Evan slumped over the table in the firehouse kitchen with his hands clasped in his lap. The book he’d borrowed from Shawna about an apocalyptic natural disaster hadn’t been enough to distract him. A basketball game echoed from the TV in the day room, but all he could think about was his problems. That included Kylee.
Not only did she plan to take the children away, but she couldn’t control them. He should have known by the way they ran all over her at home that taking them out in public would be a disaster. She drove through the take-out windows when they went out to eat because a trip into a restaurant with them would be a circus. He sighed.
James walked into the kitchen with a glass and rinsed it at the sink. “Are you okay, man?”
Evan shook his head and remained mute.
James pulled out a chair beside him. “Still worried about the kids?”
“More than ever.” Evan crumpled a straw wrapper, then smoothed it out and wrapped it around his finger.
“What’d she do now?”
“It’s what she didn’t do. Annabelle climbed up in the General’s Tree and got stuck yesterday, while Henry crossed the square and made it to the bakery on his own.”
“Oh wow,” said James in concern. “Are they okay?”
Evan grunted. “It takes a village, you know. People at the park kept an eye on Annabelle while Kylee ran to find Henry.”
“They didn’t get hurt?”
“No.” Evan folded his arms. “But imagine what might have happened.”
“Worst-case scenarios,” said James. “I raised three kids. You can’t watch them every second.”
“I do,” Evan insisted. “I don’t let them out of my sight unless they’re with Mrs. Spokes or—well, it’s Kylee now—because I don’t have a choice.”
“When does she take over custody?”
“It’s supposed to be official by the end of the year.” Storm clouds gathered in his chest again. “Can you imagine if today happened in New York? It’s a big city. They have no business going there.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. I was born in Brooklyn, you know. There are nice parks. Good schools. Lots of culture. If she can do that for them, why not?”
“Because it’s not...safe,” argued Evan.
James raised his salt-and-pepper-colored eyebrows. “There are good people and bad people everywhere, Evan. The location doesn’t matter. Sure, Lagrasse is smaller, and there’s a lack of good Philly cheesesteaks, but I don’t think it’s better. There are positives and negatives for different places.”
Evan snorted. “Sometimes it seems like she only cares about her career.” At least that was how it came off to him. “She left town and never looked back.”
“Eh,” said James, shrugging it off. “Maybe she loves New York because she loves the energy and what she does. That’d make anyone happy. And they aren’t exactly known for having big kitchens in most New York apartments.”
Kylee clearly loved her job. She had no need to know how to cook living in New York with her salary. And the size of Mia and Chip’s house did seem to overwhelm her when the twins pulled all of the toys out.
James got to his feet and rested a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “The twins are going to be fine. They have two extra angels watching over them, and you and Kylee make four. And remember, the position for lieutenant is still available.”
“I’m working on my résumé, but I’ve been distracted.”
“You’re going to have to work together until you have to let them go.” James walked off.
Evan knew his boss was right, and that he needed to accept it: Kylee was going to take the twins back to New York with her. What would Mia and Chip want him to do until then? At the very least, they’d want him to help and encourage Kylee so the twins would be happy and safe in their new home. But that was not enough. He needed to have an attitude of faith until God showed him why he couldn’t raise them himself.
Lights flashed, and the firehouse alarm bells rattled in a deafening clatter. Evan clutched his heart in surprise before stumbling to his feet. At the moment, he had a responsibility to be there for someone else. There was even the lieutenant’s job application to finish.
It was time to focus on what he’d been trained to do.
Evan sauntered out to his SUV on Thursday, feeling the bite of a brisk breeze in the sunshine. Mr. and Mrs. Lightfoot were in the front yard with boxes of Christmas decorations. He waved to them as he backed out of the driveway.
Less than ten minutes later, he pulled along the curb of Chip’s house, noting that the yard needed to be raked. Telling himself yard work was not an excuse to spend more time here, he grabbed some washable finger paints he’d picked up at the discount store and headed for the door. He knocked and turned the knob, but it was locked. That was good. It meant the twins hadn’t escaped, but it was strangely quiet. He tapped again and hearing nothing, walked around to the back in concern.
