Page 2 of Peach Tree Family

The front door was padlocked and all the windows big enough to climb through were boarded up. The weak spot was a side door that also had a padlock on it, but the padlock was broken.

Going closer, Theo pushed the door open just a crack then stopped. Before opening the door any further, Theo looked in and saw a disused kitchen. He shone the flashlight inside and saw no sign of anyone using the place.

Ready to go in now, Theo took a deep breath and waved at Ace. A small hand went up to wave then gave a thumbs up. That made Theo smile even as his heart raced.

He gave the door a firm push. When it creaked, he stopped. He waited and listened. Nothing.

He went into the kitchen where the fridge stood open as did some of the drawers and cabinets. After a quick glance, Theo went through then stopped in the doorway to the living room. He held his breath.

Unlike the kitchen, the living room wasn't empty. There was a guy in there. Sleeping on the floor, the guy was covered with layers of clothes, resting his head on a duffel bag. He had dark hair and looked like he was about Theo's age or a little older, his early twenties maybe.

Theo gripped his flashlight tighter. He hadn't turned it on, but he noticed there was some light anyway. It came through a row of three narrow, horizontal windows that hadn't been boarded up probably because no one could have climbed in through there.

Theo wasn't sure how long he stood there frozen, figuring out what do about this guy, when he remembered he had to wave at Ace. Turning to go back out through the kitchen, he forgot about the open cabinet doors. His jacket caught on one of them and it slammed shut.

The noise was too loud to be ignored. Theo turned just in time to see the guy jump awake. Breathing hard, he looked around. He spotted Theo and narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?" he asked as he cast his eyes around like he wanted to know if Theo was alone.

Theo knew he had to stand his ground. He squared his shoulders and stood in the kitchen doorway. "You're going to need to clear out," he said, making sure to keep his voice steady and strong.

"I don't want any trouble," the guy said as he stared at Theo and tried to get his breathing under control.

"Then you shouldn't have trespassed on my property," Theo told him evenly.

The guy scoffed. "No one lives here."

"That doesn't make it free for the taking," Theo informed him. "I'm here to check the house and make sure no one is spreading their trash all over the place."

"That's not trash. That's my stuff," the guy said angrily. He was about to get up, but seeing Theo tense, he stopped and leaned back against his duffel bag. "I don't want any trouble. I just need someplace to stay the night."

As Theo gave him a hard-eyed glare, the guy stayed on the floor like he was staking his claim to it. He had angular features and a good body. His dark blue eyes were sharp, but for just a second shifted to an uncertain look, like he couldn't take a proper measure of Theo. That was fine by Theo since he had to bluff his way through if he wanted to get rid of this guy.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable, but you're going to have to pack up and leave if you don't want me to call Sheriff Jackson." Theo dropped the sheriff's name and hoped that would make his threat more convincing. The truth was he couldn't afford to get the sheriff involved. His aunt still had legal custody of Ace. Theo planned to change that and this house was a key part of his plan. He wasn't about to let this interloper mess things up for him.

But just as the other guy's shoulders slumped and he sighed like he was about to give up, Ace rushed into the room.

"Ace!" Theo snapped at him.

"It's raining and I heard a noise and you didn't come out, and then I came over and heard you talking in here," Ace said rapid-fire, piling on excuses one on top of the other. Then he looked over at the guy sitting on the floor. "Is that a hobo?"

"Hobo?" the guy said. He was a little unkempt, but he didn't look like someone who had been living rough for long.

"He was just leaving," Theo told him and took his phone from Ace.

"Was he sleeping here, Theo?" Ace asked.

"He was, but he's not any more." Theo tried for a sound of finality, but he knew he had lost a lot of ground with Ace running in like that.

"I'm just crashing here for the night, just passing through," the guy said to answer Ace and to assert that he was staying.

"You are trespassing on private property. You need to leave," Theo told him.

"I should just go on your say-so?" the guy said. "You don't own this place any more than I do."

They were staring each other down, but Ace had his say too. "We do too. This is our house."

"Ace, you need to be quiet," Theo told him, but Ace was distracted by staring at the intruder.

"Look, Theo. Look at all his stuff. He's homeless. Can we let him stay? Can we?"

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