Page 58 of Through the Fire
“I’m sorry, Kit,” Jules said, a slight flush on her cheeks. Theo wrapped an arm around her and tucked her against his side. “I’m overprotective, but usually I’m more rational than this. With everything that’s happened lately, I’m having a hard time letting the kids out of my sight. They’ve gone through so much…”
Sam gave his sister a horrified, betrayed glance before dropping his gaze to the ground.
“It’s okay.” Kit smiled at Jules. “To be fair, the twins climbed a really tall tree when I was distracted, so your worries are somewhat valid.”
Waving a hand, Jules said, “Oh, climbing trees isn’t a problem. As long as they’re not crashing helicopters, it’s a good day.”
“Dee was the one who crashed the helicopter,” Tio said as the twins joined them. Apparently, playing in the snow was less interesting than the drama happening by the tower. “She was also commended for it.”
“Fine.” Jules kissed Theo on the cheek before slipping out from under his arm. “As long as y’all don’t crash non-enemy helicopters, then it’s a good day.” She walked over to Sam and started talking to him too quietly for Kit to hear. Kit blinked at the thought of little Dee crashing a helicopter. What was wrong with this town?
“Wes has a robot cat,” Tio told Dee, and her eyes rounded. “He also has a remote ignition system for his woodstove, but I expect that you’re more interested in the robot cat.”
“A robot cat?” Dee breathed, proving Tio’s assumption correct. “Is it fuzzy or metal on the outside? Does it do cat things, like meow and purr?”
“Neither.” Wes was the one who answered from right behind Kit. “Its exterior is a polymer, and it doesn’t make any sounds. If it did, I would’ve made it bark, since I assumed it was canine until everyone corrected me.”
Dee immediately switched her rapt attention from Tio to Wes. “What’s a polymer?”
“A compound of high molecular weight made up of multiple smaller molecules.” Both Dee and Tio stared at him. While Dee appeared confused, Tio had a look of complete hero worship.
Trying to hide her amusement, Kit suggested, “Why don’t we just show her?”
At that, Ty’s face lit up. “Can we have Pop Tarts now?”
“I’ll ask Jules,” Kit said, heading toward where Jules was still talking with Sam. As Kit approached, she tried to make it obvious so she didn’t unintentionally sneak up on them. Despite her best efforts, Jules and Sam were too focused on their hushed conversation to notice her. As Kit was about to call out to them, Sam’s voice got louder until his agonized words were clear.
“…you c-c-can’t say th-things l-l-like that, J-J-Jules. Sh-she’s g-g-going to f-figure out wh-what I d-d-did! I d-don’t want her to kn-n-now.”
“Sam…” Jules sounded like her heart was breaking. “You didn’t do anything. None of that was your fault.”
Even as the cop part of Kit’s brain clicked into gear, running through the possibilities of whatever crime Sam had committed, the rest of her knew that whatever it was, it most likely had been self-defense or an accident, especially after Jules’s reassurance. From what she’d seen, Sam was a sensitive, conscientious kid who felt responsible for his siblings. Also, his demeanor just screamed abuse victim. Her jaw tightened, her back teeth pressing together as anger rushed through her. She wished she could get her hands on whoever had hurt this kid.
“Hey, Jules,” she said quietly, making both Jules and Sam jump and snap their gazes to her. “Dee would like to see Wes’s robo-cat, and the twins are hoping for a couple of his Pop Tarts. Is it okay if we go up into the tower?”
Jules brushed at her cheeks, scrubbing away evidence of her tears as Theo approached and rested a hand between her shoulder blades. He eyed the three of them carefully, as if trying to figure out who was to blame for making Jules cry. “Robo-cat?” Jules repeated a little shakily, and Theo frowned.
“Wes made a robot cat,” Kit explained, keeping her tone gentle. Both Jules and Sam looked brittle enough to crack. “Want to see? He’s interested in electronics and that sort of thing. His tower looks like a robotics lab and a mad scientist’s lair collided. Plus, his favorite food is Pop Tarts. The twins are fully won over.”
Jules hesitated, studying Sam’s expression. “It sounds fascinating.” Her gaze darted over to Elena, who still looked upset. “I’ve already butted in enough today. I’ll take Elena back home now that we know our worries were unfounded.” She gave a small, shaky laugh. “I feel bad for feeding her fears. Poor thing’s already had a rough couple of weeks.”
“Next time we come up here, you’ll need to come along,” Kit said, giving Sam a glance. His face was stiff and expressionless as he studied the ground, not giving her any indication if she was helping or just making things worse. “You can see the tower then, and you can watch Sam train Fifi. He’s pretty impressive.”
Jules gave her a brilliant smile, and even Theo let out a grunt of approval. “That sounds wonderful. Oh, and please come to dinner tonight at our house. It’ll be casual—just us, Hugh, Grace, Otto, and Sarah. Wes, you’re welcome, too.” Kit felt her stomach warm at the invitation—and from the automatic assumption that Wes would be her date. She sent him a sideways questioning look. Despite a slightly panicked expression, he gave a nod.
“Thank you,” Kit said. “We’ll be there.”
“Good. It’s about time we got to know each other, especially since you and Sam will be training the dogs together.” Jules reached toward Sam, as if to squeeze his arm affectionately, but he stiffened before she could touch him. Jules froze for a moment, her hand hovering in the air next to Sam’s elbow, before it dropped to her side. “Did you want a ride home, Sam-I-Am?”
He gave Kit a quick look that she took a rough guess at interpreting. For as young as he was, the kid sure could hide his emotions. “If you’re interested in getting a Pop Tart first, we’ll all fit in my car. Now that we know Fifi and Justice get along, they’re fine in the back together, so we can squeeze Dee in the back seat with the twins.”
As Sam studied her, Kit met his gaze evenly. She didn’t know what he’d done or what had happened, but she knew in her gut that Sam was a good kid, and she wanted to protect him…from any threat. She resisted the urge to glance at Elena.
“I’ll r-ride w-w-with K-Kit.”
His stutter sounded worse than it had been when she’d picked them up—and much worse than when they’d been training the dogs. Kit had to force herself not to frown, wishing that unfounded fears hadn’t ruined the enjoyable day they’d been having.
“I’ll stay,” Theo said, earning a smile from Jules. “I’d like to see the robot cat.”