The children’s voices became audible as he rounded the corner. A squeal from a hammock made him grin. Annabelle and Henry were pushing a hammock with all their might, and it swung back and forth while Kylee clutched the edges of it with her hands. She threw her head back and laughed as gold-and-rust-colored leaves fluttered down from the trees overhead. Her light olive skin and dark eyes glowed in the sunshine. Annabelle collapsed to the ground, laughing at her aunt’s pleadings for mercy. Henry continued to give it all he had.
Kylee spotted Evan on the upswing. “Help me!” she cried in between laughter and shrieks.
He walked over, and Henry looked up at him. “I’m trying to swing her to the sky,” he explained.
“That’s where Mommy and Daddy are,” said Annabelle, rising to her feet. She wrapped her arms around one of Evan’s legs. “Will you help us?”
“Why do you want to swing Aunt Kylee to heaven?” he teased. “Don’t you need her down here?”
“No,” said Annabelle, but Henry stopped abruptly as if considering it. “What’s that?” Annabelle asked, pointing at the colored bottles under his arm.
“It’s paint.”
“I like to paint.”
“I know you do.”
Kylee swung a leg over the hammock to stop herself. Her hair was messy, and he almost reached out to smooth it but caught himself. “You brought paint?” she asked. Her brown eyes widened. “Have you lost your mind?”
He smiled at her. “I thought it’d be a good outdoor activity since it’s not too cold today.”
“Your circus,” she relented, but her tone suggested she was impressed. She climbed out of the hammock and stood up. “It’s reading time, and I have some things I need to do,” she told the children.
“I want to paint,” pouted Annabelle.
“Don’t you want to find out what happens to Wilbur?” Evan prodded. “Do you think Charlotte will be able to save him with her spiderwebs?”
“She’s a very good friend,” said Henry.
“She’s some pig,” cackled Annabelle.
“That’s Wilbur!” cried Henry.
“Okay,” said Kylee, calling the children to order. “Let’s go.”
They headed for the back door still chattering as Kylee and Evan followed close behind.
“I’m sorry about the other day,” he began quietly. “The whole situation... I overreached.”
She was silent for a step, then replied, “I’m sorry, too. I was taking it all in—the parents, the playground—and in a split second the kids were gone in two different directions. I need to come up with a better plan.” She scrunched her forehead. “Like microchips.”
“Let the other mothers help you,” Evan encouraged her. “You’d be surprised how many people are willing to lend a hand.”
“I’ll do that. Or buy leashes,” she joked. “How do you do it?”
“I tell them they’re buddies and can’t go anywhere without the other, or I assign them to a friend. Then I walk in circles around the playground like a sheepdog.”
Kylee chuckled. “I guess sitting and chatting on the benches is out until they get a little older.”
“It’s a balancing act,” Evan admitted.
“They didn’t eat their lunch, so they’ll be hungry for dinner,” she informed him as they walked into the house. “And I couldn’t get some grits out of a bowl. They’re like cement.”
He chuckled. “Yes, you have to rinse any dishes with grits right away. What’d they have for lunch? Peanut butter and jelly?”
She gave a helpless shrug. “I gave that up before I was twelve. I made them prosciutto and cheese sandwiches, but with mayo like Mia liked.”
Evan bit down on his tongue, and instead of laughing, said, “They aren’t big on lunch meat.”
“Or meat in general.”
He nodded. She was catching on. Maybe there was hope for her yet.
“I don’t have errands to run today, so I’m going to work on Mia’s room. Mom asked me to get it cleaned out.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, I...” Kylee paused. “I’ll do it myself.”
He understood. “I guess it needs to be done before you go.”
“Yes, I haven’t decided whether to rent or sell for now but...” She looked straight ahead at the back door. “I went through my dad’s things for them after he passed. Mia couldn’t bear it.” She gave Evan a sideways glance. “It never occurred to me we wouldn’t all live to ripe old ages, you know?”
He nodded, suddenly filled with sympathy for the woman beside him, who had now lost almost all of the family she had. “You’re in good health. I’m sure you’ll probably see a hundred.”
Kylee groaned. “I don’t know about that. Getting close to forty is frightening enough.”
