Page 3 of Peach Tree Family

"I'm not homeless, just moving for work. My name is Seth," the intruder said with a grin.

"Don't talk to him," Theo warned the guy. "Get your stuff together and go."

"So what are the chances you're gonna call the sheriff on me?" Seth challenged him and eyed the phone pointedly, the phone Theo didn't have until Ace came in.

Theo didn't answer which was the same as admitting that the guy was right.

"All I want is to crash here until morning. I'll stay out of your way," Seth said.

"Is there room for everybody?" Ace asked, distracting Theo from trying to figure out how to get rid of this guy. "If there's room, he can stay here too and not have to sleep outside. It's cold and raining."

"It's only drizzling," Theo said.

"Theo, he doesn't even have pants on," Ace said and he pointed at a pair of jeans that were hanging from a nail on the wall.

"I have pants on. I just took those off because they got wet from the puddle." Seth uncovered his legs to prove it. He was wearing jeans and a beat up brown, leather jacket, but had covered himself with another jacket and some sweatshirts and a sweater. He had no shoes on though. "I stepped into a puddle. It was covered with leaves, and I didn't see it. My sneakers got wet too. They're drying over there."

"Theo, he can't go outside in wet sneakers," Ace pleaded.

"He can go, or I can call the sheriff and have her sort it out," Theo threatened.

"Her?" Seth said.

"Sheriff Sheila Jackson," Theo told him, but Ace was still pleading the guy's case.

"No, Theo, don't call the sheriff on him."

"I won't if he leaves," Theo told him, but didn't take his eyes off the intruder.

"You're bluffing," Seth said.

"Are you, Theo?" Ace wanted to know, and the guy let out a quick laugh until Theo glared at him.

"What if he's armed?" Theo asked Ace to make him realized that this was serious.

Seth frowned and looked taken aback, almost offended. "I ain't armed. I just want to get some sleep."

Theo was about to tell him to leave again when Ace pointed toward three sets of doors in the back. "What's over there?"

The guy told him about it. "There's a bathroom that's best avoided altogether. Two bedrooms with nothing in them. One has a broken window with boards over it."

"Are we sleeping in there?" Ace asked, giving away that they would be staying in the house and weren't just there to check it like Theo claimed.

"I don't know yet," Theo told him. First he had to get rid of this guy.

"I'm Ace. This is my brother, Theo," Ace said while peering around at a short hallway where the front door was.

"Nice to meet you, Ace. Theo," Seth said and raised an eyebrow at Theo's scowl.

"You really need to leave," Theo told him, but Ace just kept advocating for the guy.

"He already fell in a puddle. We have to help him."

"Ace. How about you let me handle this," Theo told him.

"OK. Can I look over there?" Ace asked and tried to go toward the back.

"No," Theo told him sharply and held onto his arm.

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