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We sat in silence for a long time, and I had no idea what to say. She was right. She was the best option, but it felt wrong to ask this much of her.

It would be worse to take them with me right when we were getting along. One of them could easily blow up.

“That would be really helpful, Jade. I can pay you for your time.”

“What am I? Your nanny? No, that’s insulting.”

“Come on, I’m sure the shop could use the help.”

“The shop is perfectly fine. Thank you for asking. I have my methods.”

“Is it being a front for money laundering?”

Despite everything, she laughed. “You got me. Call the police.”

“Mike won’t do anything.” I rolled my eyes, but she was smiling when she looked at me.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Thank you for asking.”

“Are we . . . communicating better this time?”

I nodded. “You know what? I think we are.”

Jade looked back at the girls and her smile faded. “So . . . they were in foster care.”

“Yes. For a month.”

“Do you ever talk about it?”

“Not usually,” I said. When Jade frowned, I continued. “But I will with you.”

“What happened?”

“It wasn’t planned, that much was for sure.” I crossed my arms as I thought back. “A lot wasn’t.”

“Did you even know them that well before taking them in?”

“Yeah, I knew them. I did watch them sometimes.”

“How did that go?”

“So horribly that I joined a dad group out of pure fear.”

“A dad group?” She laughed. “But you weren’t a dad then.”

“I wasn’t . . . or so I thought. Maybe I always had an inkling this would happen.”

“And when Alice passed?”

“I thought they went to family. It was pure chance that I saw both of them fighting their foster mother on the street.” He sighed. “She raised her hand at them and I knew I had to step in.”

“She what?”

“I got her removed from the foster system, don’t worry. And then I took them in right after.”

“You didn’t have to do that part,” she said.