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“Shit! Has Brax mentioned anything to you? Traps? Cages?” Rooster asked, sounding panicked.
“Brax did mention wood,” Kit said.
“You two better watch Brax closely. Who knows what he’ll do to make sure Kendara stays here?”
“Why can’t we keep Kenny?” Kit asked, and I sensed a longing in his tone.
“Kenny has a busy life, son. She also lives in Rapid City, and, on top of that, we have the baby coming soon,” Rooster replied.
“Yeah, well, we want the kid, but nother.Can’t we give the baby to Kenny to make her stay?”
It worried me how much hate was in Kit’s voice as he referred to Sadie. Rooster said the boys hadn’t met her, but Sadie had clearly made an impression. Andnot a good one at that.
“Come on, let’s get breakfast on. Brax has been alone long enough to have burned the kitchen down,” Rooster suggested, and a smile crossed my lips.
Life in this house was a constant adventure.
???
I hadn’t expected being locked in the car with three boys who asked endless questions as we drove home. Rooster was amused because there wasn’t a single question they deemed off-limits. And all Rooster muttered was, how were they supposed to learn? The kids asked anything and everything. Where I grew up, my first job, closest friend, to what food I hated.
I had the sensation that they were soaking up my answers to dissect tonight, and Rooster clearly wasn’t going to shut them up. I finally got them to play I Spy. And boy, did they dream up some weird and wonderful answers. The best was Brax’s ‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with B then A…’ ten minutes later, even Rooster gave up on that one. Of course, it was quite simple. Brax’s Angel.
My drive was empty when we pulled up, and Rooster told us all to stay in the vehicle until he checked everything out. His high and mighty, take-charge attitude was beginning to grate, but as Rooster searched, my eyes landed on something. An item was misplaced in the living room window, which faced the front. A garden gnome caught my attention as it faced the opposite way. My spine stiffened, and I climbed over the car to sit in the driver’s side.
Someone had been here again. And by the looks of it, they’d been inside, but until I got in myself, I couldn’t say for certain.
The gnome was definitely facing the wrong way. Of course, a neighbourhood kid might have knocked it down or the postman.
Rooster frowned when he came from the backyard and saw I’d changed seats. “What’s up?”
“It sounds stupid, but the gnome has been turned around. And there’s something in the living room window that’s in the wrong place.”
“Start the engine. The first sign of trouble, run and take the kids to Rage. Do not wait for me; the boys are the main priority,” Rooster instructed softly.
“Call the police. Don’t go inside,” I whispered.
“Kenny, I’m not a cripple,” Rooster said somewhat harshly, and I blinked.
That wasn’t what I’d meant. But before I could articulate my thoughts, Rooster had gone. I sat tensely with the engine running and counted the minutes until Rooster returned.
“There’s nobody inside, and nothing looks tampered with. Come on, kids, let’s get Kenny packed up and get home,” Rooster said.
The kids climbed out of the car and headed straight into my house.
“Come on in,” I muttered and laughed.
When I entered, the boys were standing in the hallway with their shoes off. Wow, their manners were impeccable.
“Stay in the kitchen or living room. Do not explore;this is not your home; do not touch anything. Kenny has everything set up a certain way, so we’ll be aware if you move something,” Rooster warned.
“You do?” Kit asked suspiciously.
I closed my eyes. “See the penguin on the window ledge. He’s looking at the front door. The bigger penguin is finger length behind him, peering over the first’s shoulder. The plant pot is in the middle. Down the right-hand side is a small crack which always faces the right and on the front is a blue flower. To the left is a snowman, staring straight at the garden. A deer looks to the left of the snowman, and a polar beer stares at the front door. Need I continue?” I asked.
All three boys shook their heads.
“You got the snowman wrong. He’s looking at us,” Brax replied.
