It was true. For the first time since she’d known them, the twins weren’t wearing matching ensembles. In fact, little Belle, or maybe it was Belinda, was wearing a sneaker on one foot and a sandal on the other.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” said Bonnie, who was out of breath. “The sitter never showed.”

“Not Sara, I hope,” said Lucy.

“No. She couldn’t do it. She said she had too much homework. A new girl.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Rachel. “We can manage. You take care of the girls.”

“Are you sure?” asked Bonnie, attempting to hold on to the girls who were twisting and pulling at her arms. “They could just sit behind the table. They promised to be good.”

“It’s getting close to bedtime and tomorrow’s a school day,” said Rachel. “They’d probably be happier having their baths and listening to a story.”

Bonnie’s face relaxed. “If you’re sure it’s okay…”

“It’s okay. Go home,” said Pam.

“I’ll make it up to you,” promised Bonnie, heading for the door.

When she’d left, Pam turned to Lucy. “What’s going on? She seemed awfully distracted, didn’t she?”

Lucy shrugged. “Maybe she’s nervous about the coach keeping his job. Or maybe she’s thinking that moving to Prudence Path wasn’t such a good idea,” she said. “I was talking to Frankie today and it’s quite the hotbed of intrigue.”

“Oh, you two!” exclaimed Rachel. “Always looking for secrets and motives! Maybe she just had a hard time getting the twins organized. You know what it’s like with kids and it must be even harder with twins.”

“Twice as hard,” admitted Lucy.

They had a brief flurry of business when a group of JV players arrived for the meeting. They were fresh from practice and needed to refuel. The cheerleaders, on the other hand, avoided the table like the plague. From inside the auditorium there was a sudden hush and Lucy left her friends and took a seat in the back row, next to Willie.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” she sniffed, shifting in her seat.

Lucy wasn’t quite sure what to say. She didn’t know if Sassie had told her mother about the incident on the team bus or not. “Of course I’m interested—especially since Sara’s a cheerleader,” she said, hopefully opening the way for more discussion if Willie wanted it. She didn’t.

“I noticed you’ve been spending an awful lot of time at Frankie’s place,” she said, glaring at Lucy.

“I was only there once,” began Lucy, aware of the absurdity of defending her social life to a neighbor. She was used to small town life, where secrets have a very short shelf life, but this was ridiculous. She turned away and turned her attention to the meeting.