It said, Marsha. A thrill went through her. Was Marsha back?
But when she answered it, the voice was Drew’s. “Pauline?”
“Drew,” Pauline said. “Is your mother back?”
“No,” he said, and her
hopes fell. “She left her phone behind.”
That didn’t bode well at all.
“Were you serious?” Drew was saying. “That you’d do anything to help me?”
“Of course I was,” Pauline said. “Drew, what do you need?”
“I need you to take the kids for a little while.”
Pauline caught her breath. “Drew, what are you—”
“Just a little while,” he interrupted. “I promise. I just—I can’t leave them with the Bowmans for this, in case—I just can’t. Will you take them?”
“Of course I will, but Drew—”
“Thanks, I’ll be there soon.” He hung up.
Pauline stared down at her phone. “Well.”
“He’s meeting the wolf pack tonight, then,” Carlos said quietly next to her. “Or carrying out whatever it is they’ve gotten him to do.”
Pauline nodded miserably. “And I don’t know what to do! It’s not like I can kidnap him. And I won’t call the police on him—God knows what might happen.”
“If he went to them voluntarily, it might be fine,” Carlos said thoughtfully. “Unless he’s been labeled as a troublemaker somehow already.”
Pauline shook her head firmly. “No. He’s never been in trouble with the law, or even at school. Everyone understands that he’s been doing his best in the bad situation. I don’t think the sheriff would have any prejudice against him—I just don’t want her to come into a scene where he’s obviously doing something illegal, and have to take action.”
“If he goes in himself, then—especially now—then she’ll likely jump at the chance to get a line on these wolves. Unless there’s some kind of internal politics I don’t know about.”
“She doesn’t like that pack at all,” Pauline said positively. “She comes into the diner sometimes, and I heard her talking after Stella’s ex was arrested. They weren’t able to make anything really stick on the rest of his pack, and she was frustrated about it.”
Carlos nodded. “There you go. Now all we have to do is convince Drew of it.”
“It’s going to be difficult.”
“I think we’re halfway there.” Carlos took her hand. “He was wavering, and if he’s asking us to take the kids, he’s on his way to trusting us. Now all we need to do is get him to realize that he’s got better options.”
“Does he?” Pauline could hear the bitterness in her voice. “I’ve never been able to do anything real.”
“Because you didn’t have the resources,” Carlos said quietly. “There’s no shame in that. But one thing I have in spades is resources.”
Pauline blinked. She hadn’t thought about that.
“And now we’re mates,” Carlos continued. “So what’s mine is yours.”
Oh.
Pauline was left with the dizzying understanding that she was suddenly capable of much, much more than she’d ever dreamed of.
She fumbled with her phone and dialed Marsha’s number. It rang and rang, and eventually informed her that the voicemail box was full.