Page 226 of Midnight Curfew

“I’m learning how to make tarts!” she bursts out, stirring a large bowl of key lime custard. “Like in Alice in Wonderland!”

She’s not looking at me. Who’s she talking to?

“That’s great,” I hear her mom say. “Save me some!”

I glance down, seeing my sister’s phone on speaker.

“I will.”

Well, that’s one phone call I don’t have to make, I guess. Good. I didn’t want to relay to her that my father came home early, which means she didn’t go with him to Colorado or stay long if she did. Otherwise, she would’ve known he’d left.

Mariette works alongside Anna-Katherine, other cooks around the kitchen frying, boiling, and grilling.

“I’ve rented a house in St. Augustine,” Ava tells her. “There’s a big kitchen if you want to cook.”

Anna-Katherine’s worried eyes flash to mine. “No,” she whimpers. “I want to stay here.”

She pleads with a look, but she doesn’t have the heart to tell her mom she’d prefer to be here.

I take the phone off speaker and lift it to my ear.

“Ava,” I say, turning away and letting my sister get back to her tarts.

“Callum.” She sounds alarmed. “What’s happening?”

“A lot,” I tell her. “But everything’s fine. She’s safe with me in Sanoa Bay. She loves it here.”

“Have you rented a place?” she asks. “I can be there today.”

And I can almost hear her grabbing her handbag and keys and moving for the door.

I scoot to the back of the kitchen, where it’s quieter. “We’re staying with the Jaegers.” I plug my ear with my fingers. “But just for a couple of nights. Don’t come back yet.”

“Callum—”

“She’s on top of the world,” I say in a stern voice. “And she’s safe. I’m making sure of it.”

I crane my neck to see her around the rack. She bounces, bobbing her head to whatever reggaeton song is playing. She’s already begun sampling the tarts.

I come back to my stepmom. “I need more time to deal with him, and I have help,” I state. “You’re just going to get in the way.”

I feel bad for my bluntness as soon as it’s out, but I’m a little overwhelmed right now and it’s the truth. She’s just going to worry about Anna-Katherine, and my sister doesn’t want to leave. Ava’s not actually going to help me accomplish anything.

I even out my tone, trying to calm her. “Don’t worry about us,” I say. “Start looking for a house or something. Somewhere close to her where you can pursue a life.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we’re going to be free,” I promise her. “One way or another.”

She doesn’t have to live in St. Carmen, but Anna-Katherine will choose to stay. Her mother can live where she wants, close but not in my house. Not that I don’t like her, but it’s for her own good as well as mine. We all need to get on with living. It won’t do Anna-Katherine any good to have her mother hovering daily.

We hang up, and I head back out to my sister. Dallas wants to take the airboat out and check the floodwaters. Alligators hunker down in deep water during storms, but they can get displaced during a storm and float inland. I want to go with him.

I touch the back of my sister’s head. “Anna-Katherine?”

She turns, beaming as she doles out scoops in little tart crusts.

The pocketknife is still hooked to her shorts, and I think I should try to get it from her. I want her to feel safe, but if she tries to use it, it could hurt the wrong person.