“Welcome home!” Molly called as her sisters scratched Warrant’s upturned belly.

They trudged through the yard and up the porch steps. Warrant followed and resettled on his new bed. “Thanks. What the heck is sitting in our driveway?” Charlie asked, plopping down next to Molly, who gave her a sitting half hug in greeting. “Did you start a new family business?”

Felicity dropped down onto her sisters’ laps, turned sideways so she could eye the way Molly was tucked against John. “Finally. Took you long enough, Moo.”

“Yeah, it did.” He held up a fist for Felicity to bump, and Molly elbowed him—although not too hard, since he had just made her this very nice porch swing.

Molly ignored them and answered Charlie instead. “That’s my car. It was not returned in the condition in which it was taken.” After the initial shock, however, it was kind of growing on Molly. The neighbors were universally horrified by it, so that was a plus. “Apparently, Mom’s friend sold it to someone who has a marijuana delivery business, and they had it custom painted. Just wait until you smell the interior. I’m worried I’ll get a contact high just driving to the grocery store.” She glanced at her beloved Prius and winced, just a little. A jungle of pot leaves stood out against a bright-blue background, with Weed on Wheels printed in huge hot-pink bubble letters on both sides.

“I think it’s kind of pretty,” Norah said as she came outside, letting the screen door swing shut behind her. “Very green and nature-y. Hey, Fifi, Charlie.” She started to perch on the arm of the swing, but Felicity pulled her into her lap, making Charlie and Molly groan from the added weight.

“Let’s not break the swing on the first day,” Molly protested, but John just waved a hand, dismissing her concern.

“I made it strong enough to hold the whole family.”

That made her heart squeeze with affection, and she smiled up at him. He grinned back, adoration clear in his expression as he hugged her closer.

“Speaking of family,” Felicity said, “where’s Cara?”

“The library. She said she had to work on a group class project.” Molly tried to keep the doubt out of her voice. Cara had been gone a lot over the past few days, using the “group project” excuse every time someone asked where she’d been. The problem was that Cara was a terrible liar. Molly made a mental note to talk to her sister and make sure that everything was okay. This shady behavior wasn’t like her.

“Heads up,” Charlie said quietly, drawing everyone’s attention to the unmarked sedan rolling slowly down their street. They all fell silent as they watched it. As it crept past their house, Molly saw the bitter face of the driver.

“Detective Mill,” John said, a hard note underlying his tone. “Looks like he’s going to be a problem.”

“Yep.” Molly felt her stomach twist with renewed worry as the sedan followed the turnaround at the end of the street and sped away. Between detectives with grudges and a still-missing mom and unscrupulous treasure hunters and possible lurkers in the forest and a bail bondsman holding the title to their house in his money-grubbing fingers, they were still in a boatload of trouble. John squeezed her shoulders, and some of her tension slipped away. By bringing in Sonny, they’d gotten some breathing room and had at least a month to find their mom. They had time to save their house. She’d worry about it later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy being with her family on their new porch swing.