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Phoebe stared at her, as if no one had ever offered to help her with her homework. Then she took a deep breath. “Thank you,” she said in a rush. “That’s… that’s nice of you to offer, but I think I’ll be fine. The stuff I missed was mostly a review of what we did at the end of last year.”
“Okay,” Lainey said lightly. “Keep me in mind for when it’s not just a review.”
“I will,” Phoebe said, studying her as if she hadn’t thought beyond today. Hadn’t thought about where she’d be in the future. “’Night, Lainey. Vi. See you in the morning.”
Lainey watched her go, wondering if they needed to talk to Phoebe. Clarify that they’d make sure she was safe and in a secure situation. That she wouldn’t have to worry about her living arrangements, or where she’d get her next meal.
Setting down the pizza she’d been wrapping. Lainey hurried up the stairs toward Phoebe. “Hold on a sec, Phoebe. Do you want me to sleep in the room with you again tonight?” she asked quietly. She was pretty sure the teen wouldn’t want Violet to know she’d needed company the night before.
“I think I’ll be okay,” Phoebe answered. She glanced toward the kitchen and lowered her voice. “Can I come into your room and get you if I need you?”
“Of course. Any time,” Lainey said.
“Okay.” Phoebe’s shoulders relaxed. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Phoebe,” Lainey said quietly.
As she watched the girl trot up the stairs, a curl of hope twisted around Lainey’s heart. It had been only twenty-four hours, but Phoebe seemed less nervous. More comfortable. Lainey fervently hoped she would only become more comfortable here with her and Brody.
The soft click of Phoebe’s door closing echoed in the sudden silence. Vi had finished in the kitchen and slipped out of the house. Brody was in his office, doing whatever he needed to do there. So Lainey ran up the stairs, grabbed her Kindle and retreated to the living room.
Engrossed in the story she was reading, Lainey didn’t hear Brody until he walked into the living room, carrying a glass of red wine and a beer. He set their drinks on the table, then folded himself into the seat beside her. “Phoebe gone to bed?” he asked quietly.
“Doing homework. She said she had a lot of catching up to do.” Lainey stared at the dark red wine for a long moment, then set her Kindle down. “We need to talk to her, Brody,” she said. “I offered to help her with her homework, but she said it’s mostly a review of what they did at the end of the school year. But she looked shocked when I told her that when her schoolwork has gone beyond review, I’d be around to help her. I think we need to make it clear that we’re not cutting her loose. That whatever happens, whatever she ends up doing, we’ll make sure she’s safe and secure.”
Brody set his beer bottle on the table. “You’re right. She must be worrying what’s going to happen next. She’s welcome to stay here as long as she wants.” His mouth curled into a smile. “You are, too, Lainey. But we have to discuss options with Phoebe.”
He sighed. “It’s been a while since I spent time with teen-aged girls,” he said, and Lainey saw a shadow in his eyes. “But I’m sure that, under the circumstances, Phoebe has to be thinking what happens next? Where will I be living? We need to lay out her options.”
“You’re right,” Lainey said, resting her glass on the table. “Because going home isn’t going to be an option for Phoebe.” She shifted to face Brody. “We were going to stop at her house to get her clothes and belongings before we shopped, but her father’s truck was in the driveway.”
Lainey leaned closer to Brody, still disturbed by the memory of Phoebe flinching at the sight of that truck. “She told me to keep going. She didn’t want to see her father.”
Brody shook his head. “Can you blame her? He abandoned her with very little food and less money. I’m sure she wants nothing to do with the bastard.”
Brody was right. Why would Phoebe want to see her father? Sighing, Lainey said, “We stopped by her house to get her stuff after we did our shopping, and Phoebe asked me to park in the street instead of on the driveway, so her father couldn’t block my car in.” Lainey slid her hands beneath her thighs to keep from reaching for Brody.
“Oh, my God,” Brody whispered. “What the hell did Larsen do to her?”
“She didn’t say a thing,” Lainey said. “But we took a couple of the big plastic bags we’d gotten at Target, and she threw stuff into them really fast. Then she grabbed her shampoo and hair dryer from the bathroom, tossed those in a bag and tore out of the house. As we were driving away, Larsen’s truck turned down the street, and she turned sheet-white.”
To hell with keeping her hands to herself. Lainey reached for Brody’s hand, gripped it tightly when he offered it. “What horrible things happened to Phoebe in that house?” she whispered.
Brody’s jaw worked, and his mouth thinned. “I’m guessing he hit her, at the very least. God knows what else might have happened.”
“It sounds as though Phoebe worked a lot after her mother died. Probably to avoid her father,” Lainey said. Gripping Brody’s hand, she leaned closer to him. “After seeing how she reacted to her father today, I can’t bear to let her go back to Larsen. I want to talk to DCFS. Find out about becoming her guardian. Or her foster parent.”
“Yeah, I want something more permanent, too,” Brody said. “But Phoebe’s only been here for a couple days. Let’s give her a little time to adjust. To settle in. Then we can talk to her about a more permanent solution. We already talked about not going to DCFS behind Phoebe’s back.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Lainey said. “I wouldn’t betray her trust. But I won’t let her go back to Larsen.”
“Doesn’t look like he wants her, anyway.” Brody scowled.
“We don’t know that,” Lainey said. “Maybe he called the sheriff when he realized she wasn’t at the house. Maybe Larsen’s looking for her.”
Brody scowled. “He left her alone in that house for a couple of months. With no food or money. I doubt he’s looking for her now.”
“You’re probably right,” Lainey sighed. “But becoming her guardian would mean I wouldn’t have to worry about her all the time. Wonder if her father is going to take her out of school and disappear with her. Or show up on our doorstep.”
