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“You are such a romantic,” Rachel said.
“Says the queen,” Ella said with a giggle.
“Not when I’m here on US soil,” Rachel said.
“You should wear your crown when you’re here and have everyone address you as Your Highness,” Lia said.
“Yeah, that would go over well,” Rachel said.
“It would make me giggle,” Lia said. “I’d like you to ask Mom and Dad to call you that.”
“Now, you’re trying to start trouble,” Rachel said.
“That’s nothing new,” Rafe said as he moved up to them. “Rachel might look innocent but she’s always been trouble.”
“Can you imagine how boring life would be if I was good all of the time?” Rachel countered.
“We wouldn’t want to get bored now, would we?” Rafe asked.
“Who’s bored?” Bass asked as he came up next, immediately putting his arm around Ella. She sighed a bit, content with how good it felt to have him close to her. She wondered if that would ever ebb. So far it hadn’t.
“No one is bored. How could any of us be when this place is so beautiful?” Ella asked.
“That’s true. The horses arrive tomorrow,” Bass said.
“They will love their new home,” Rafe said. For once he wasn’t looking at Ella as if she was a monster he needed to snuff out. She smiled at him, almost feeling welcome.
“They will certainly love their home,” Ari said as she moved up and Rafe immediately wrapped his arm around her.
Maybe love could last. Rafe had been with Ari for years and he still looked at her with desire, love, and adoration. Maybe if her right person came along that’s the way they would be for the rest of their lives. It gave her a spark of hope she was afraid to feel.
“I want to work with the kids. If we help the children when they are young, this world will be such a better place. Too many children are left behind and forgotten and I think that’s why there’s so much mental illness in the world,” Ari said.
“I agree. Kids are easily brainwashed, and if they are constantly told they are nothing, they believe that’s what they are. It’s very difficult to repair that damage. It’s something that stays with them for life,” Ella said.
She knew this better than anyone there. She’d been put down over and over again. If it hadn’t been for Nana Bee she wasn’t sure where she would’ve ended up. She might still be searching for herself, but she was much better off than many other kids who’d gone through what she’d been through. It was because she’d had some stability in her life while those children had none. It could’ve been so much worse for her than it actually was.
Some blue lights flashed that caught Ella’s attention. She turned at the same time as the rest of the group standing next to her and saw two police cruisers moving down the driveway. They flashed their lights then turned them off as they stopped close to where they were all standing.
“What’s happening?” Rafe asked.
“I have no idea. Did you forget to file a building permit?” Bass asked with a laugh.
“Do you think they’re looking for a runner?” Lia asked.
“I wouldn’t be surprised, but you’d think they’d have a helicopter if someone had escaped,” Rachel said.
The four police officers stepped out at the same time seeming tense. They weren’t smiling as they approached their group. They’d all been smiling until they saw the seriousness on the officers’ faces. What in the world was happening? Whatever it was couldn’t be good.
“How can we help you, officers?” Rafe asked as he stepped forward.
“One moment,” one of the officers said as another car moved down the driveway. They all turned and watched it.
“What in the hell is this?” Bass asked. No one could answer him.
The color drained from Ella’s face when she saw who stepped from the vehicle with another man at his side. The two of them moved forward. Paul looked directly at her with a smirk before the expression neutralized.
“This is her,” Paul said to the officers.
