“Besides, you’re probably going to need us,” Bay argued, adopting a pragmatic tone. “I have no idea what you’re planning, but I’m sure you’ll need diversions.”
She had a point. Double crud. Still, to buy time, I continued the debate. “Why do you think I’ll need diversions?”
“Because we’ve spent time with you before,” Bay answered without hesitation. “You’re going to need us for whatever you’re planning. I can already see the way your mind is going. You’re thinking of … possibilities.”
I stared at her long and hard. “Fine. I’ll take you with me under one condition. You have to promise to do what I say. No exceptions, no excuses.”
“This isn’t going to be like the time that you tricked us into wrapping Mrs. Little’s house in toilet paper and then left us to take the rap while you hurried home and pretended to be in bed the entire time, is it?” Thistle asked suspiciously.
She would bring that up. “Probably not.”
“Then we agree to your terms.” Thistle stuck out her hand, causing me to roll my eyes as I gripped it and shook. “We’re all going to save Christmas together this time.”
“Great. You know I’m going to be the one doing the heavy lifting, right?”
“You told us you hate physical labor,” Bay pointed out. “That means you’ll make us do the heavy lifting.”
She wasn’t wrong. “Just get in the truck.” I made small shooing motions to get them to move faster. “We need to get a jump on the day if we’re going to get anything done.”
“And where are we going?” Clove asked.
I finally managed to muster a smile, and it was one that the girls immediately didn’t like. “I’m glad you asked.”
“HOLY MOLY!” Thistle’s eyes were wide as she sat in the passenger seat and twisted so she could stare into the back of my truck. “I’ve never seen that many gifts.”
Our first stop was Gaylord – almost a full hour away – so I could buy gifts for the boys. It wasn’t as easy as buying gifts for the girls, but my trio of manic minions had some helpful ideas, which I was grateful for even though I would never admit it. We put them in the bed of the truck and covered them with a heavy tarp (and a bit of magic so no one would try stealing them when I wasn’t looking) before heading to Bellaire.
Now it was time for the second leg of our trip.
“You think they’ll like those video game things, right?” I was a little nervous about the gift selection. Putting Bay, Clove and Thistle in charge of anything was akin to dropping a nuclear bomb and praying no one died.
“They’ll like it,” Bay said. “Although … will the state let them have that? Will those people keep the gifts if they move the boys around again? How does that work?”
Bay is an inquisitive sort and generally asks more questions than I can answer. Today was no exception.
“I’ve been wondering about that myself, “I conceded, gripping the steering wheel tightly as I floored it in the passing lane and glared at the huge truck to my right. “It’s the speed limit for a reason, bucko! You’re supposed to drive the limit, not dip below it.”
Bay’s expression was speculative when I risked a glance in her direction. “What?”
“That’s not what a speed limit is, but it’s probably a waste of time to argue about it with you because you’re not the type of person to follow a driving manual,” Bay replied. “Why are we going to Bellaire?”
“Because that’s where the state Families and Services Office for this area is located.”
“Oh.” Bay tapped her bottom lip, her mind clearly working. “What are we going to do there?”
“I want to talk to them to see what I can do about keeping the boys together,” I replied.
“And when they tell you to mind your own business, what are you going to do then?” Bay challenged.
“They’re not going to tell me to mind my own business,” I countered. “They’re going to be interested in what I have to say and then they’re going to tell me I’m a genius and they should’ve thought of it themselves.”
Thistle snorted, genuinely amused. “Are you lost in La-la Land or something?”
I hate when she uses that tone. “No. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. It’s going to work.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“You don’t know.”
“I know.”
Bay held up her hands to quiet us before a fight could break out. “I think we need to focus on finding them a forever home rather than fighting with the state about keeping them together.”
Hmm. Despite myself – and the disapproving look she gave me that was right out of her mother’s playbook – I was intrigued by the suggestion. “How do you suggest we do that?”
Bay shrugged. “Why can’t we find their father? Maybe he’s lost or something.”
This is where being overprotected and naïve often comes back to bite the girls. “He’s not lost. He abandoned his family.”
“They didn’t really say that,” Clove pointed out.
“They did. You guys simply didn’t hear it because you didn’t understand what they were saying. What happened with your fathers was very different from what happened with their father.”
“Still, there has to be a way to give them a home,” Bay pressed.
“Wait … .” Thistle narrowed her eyes to suspicious slits. “You’re not going to adopt them, are you?”
I snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You’re too old to adopt them,” Thistle pressed. “Plus, we don’t have room in the house.”
“Plus they’re boys,” Clove added. “We don’t want boys in the house unless we can date them.”
“You need to find different things to focus your attention on besides boys,” I ordered, shaking my head. “You’re one big hormone these days, Clove, and it’s not attractive.”
“Whatever.” Clove was blasé as she smoothed her hair. “You can’t adopt them, though.”
“I have no intention of adopting them.” That was true. Mostly. “But I want to see if I can make their lives better. We’re extremely lucky because we’re surrounded by family.”
