Page 94 of All In Good Time

He was slowly spiraling into a panic, teetering on the edge of a fence. No matter where he fell, the outcome was a loss.

“It’ll only take a few moments,” she clarified, and the choice was yanked away from him. There was no winning, so he would have to comply.

He smiled, trying to make it more relaxed than he felt. “Sure, come on in, Ms. Fremont.”

“Call me Margaret, please,” she said, and accepted his invitation.

Derek led her up the sidewalk and into the house, aware of the way she immediately began her evaluation of everything she could see from the entrance. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, or his feet, for that matter. Should he follow her as she wandered the house, or stand still and wait for it to be over?

He chose the latter, and watched her disappear down the hallway, looking in through doors and opening closets. Logically, he knew that Mark wouldn’t be home for a few more hours. Illogically, he feared his father would walk through the door at any moment.

“You’re in school, right, Derek?” Margaret called from another room.

“Yes,” he said, and swallowed the lump in his throat.

“How’s that going for you?”

There was no way he could be honest right now. Everything he said needed to be perfect, just like the spotless walls and carpet that Jennifer maintained. One slip and he’d feel it.

“It’s going great.” He hoped his voice didn’t sound as sickly chipper as it felt.

“You must have a lot of friends,” she said, appearing back around the corner. She didn’t look any different than when she’d disappeared—nothing had caught her interest.

He smiled and leaned against the closest wall. “Sure, it’s not that hard to make friends here.”

“What about your little sister, Mallory? Does she seem like she’s doing well?”

“I don’t think I ever see her without friends. I think she does well in class. She loves it here.” His face started to hurt from the effort of smiling.

“That’s really great to hear.” And she looked like she meant it.

This could be a success. He might actually pull this off without anyone knowing. He might actually get her out before Jennifer and Mal came home, and he could pretend it never happened.

A sudden jitteriness ran through him, eager to get her out as quickly as possible. His heart raced at the potential of preventing any fallout.

Then the front door rattled. His heart stilled.

Mal entered with her arms full of grocery bags, and Jennifer right behind her.

Unlike Derek, Mal recognized the woman the instant her eyes saw her, and Jennifer followed suit. Both of their mouths opened, startled.

Jennifer was the quickest to recover, rushing Mal into the house and closing the door behind them. She didn’t miss a beat as she set down the bags on the ground and approached the caseworker with a bright smile.

“Margaret! Hello! I had no idea you were stopping by.” She took the woman’s hand in hers, greeting her like an old friend.

“Hello, Jennifer. I’m sorry to barge in like this without notice. Just here for a quick routine follow-up from before.”

“Of course, of course.” Margaret might not be able to tell, but Jennifer was worried. Her high-pitched voice and quick words gave her away to Derek and Mal, who watched from the side. She turned to them, smiling too much to be comfortable. “Derek, please help Mal take the groceries into the kitchen.”

Nodding, Derek obeyed without resistance and picked up the bags that Jennifer had set down and followed Mal out of the living room. The women waited until the kids were gone, out of the room, before they continued the conversation.

It might be another room, but the walls were thin, and Derek and Mal were not going to pretend they were deaf. They set the grocery bags onto the counter, but the chore ended there, as they both held still and listened intently to the hushed conversation between Jennifer and Margaret.

“Is there something wrong? Was there another false report?” Jennifer asked.

Leaning against the countertop, Derek’s hand tightened around the edge.

Falsereport. Nothing about it was false. What was false was everything else in this palace—but Margaret didn’t know that. How could she? Even Derek played a part in keeping the truth carefully concealed.

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