Nova stared at the game board, her eyes going round and filling with tears. “But... I—I was winning.” She hugged Scorpio tight. “I was. I never win.” She jumped up, ran up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door, too.
Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose and stared up at the ceiling overhead. His limited experience made constructive parenting a challenge. His family sure as hell hadn’t provided any frame of reference. His two older sisters hated each other. His father, Dr. Jack Driver, was a judgmental, pompous ass who thought money and power were everything. He’d encouraged his daughters’ rivalry because it would make them work that much harder to win. His mother was all smiles but disengaged due to her personal pharmacy of mood-altering drugs—thanks to her husband, the very important surgeon.
He didn’t know how to make the girls understand where he was coming from. He didn’t want to punish them, he wanted to protect them. He had to. He’d failed to protect Yasmina. And each second of that nightmare of a morning was etched into his brain in crisp detail.
Halley had spent the night with a friend so she hadn’t been there—thankfully. She’d always ridden alongside Yasmina. Saturday mornings had been coffee, a pancake breakfast, laughter and getting ready for their family ride. Nova was buckled into her seat on his bike when he’d pulled onto the shoulder of the road to take a business call. Nova had kept saying, “Go, Charlie, go.” Yasmina had ridden ahead—to the bend in the road... The noise had been deafening. Screeching brakes. A crash...
He stared at the brightly colored game pieces on the board, keeping a tight grasp on his emotions.
He ran his hand over his face.
Charlie’s goal remained the same: hear the stipulations in Aunt Rebecca’s will and dispose of the property. The only change was getting back to the city as quickly as possible. Coming here was a mistake. He knew that now. He’d warn off Halley’s crush and find activities to keep the girls busy for the remainder of the summer. That made sense. That, he could do.
He’d always been the deliberate sort—surprises were overrated and often led to upheaval. He and the girls had had enough upheaval, adding someone like Astrid Hill to the mix wasn’t an option. Whether or not she was well-meaning, making friends with the woman didn’t make any sense.
NOVALAYONher bed crying, Scorpio crushed close. It wasn’t fair. She never won anything. She sniffed.
Next door, Halley was crying, too. Nova could hear.Why is she crying? She ruined our game.
Halley was right. She did mess up a lot and make Charlie upset.
“I want to be friends with Astrid, too,” Nova whispered to Scorpio. But Charlie didn’t want them to be friends and Mommy always said Charlie was super-duper smart. Charlie did know lots of stuff. He knew eating candy and watching TV and playing video games were bad for her brain. Which made Nova wonder, “Is Astrid bad for my brain?” But Scorpio didn’t answer her. “I’ll ask Charlie.”
She peered around Scorpio at the window in the roof. Charlie said she’d like this room because she could see the stars in the window. Watching the stars made her think of Mommy. Mommy used to love watching the stars with her gigantical telescope and now she was up with the stars watching over her and Halley and Charlie, too.
It was daytime so there weren’t any stars now. Big fluffy clouds floated across the blue sky. “That cloud looks like a flower,” she told Scorpio.
Charlie called the window a skylight but Nova called it a monster hole. Especially at night. That’s when the rat monster came. When it was dark. “Mommy wouldn’t like the rat monster.”
Halley didn’t believe there was a rat monster. She’d had a sleepover in Nova’s room but she’d fallen asleep before the scratching started.
Charlie said she was having bad dreams.
“But we’ve seen it, haven’t we, Scorpio?” she whispered. “Maybe we could try to trap it?” Then she could show them it was real. “And creepy.” But trapping it was scarier than it screeching and hissing and scratching at the skylight monster hole each night.
Another cloud floated across the sky—this one looked like a bug. “A beetle.” She shook her head. “No, Scorpio, look. It’s a bee. Like Astrid’s bees.” She stared at the cloud. Would it dance like Astrid’s bees? That was one thing Nova really wanted to see—dancing bees. She and Halley took dance classes so maybe they could dance with the bees. If she did get to see Astrid again, she’d have to ask her about dancing with bees. And what kind of dance did bees dance? Did they wear ballet shoes? Or tap shoes? And where did the tiny shoes come from? Did other bees play music? The more she thought about Astrid and her bees, the more questions she had. “I guess I can ask Charlie.” She held Scorpio up, making the star dance and wobble. “But I’d rather ask Astrid. If she’s not bad for my brain, I guess.”
CHAPTER THREE
“YOUTWOMUSTBEHAVE.” Astrid adjusted the basket she carried. Both Oatmeal and Pudding, two of Aunt Camellia’s sizable canine collection, wagged their tails at her. “I don’t know how Charlie feels about dogs.” She hoped Halley and Nova would be dog enthusiasts. “No jumping or barking... Or drooling, Oatmeal.” She patted the large St. Bernard mix on the head. “I know you can’t help it, but try the best you can.”
She’d waited until Saturday to visit the Driver family again—hoping Charlie wouldn’t mind her visit as much on a non-workday. She walked the path from Honey Hill Farms to Rebecca’s cottage, armed with a basket of baked goods, some flowers from their gardens and the Nova-sized bike helmet they’d found in the bed of Dane’s pickup truck. Dane had offered to return it but Astrid took it as a sign to deliver the helmet herself. Tansy had told her to stop wasting her time, Aunt Camellia told her not to get her hopes up, and Dane had outright called Charlie a condescending ass but Astrid was determined. Besides, she had to get the whole Junior Beekeepers discussion out of the way.
It was only when the cottage came into view that Astrid slowed.
Charlie had been displeased by her last unplanned visit, why had she thought this would go any better? Maybe she should write a note, leave the basket on the porch and go?
“That would have made sense.” She peered down at the dogs trotting alongside her. “Don’t you think?” But the dogs’ tails only kept wagging. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
She tiptoed onto the porch, her stomach a jumble of nerves, and rummaged through her bag for a pen and paper—when the front door opened.
“Astrid!” Nova squealed, opening the screen door. “Hi. Whatcha got?” She stared beyond Astrid. “Are those your dogs?” There were soapsuds in Nova’s hair and her shirt and shorts were dripping wet.
“Good morning.” Astrid couldn’t resist the little girl’s enthusiasm. “Treats.” She patted the basket and glanced back to find Oatmeal and Pudding sitting on the top step, looking hopeful. “They are my aunt’s dogs. And they’re very well-behaved and will stay.” She held her hand out. “That’s right, you heard me. Stay.”
Oatmeal and Pudding didn’t look very happy about this development.
“Hey, Astrid.” Halley came onto the porch. “I thought Charlie scared you off forever.” She ran her hand over her wet hair and shook soapsuds from her leg and foot.