“That doesn’t make me feel lucky very often,” Thistle muttered.
“Don’t push me, mouth,” I snapped, shaking my head as I turned toward Bellaire’s small downtown area. “There must be a way to keep those boys together. I’m going to find it.”
“How?” Bay challenged. “These people we’re going to see aren’t just going to do what you want because you order them to do it.”
“Did you just meet me? That’s how I get everything I want.”
“This is different.” Bay folded her arms across her chest, stubborn. “It won’t work.”
“Fine, genius. What do you think we should do?”
“I don’t know,” Bay replied. “I know I want to do something, but I’m not sure what’s best.”
“Well, since you have no ideas, we’ll do things my way,” I said. “If you don’t like that … you can sit in the car.”
Bay pursed her lips. “I’ll think of something.”
“You do that.” I pulled into the government building’s parking lot. “No matter what you say, I know things will work out exactly how I want. It’s Christmas. It’s the time for miracles. I have things completely under control. Trust me.”
“THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE.”
The woman behind the desk – her nametag read “Susan” – was firm as she met my gaze.
“What do you mean it’s not possible?” I wasn’t in the mood to be denied.
“It’s not possible,” Susan repeated. “I understand that you’re coming from a place of love and you really want to help David, Michael and Andrew Forrester, but there’s really nothing you can do in this situation.”
“I told you,” Bay muttered under her breath as she stared at the ceiling.
“Go out in the hallway,” I barked, grabbing an arm and shoving her toward the door.
“You go with her.” I pushed Thistle so she had no choice but to join Bay on the other side of the door, fixing Clove with a hard look. “Do you want to go with them?”
“I’m good,” Clove replied, smiling. “I’m trying to help you guys come up with a solution we all can live with.”
“You watch too much television,” I muttered, reclaiming my seat in the small office.
“I read that in a magazine,” Clove countered.
“Shh.” I pressed my finger to my lips before focusing my full attention on Susan. “There must be something we can do. Those boys only have each other. The thing they want most for Christmas is to stay together. I want to give that to them.”
“I understand, and it’s a wonderful sentiment.” Susan’s tone was cool and clipped. “It really is. Sometimes reality can’t keep up with our hopes and dreams, though. The boys’ living situation is fluid – especially now – and we have no idea what will happen one week from now, let alone a year from now.”
“But … .” I wanted to reach across the counter and smack her disinterested face.
“I don’t see how you can let something like this happen.” Clove’s voice was appropriately innocent, a hint of a shake creeping in to let Susan know there might be tears. That’s why I like the kid and want her with me on missions like this. She knows how to manipulate the crowd. “There has to be a way for David, Michael and Andrew to get what they deserve.”
“And what’s that?” Susan challenged. “What do they deserve? Why do they deserve it? Do you have any idea how many kids come through our doors? Don’t they all deserve a happy ending?
“It’s nice that you want to do something, but you don’t seem to understand what we’re dealing with,” she continued. “We have thousands of children in the system throughout the state. Just in this immediate area we have five hundred kids – and half of those kids don’t have a home right now.
“We want to do right by them, and heaven knows that we would like to make their lives better, but right now it’s all we can do to keep food on the table and roofs over their heads,” she said. “We’re doing the best we can, but the last thing we need is someone who doesn’t understand the situation poking her nose in and trying to fix things for three kids when we have hundreds more in straits more dire than this.”
I didn’t like her tone, yet part of her argument slipped through the haze and made a bit of sense. Sure, I understood what she was saying. That didn’t mean I was going to back down. “Can you at least give me some information on the boys, like if they have any family members in the area?”
“That information is confidential.”
One look at Susan’s face told me she’d already dismissed me. “Well, I guess that’s it then. Come on, Clove.”
Clove obediently followed me to the door, stopping when I turned and fixed Susan with a harsh look.
“You might look at it as if I’m only trying to help three kids and you have hundreds to worry about so you can’t possibly be bothered, but I look at it differently,” I said. “I look at it as you have to start somewhere. Just because there are more kids to help – and that will never change – that doesn’t mean you can’t help these particular kids.”
“Ms. Winchester … .”
“Don’t.” I held up my hand to silence her. “I don’t expect you to help me. Just so you know, though, I’ll do this with or without you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just sit back and watch. You’ll find out eventually.” I grabbed Clove by the back of the neck as we exited the office, keeping her close as I scanned the hallway for signs of Bay or Thistle.
“Have you seen them?”
Clove wordlessly nodded and pointed toward the parking lot.
I headed in that direction, pressing my lips together when I found Bay and Thistle loitering by the passenger side of the truck. The whole office meltdown had been part of the plan. I knew from the moment I saw Susan that she wouldn’t help. That meant I needed Bay and Thistle to get some much-needed information that I figured Susan wouldn’t be willing to share with us.
“Did you get it?”
Bay held up a manila folder and nodded. “I stole it.”
Crap. I should’ve thought this out better. “Why did you steal it?”
