The minute everyone had finished eating, Harlan said, “I had Consuela’s brother put up the wading pool out back. Jenny, why don’t you take the little ones out to play in that and keep an eye on them?”

Jenny surveyed him speculatively. “My usual rates?”

“Yes, you little entrepreneur,” he said with contradictory fondness. “I’ll pay you your usual rates.”

“Great! I’ll be able to buy more CDs, if we ever get to a town with a decent music store,” she said with a pointed look in Janet’s direction.

“Maybe next weekend,” Janet replied distractedly. She was too worried about the inquisitive expressions on Cody’s, Jordan’s and Luke’s faces to pay much attention to Jenny’s normal grumbling about the lack of shopping in Los Piños.

The reply seemed to satisfy her daughter, because she took off readily with the younger children.

“Well?” Luke said, his gaze fixed on his father.

Harlan tried to stare him down. “Well, what?”

“Isn’t there something you two want to tell us?”

“No,” Harlan and Janet replied in chorus.

Luke and Jessie exchanged a look filled with amusement that was promptly caught by the others.

“You know something, don’t you?” Cody guessed. “Come on, big brother, share.”

Harlan’s gaze narrowed. “I don’t know what you think you know, Lucas,” he said, “but if you’ve got any decency in you, you’ll keep it to yourself.”

“He has a point,” Jessie said, laughter dancing in her eyes. “I mean, we don’t know for sure where they were going when they went sneaking off in the middle of the night.”

Janet groaned and buried her face in her hands, sure that her complexion must be a fiery shade of red. “That’s it. I’m out of here,” she declared, shoving her chair back and practically racing from the room.

“Now look what you’ve done,” Harlan chided, sending his own chair scooting across the floor with a clatter. “When I get back, I want you out of here. Maybe the whole blasted lot of you ought to think about moving to Arizona or Montana, anywhere that’s far away from here.”

If she hadn’t been so embarrassed, Janet might have chuckled at his blustery tone. As it was, she just wanted to disappear herself. She was already outside when he caught up with her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You know what big mouths they have. I told you so myself before we came back here this morning.”

“It’s not that,” she said miserably. “It’s just so sweet the way they tease you. I know they wouldn’t do that, if they didn’t want something to happen between you and me. I feel as if I’m letting all of you down.”