When he looked up at her again, there was determination on his face. “I think we should go get Jonathan.”
“What?” Violet frowned. “Why do you want to do that?”
“He’d like this book. He would be interested in the moths, and I want to show him.” Noah got to his feet. “I’m going to go right now.”
“Noah, don’t do that. Jonathan is in his study. He’s working. We don’t want to bother him, do we?”
“He won’t mind.” Noah closed the book and hugged it to his chest. “Jonathan likes spending time with us. And he likes me more lately than he used to.”
That tugged at Violet’s heart. “Noah, that isn’t right. Jonathan always liked you. He doesn’t like youmorenow. Is this about the pranks?”
Noah’s gaze fell. He nodded. “He was so angry at me about that.”
“Well, yes, he was, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like you. He doesn’t want you to end up getting yourself into some kind of trouble. Neither of us wants that for you. It’sbecausewe care about you that we want to make sure you behave yourself. Because if you play a prank on someone other than me, they might get angry. You might be punished.”
Noah nodded solemnly. “I know,” he said. “I know I’m lucky you and Jonathan didn’t punish me.”
Violet closed her eyes briefly—of course, that wasn’t what she had wanted him to derive from what she’d said. He wasn’tluckynot to be punished. Punishment would be wrong. He was just a boy, just exuberant—she wanted to help him learn how to behave himself, not cause him to live in fear.
We’re all doing our best.Someday, they would reach the point where they were comfortable enough with one another that Noah wouldn’t expect punishment from them. Someday, they would know how to live together so much more easily.
Wait. No. That isn’t what will happen. Because we aren’t going to stay together. Because one of us—me or Jonathan—is going to leave.
She got to her feet and followed Noah, who was already halfway out of the room and on his way down to the study. He was walking quickly, nearly running, and she thought of calling out to him to slow down. But as the thought resolved itself in her mind, he was already drawing level with the study door, and there was no longer any point in saying anything.
She expected that Noah would knock, but he didn’t. He threw open the door and went inside. “Hi, Jonathan!”
She lingered in the hall while Jonathan greeted Noah, assessing his mood—would he be angry at being interrupted? He didn’t seem to be. He was speaking genially enough. After a moment, she went into the room after Noah, and he looked up at her and gave her a smile without interrupting Noah’s conversation.
“I have to show you this moth,” Noah was saying. “Do you like moths?”
“I don’t know that I do,” Jonathan said. “The way they fly around makes me feel like they’re going to hit me in the face.”
“That’s true,” Violet chimed in. “Butterflies don’t really do that, do they? Jonathan, Noah and I were just talking about how moths are sturdy and don’t seem like they would be harmed by flying into things.”
“But,” Noah added, standing up a little straighter. “Moths only live for a couple of days, Jonathan. And that’s why I think I wouldn’t want to be one.”
“Right,” Jonathan said, grinning. “I’m glad we sorted that out, then. So you won’t be transforming into a moth.”
“No, I’m going to stay Noah,” Noah said. He was grinning too, enjoying the joke. “Or maybe become some sort of lizard, because they can climb up walls, and that would be fun to do.”
“At least we’re narrowing down our options,” Jonathan said.
“Can we have another picnic today?” Noah asked.
“I think it’s too close to dinner time now,” Violet said. “We don’t want to ruin our appetites.”
“Oh, I guess we don’t,” Noah agreed. “But maybe tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow I think it would be all right,” Violet said. “I’ll see what I can arrange for us.”
“Jonathan? Will you come too?” Noah asked. “Or will you be too busy?”
“I can take a break from work,” Jonathan said with a grin. “I need to challenge Violet to another rock throwing contest.”
“I thought you were ready to concede that I was more skilled at that,” Violet said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, I don’t want a rematch. This time we would be competing for distance,” Jonathan said. “I’m sure I can beat you atthat. In a distance throwing competition, it doesn’t much matter which direction you throw. It all comes down to your strength, and I do think I have you beat there.”