He chuckled. He was thirty-four, but he understood. They both reached for the back door handle at the same time, fingers fumbling, and in a flash Evan noticed her all at once—fruity, floral, soft and warm. She was different than her sister; not as fair, and more poised and mysterious somehow. The pit of Evan’s stomach dropped as if he’d just crested the top of a roller coaster. He braced himself in surprise as a flood of attraction washed over him. He dropped his hand, and she glanced at him strangely and let herself in.
As he followed, he made the conscious choice to avert his eyes from the gentle slope of her shoulders, ignoring how her jeans accentuated her legs. He gave her a meek nod when he passed her as she let herself into her sister and brother-in-law’s room.
She had memories to tackle, and he had a pair of twins to wrangle.
A jewelry box stood on Mia’s dresser like an urn, the lamps on the bedside tables like gravestones. The silent room was coated with a light layer of dust. Mom had cleaned it at some point, then sealed it up like a tomb. Even the shades were drawn.
The stillness made the beat of her heart audible, and Kylee walked to the bed and sat on the corner to calm it. She liked being around Evan. He made her slow down. See. Listen. Think. In ways she’d always wished she could. Clasping his warm hand as they both reached for the back door had jolted her senses and sent her heart racing. It was unnerving.
She exhaled. If she closed her eyes and concentrated on scents beyond lavender-washed linens and polished wood floors, she could smell Mia. Smiles and sunshine. Laughter and light.
Kylee’s chest heaved, and she took a small gasp, realizing she’d held her breath.
A Bible on the bedside table testified to Mia’s faith and devotion to the Shepherd. Her heart throbbed. Mia had been a good girl. A good woman. A good mother. Kylee’s chest pinched with guilt. Mia had not been a bad sister, she’d just been... Tears welled in Kylee’s eyes, spilling over and falling down her cheeks. Perfect. Yes, they’d had their squabbles, but mostly over Mia’s refusal to follow orders. She’d definitely had a mind of her own, too.
Kylee chuckled, but her smile faded. Mia had married the love of her life, created a beautiful home and brought the twins into the world without apologies for the changes in her dreams, focus and even her body. She hadn’t needed a career to shine.
What I do is important, thought Kylee, but Mia had done an important thing, too. The road to success was not a single-lane highway. There were exits, and even shoulders on the road. In their own ways, both sisters had made the world a better place. Kylee felt herself slump. All these years she’d wanted to be the accomplished one because she’d lacked her sister’s charm, but Mia had lived her life successfully, too. Just differently. And with no hint of competition.
Kylee scanned the photos littered across the dresser. Stuck in one corner was a small studio portrait of Mia and Kylee at ages two and seven. In it, Kylee was missing a tooth. They both wore Easter dresses and were holding hands.
She took in a deep breath. Mia had kept a picture of them in her room? Emotion leaped into her throat, and she rubbed her eyes and temples. When she looked again, the room seemed a little brighter, the afternoon sunshine striking the covered windows. Kylee told herself her eyes had adjusted, that was all.
Choosing to find peace in the silence over the opposing feelings tumbling through her veins, she climbed to her feet and started with the dresser, pulling all of the drawers open. Her mind automatically started outlining categories for the piles she would create on the floor.
Giggles cascaded through the door. Templeton has done something funny, she thought. Despite all of the sneaky rat’s behavior in the book, he was, in the end, truly a friend.
With a faint sigh, she reached for the T-shirts first, learning more about who her sister had been. The first one she pulled out was an old Backstreet Boys concert shirt that Mia had swiped from Kylee’s closet and never given back. She smiled faintly and folded it neatly to save for herself. Next, she shook open a white-and-black jersey that made a laugh gurgle in her throat. Sisters Before Misters. It was obviously an old favorite but ironic because Mia had loved Chip with all her heart. Her life proved it.
Kylee wondered if it’d all been worth it, if having a family had made her sister proud and fulfilled her. Could such a thing really be? No power, no privilege, no paycheck. She chewed her lip. Maybe her sister hadn’t been the attention seeker she’d always accused her of being. Maybe, just maybe, Kylee had been wrong.