Kellen and Max converged on their daughter.
Max picked her up and kissed her, then set her on her feet.
Rae hugged Kellen’s hips, made kissing noises at Kellen’s face and demanded, “Did you bring my bag?”
“I did. I told you I would.” Rae’s smile made Kellen feel like ThunderFlash, and in turn, her smug smile at Max made him roll his eyes.
Win-win.
Predictably, Rae started talking. “Today we had show-and-tell and I told them about the Triple Goddess and being chased around the mountains by bad guys and sleeping outside and getting shot at and my ride in a helicopter.” She started toward the house.
Max stood, stunned.
Kellen followed Rae. “Sweetie, maybe you shouldn’t have told them that. It was all sort of secret.”
“It’s okay. I don’t think my teacher believed me. She said that was quite a story.”
Max caught up. “That’s good if your teacher doesn’t believe you, right?”
Rae shrugged, and Kellen thought she wasn’t quite as nonchalant as she appeared.
Rae continued, “Then we went to art to paint our pottery and Martin said nobody shot at us and I was a liar and everybody knew it. So I used my words like you told me, Daddy.”
“That’s good,” Max said cautiously.
“I told him he was wrong, that Mommy was shot and she had stitches and she passed out. He said his mommy said my mommy wasn’t a soldier, she was a hooker, and nobody would come to my birthday party because I had a bad mommy.”
Kellen got a sinking feeling. “What did you do?”
“I did like you told me to when someone is mean to a friend. I socked him right in the sternum. He fell down and hit his head on the ground and cried. He had a big smear of yellow paint on his shirt, too, because I was painting the sun. Wait.” Rae put down her backpack and dug around, then handed a piece of paper to Max. “I have a note from the camp director.”
Max opened it and read it, and winced.
At the same time, Verona walked out of the old-fashioned farmhouse, slammed the screen door behind her and shouted, “Rae Di Luca, I just got a call from Martin’s mother!”
Max started doing what Max did; handling the situation. He shoved the note into his pocket, took Kellen’s hand and Rae’s hand, and together they climbed the stairs up onto the porch. “Now, Mother. Calm down. Kellen and I can deal with this.”
“Do you know what they do to bullies? In camp and in school?” Verona opened the screen she’d just slammed and gestured at them to enter. “She’ll be expelled!”
“No, no.” Max had his soothing voice on. “I got a note from camp and they’re asking her to apologize to Martin.”
“I will not!” Rae pulled her hand out of his and stomped inside.
Max continued, “Kellen and I have to take a class on raising a child who knows how to negotiate rather than use violence.”
“You’re joking.” Kellen couldn’t believe it. “Because she punched the little snot? He was being a bully. Does his mother have to take the class, too?”
“Probably not,” Max said. “Martin didn’t hit anybody.”
“Because he’s a wimp.” Kellen pulled her hand free and followed Rae into the living room.
Verona swung the door into Max’s hand and followed them both, scolding, “Kellen Adams, I hope you’re happy. Rae never got in trouble before. Now she’ll be kicked out of camp. She’s going to be chastised and watched by her teachers. She’s going to be marked as a troublemaker—”
Kellen lost her temper. She just lost it. No excuse, it was stupid, but she turned and shouted, “I’m not ashamed! Maybe Rae will be marked as a troublemaker now, but she’ll grow up to be a woman who allows no man to hurt her, to abuse her, verbally or physically. She’s going to be strong. She’s going to be the boss. She’s got my back and I’ve got hers, and I taught her that. Maybe someday she’ll save some other woman’s granddaughter from kidnapping, like I saved Annabella.”
Verona took a breath.
Kellen wasn’t done yet. “Rae might be in trouble now, but in the future, she’s going to be a strong and confident woman, one who will make you proud!”
Verona’s indignation collapsed like last night’s angel food cake. She fumbled for words. “Oh. I suppose...”
“Mommy, you shouldn’t yell at Grandma.” Rae stood by the stairs. “She’s a delicate flower.”
Kellen stared at her daughter, then at Verona, who was wide-eyed and shell-shocked, then at Max whose face was working as if he didn’t know whether to laugh or intervene.
“Well!” Verona cleared her throat. “Kellen. I spoke hastily. What you say is true, and I am grateful. But Rae needs to recognize the difference between a real threat and an obnoxious little boy whose jealous mother made unwise comments. You’re Rae’s mother. Explaining that is up to you.”
Kellen’s anger faded fast. She looked between Verona and Rae again, and realized the task she had set herself. “You’re right. I should be able to do that. I guess Rae and I need to have a talk.”
“Maybe while Rae is taking her shower and changing for dinner?” Verona suggested.
“Right. Come on.” Kellen put her hand on Rae’s shoulder and headed up the stairs with her.
Max stayed behind, speaking with Verona.
As Kellen and Rae walked, Kellen tried to think how to explain to a seven-year-old the degrees of danger that stalked the world. It came down to one simple thing. She stopped Rae in the hallway outside her room and knelt in front of her. “Is it possible for Martin to kill you?”
“No.” Rae crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s nothing but a skinny sissy boy.”
“Then you can’t hit him.”
“But he said bad things about you, and you said we have each other’s backs.”
