Page 49 of The Hermit on the Hill

Cody and Carrie's oldest daughter, Kayla, who was nineteen, grabbed up their youngest, Lily, who was only two, and sat on the nearest couch with her. Simon grabbed Noah and Aubrey's two-year-old son, Caden, and sat next to Kayla. Cody and Carrie's middle daughter, Jenny, took Noah and Aubrey's daughter, Sophie, now three, by the hand and walked around the room with the tiny girl, letting her explore.

"If you have another room with a TV, we can set them up in front of a movie," Carrie said to me, clearly assuming I was in charge of this house.

I looked to Sam for his opinion. He met my gaze and lifted his chin like 'I got this.' "Do they like rabbits?"

Every child in that room froze and turned to look at Sam. He noticed their attention and smiled. "I've got the biggest bunny you have ever seen, and he loves to cuddle. If you don't mind sharing a room with him, I can show you where there's another TV."

"I wuv bunnies," Sophie said, carefully.

"Me, too," the rest of the kids chimed in.

"I'll go with them." Kayla stood with Lily in her arms. "I'll make sure they aren't too rough with your bunny." She turned to Carrie, brows raised.

"I'll fill you in." Carrie's tone suggested they'd had this conversation many times before. "I promise."

Kayla and the kids followed Sam out of the room, and the sound of their feet clomping up the stairs filled the house a moment later.

Noah stood. "Caden isn't good on stairs yet."

"Sam has a baby gate for the rabbit," I said. "But I'll go make sure he shuts it."

Exceedingly glad for an excuse to get out of that room and away from my family's impatient attention, I headed upstairs, following the sounds of laughter and small voices.

"Okay." Sam's voice carried down the hall. "Let's set some ground rules. No pulling Fluffy's fur or feeding him anything. He doesn't like loud noises, so no screaming."

Based on the sounds of chattering and laughing toddlers, I didn't think the little ones were listening to Sam.

I stuck my head in the door to see Sam and all the kids in a small den-like room with a moderately sized TV. Sam called it Fluffy's room, because it was where the rabbit liked to hang out when he was home.

Sam was hunkered down, kneeling in front of Fluffy. The toddlers stood around the bunny, petting him. Kayla and Simon and even Jenny were keeping a close watch on the younger kids, making sure they didn't love Fluffy too hard.

Sam's smile was open and relaxed, far happier than he'd been with the adults. "Good job. You're all being so gentle with Fluffy, and he loves it. Isn't he a good bunny?"

"Dog," Sophie said.

"No, he's a bunny." Sam lifted Fluffy's floppy ears. "See, big rabbit ears."

"Dog." Sophie stomped her little foot, her face screwed up in frustration.

Sam's smile only got wider. "He does look like a dog, doesn't he? Your aunt Jenna brought a cat with her when she moved in here, and the cat thought Fluffy was a dog, too."

Lily laughed. "Silly cat."

"Fluffyisa dog." Sophie wasn't going to back down, no matter what evidence Sam presented.

Lily's small mouth set in a hard line. For all Sophie and Lily were cousins, they spent enough time together to fight like sisters. "It's a bunny. Mr. Sam said so."

Sophie's face was getting red, and I stepped forward to intervene. Kayla was already reaching for Lily to avoid a physical fight.

"Maybe Fluffy is a bit of both," Sam said, his smile gone, his expression thoughtful. "What do you think? Sometimes what we look like on the outside isn't what we feel like on the inside, right?"

The kids stared at him, obviously confused, but the confusion had stopped the argument, at least.

"I think Fluffy would like to be a dog bunny," Sam said. "Now, who's ready for a movie?"

Caden, Lily, and Jenny cheered, but Sophie narrowed her eyes at Sam, not trusting him in the least. "Fluffy is a dog."

Sam turned on the TV, showed Kayla how to work everything, and joined me in the doorway as the crew started arguing about what to watch.

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