“I’m first!” Hayley, as usual, ran ahead, reaching the door of the shuttered cabin and turning the handle. “It’s locked, Mom,” she said, tossing back her blond ringlets. “Where’s the key?”

“That’s the adventure part.” Tugging Hope along, Anna reached the door and knelt to study the lock, putting an arm around both girls. She’d hoped for an old-fashioned bolt she could just slide a screwdriver under, but this lock was modern and tight.

That would be better in the long run, safer. She swallowed a lump in her throat.

Who’d have thought that law-abiding, rule-following Anna George would calmly break and enter? She shoved aside her good-girl fear of what would happen if they got caught. She had no other choice. No way would she be a lawbreaker long term, but for now, she’d do whatever was necessary to keep them safe.

Around them, birds had resumed their chirping and cawing. The salt air blew warm, bringing the fragrance of the sea, just beyond the dunes if her childhood memories served. In fact, if she closed her eyes, she imagined she could hear it: the rhythmic pounding of waves against the sand.

“Mommy? What’re we going to do?” Hope’s voice trembled.

“I’m hungry,” Hayley complained.

But at least they were speaking. And Anna meant to make sure that continued, that their voices weren’t silenced as they’d been in the past.

She stood, stepped back. “Let’s take a walk around the cabin.”

“Yeah!” Hayley started to rush off.

“Wait. What’s the rule?”

Her impulsive daughter stopped. “Stay together,” she said reluctantly.

“That’s right, good job,” Anna said to Hayley, and then looked down at Hope’s anxious face. Though her twins were identical physically, their personalities were nearly opposite. “Want a ride on my back, kiddo?”

“Okay.”

Anna knelt. “Jump up.” When Hope did, Anna staggered to her feet. Blackness started to close her vision, but she grabbed the trunk of a live oak tree and steadied herself, took a couple of deep breaths. No sleep and a boatload of worries were wearing her down, but she’d gotten this far. She could do this.

She looked up at the cloud-mottled sky. “Okay, let’s take a look.”

They made their way around the small cabin. Up close, she could see that time and neglect had taken their toll. Part of the screen that sheltered the porch was ripped, and white siding curved away from the cabin, warped by weather. She let Hayley slip through the torn screen to test the cabin’s back door, but it was locked, too.

They continued on around. Mushrooms, bold red and yellow, sprouted in the sandy soil near the small picnic table. No footprints, no trash, no abandoned beach toys.

The loneliness unnerved her a little, but it was what she and the girls needed, at least for now. And the cabin’s basic structure seemed sound. “Peek inside,” she urged Hope, moving closer to a promising window.

Hope hesitated, then leaned from her perch on Anna’s back to peer into the window. “It’s got a kitchen table! And a sofa and chairs.”