“Because there was no way for us to make copies without getting caught,” Thistle replied. “Don’t worry. We only took the family information from Michael’s file and then shoved the rest in David’s file so they’ll think it’s some sort of filing error.”
“Oh, well, that sounds smart.” I straightened and smiled. “How about we head to lunch and go through the file? Hopefully we’ll find something that can help us.”
“Okay, but you’re buying,” Bay said. “I don’t want this to be like last time when you told us to order whatever we wanted and then tried to stick us with the bill.”
I smiled at the memory. “That was an important lesson for you girls. You should thank me.”
“It was definitely an important lesson,” Bay agreed. “That’s why we’re making sure you understand that you’re paying.”
“I’ve got it.” I poked her arm. “You were smooth in there. You’ve obviously been paying attention to my lessons.”
“Yes, well, when it comes to breaking the law you’re the best.”
“Oh, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Six
“I brought ice cream.”
I purposely picked a light and friendly approach as I led the girls into the house two hours later. The look Winnie shot me from behind the kitchen counter told me I was in for a rude awakening if I thought my nieces would be willing to simply gloss over my absence.
“Where have you been?” Winnie barked, her temper on full display.
“And a happy afternoon to you, too, niece.” I refused to let her draw me into an argument, instead putting the container of ice cream on the counter. “I hope you boys like ice cream, because I got some good stuff.”
David, who looked much more relaxed than he had during breakfast, sat next to Terry at the table as his brothers and the police officer worked to put together a model. “We like ice cream.”
“Good.” I beamed at him. “What did you guys do with your day?”
“Mr. Terry took us for a walk outside, and we gathered wood for the fire tonight,” Michael volunteered. “He even showed us the big rocks up on that one hill and said that you guys do freaky stuff out there when it’s warm out.”
“Freaky stuff?” Winnie turned her accusatory gaze from me to Terry.
“I told you that was a secret.” Terry smiled while giving the admonishment, refusing to look in Winnie’s direction. “I think he misheard me, Winnie. I said you did some wonderful stuff out on the bluff.”
“Only if you’re not afraid of seeing old ladies naked,” Thistle offered, shrugging out of her coat as she stared at the model. It looked to be some sort of airplane. “That’s neat. Where did you get that?”
“Mr. Terry got it,” Andrew answered. “You can help us put it together if you want.”
“No, she can’t,” Terry argued. “While Thistle is wonderfully crafty and has steady hands, she also refuses to follow directions. That means the models she puts together never look like they’re supposed to.”
“You just can’t think outside the box,” Thistle complained. “I still maintain that castle you got us looked better with the turrets in the center rather than at the edges.”
“Only an evil king or queen would’ve lived in that castle,” Terry countered.
“We live with Aunt Tillie. Of course, we gear everything toward evil queens.”
Instead of continuing the argument, Terry chuffed out a laugh as he pointed toward something on the plane. “There, David. That’s where that piece I showed you a few minutes ago goes.”
Bay watched with a confli
cted gaze, the folder she stole from the state building in her hand. I’d almost forgotten about it. I needed to hide it before someone asked a question none of us wanted to answer. Bay was distracted by Terry, though, and I had a feeling I understood what was bothering her.
“He still likes you best,” I whispered, grabbing the folder from her as I crowded her to the side so we wouldn’t garner attention from my nieces. “He’s just trying to do something special with them.”
“I know.” Bay snapped to attention quickly. “I wasn’t trying to be a pain or anything.”
“I know,” I shot back. “I just wanted you to know that you’re still his favorite. He’s taking you driving this weekend, isn’t he?”
“I’m not jealous.” Bay’s eyes flashed. “I’m just … watching.”
I didn’t believe her but now was hardly the time to make a point of it. “Fine.” I pressed the folder to my stomach and walked around the counter, flashing occasional smiles when people looked at me while I was doing my best to act innocent. That entailed picturing scenes from Little House on the Prairie in my head, causing me to think about running down a hill with a dog. Then it caused me to wonder what would happen if I tripped while running down the hill. Then it made me wonder why anyone would run down a hill. Most of the glances I earned from those gathered in the kitchen were of the blasé sort, but I was relieved when I managed to slide the folder inside without anyone noticing.
Then I realized someone had noticed – and it was the last person in the room I wanted to tangle with.
“What was that?” Winnie asked, pinning me with a hard look.
“What was what?” I asked innocently, resting my hand on top of the ice cream container. “I already told you it’s ice cream. Rocky Road. Everyone loves Rocky Road, right?”
“Uh-huh.” Winnie wasn’t convinced in the least. “What was in the folder you put in the drawer?”
“I think you’re seeing things,” I replied, avoiding eye contact as I rolled my neck so Winnie couldn’t watch my mouth. I whispered a small curse in the direction of the drawer, making it so it would stick should she try to open it, and then pointed at the overhead cupboard. “Bay, can you get down some bowls?”
[A Wicked Witches of the Midwest 10.9] How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas Page 5