Chapter 2

"I'm sorry, give me a minute." The woman on the phone sighed into my ear, already done with our conversation. But what was I supposed to do? All the words had worn off the keypad on the alarm system, and I couldn't tell which button was disarm. I tried a few buttons, so had Shane, but the thing wouldn't shut off. Now the woman needed me to say the magic words, so the police didn't have to show up. "Anyone remember the secret phrase?" I hollered at my kids, who were surprisingly quiet for a change.

"Isn't it Mimi's favorite flower?" Blair looked up at me. Her puffy pigtails wobbled a bit as she tilted her head to one side.

"Unicorn!" Kai yelled, just to be part of the conversation. He'd never been to the cabin before and did not know what phrase we were talking about.

"That's not a flower." Maia, the newest addition to the family, rolled her eyes.

Her, ‘I hate the world attitude' was something we were working on. The lack of name calling was progress, so I'd put the snide comment in the win column and move on.

"A unicorn is a flower if I want it to be," Kai threw back at her. His five-year-old imagination knew no bounds.

"That's not how words work," Shane interjected as he pried Kai off the porch railing and placed him back on his feet. The look on Shane's face said this wasn't the first time Kai had been trying to go up the seven stairs on the wrong side of the railing.

Kai reached for the railing again. "You're not the boss of me."

"I am the boss of you, and I say no climbing until we figure out the secret phrase." I cocked a brow, and Kai's shoulders slumped. He was spirited, but he always listened.

Shane heaved a sigh. "Is it petunia?"

"No. It's not that or peonies. But I think it starts with a P." It was the weirdest name, and I did not know why my mom loved that peculiar flower. They were kind of weird looking, almost fake.

"Ma'am, I need the password." The lady on the other end of the phone sounded exasperated.

"Hold on, we're trying to remember. It's not petunia or peonies, but we know it starts with a P."

The strange man that I didn't recognize huffed. "It's plumeria."

"That's it! Plumeria!" I knew it started with a P.

"Ok. Thank you. I've disarmed the system." The lady let out a relieved sigh. "Anything else I can do for you?"

There was so much trepidation in this poor woman's voice. She clearly wanted to be done with me.

"No. That's all. Thanks for being amazing." I disconnected the call and directed my attention to the man standing in my front yard. "Thank God you were here. That was a huge help." There was just one small thing. "But who are you?"

"I asked you first." His muddy brown eyes narrowed.

"You did?" That was odd. I hadn't thought he said anything but plumeria, but I still stepped forward and held out my hand. "I'm Ivy Henderson. Do you know my parents?"

"You're Earl and Daisy's daughter?" His jaw locked. He seemed put off by that idea.

I cocked my head. "And you are?"

"I'm Finn Lowery. I've worked with your parents for a few years."

"Oh." This was the guy from Tumbleweed Rentals. No wonder he knew the passcode. "You helped run Rose Garden when it was an Airbnb."

He frowned, like he thought the name was as dumb as I did. But my mom was all about the flora.

"Yeah," he grunted.

"Well, I'm buying it from them now, so you won't need to worry about this place anymore." I shrugged and turned toward my kids spread out in the front yard. "Okay guys, time to get going."

"Wait, what do you mean buying?—?"

"Everyone remember their job?" Shane's gaze bounced around from one kid to another. He'd come a long way from the quiet, wide-eyed, ten-year-old I brought home as my first foster child. Instead of being the small boy trying to disappear into the floor, so no one noticed him, he was the general of our little family.

"Yes." The response came from two of the four kids. Kai was too focused on sneaking up the railing again to answer, and Maia rarely responded with anything but annoyance.

"Good, let's go." I clapped and moved toward my silver Nissan. "Maia, why don't you help Shane get your boxes out of the truck and up to your room while I help the rest of them grab their stuff from the SUV."

She frowned, but stomped toward the U-Haul. She would come around. The thing I'd learned over the years, as the five kids joined my family one by one, was that it took each of them their own amount of time to feel part of the group. And Maia had only joined us a month ago.

"Wait are you mov?—"

I turned back to the man, but I got whacked in the side by something soft.

