He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I don’t know. And I don’t like being in the dark. Hopefully, we’ll know more after the deputies talk to Chrissy. But I’d rather be overly cautious.”

I would, too. The truth was, I would give anything, pay any price, if I could just keep this family safe. Because somehow over the past few months, they’d come to mean everything to me.

37

Caelyn

I leaned back against Griffin’s chest, letting the sounds of the kids playing and the feel of Griffin surrounding me soothe my frayed nerves. Crosby had talked Will, Ava, Mia, Bell, and Ford into a game of soccer. Kenna was in the kitchen making us a pitcher of iced tea. The people I loved most in the world were all here, and they were safe.

Griffin pressed his lips to my temple. “They’re rebounding.”

He was right, of course. Few things were more miraculous than the resiliency of children. I’d seen it time and again. But the knowledge that it was possible didn’t change how much I hated that my siblings seemed to need to employ it more than most. “I don’t want them to ever be hurt or scared. When I took custody of them, I promised myself they would never have the kind of fear they experienced when my parents abandoned them and that man broke in. But they’ve been terrified twice in the past month.”

Griffin pulled me tighter against him. “But you make them feel safe, even when life is scary.”

I made a humming noise in the back of my throat. Not an agreement or a disagreement. I didn’t want to be just a safe place to land for these kids. I wanted to stand between them and anything that might cause them harm.

Griffin didn’t try to further make his point. He simply held me and let his presence be a balm. My eyes had just started to close when he shifted, pulling out his phone. “Hey, Parker. Come on up.” There was a brief pause. “Okay. We’ll meet you out front.”

“He’s here?” I asked.

“Yeah. He wants to talk to us alone.”

My stomach gave a violent twist. Alone meant something bad. Something he didn’t want to say in front of the kids. “Okay.” I hated the smallness of my voice, but I couldn’t seem to infuse any more strength into it.

Griffin pulled me to my feet. “No matter what, we’ll figure it out.”