asked.
“It’s…it’s…there’s a rat in my roses,” she screamed loudly. “Call Hilton,” she said. Hilton, Zoe now knew, was the butler.
Nobody pointed out that, even in her panicked state, Grandma Edna directed that the butler be called to help when there were perfectly capable family members standing around uselessly. Meanwhile, Grandma Edna still gesticulated wildly with her hands.
“Have him call a terminator,” the older woman shouted.
“I think you mean an exterminator.”
Zoe turned to see Uncle Russ had joined the fray.
“I’m sure it’s not a rat,” Vivian said, calming her mother and helping her down from the bench.
Zoe met Ryan’s gaze.
“I’m quite sure it isn’t,” he said, somehow keeping a straight face.
Despite the insanity around them, they shared intimate eye contact, causing her insides to curl with warmth.
“I thought we told you to keep the pig caged in the shade on the other side of the house,” Zoe whispered to Sam who stood wrapped in a towel behind her.
“I dunno what happened. Maybe I didn’t lock the cage good enough,” she said, too innocently.
Zoe cringed and waited for the fallout while Ryan dug around the garden for the pig. Zoe vividly recalled the moment in her own mother’s garden when he’d described the prized roses, and decided all hope of keeping the peace—and Ryan on their side—was lost.
He might have found the situation amusing at first, but he couldn’t possibly find humor in the repercussions. So much for attempting a pleasant afternoon that would please Sam, Zoe thought.
“There it is!” Grandma Edna yelled and pointed to the ground just as Ima made her escape from the roses and ran across the lawn, Sam in hot pursuit.
Vivian reached into her pocket for a vial that Grandma Edna referred to as her smelling salts, though Zoe didn’t see why she needed them when she hadn’t passed out.
Ryan rose and brushed off his hands, then bent to check on his grandmother.
“Care to explain that, that thing?” Vivian asked through tightly clenched teeth.
“That’s Sam’s pet,” Ryan explained.
“If it wasn’t a rat, then what was it?” Grandma Edna asked as she fanned herself with a magazine Uncle Russ had held in his hand.
“Could I convince you it was a dog, ma’am?” Zoe pasted on her broadest smile.
Nobody laughed, especially after Zoe launched into an explanation of the Vietnamese potbellied pig.
As a group, they trudged back to the pool area. Although Ryan wanted to pack up and leave and Zoe was all too happy to agree, Uncle Russ insisted they stay. He’d just returned from the Boston store. An emergency, he’d said, and he wanted his share of time with both Ryan and Sam.
Zoe couldn’t help but feel excluded, but she reminded herself it was an omen of things to come. She’d better get used to it now. She wasn’t a member of this family, didn’t want to be, and would never fit in, anyway. She was here for Sam and when Sam no longer needed her for the transition, and it was safe back home, they’d have to talk to Social Services, say their goodbyes and…
And would Sam return here? Zoe’s insides roiled.
“So I thought that since you’re a member of this family, you would want the same piece of jewelry both Vivian and Grandmother Edna have,” Uncle Russ was saying to Sam.
Zoe hadn’t realized the teen had returned from rescuing Ima, but she had the pig packed safely in her carrier.
Russ held out a small jewelry box with the word Baldwin’s inscribed on top and Sam accepted the gift.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Take a look.”
“I can’t believe he bought Sam a gift,” Ryan said under his breath in awe. For all Uncle Russ’s support, even he hadn’t yet shown this kind of compassion for Faith’s child.
With cautious excitement and shaking hands, Sam opened the gray box. “It’s a B,” she said slowly. “A necklace.” Her voice dropped, the enthusiasm gone.
“I thought having it would make you feel more a part of us,” Uncle Russ said.
“I already have a necklace,” Sam said dully.
Ryan’s mouth grew dry.
“‘Thank you’ would be more appropriate,” Zoe coached her and Ryan nodded in appreciation.
“I already have a necklace.” Sam’s fists gripped the oxidized keys that had once belonged to her mother.
Uncle Russ nodded. “I realize that, but this one’s brand-new. You could put the old one in the box for safekeeping,” he suggested.
Ryan could see Sam’s struggle and the fast way she blinked to try to prevent tears from falling down her cheeks. He felt torn inside between his uncle with his