"That one's mine." Jayden, my seven-year-old, swiped the pillow Kai had just whacked into me. "Yours is green."

Kai stomped his foot into the gravel. "But I like sleeping on white puffy clouds."

"It's mine. I don't want your drool on it." Jayden clutched the pillow to his chest. "Take your stuff. That's your suitcase." He pointed to a bright blue one.

"That's not mine. Mine has dinosaurs on it."

Blair peeked out from the back of the car. "I don't see the dinosaur one."

"Where is it? Did we lose it?" Kai whined and sniffed, a clear warning water works were imminent.

"No, we definitely did not lose it." I poked my head into the overfull trunk. Since he'd lost so many things over his time, moving from place to place before he came into our family, losing stuff was a trigger for him. "Let me look. It's here. We just have to find it."

I did not want tears. Because once Kai got going, it took forever to calm him down.

"Are you moving in perm?—"

"Here it is." I yanked on the handle, trying to get it out of the small space between the other suitcases. It seemed stuck. I pulled again, finally dislodging it, and tripped backward into someone, knocking us both back. With an oof, I landed onto a very hard body.

He grunted. And I wasn't sure if it was the rock-hard chest or the smell of woodsy cologne that made my stomach flip, but I hardly had a second to consider it before two other suitcases and a box of books tumbled out onto the ground. The kids jumped back, yelling as they scrambled away, and I rushed to roll off the guy below me.

"Sorr—"

The sharp crack of a whistle had everyone freezing. I spun to the sound, only to find Finn on his knees, fingers still between his lips, glaring at me.

Damn, he had pretty eyes. And long lashes. And he smelled great. I shook my head. Focus, Ivy.

Maybe figure out why he was hanging around.

"I'm sorry. Did you need something?" I squatted and started dropping the books back into the box.

"I'm trying to have a conversation," he huffed, settling down beside me and reaching for a book.

"With who?" This didn't seem like the ideal time to chat with any of us.

"You." He shook his head. "But I can't get a full sentence out with this chaos."

"Ivy, where do you want the lamp?" Shane swiped his suitcase off the gravel with the hand not holding my favorite floor lamp.

"Living room by the big brown chair." I turned back to Finn. "Now's not a good time to chat." I scooped up the box as he dropped the last book back in. "Why don't you come back over later, and we'll have a drink?" Well, I probably needed to go to the store for that. "Actually, I don't have any drinks in the house, so we'll have some water. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll get coffee."

His brows pulled together, and I shrugged before heading toward the front door. I turned, realizing he had stopped and continued to stare at me.

"Sound like a great plan?" I tried my pretty smile.

He blinked but didn't answer, so I took that as a yes.

"All right, then. Well, see you later." I spun away and carried the box I was holding into the living room.

When I came back out, he was gone. There was a chance he'd come back later, but probably not. I just hoped he didn't call my parents. They thought this move was half-cocked enough. I didn't need anyone adding to the idea I couldn't do this. I had a plan.

Thankfully, the house was already furnished, so we weren't moving anything too big. It was just our stuff. And I was on trip number two when I heard a car rumbling down the gravel driveway. I looked up to see a very familiar champagne-colored sedan heading my way.

I crossed my arms over my chest. I loved them, but seriously?

"Hi honey!" my mom chirped, hopping out of the car.

"What are you doing here?" I gave her a token hug.

"A move is a thing, and you'll need extra hands, so we're here to help." She smiled.

The car door slammed shut behind my dad before he added, "And since this move was supposed to be yesterday but didn't happen, and then the alarm company called on our drive over, it seems like you need help."

The alarm—not my best moment. But the change of plans was about the kids. Maia had a friend's birthday party she didn't want to miss, and as unreasonable as she was about so many things, that just didn't seem like one of them. Of course, telling me sooner about why she wanted to wait one more day to leave would have been helpful. But kids communicated in their own time, sometimes in their own unique way.

"Fine. Extra hands is great." I forced a smile. In their mind, no matter how old I was and how well I handled life, I was always going to be the impulsive, crazy kid they raised. "Dad, you help the girls get settled." My grumpy father was the only one Maia seemed to like, so that was the best combo. "And mom, you take Kai and Jayden."

