Page 24
“So let me get this straight.” Atticus’s voice was measured as he tried to process what I’d just told him. “They’ve lived with you for one month, and they’ve gotten kicked out of four day cares, trashed two rental properties and four hotels, flushed five cell phones, and called the cops so much that you got fined?”
“You forgot the part where they set my apartment on fire,” I answered.
Atticus slowly nodded. “And you brought them here?”
I rolled my eyes and resumed pacing. Right now, Beatrice and Agnes were in the field with the horses. I had about ten minutes until the horses were in danger.
“What other choice do I have? My apartment isn’t habitable, they’re ruining anywhere we stay, and I clearly can’t find childcare for them.”
“Will it be any different here?”
“More eyes are better than just mine.”
“I’m afraid they’ll get arrested.”
“Can Mike even do that?”
Saying anyone’s name in Strawberry Springs felt odd. Hell, being here felt even odder. When I left all those years ago, I was determined to put this place in the past. But the past had a way of sticking around.
Strawberry Springs never quite became a place in the rearview mirror. It was on my mind even as I did other things. That was why my game had a small-town beginning. As much as I didn’t want it to, coming back here felt nostalgic in a way that I never thought it could.
Atticus blew out a breath and looked out the window. Agnes was boosting Beatrice to get on a horse. “We should stop them.”
“Try it. They know curse words and they bully people.”
“When you said you were coming back, I knew you were desperate, but not this desperate.”
“I’d have to be,” I muttered. “But I do have things to do for work. I can’t dedicate my life to making sure they’re not committing crimes. I need . . . I need help. If they run into some stranger here, they’re mostly safe.”
Atticus looked at me, mouth pressed thin. I knew he was having thoughts, but I also knew he wouldn’t share them.
Over the years, I’d gotten good at not needing help and advice. But gaining custody of the girls had pushed me further than ever before. I didn’t know what I was doing.
And I was afraid of hurting them more than I already had.
“Do you know why this is happening?” Atticus asked. “Kids act out for a reason.”
“You know why they’re acting out. Their mother only died two months ago.”
“That’s rough on kids.” His eyes met mine. I hadn’t been the best to him after my own mother had died. Still, he never yelled at me and cared when I didn’t deserve it.
“I’m hoping it’s temporary. That a reset can help.”
“A reset on them or you?”
“I . . . don’t know.” And that was the truth. I’d not known what I was doing for a month. It felt like I was drowning for far longer than that too.
“I have to do vet work, but I’ll do my best. The rest of the town will too. Mostly.”
“I bet the rest of the town doesn’t give two shits about me.” When I was young, I ignored all of them. I wouldn’t blame them if they held a lot of resentment.
“You’d be surprised. They asked about you a lot.”
An uneasy silence settled over the both of us. It was a known fact that me coming back here would be news. But with two kids in tow? This was a bombshell.
“Does Jade know I’m back?”
Even speaking her name made the wound in my chest ache once again. It had been this way since she told me to get out. I had done my best to follow what she asked of me and stayed away. Coming back meant breaking that rule.
