Page 116 of The Haunting Plot

“Tommy, thank you for keeping Jonah safe. That was quick thinking. But you could’ve come to Raven or me and told us. It’s our job to keep you all safe.”

“But he’s really fast,” Tommy says.

McKenna shifts. “He is.”

Jonah is quiet, his arms wrapped around his middle as he rocks back and forth on the couch. “I heard you yelling. You wanted Sawyer to leave, and I don’t want him to leave. I want him to stay and live here every day. I want Tommy to be my brother, and Jane and McKenna too. When they’re here, it feels like how family is supposed to feel. Like it did before Dad died.”

“You weren’t supposed to hear any of that. That was a grown-up conversation,” I say.

Sawyer leans back on the couch, propping a foot on his knee. “You know how sometimes you have emotions that feel too big and you need to get them out of your body?”

Jonah nods.

“Well, adults do too. I did something that upset your mom, and she was angry at me. And just like you, sometimes she needs help regulating her emotions. She needed to get all the words in her head out of her mouth. And I wanted her to do that so she could feel safe with me, even if the words were scary or angry. Because after she gets it all out, she feels better. But you weren’t meant to hear those words.”

“Like when I write in my journal, and those words are just for me?”

Sawyer glances at me. “Exactly, except instead of writing them down, I let her say them all to me, because I can handle it and help her with it. That’s what you do with someone you love. You love all of them, even the messy parts and the scary thoughts.”

“And you help them when they’re upset?” Jonah asks.

“You do,” I say.

“So how can we help you right now?” Sawyer asks, looking down at Jonah. “You scared the crap out of us. These mountains are dangerous. Trust me, I know. And I would be devastated if anything happened to either of you out there.”

“I want you to stay,” Jonah says.

Sawyer’s gaze swings to mine, his eyes pleading, and I nod. “Only if you promise not to run away ever again.”

“I promise,” Jonah says.

“Me too,” Tommy adds.

“We can stay tonight,” Sawyer agrees.

“What about the rest of the nights?” Tommy asks as all the kids look between us.

“We’ll need to talk about it and figure out logistics with Jocelyn,” I say as Sawyer beams at me. We’ll need to talk about all of this eventually, but right now I’m just relieved that everyone is home.

After the excitement of the evening, it takes way too long to get the kids to bed.

“I want to install an alarm for the house, just in case,” I say, crawling into the bed.

“That’s a good idea.” Sawyer climbs in next to me, lying on his side as he peers into my eyes.

“And cameras.”

“I’m down to be on camera as long as you get my good angles.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“Cameras to keep everyone safe, moron.”

“And catch all our friendly ghosts? Get it? Because our ghosts were literally our friends?”

“That’s what the alarm system is for, too.”

“So you’re keeping this house, then? What are you gonna do with the other property?”

I sigh, thinking about all the memories I made in that house with Kris. “I dunno. I don’t want to get rid of it, but it doesn’t seem worth it to rebuild.”