“We do. If someone was threatening you and he could really hurt you, maybe kill you, I would do everything in my power to protect you. You know that.”
“Yes. But Martin said you were a hooker!”
“Do you know what a hooker is?”
“No.” Rae looked disgruntled.
“It’s a mean word meant to hurt. Words can hurt, but only from people you care about. If Martin and his mother want to call me a hooker—” Kellen waved a hand “—pft! I don’t care. I don’t know them, and I don’t care what they think.”
“Some people care what they think,” Rae muttered.
Translation: Rae cared. That was important, and Kellen didn’t want to easily dismiss her feelings. “Are you afraid some of your friends will listen?”
“Not my friends.”
Kellen considered that. “Your not-friends?”
“Roxy Birtle laughed.”
“Roxy Birtle sounds mean.”
“She is!” Rae had red in her cheeks and her eyes were too bright.
“That’s too bad. There’s always a mean girl and there’s always a mean boy and I always feel sorry for them.”
“Sorry for them?” Rae’s voice rose. “Why? Mommy, why?”
“Because they like being mean. Would you want to be like that?”
“No. I like people to be happy!”
“I know!” Kellen hugged her. “The important thing is we don’t care what mean people say. You and me. We’re ThunderFlash and LightningBug. We’re secret superheroes together.”
For the first time, Rae relaxed and leaned into Kellen and really listened.
Kellen had to be careful now, phrase her words perfectly. “We only take action when we know it’s necessary, when someone is going to be hurt and we can save them. We have to think when we’re in a difficult position, when the time to act is and when it’s better to be quiet and safe.”
“That’s not always easy for me to figure out.” Rae looked grave and thoughtful.
Kellen’s heart swelled with pride. Her little girl was so smart! And yet so kind, and that could be her ruin. “Not easy for me, either. But remember how in the mountains, I asked you about how to fight off an attacker, and you were so smart and came up with so many ideas? You and me, we’ll talk about possible dangerous situations and figure out the best way to handle them.”
“Okay.” Rae perked up. “That’ll be fun! And karate? You’re going to get me into karate?”
“Yes, but not right away. You already have a full schedule. Rae, I’m going to be here for you for as long as I can.” Kellen couldn’t promise more than that, not after the loss of consciousness on the mountain and the blackout on the road. “Sooner rather than later, I’ll prove to everyone the kind of person I am, and no one’s going to think I’m a hooker, and everyone’s going to know I was a captain in the Army. It’ll happen. You’ll see. Give me a little time.”
Rae got that rebellious I can’t wait look on her face.
Kellen remembered being that age and how long a minute was, how long an hour was, how it seemed she would never grow up and get to do whatever she wanted to do. She knew, too, that Rae’s thump wasn’t fueled merely by altruism—Martin had called Rae a liar and her teacher hadn’t believed her story, and that chafed when all she’d done was tell the truth. “I’ll tell you what. You’re probably going to have to apologize to Martin.”
“I won’t.”
Kellen held up one finger to stop her. “If you’ll do that, I’ll go to your teacher and ask if I can give a demonstration aimed at teaching kids like you how and when to defend yourselves. Once I do that, my credentials will be established, you’ll be my assistant and Martin will be afraid to ever tangle with you again.”
Rae thought about it. “You’ll have to go to the camp director.”
“Okay, I’ll go to the camp director. Tomorrow. Can I ride with you in the van?”
“Yeah!” Rae shouted.
Kellen almost told her, “Indoor voice,” and changed her mind. After all, the child was enthused that Kellen would be with her, and Kellen was enthused about the chance to look around the camp and view the security measures that would keep the children safe. She hated the thought that her daughter, that any child, would be in danger at a summer camp. But if she wasn’t satisfied, she would volunteer to work there, and the kids would be secure.
Or...not. If someone was after her, would she bring danger to the camp? She would talk to Max, suggest he instigate measures to keep Rae safe no matter where she was.
Kellen stood. “Let’s get you in the shower.” She opened the door to Rae’s room, glanced inside and realized why Verona had sent her up here to handle this.
Revenge.
All the dresser drawers were open, spitting socks, underwear, leggings and tutus onto the floor. The closet stood as a monument to empty hangers and mounds of wrinkled dresses. Naked princess dolls created stepping-stones toward the unmade stuffed-animal-covered bed.
Kellen’s austere Army-trained soul was horrified. “How do you know which clothes are clean and which ones are dirty?”
“The clean ones are in the laundry baskets.”
Which meant a hundred pounds of clothes were dirty. “We’ve got to get you organized.”
“Why?” It was an honest question.
“Because your grandma is right. This is atrocious.”
“Grandma says my cousin Sammy’s room is atrocious. If Sammy can be atrocious, why can’t I?”
“How old is Sammy?”
“Fourteen.”
“When you’re fourteen, you can have an atrocious room if you choose. Until then, it’s going to be organized.”
“But not right now, right?” Max stood in the door, smiling at his girls, “Later, right?”
“Sure. First thing is to give Rae a shower and find her some clean clothes to wear.” Kellen smiled back at him. “I’ll meet you at dinner.”
He turned away, then turned back. “Good job back there explaining the difference between life and death.”
“I may have a grip on that.”