Chapter 48
The girls were all over them. Tobi wanted to sit next to her—right between Auggie and Cal.
Markie had apparently claimed him and was telling him all about the upcoming Tyler weddings she was going to be in, with pretty dresses.
And then she proclaimed she was going to marry Kam-run next week because he liked numbers and she liked numbers.
Markie was a girl who knew what she wanted, that was for sure.
Jules and January were still a bit tense.
Auggie would pull those two aside and have a heart-to-heart after the younger girls were asleep.
Avril and Tobi were blissfully unaware of why they were staying at Gil’s now.
They were just happy they were—and why not, movie theater and indoor pool in the basement, arcade games, horses to ride—it was a kids’ playground at Gil and Sage’s. And they were safe.
She hadn’t missed the armed security guards at the driveway entrance now. Gil had built them a small guard shack to use as headquarters, after what had happened to Sage before. Gil was almost fanatical about protecting the people he loved. The girls were safe here. She could breathe again now.
“She’s asleep,” Cal whispered in her ear. “Markie is almost out, too.”
Auggie looked down at the monster curled up against her side.
Tobi’s eyes were closed and she was drooling.
Maeya was on Auggie’s lap, and had been asleep for a long while.
Markie was draped across Cal’s chest. She definitely had claimed him as one of her favorite people.
Avril was watching the movie, curled up in one of the larger theater chairs, her head on Sage’s knee.
Sage’s niece Larkin, a few years younger than Avril, was on Sage’s other knee.
The lone boy, Langton, was a year older than Markie.
He and Gil were buddies, completely. He was sitting in a recliner identical to Gil’s just on a much smaller scale.
He had said he was going to be a cowboy like Uncle Gil and a doctor like his daddy.
Jules was reading in one corner, next to a recessed light. That child would rather read than do anything. Especially when something was stressing her. And January…was just sitting there, watching over them all.
That just left Em and Junie—she checked on them quickly. They were in seats on Cal’s other side. They were both sound asleep, too.
“None of us slept well last night.”
And that meant nightmares were coming eventually. “I should probably get them all to their beds.”
“I can help,” January immediately said. Auggie let her take the baby. Sometimes, January needed to focus on doing something for the girls to get through whatever was hurting her heart. Auggie understood that on such a deep level.
Cal was already standing gently, trying not to dislodge Tobi. Junie woke in time to stop Auggie from lifting Tobi. “I’ve got her, Aug.”
“I want to put them in beds they’ve been in before. So they won’t be afraid when they wake up.” Her girls did okay during the day—they were starting to feel safe and secure—it was at night when they struggled the most. When the nightmares came.
Sage was already waking Avril enough to have her rolling over to her side.
Within fifteen minutes, all of the sleeping kids were in beds. And then Junie and Em took January and Jules upstairs for some cookies and a talk.
Sage lured Gil away with a crook of a finger.
And then it was just Auggie and…Cal. She’d tried to go with January and Jules, but Em and Junie had said no. And shooed her toward her guest.
His hands went around her waist, and just like that, he was holding her. His lips were on hers.
And she didn’t really remember much after that. Not for a long, long time.
When they finally came up for air, she dutifully walked him to the front door.
And told him good-bye. Feeling like her entire world had changed once again.