Page 20 of Shuttered Hearts

I walk up the stairs and gesture toward the porch swing. “You want to sit down and cover your feet with a blanket?”

“What happened?” Quinn doesn’t move from her spot.

I step toward her, placing my hand on the small of her back, trying to guide her to the porch swing. She fights me for only a moment before conceding after seeing the look on my face.

As Quinn sits, I turn to the covered basket I know has blankets in it. “There’s a kid in Max’s class, Robbie. Have you heard about him?” I hand her the blanket and sit down next to her.

“Yeah, Caleb and Dad have told me more about him than Max has, but I’ve heard he’s a bully.” Quinn curls her legs under her and angles her body to face me, the blanket draped over her legs.

“Max says Robbie typically leaves him alone, but for some reason, he made some comments to Max today.” I angel myself toward Quinn, placing my arm on the back of the swing.

“What did he say?”

“Max didn’t say specifically, only that he made a reference to your dad’s age and your mom. He also made sure Max understood he was going to be an orphan soon.”

“Oh, God!” Quinn gasps, a hand coming to her mouth. “What the fuck is wrong with kids these days? Who says something like that?”

“Robbie is the son of Hunter Daniels. If I?—”

“Say no more,” Quinn interrupts. “He was a couple of years ahead of me in school. I remember how much of a bully he was.” She looks down at her lap, her hands fidgeting with the cuffs of her sleeves.

“Max also asked me what was going to happen to him.” Quinn’s head whips up to look at me. “After your dad passes,” I finish softly.

“Oh, God.” This time, tears form in her eyes. “I-I … oh, God.” She covers her eyes with one hand and tilts her head down.

I give her a minute before I continue, practically whispering, “He asked about your mom. If you would have to find her so he could go live with her.”

I’m surprised Quinn hasn’t gotten whiplash with how fast her head tips back up to look at me.

Before she can say anything, I continue. “I told him, in no uncertain terms, he would never go with Nicole. I don’t know the full story, but I know Scott made sure she could never be in his life again unless Max wanted it.” Quinn nods her head. I can see her swallow a few times, like she’s trying to gather herself to say something. I place my hand on hers in her lap and squeeze. “I told him you and Caleb would probably fight over who he got to stay with because you both love him so much.” That brings the smallest smile to her face. “I also made sure he knows no matter what, he would always have you, Caleb, and Emily.”

“And you,” she rushes to say, turning her hand in mine and squeezing it.

“And me,” I agree.

We stay that way for a while. Our hands clasped, both of us looking down at them, trying to gather ourselves. I wait for Quinn to pull away, but she squeezes my hand one more time before she does.

“Everything else was good?” she asks.

“Yeah. We got his homework done in plenty of time. I took him to dinner at The Diner before stopping by here to pick up his gear. We talked to your dad for a few minutes, but I didn’t get the chance to tell him what happened with Max.” I look at her before I continue. “And if I’m being honest, I don’t know if he needs to know.”

Quinn sighs, looking back down at her hands, messing with the cuff of her sleeves again. “Yeah, I don’t know the answer to that one. I don’t know what the answer is to any of this.” Her head falls to the side, aiming to lay her head on the back of theswing, but her head finds my arm instead. Neither of us moves. “How do you help an eleven-year-old cope with any of this? I don’t even know how to cope with it.”

“I don’t know either,” I tell her honestly. “I think you have to be honest with him. Hiding what’s happening will only make it worse. Max is a smart kid.”

“Yeah, he is.”

“It’s going to be okay. Not right now, but one day, it will be.” She picks her head up, looking at me, and I get lost in the pain in her eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

“I’ll always be here for that kid.” I gesture toward the front door where Max disappeared earlier. “And this family.”

There’s nothing anyone could do to make that untrue. They saved me from myself when I needed it most, and I will always do what I can to return the favor.

ten

QUINN

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