough that it seems to snap her out of her frozen state. Her eyes are wide as they find mine, like she knows exactly what’s on my mind.
“We have to get to the house,” I tell her. “The announcement—Mom and Dad might not have heard it from there, and if the fire’s approaching from the east…”
“They said that anyone staying there should just go straight to the muster point,” she reminds me.
“I’m not leaving them in the middle of this,” I reply, leaving no room for argument.
Turning, I glance around, looking for a break in the rush of people that I can exploit to get back home.
And, before Nathalie can say another word, I take off in the direction of my house.
The smoke is already starting to sting my eyes, but I can hardly pay attention to it, my mind caught on nothing more than how important it is for me to get my family out of there.
No matter what it takes.