“I’m not little. In three years, I’ll be eighteen, the same as you and your brother when you could enlist.”
The mention of Wesley caught him. This girl knew far morethan he realized. “Three years is a long time,” he said softly. So much could happen in three years. The time it took to do basic training and be deployed to Afghanistan. For a soldier to be killed in action. To bury a brother and, not long after, a father. Wendell swallowed hard.
But Julia was not letting up. “Look, according to my lawyer, we need a guardian. And from what I learned about my trust, there may be enough money for me to keep White Pines—if I can find a guardian.” She stared at him, waiting for it to sink in. “You need White Pines to keep your job. Everyone wins.”
Wendell shook his head. So she’d gotten herself a lawyer. He was unsurprised, maybe even impressed. “Why now, in the middle of the night?”
“Because I don’t want my aunt to know about this. And we’re running out of time.”
“Julia, you were furious with me a few days ago. Now you want me to live with you?”
She glared back at him. “That’s exactly what I want.”
Unable to stand the look in her eyes, he rose. Wendell could feel her desperation, and it was affecting. It was also not lost on him what a touching request she was making. But there was simply no way.
“Look, I can cook, I can take care of Pippa, and I can do laundry. All we need is an adult who can take care of White Pines so we can stay there. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” He had to be firm, right here and right now, and not let this runaway idea take them any further down the road. “Julia, you have that person. It’s Candace—”
“I hate her!” she snapped, eyes ablaze. “Look what she’s done. Stealing Raddy. Selling our home. Taking us away to a place we’ve never even been.”
This was getting too heated. Julia was livid, and Pippa lookedlike she might cry. It was time to get them back home, even if it was the last thing they wanted. But Julia was not done.
“Do you know Pippa rode her bike all the way here tonight? In the dark! She just learned to ride a bike yesterday. It took us an hour to get here.” Julia tugged Pippa’s hand lightly, and Pippa stood up. For the first time, Wendell noticed her right knee was skinned. There was a long red scrape covered with dirt.
“Pippa, you’re hurt?” He knelt beside her, examining it. When he looked up, she was eye level. Her eyes were cornflower blue, just like her dad’s. Wendell felt his throat tighten. “Can I help you clean it? I’ll be gentle, I promise.”
In the bathroom medicine cabinet, he found the small first-aid kit. It was a leather pouch, the same one his mother had kept all those years ago for the family. How many times had he and Wesley torn through it looking for Band-Aids?
He brought the kit out to the kitchen, but Julia held out her hand. “I’ll do it.”
Wendell handed her the kit and stood by, watching. Julia was so tender and so thorough. “You could be a nurse,” he told her.
“Or a doctor.”
He grimaced. “Or a doctor.”
Pippa whimpered once as Julia ran an alcohol swab cloth over the knee, but that was all. “Very brave,” he told her.
Before she stood up, Julia kissed Pippa’s knee. “All better.” Then she rose and handed the pouch back to him. “Thanks.”
As he reached for it, she hung on. “Think about what I said,” she urged. Her eyes were a mix of steel and something else: fear, he thought. “Please.” Then she let go.
“We should call your aunt,” Wendell said.
“Not necessary. We’re leaving now.”
It was almost one thirty in the morning. “It’s too far, and it’s not safe. Let me give you a ride.”
“We don’t need your help,” Julia said, taking Pippa’s hand. “Thank you for the tea.” As if they’d just come to visit on a summer day instead of attempting a break-in during the middle of the night.
“I know you’re mad, but I insist.” When she glared at him again, he added, “Or I call your aunt. Your choice.”
“Fine.” Julia gave in.
“Come on, we’ll put the bikes in the back of my truck.”
Outside, the sky was pitch dark, the half-moon the only sliver of light as they moved away from the house floodlights. He could hear the spin of the bike tires as the girls pushed their bikes up the hill behind him to the barn that served as a two-car garage. What a night. What a crazy proposal.
