Page 19 of Rowdy Hearts

“Why—”

I stopped before I asked Krista why she cared about seeing some small-town hockey arena and insulted the family who’d been so good to us. I’d taken Krista to a couple of Rangers games at Madison Square Garden, which had to be a palace compared to whatever was going on in St. David. Krista hadn’t cared about the game. She’d been more interested in whatever snacks were available in the private suite we sat in that night.

“I don’t know, honey. I need to get in touch with the mechanic about the car and I don’t know when we’re going to leave.”

Krista’s mouth tightened into a little pout. “Miss Raffi said we could stay as long as we want.”

“I know she did and that’s very nice of her, but we can’t just stay?—”

“Actually, youcanjust stay.” Raffi’s smile never faltered, never showed any sign that she didn’t mean exactly what she said. “For as long as you like. As you can see, our house is big enough to get lost in, and it’d be nice to have company for a while. The Colonel and the kids are going to be wrapped up with games all this weekend, and I’d love to have some girls to talk to. And you still need to check with Donny about your tire.”

“Donny?”

“He’s the only mechanic in town at the moment.”

This town had one mechanic? Where the hell had we gotten stranded?

My brain whirred and clicked, like a broken computer trying to boot.

What can it hurt? If you’re just gone for a few days?

We had nowhere to be. We had nowhere to go. Except home. And home wasn’t where I wanted to be right now.

No one knew who we were here. And no one, especially my mom and sister, would ever think to look for us here.

“Mommy, I wanna go to the hockey game tonight.”

Krista looked at me with that face, the one that usually got her whatever she wanted.

What could it hurt to stay another night? Krista didn’t have to be back at school until Tuesday. And it wasn’t like the private school I paid so damn much money to would kick her out if she didn’t show up for a day or two. Attendance wasn’t required for children in kindergarten. If we decided to stay a few more days?—

We’d be home by Tuesday, at the latest. We couldn’t hide forever.

We’re not hiding. We’re just taking a well-deserved break.

Jesus, I couldn’t even convince myself of that.

“I guess…” I carefully didn’t look at Rowdy, “we could stay to see the game. We could leave tomorrow.”

“There’s another game tomorrow,” Raffi said. “We always have two home games opening weekend. Keeps people in town to spend money. If you maybe wanted to stay another day.”

That meant we wouldn’t leave until Sunday. But of course, traffic back into the city would be awful. So it wouldn’t hurt to wait until Monday.

“I really don’t want to impose.”

Raffi’s smile widened. “Oh, hon, you arenotimposing. I love to have company. Especially this time of the year when Reston and the kids are so busy with the start of the season.”

So, we’d be doing Raffi a favor if we stayed?

Sure, you can justify it like that.

“If you’re sure we’re not imposing…”

“I’m very sure.” Raffi’s tone was decisive. “Now that that’s settled, do you mind if I take Krista with me on my errands?”

Krista’s smile was infectious, and I found my lips curving to match my daughter’s.

Still… “I really don’t want to intrude on your home, though. There has to be somewhere for us to?—”

---