“I had kind of an emergency,” Flynn said, helping her with the deli slices. He always put the chicken first, then the turkey, then the ham, and even though there was no reason for it, it made her heart squeeze. “Diego’s parents kicked him out of the house.”

“Oh, yeah? How come?”

He swallowed. “He told them some things they didn’t want to hear.”

Jack nodded calmly, but the tightness in her chest was overwhelming. She’d spent her life trying to protect people, but there was always some new danger lurking around the corner, some new rug to be pulled out from under her. “Does he have a place to stay?”

“Yes. Here.”

“Flynn.”

“It would only be for a couple of weeks! Just until he works things out with his mom and dad. Sometimes people react badly at first, but then they come around. You know? But right now he doesn’t believe they’ll ever talk to him again, so of course I said he could stay here.” A pause, as he shot her a sidelong glance. “It’s what you would’ve done.”

“Oh, good move,” she said, her lips twitching toward a grin. “Flattery, this time of night? You know I’ll be helpless against it.”

“I thought so.” He shrugged, so casual. But his lips were curving up on the left, just like hers were. “So it’s cool, then? He can stay for a little while?”

“If he sleeps on the couch,” she said after a minute of silence. Flynn was blushing again, badly. “And you sleep in your room.”

“But—”

“No buts, Flynn. I wouldn’t let my boyfriend sleep in my bed.”

“What boyfriend? You’ve never even dated anyone, and now you’re telling me what I can’t do? He just got kicked out. I want to stay with him, not hook up while my siblings sleep a few feet away.” There it was. That fourteen-year-old fierceness. That fire. Jack remembered it well, and everything it had led to.

The good and the bad.

“You’re too young,” she said softly. “You might think nothing’s going to happen, but you’d be surprised at how quickly things can—”

“What are you talking about?” He was practically shouting now, his exasperation plain. Jack couldn’t blame him. For all the world knew, she hadn’t touched anyone in the three years that Raven had been gone. And before that, Raven had been Belle’s, so nothing could’ve happened between them. Just like his clothes couldn’t be sitting on a chair beside the table.

When Diego appeared in the doorway, his eyes alight with concern, she took the opportunity to remind herself of what was at stake. Her freedom. Her ability to spend moments like this, tucked away in a tiny kitchen with the people she loved most in the world.