“For the trip,” she explained. “The boys get so hungry. There are forks and plates for everyone.” She smiled at Ellen. “Luka has never been away from me for this long. I worry about him.”

Ellen patted her shoulder. “I’ll be sure to look out for him. And Coop’s along. Try not to worry, Kiki.”

“I can’t help it. He’s my baby.”

A baby who could flatten any offensive player in the league, Keith thought.

Luka hugged his mother, then got on the bus. Keith saw he went all the way to the back and sat next to Lissa. Maybe the two of them could talk about how horrible he was. Although with an A under his belt, Keith would guess Luka was feeling pretty good about things today.

When Luka’s mother had driven away, Keith tucked her paperwork in the backpack. “That’s all of them. You ready for this?”

Ellen stared at the bus. “It’s an adventure. I need an adventure in my life, so let’s do it.” She smiled at him, before turning and climbing up the stairs.

As she did so, her pants tightened around her butt. Keith found himself staring at the curves, something he would swear he’d never done before. Not with Ellen. Worse, he imagined himself putting his hands on her—

He took a step back and shook his head. Back the truck up. He had to stay focused, he told himself. Whatever was going on with Ellen wasn’t his business, nor was her ass. They worked together and were friends. Nothing more. But as he climbed in behind her, he had the sudden thought this was going to be a very, very long journey.

Unity got home about three thirty after her last job was canceled. She restocked the van, confirmed her jobs for the next day and went through all the messages on the answering machine. Not sure what else to do with herself, she wandered through the house.

Stuart’s parents had bought the place when they’d first been married. The three bedroom, two bath house had originally been about fourteen hundred square feet. They’d added on a family room when Stuart had still been a kid, taking the house to eighteen hundred square feet.

Stuart’s dad had passed away when Stuart had still been in elementary school, leaving him and his mom devastated. Unity hadn’t met him until high school. She remembered he’d been quiet, responsible and goal-oriented. He knew what he wanted to do with his life.

When they’d started dating, Stuart’s mom had been excited to have Unity hang out. There had been countless dinners at the round table and lots of evenings with the three of them watching TV.

There were so many memories in the house, Unity thought, walking into the master bedroom his mother had used until she died four years before. The furniture was gone—sold after her death. The closet was empty. Unity had packed away the few treasures Stuart had wanted to keep and those boxes were stacked neatly in the corner of the large, bright room.