"I can't wait to give them all such a big squeeze," she said with her arms outstretched toward the kids.

As much crap as my parents had given me when I started fostering seven years ago, they adored my kids. Plus, my mother had a much easier time convincing Kai we did not leave anything behind. And my dad mediated the fight about which room was going to be who's better than I could have. I didn't know getting the view of the spooky woods would be a selling point.

While everyone else was unpacking, Kai and I were even able to sneak out to the grocery store. Once I finished bringing in the last set of bags, we would have actual food in the house.

I swung the screen door open and froze mid step at the sight of a big yellow lab in front of the door. "Hey, buddy. What's your name?" Bending down to give him a quick scratch behind the ear, I took a quick peek at his collar. "You are too cute, Diesel." This must have been the dog Kai made me buy dog food for.

Half of me was just relieved he existed, because with Kai's imagination there was only a fifty-fifty chance there was a dog wandering around.

His tongue wagged as he panted. Probably hot in his shaggy coat in the beating sun. "Do you want to come inside, and I'll get you some water?"

Kai and the dog followed me into the kitchen, and I got a small bowl out.

"I want some water too," Kai said.

I handed him a cup of water, but instead of taking a drink, he grabbed a bowl and set it on the ground next to the dog's before pouring the water in.

"What are you doing?"

He started licking the water from the bowl, imitating the dog. "I want to be like my new dog."

"Oh, that's not our dog." I shook my head. Five kids and a new house were enough. I did not have time for a dog.

"But I love him and I'm going to keep him forever."

I sighed. A dog wouldn't have been possible in our small apartment. But here, in the future, we could put a dog in the maybe column. "We'll see. Maybe after winter we can find you a dog. But for now, I'm going to grab the last of the stuff out of the car. Want to help me?"

"Can the dog come too?"

"Diesel can come, but we have to send him back to his family. I'm sure they miss him. And don't tell Mimi you want a dog, because we'll end up with six."

My mother loved to spoil her grandchildren. She'd taken to the Mimi roll so well, it almost seemed crazy that I worried my parents wouldn't accept my kids. Because they loved my kids with no hesitation.

I grabbed the last two bags, while Kai got one jug of apple cider and took off inside with the dog.

"Diesel," a voice called out from behind me.

I turned to see Finn stomping down the hill. "You're in luck," I called out. "We went to the store, so we have drinks to offer."

He stared at me then shook his head. "I'm looking for my dog. He kept whining to come down here and then wandered off when I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh. He's inside." I opened the screen door, holding it for him.

"What are they doing?" Finn stared wide-eyed at Kai and the dog, both with their noses in their bowls.

"Having some water." I shrugged. "It's pretty hot today."

"You can't let your kid drink off the floor."

"He's using a bowl. And those are clean, right?" I tilted my head. "Aren't you the guy who scheduled the cleaning service to come after the last people left?"

There was that look again. It was like he was convinced I had three heads.

I glanced over at where Kai sat with the dog. "Kai, Mr…"

Crap. What did he say his last name was again?

"Lowery," he growled.

"Right, Mr. Lowery needs his dog back."

"But it's my dog." Kai wrapped his arm around Diesel's neck. "I want him to live here with me."

Finn's brows pulled together as he turned toward my son. "You can't just have my dog."

"He likes me better, see?" Kai giggled as the dog licked his cheek.

"He'll bring him back when he comes over later." I softened the blow hoping Kai wouldn't start with the tears.

"I didn't say I was coming back," Finn said very matter-of-factly.

I shot him my I'm so cute smile. "We totally made plans earlier." Now I even had beer to offer. "We're having drinks, and you definitely want to get to know the new neighbors, right?"

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.

"So… I'll see you in a few hours?" I batted my eyes. Damn this guy was hard to charm.

He let out a long sigh. "Okay fine. Come, Diesel." He grabbed the dog's collar and started dragging him toward the door. Diesel pancaked on the floor, trying to stay put, and Finn had to stoop low to pull him along.

"Who took my shoes?" Shane yelled from upstairs.

Well, as Finn somewhat had the dog situation under control, I guessed I'd better go deal with the shoes. Those Nikes were Shane's newest obsession.