seemed confused, though he took his cues from his brother and sniffed every once in a while.
Julia felt horrible about the whole situation. Maybe she shouldn’t have gotten involved, should have simply looked the other way.
How could she have, though? Any person with an ounce of compassion would have done the same thing she had, called in the state’s department of child welfare. If ever two children’s welfare needed looking after, it was Clint’s and Davy’s.
The boys couldn’t stay here in this cold, cheerless house. Their mother was nowhere in evidence, and it looked as if they hadn’t had a decent meal in days.
“I don’t know what will happen to them,” Wynona admitted. Her eyes were soft with compassion as she looked through the doorway at the boys. “They’ll go into foster care, definitely, probably a short-term facility in Boise for now, until we can find a longer-term placement.”
“So they’ll have to leave their friends and their teachers? While we were waiting for you, Clinton was so pleased to tell me about how well he’s doing in school.”
“I wish I could find something closer to Haven Point. Believe me, there’s nothing I would love more. It would be better, all the way around. But local foster families are in short supply, especially this time of year when the need outpaces the available resources. There is a chance I could place one of them in the area, but not both.”
Out in the living room, Clint put an arm around his brother, who had started to sob—whether from fear or exhaustion, she didn’t know.
“You’ll have to split them up?”
“Most likely,” Wyn admitted. Julia could tell she wasn’t any happier about that idea than Julia. Wyn’s expression plainly conveyed her frustration with the situation.
“Any idea where the mother might be?”
“We’ve put out a BOLO on her. Be on the lookout. Sorry. I forget not everybody knows cop-speak.”
“I watch TV occasionally,” Julia said. “I know what a BOLO means.”
“She never showed up for her appointment at the VA. We’ve been able to figure that much out.”
Wyn gave a careful look toward the boys, then turned her body away and spoke in a low voice. “I really hope we can locate her. Her counselor at the VA couldn’t tell us much because of privacy laws. Reading between the lines, though, it sounds like Mikaela Slater has been struggling the last few weeks.”
“Oh, I hope she’s okay. They’ve already lost their father. I hate thinking they might lose their mother, too. What about extended family? Clint told me the boys lived with an aunt and uncle while their parents were both deployed.”
“It might take us some time to track them down. Clinton says they’re working in a country that starts with an A or an I. He couldn’t remember which one. That doesn’t narrow it down much.”
In the other room, Davy sobbed, and Clint patted his back and said something to him.
Julia’s distress must have shown on her features. Wyn reached out and squeezed her arm. “You did the right thing, honey. You know you had no choice. I’ll see the boys find a good placement.”
“You’ll let me know what happens?”
“Absolutely. I won’t know anything definite until tomorrow anyway. Tonight they’ll go to the temporary facility in Shelter Springs, where they’ll be well taken care of, I promise.”
“Thank you.”
Wyn squeezed her arm again, and Julia recognized the gesture as one of both comfort and dismissal. Wyn had more important things to do than allay her concerns.
Feeling helpless and superfluous, Julia walked out into the living room to say goodbye to the boys.
Before she could open her mouth, Clinton threw her a look of deep mistrust.
“This is your fault,” he said, voice vibrating with anger and his eyes dark with betrayal. “We should never have let you give us a ride. No, we shouldn’t have gone to the library in the first place.”
“Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”
“We were doing just fine. I heard what the lady said. Now they’re probably going to split us up.”
“I’m sorry,” she said again. The words seemed wholly inadequate.
“We thought you were our friend, but you’re not. You’re just a big...poopie,” Davy cried. That was probably the worst word he could come up with. Right now, it felt pretty accurate.
“Just go,” Clint said.
Julia wanted to gather both boys close to offer what little comfort she could, but she knew they wouldn’t welcome the gesture right now.
Oh, she hoped Wyn was able to find their mother—and soon. She couldn’t bear considering the alternative.
Her heart felt as cold and heavy as the wind blowing through Sulfur Hollow as she walked out to her car.
* * *
ALL HE WANTED was a lousy shower. Was that too much to ask?
Jamie knocked hard again on his landlady’s door, willing her to answer, even though all the evidence indicated the woman wasn’t home.
He had made two trips to California that day, transporting Caine Tech employees who had family there home for Thanksgiving. The last one had been through a vicious storm.
Okay, he wanted a shower and a beer, maybe, and his nice, warm bed.
He knocked one more time, though he already knew it was futile. Inside, he could hear a couple of cats meowing at him, but no approaching footsteps.
She wasn’t home, which meant he wouldn’t have hot water.
Okay. No hot shower. He could either suck it up and have a cold one or heat up some water in the microwave so he could at least wash up.
He had been deployed to the Middle East twice. He had survived much worse conditions.
He turned away from the door and was about to head up the stairs to his apartment when he noticed headlights pulling into the driveway and into the detached garage on the property.
A moment later, the front door opened, and Julia Winston walked in, moving slowly, as if her bones weighed more than she could support. Something was wrong. He wasn’t sure how he could be so confident when he barely knew the woman, but he knew it at a glance.
Surprise flickered in those hauntingly lovely eyes when she spotted him. He saw a quick flash of something that looked suspiciously like dismay.
Was she thinking about the night before, about those heated few moments?
You’re so nice. That’s why all the girls like you so much.
He had been thinking about her all day. He had done his best to push those thoughts
