Not for Marsha, though.
“I’m worried about the kids,” Pauline said on a long outbreath.
Maybe this was a mistake. She didn’t know if Lynn, in particular, was the type to simply insist that they call CPS. That could result in the kids getting taken away and split up, and then who knew where they’d end up, if they’d be okay?
But she was pretty sure Stella wasn’t going to do that. And something about the concerned look in Lynn’s clear topaz eyes, the way she leaned forward at Pauline’s words, made her confident that the three of them might be able to solve this together.
“I’m worried about Marsha, too, but I don’t know where she is or what she’s doing, and I do know that Drew’s been trying to take care of his siblings all by himself. He needs help. Either we have to find Marsha and get her to come back and take care of her kids, or...” Pauline trailed off.
Lynn raised her eyebrows. “Or? Or what?”
“Or someone else needs to step up,” Pauline said. Like me.
Before she could go on, though, the front door opened, and the unmistakable sounds of a teenager shedding her stuff all over the front hall echoed through the house.
“Eva!” Stella called. “Can you come here for a second, please?”
There was a pause, and then a blonde head poked through the door. Blonde with a streak of blue, Pauline noted. That was new since the last time Eva had come into Oliver’s.
Stella didn’t seem surprised, although she sure wasn’t the type of woman to get irritated over a little hair dye.
“What’s up?” Eva’s eyes caught on Pauline.
“I wanted to come by and ask about your friend Drew,” Pauline said cautiously. “I’m a bit worried about him.”
Eva immediately rolled her eyes to the ceiling and came in to drop down on the couch next to her mother. “Please be worried about him. He’s got this whole schtick where he insists that he’s totally fine and nothing is wrong and his mom is just out of town for a few days. I could practically recite it for you by now.”
She was trying to sound cavalier, but her shoulders were tense, and her hands twisted together. Stella tugged her in closer. “Do you know where his mom is? Has he mentioned it?”
Eva hesitated. “I—have a guess. But he wouldn’t want me to tell you. And if I’m right, you won’t be able to get her to come back, anyway.”
Pauline sat forward. “Eva, I really want to help Drew. Whether we can get his mom to come back or not, I just want to make sure that he and Troy and Valerie are all okay.”
Eva nodded vigorously. “Yeah. I want that, too. Whenever I talk about going to school in September, he gets all dumb and cagey, like he’s not going to be there. I asked him if I could help, and he said no. Someone needs to help.”
“I’m going to help,” Pauline said firmly.
“Well, don’t tell him beforehand, that’s my advice.” Eva sighed. “He’ll probably just run away or something.”
Pauline was struck by this sudden and unwelcome possibility—could Drew decide to take his siblings and go somewhere else? Surely not. Their house, as run-down as it was, was here in Montana. Did Marsha own it outright, or was there a mortgage to pay?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door again, and the sudden noise of several masculine voices, all heartily pleased with whatever they were doing. Lynn and Stella both looked toward the hall with almost-identical expressions of pleasure. Normally, it was hard to see the family resemblance between them, apart from their coloring, but at that moment, they couldn’t have looked more like sisters.
Before Pauline could make her excuses and leave to think about what to do next, the men were in the doorway. They piled into the room like big dogs, noisy and warm and seeming to overflow a space that had barely been taken up at all by three full-grown women and a teenager.
Nate and Ken were uncomplicatedly happy to see their mates. Carlos, though—he stopped short, looking at Pauline with a piercing, assessing gaze.
“Is everything okay?” he asked her quietly.
Pauline stood, smoothing her hands down her skirt, trying not to seem too off-balance or abrupt. “Everything’s fine.” She tried a friendly smile. “How are you?”
He looked at her for a second longer, a frown wrinkling between his eyebrows. But then he smiled back and said, “Doing great. We went for a—ah—a run. Very exhilarating.”
Pauline glanced around; none of the men were in running gear. In fact, they were all dressed the same as they’d been when they came into the diner—including Carlos’ expensive suit. Add that to the fact that none of them were sweaty or panting...they’d probably gone for a shifted run.
Pauline knew that Lynn’s mate was a lion shifter, and Stella’s mate was a panther. Small-town gossip had informed her that both men had served in the Marines with the head ranger at Glacier National Park, who was a snow leopard shifter.
Was Carlos a wild cat, too? Eyeing him, she wouldn’t have been surprised. He was big and graceful like one.