Lucy started the car, but driving to New Hampshire no longer seemed like such a good idea. For one thing, Zoe would be coming home from school in an hour or so and she didn’t want to leave her alone in the house, not with Preston’s threat hanging over them. It would be far more sensible, she decided, to make the trip tomorrow morning when the girls were safe in school.

But even that plan seemed doomed to failure when Sara refused to eat any breakfast Friday morning, complaining she was too nauseous.

“Maybe you should stay home,” suggested Lucy. She was already rearranging her schedule and planning to work from home.

“I can’t,” moaned Sara. “There’s a game today and I can’t miss it.”

“Why not rest this morning and if you feel better I can take you to school later?”

“It’s an away game and there’s a pep rally first thing this morning.”

“They never had pep rallies before,” said Lucy.

“They never had a winning team before,” said Bill, his mouth full of bagel. “Face it, that second half against Gilead was incredible. Matt Engelhardt is one amazing quarterback. Let her go.”

“Not if she’s sick…”

“I feel okay, Mom, I really do.”

“You can’t go on an empty stomach. Not if you’re going to be leading a pep rally. And where is this away game?”

“Lake Wingate.”

“See!” Lucy turned to Bill. “That’s at least an hour from here, maybe more. What if she gets sick on the bus?”

“I won’t get sick on the bus,” said Sara.

“I’m not very happy about this. Not after what happened on the bus after the last away game.”

“That was just a combination of youthful high spirits and a very tired coach. You can be sure it won’t happen again, not after that meeting,” said Bill. “Everybody will be on their best behavior.”

“Dad’s right, Mom. Coach Buck really chewed out the players and told them that if anything like that happens again they’re off the team, no exceptions.”

Lucy was running out of arguments. “Okay,” she said. “Take some nutrition bars, okay?”

“Okay,” said Sara, giving her a hug.

Lucy’s day was back on track. She would stop in at the Pennysaver office to check in with Ted and then she would head across the state to St. Bernard’s Home in Salem to talk to Father Keenan. She packed lunches for Bill and Zoe, gave Sara’s cheerleading outfit a quick touch up with the iron, sent everyone off with a kiss, fed the dog, tidied the kitchen, took a shower, blow-dried her hair, got dressed, and was finally ready to go. Except that when she got out to her little rental car she discovered it had four flat tires. Preston had apparently made good on his threat, she decided, as she called the rental place.