"Sure. I can use the money."
"you know," cam said as he dug out his wallet, "before you came along to
ruin my life, I'd just won a bundle in Monte Carlo." Seth sneered
cheerfully. "This ain't Monte Carlo."
"You're telling me." He passed the bills over, then winced when he saw
his wife come into the building. "Cool it. Social worker heading in.
She's not going to approve of minors gambling."
"Hey, I won," Seth pointed out, but he stuffed the bills in his pocket.
"You bring any food?" he asked Anna.
"Oh, no, I didn't. Sorry." Distracted, she dragged a hand through her
hair. There was a sick ball in the pit of her stomach that she did her
best to ignore. She smiled, a curve of lips that didn't quite manage to
reach her eyes. "Didn't you all pack lunch?"
"Yeah, but you usually bring something better."
"This time I've been pretty tied up putting food together for the picnic
tomorrow." She ran a hand over his head, then left it lying on his
shoulder. She needed the contact. "I justa thought I'd take a break
and see how things were going around here."
"Phil just nailed this rich guy for a ton of money."
"Good, that's good," she said absently. "Then we should celebrate. Why
don't I spring for ice cream? You think you can handle picking up some
hot fudge sundaes at Crawford's?"
"Yeah." His face split into a grin. "I can handle it."
She dragged money out of her purse, hoping he didn't notice that her
hands weren't quite steady. "No nuts on mine, remember?"
"Sure. I got it. I'm gone." He raced out, and she watched him,
heartsick.
"What is it, Anna?" Cam put his hands on her shoulders, turned her to
face him. "What happened?"
"Give me a minute. I broke records getting here, and I need some time to
settle." She blew out a breath, drew one in, and felt marginally
steadier. "Go get your brothers, Cam."
"Okay." But he lingered, rubbing his hands over her shoulders. It was
rare for her to look so shaken. "Whatever it is, we'll fix it."
He walked to the cargo doors, where Ethan and Phil stood outside arguing
over baseball. "Something's up." he said briefly. "Anna's here. She sent
Seth off. She's upset."
She was standing by a workbench, with one of Seth's drawing books open,
when they came in. It made her eyes sting to see her own face,
carefully, skillfully sketched by the young boy's hand.
He'd been more than a case file, almost from the start. And now he was
hers, as much as Ethan and Phillip were hers. Family. She couldn't stand
to think that anything or anyone would hurt her family.
But she was steadier when she turned, scanned the quiet and concerned
faces of the men who'd become essential to her life. "This came in
today's mail." Her hand no longer trembled as she reached into her purse
and pulled out the letter.
"It's addressed to 'The Quinns.' Just 'The Quinns,' " she repeated.
"From Gloria DeLauter. I opened it. I thought it best, and well, my
name's Quinn now, too."