and so are you. Thatâs all that matters. Godâs watching out for you.â
It was a sentiment she wanted desperately to believe, but the knowledge of what happened to LeeAnn kindled new fear inside her. No one was completely safe. Ever. She could accept that for her own life, but not for June, and she would do anything in her power to protect her daughter. âIâll come when Iâm done with the police.â
âUmm, now donât get upset, but they told me you shouldnât visit for a few days, just until they make sure about things, in case Tuckerâs following you.â
Keeleyâs eyes filled. Sheâd had a feeling it was coming but the words cut like glass. âI canât... Iâm not allowed to see her?â
âJust for a few days,â Viv crooned. âDerek knows what heâs doing.â
Derek Uttley? âI didnât know you were on a first name basis.â
Viv sighed. âHoney, Iâm retired. That doesnât mean I donât have a social life.â
Keeley knew her aunt had met Uttley when her car was stolen a few short weeks after she moved to Silver Creek following LeeAnnâs murder. She wanted to ask some questions, but despair clogged up her mind.
âWe can Skype as many times as you want. Iâve told my other clients that I have to take some time off for the next week, and I arranged for the kids to go to another day care, just to be on the safe side.â
So Aunt Vivâs business was now affected, too. Tucker had the power to hurt everyone she loved. Keeley swallowed the burn that crept from her stomach into her throat. âOkay,â she whispered. âJust until we solve the problem.â
Viv talked on for a while longer, but Keeley could not hear over the rushing in her own ears. She felt the same sick desire take hold again as it had the moment sheâd heard about LeeAnn, the need to clutch the steering wheel, stomp the gas and drive as far and fast as she could.
Youâre not a mother, Keeley.
You donât know what to do.
Panic, hot and acidic, bubbled inside as she fought the urge to run away.
God will not call you to do something He hasnât equipped you for
. Her sister had scrawled it on the bathroom mirror with lipstick after June was born, and they had both read it over and over. But Heâd done just that, hadnât He? Keeley was not ever planning to have kids of her own, and now here she was, mother to her sisterâs baby, and a child with special needs at that.
Her fingers grew slick with cold sweat as she gripped the wheel, struggling with her own internal darkness.
âKeeley? Are you still there?â
She forced in a breath and shoved away the panic. âYes, Iâm here.â
âOkay. You sort of faded away for a moment.â
Faded away into a place she must not allow herself to go. June needed her. God would give her the strength. She might not be the best stand-in for a mother, but she was only one June had. She wiped a shaking hand across her forehead. âCan I say good night to her?â
âSure. Sheâs pretty tired, though. All ready for bed.â
âWearing her pink jammies?â Keeley said through tears.
âPink with the kitty on the front, her favorite. I have to quickly launder them during the day or she pitches a fit at bedtime.â Aunt Viv put June on the line.
âHey, Junie Jo,â Keeley said, fighting for a serene tone.
June breathed noisily into the phone. âHi, Mama.â
âIâI canât come get you tonight. Iâm sorry. But Iâll see you real soon.â
There was a soft sucking sound, and she imagined June slurping on her two fingers, as sheâd done since shortly after her birth.
âDid you brush your teeth?â
âUh-huh.â
âGood girl. Say your prayers with Aunt Viv, okay?â
âOkay.â
âGood night, Junie.â She swallowed hard. âI love
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