Deputy Daddy. Patricia Johns

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      Bryce wasn’t sure that he even believed them that they were here for food. If they had addiction issues at this age, they’d also be accomplished liars. A drug test would shed the light pretty quickly. Lily, however, seemed to believe them.

      “Did it ever occur to you that Mom might need some help?” she demanded. “Randy, you’re sixteen, and Burke, you could have gotten a job last year. If you worked this summer, you could give Mom a bit toward groceries. What makes you think that you’re owed everything?”

      “Come on, Lily. You’re our sister.”

      “Do you have any idea how much it would cost to fix that window after you broke it open?” she demanded.

      “You’ve got a customer coming soon. Charge him extra.”

      “Officer Camden here is my guest for the next two weeks,” she said through gritted teeth. Her eyes flashed in anger, but she seemed to be trying to keep it under control.

      “Oh.” Both looked Bryce. “We thought—”

      “You thought what, exactly?” Lily’s tone turned dangerous. “I don’t care what you see on TV, you should know better than to assume that about me.” The boys looked sheepish, and Lily shook her head. “I have half a mind to drag you to church with me this Sunday and get your heads on straight. The next time you come into my house without first being invited inside, I will press charges.”

      “What?” Burke looked offended. “So now we aren’t welcome here?”

      “You are not welcome to climb through my windows!” Lily closed her eyes, then sighed. “Consider this a warning, boys. If you did this to anyone else, you’d be getting yourselves a criminal record. This is mine. My home. My life. My business. Hands off!”

      “Fine,” Randy muttered sarcastically. “Nice to know you care.”

      “I do care.” She marched over to a closet, wrenched it open and pulled out four boxes of cereal. Apparently, Lily also used her cottage for extra pantry storage. “I, more than anyone else in this town, care for you, and enough to make sure you don’t land yourself in jail one of these days for being utter morons.” Her eyes flashed fury, and she shoved the cereal boxes into their hands. “I’ll bring by some groceries tomorrow, but if I ever catch you drinking again—”

      When Lily told him that she’d raised four little brothers, he’d had a cuter mental image than this one. These young men were out of control, and while Lily seemed to believe that all they wanted was a snack, he highly doubted it. If they were willing to break into their sister’s house, then he suspected they’d be willing to walk off with something they could sell for extra cash. He was more cynical when it came to people’s criminal capabilities.

      Five minutes later, Lily’s brothers were gone, the baby had finished her bottle, and Lily had sunk into a chair by the window, looking tired.

      “Did you want some tea?” Lily asked. “I could go over to the house and put on a kettle.”

      “No.” Bryce fixed her with a direct stare. “I don’t need looking after. I want to know what that was.”

      “My brothers.”

      “Yeah, apparently,” he said with a shake of his head. “How often have they done this before?”

      “I didn’t have the doors locked before,” she said with a sigh. “But with a guest, I obviously can’t have my brothers coming and going like they own the place.”

      So maybe there was a chance that this was a food run, after all. He was having trouble garnering any respect for the young men, though. They obviously felt completely entitled to everything that their sister had worked for.

      “She needs to be burped,” Lily said, grabbing a cloth and putting it over her shoulder. Bryce lifted the baby, and as she came upright, she let out a wet burp that dribbled down his wrist and onto the floor.

      “Oh, that must feel better,” Lily crooned, taking the baby from him and putting her up onto her shoulder, where she continued to pat her back. “Let me get you a cloth, Bryce.”

      She cast him a humored smile while he stared down at the dribbling mess. This was most definitely gross, and he’d seen a lot in his career.

      “They aren’t bad boys,” Lily went on, passing him a cloth. “They’re angry. They’re lonely. They—” She shrugged. “They treat me like a second mother half the time. My dad died just after the youngest were born—they’re twins—so I pitched in and took over at home while my mom worked to keep us fed. It turned into an odd dynamic.”

      Bryce wiped his arm, then the floor, his mind going back to his own father. His dad had left when he was six—a cocky police officer who ruffled his son’s hair and said, Don’t worry, Bryce. I’ll be around. Famous last words, because he saw his father only a few times a year after that, and Bryce and his mother had been left to figure it out together.

      “My dad was out of the picture pretty early, too,” Bryce said. “You do what you have to.”

      “Well, I didn’t do it well enough, if they turned out like this.” She turned sad eyes toward the window as if she could see them in her mind’s eye.

      “You were a kid yourself.”

      She smiled wanly. “I suppose.”

      “You were right, though, that they’ll end up with a criminal record that way,” he said.

      “I know.” She met his gaze frankly. “And I’m worried about them.”

      If she gave an inch, those boys would take over everything she’d worked for. Bryce could see that clearly enough—just as clearly as he could see that she loved them quite ferociously.

      “Don’t feel bad about having your own life,” he said.

      “I don’t.” She rubbed gentle circles onto the baby’s back, and from Bryce’s position, he could see that Emily was asleep again. “I want my freedom. I want my own life. I want to take care of me, and only me, and not have to think about everyone who needs something from me all the time.”

      “And foster care?” It didn’t seem to fit into that description.

      “I’m only the backup foster care around here,” she said, “but even so, I’m supposed to be taking some time away from it all.”

      He could understand that. She’d obviously been in the role of caregiver ever since she was a kid. Kids never did a very good job of raising each other. He didn’t blame their mother, and he didn’t blame Lily. They’d done the best they could after a death.

      “Is that selfish?” she asked.

      “Nope.” He cast her a smile.

      Lily moved Emily and looked down into her sleeping face. “I’ve wanted to run a B and B since I was a kid, and I want to do this on my own.”

      “Freedom,” he said.

      “Freedom.” A smile spread over her face, and a glimmer of light came back into her eyes. СКАЧАТЬ