Page 100 of Left Behind

“What about Linette? How’s all this business with her?”

“She loves me. She settled into this like we’d been together all our lives and Ava was the cherry on the cake. She’s amazing.”

“Don’t forget Ava is my sister, too, and we’re available for sleepovers,” Sean said.

“Again, here’s me, with this gut feeling of not wanting to let her out of my sight,” Wiley said. “The things she reveals about her life without even realizing the horrors of it are the things of which nightmares are made.”

Sean frowned. “That bad, is it? Does she cry for her mother?”

“Hell no. The only time that child cries is when she’s afraid I’ll give her back,” Wiley said. “But I did learn one funny thing. You remember me telling you what her old babysitter fed her? The mac and cheese in a blue box. Soup in a can. Burglar meat? Well, guess why? Miss Mattie didn’t have any teeth.”

Sean chuckled. “That’s awesome. So, the old lady’s food choices were limited to begin with.”

“Yes, but it appears she was generous to a fault with what she had. Ava’s food at Corina’s house was scraps from her mother’s plate. The first time I took her out to eat, I asked her if she liked french fries. She said no. Come to find out, it’s because Corina was giving her the cold ones she didn’t eat.”

Sean frowned. “I can’t believe you knew about her and Clyde.”

“I knew about all of them. Corina, Ruby, Justine, and Della. I saw him out and about with all of them at one time or another.”

“Good lord! You never said a word,” Sean said.

Wiley shrugged. “What good would it do? Hurt Mom more by telling her? Damn sure couldn’t confront Clyde without taking a beating. He gave out enough of those to all of us for no reason. I wasn’t going to give him an opening to kill me.”

Sean sighed. “I’m sorry, little brother.”

“It was never your fault, I’m not little anymore, and Mom’s safe. And now we’ve rescued Ava from that same pit of despair, and I’m at peace in the world in a way I never was before.”

Then they heard laughter coming from down the hall and Sean grinned.

“I told you Amalie was going to be smitten with Ava. She sees herself in her.”

“Well, you and Amalie found each other again, and then her father found her, and we found Ava and saved her, too, so I get it. Look, I’m sorry to interrupt your day. I’ll go bug Mom for a while.”

“I’ll come with you. I’m not working on anything urgent.”

Shirley was sitting in her recliner in the living room with her feet up and her eyes closed, but she heard their footsteps.

“I’m not asleep. I’m just reveling in the sound of a child’s voice in this house, and the laughter coming up the hall. I’ve been longing for grandbabies, but I never imagined Wiley would be the first one to bring one home.”

Wiley leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for taking on the job.”

She looked up. “Oh, honey, loving that child isn’t a job. It’s a blessing.”

Then they heard the sound of running feet, and Ava ran into the living room and went straight to where Shirley was sitting and plopped down beside her.

“There’s my darling!” Shirley said. “What have you girls been doing?”

“Amalie showed me her pick-one named Frank, and she is just like me.”

Wiley caught her pronunciation of the word penguin and hid a smile.

“How is Amalie like you?” Wiley asked.

“We thought we were all alone, but we were only lost. Somebody always wanted us. They just didn’t know where we were, and now they do!” Ava said.

Wiley gave Amalie a grateful glance.

“And Linnie and I are so happy we found you,” he said.

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