Page 20 of Strangers She Knows

Kellen turned on Max. “The pants in this family?”

He laughed out loud.

“Who says that? Who even thinks it?”

He kept laughing, the crinkles around his eyes deepening, inviting her to laugh, too.

So she did. “You didn’t help a bit!”

He made a lunge for her, toppled her onto the bed, rolled on top of her, all warmth and weight and rocketing blood pressure. He looked down into her face. “Are you kidding? You should have seen your expression. It was priceless! And—”

The door slammed back against the wall.

They both jumped guiltily.

Rae stood there, glaring as if the wrathful face of puberty had taken form. “I don’t know what you think is so funny.”

Max turned to Kellen. “Thisis who wears the pants in the family.”

He picked one hell of a time to be witty. Kellen ignored him and asked Rae, “What’s wrong? I thought you liked your room.”

“It’s too far away!” She stalked in.

“From us?” Kellen considered that. “I’ll bet we can round up a small lamp for your room and one to light the corridor so you can find us at night.”

“Why would I want to find you at night?” Rae asked belligerently.

“Sometimes you have nightmares,” Max said.

“I’m too old for that now.” Rae had chosen to forget that after being torn from her home, and during the days of chaotic travel, she had twice crept into her parents’ bedroom, crawled in next to Kellen, and shivered until she forgot her dream and went back to sleep.

Those nightmares were one reason Kellen had agreed to continue their silence about the threat that had sent them fleeing. They weighed the chances of Mara immediately tracking and attacking them against Rae’s psychological turmoil, and decided that, by all indications, they’d made a clean getaway and they could wait.

At Max’s request, Kellen had hired a tracker, a friend from her Army days, and set her on Mara’s trail. According to Diana’s latest report, so far their plan was successful. Right now, Mara was far, far away and with Diana’s help, would soon be apprehended.

That would make Kellen happy. Because she was a coward. She didn’t want to explain the truth of the situation to her newly sharp-tongued daughter. Max really wanted Rae to remain an innocent child as long as she could, while Rae would not appreciate the deception.

Whoever said parenting was easy had never been a parent. She looked at Max. Especially when the parents had differing opinions.

Now Kellen backtracked and used a different angle to speak to Rae’s anxiety. “Still, I like the idea. Sometimes I like to come and check on you.”

Rae mulled that over. “That’s all right, I guess.”

Luna ran in, a big, strong dog with her nose to the floor. She stopped and smiled at Kellen—she held no grudge about the piano music—then dropped her nose again and sniffed around the room, following a trail only she could discern.

Rae flung herself onto a low-slung chair. “No phone. No apps. No online. What are we going todohere?”

“Tomorrow we’re going to explore the island,” Kellen said.

“The whole island? Really, Mother?”

Rae used that snotty tone that made Kellen think she was about to go off like a Roman candle. Putting her arm around Rae’s shoulders, she said, “Olympia has a snack for us in the dining room.”

At the wordsnack, Luna alerted and sat up.

Rae didn’t budge.

Kellen got her up with a little gentle pressure. “Not the whole island. Not in one day. But don’t forget, your dad ordered new bikes for us.”

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