Page 152 of Trouble Comes in Threes

Was he right? As I considered it, I realized the inside of the box was a lot shallower than the outside. There was enough room to have at least an inch-thick hidden space at the bottom. How had we not figured that out before? “You’re right, Mikey,” I said. “I think it did have one.”

“But not anymore,” Ashley mumbled under her breath.

A boy who looked to be about Ashley’s age lingered on the sidewalk near us. “Way to hold up the line, Ash-ley,” he said with a sneer. “But then your daddy doesn’t follow rules, so why would you?”

Oliver.

Ashley looked like she was about to burst into tears.

I had never yelled at a child who wasn’t my own in my entire life, but I was close to doing just that.

The horn honked again, and I picked up the bag and stood, turning to face the woman. “We’re doin’ the best we can!”

Ashley tugged on my shirt sleeve. “That’s Oliver’s mom.”

I glanced down at her. “The woman honking her horn?”

“Yeah.”

I scowled. “That figures. She’s just as rude as her son.”

Mikey picked up more pieces and put them in the bag. “Can I go now, Aunt Rose?”

“Of course,” I said, giving the woman a dirty look before I hugged them, wrapping an arm around each of them. “You two run off to class. I’ll get the rest.”

“Can I keep the floppy dishes?” Mikey asked as he picked them up out of the back and started waving them.

“That’s floppy disks, and no.” I took them from him. “I need to give those to Uncle Joe.”

“Dad,” he said quietly. “Ashley says we can call him Dad.”

I blinked at him in surprise. “Joe would be thrilled for you to call him Dad, but only if you want to.”

“I do.”

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Mikey. Have a good day.”

Beaming, he said, “You too, Mom.” Then he spun around and ran toward the entrance.

Ashley turned toward Oliver, who was standing with a group of boys, and put her hands on her hips. “Turns out, my dad is actually the sheriff of Fenton County, and if you don’t be nice, he’ll come and arrest you.”

“He’s not your dad,” he scoffed.

“He is now,” Ashley said in a bossy tone. “Maybe I’ll have him come visit our class tomorrow, and I’ll show him who’s been calling me names.”

Oliver suddenly looked uncertain.

I knew I should correct her, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Maybe I’d send Joe in for a visit myself.

Oliver’s mom lay on her horn for several seconds, and instead of flipping her off like I wanted to, I gave her a pleasant wave, wiggling my fingers and giving her a mocking smile.

She pulled around my car, flipping me off herself as she drove away.

“Have a nice day!” I called after her. It was difficult to sound cheerful while grinding my teeth.

I finished picking up the rest of the pieces of the box and tossed them into the back of the Suburban, then pulled out of the school parking lot. I felt guilty about holding up the carpool line, but it couldn’t be helped. Once I was on the street and headed to the daycare, I called Joe with my handsfree feature.

“Hey, Rose,” he said when he answered, but his voice sounded strained. “Are you back in town?”

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