Page 24 of Here and Now
We pull into the back parking lot of Prose & Perk, and I turn to face him with a smile and do my best to reassure him.
“No, honey, I think Uncle Quinn and his friends are doing everything to keep us safe, and it’s why we got to come to Ember Falls, because it was the best place he could find. It’s why we follow the rules, because we don’t want to move again, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
My phone rings in my back pocket, and I see my brother’s name on the screen. I turn to Hazel. “Do you mind if I step out and take this call?”
She shakes her head. “Of course not, you’re due for a break.”
“Thank you!”
Seriously, she’s the best employer I’ve ever had.
I walk into the back area, where I can see Kai but he can’t hear me. “Hey, is everything okay?” I ask, my heart already beating faster.
“Yes, everything is fine. This is a check-in.” He chuckles. “Hello, my darling sister, Penelope.”
“Hello, Quinn.”
My brother is literally my knight in shining armor, or maybe my knight in camouflage with a gun. Either one works.
“How are things?”
“Well, today your nephew gave me the scare of a lifetime.”
“Oh?”
I fill him in on the adventure walk he took and how it shaved about ten years off my life. I’ve never, ever, felt that kind of terror before. I was sure someone took them. I screamed and screamed, tears running down my face. The worst part was, I didn’t do any of the things my brother told me to do if this ever happened.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Quinn’s voice is hard, and I know he’s reining back his anger.
“Because, in that moment, I froze.”
He sighs heavily and then my sister-in-law, Ashton, is suddenly on the phone. “Hey, Pen.”
“Hey, Ash.”
“Your brother is starting to turn red, so I figured it was best I take the phone before I had to rip it out of his hand and lecture him for an hour about not yelling at you. Anyway, I miss you tons. How are you?”
“I’m okay. I’m at work now.”
“Oh! The coffee place! How do you like it?” Ashton asks.
I tell her about Hazel and how much I like working here. She lets me bring Kai to work and he hangs out in the back area, which is set up like a living room. Hazel was raised by a single mom and understands how hard things were.
“That’s amazing. I really hope you guys stay there for a bit. Is Kai liking it?”
“He loves it here. I know it’s only been a few weeks, but he’s honestly the happiest I’ve seen him. He met a friend, Ethan, and some other boys from the hockey clinic. His anxiety is already better. I just ... I hate the idea that this ...”
Ashton cuts me off. “Hey, don’t think that way. We have no idea what the future holds. Your brother and the guys at Cole Security are working really hard. Trust in that.”
“I do.”
There’s no one in the world I trust more than Quinn and his friends. Jackson, Mark, Quinn, and Liam have all come to my aid more than once. They’ve done it without question or compensation. I will never take the fact that I have any of them for granted. Not every woman in my situation has the same privilege.
“Good. We’re going to come visit next week as long as everything checks out.”
I really hope they can. Being alone is something I’ve learned to accept, but I hate it. More than just for myself, I hate it for Kai. I want him to have the experiences I did. Where we went on vacations with our aunts and uncles, cousins multiplied each year, and you never felt alone.
