Page 55 of Claim Me

“I miss you,” Deirdre says and hugs me. “I want to stay with you.”

“I know, but you got used to being with your teacher. And Mommy and Daddy always picked you up.”

Deirdre looks longingly at her sister and mumbles, “I don’t like school.”

“Yes, you do. But it’s hard to be away from Kiera. The other kids scare you. That’s why the principal wanted you in different classes. She wants you to learn to be friends with other kids.”

Deirdre looks at Kiera and shakes her head. “I don’t want friends. I want Kiera.”

“Well, I think we should give it until Christmas,” I explain when they start wearing their stubborn scowls, looking just like Sync. “If you still don’t like separate classes by winter break, we’ll talk to the principal about moving you into the same class.”

“I want my teacher,” Kiera says immediately.

Deirdre frowns. “I want my teacher.”

“Well, that’s what we’ll figure out during winter break. But first, we can enjoy Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, okay?”

The twins look at each other and decide they might be winning. Smiling suddenly, they turn their gazes to Indigo.

“Did you like school?” Kiera asks, climbing across Indigo so she can sit on his other side.

“It was okay, but I didn’t have friends when I was little. I only got good friends when I moved to the farm.”

“Grandma is your mom,” Deirdre says and then frowns. “What?”

“It’s complicated,” I whisper in her ear. “Grandma is your daddy’s mom, too. See how complicated it is?”

Deirdre shakes her head as if she simply can’t wrap her little head around it all.

“Can I stay here?” Indigo asks, but I’m unsure if the question is for me or them.

Kiera takes his hand and examines it like she often does her dad’s. I think she’s looking for bruised knuckles. She likes putting Band-Aids on Sync’s hands. When she finds Indigo uninjured, she smiles but says nothing.

Deirdre is more interested in cuddling in my lap than speaking up.

“Indigo is going to stay here,” I announce. “He’s my boyfriend, and I want him to be close.”

“Where will he sleep?”

“In my room.”

“What about Grumpy?” Deirdre asks and hides under my hair.

“Indigo and I put doggie beds in the office and doggie houses in the yard. It’ll be both Grumpy and Sleepy.”

The girls perk up immediately.

“Where are they?” Kiera asks.

“In the hills with Caveman. Soon, they’ll live here with us.”

The girls’ earlier confusion and grumpiness disappear. Now, they’re focused on checking out where the dogs will sleep.

“I can’t tell if they’re upset with me,” Indigo says as we stand at the office doorway while the girls test out the large dog beds.

“School is kicking their butts this year. That’s why they’re upset. It’s not you. They know you. They’re obviously excited about the dogs coming here,” I say and smile at how the girls bark at each other. “Just don’t make a big deal out of being here, and they’ll treat you like they always do.”

“I’ve never been able to tell if they like me or not.”

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