Page 37 of Unseen Danger

“I wanted to ride shotgun.” Six-year-old Carrie stuck out her lower lip in a dramatic pout that only made her look cuter than usual.

Nevaeh hid a smile as her niece climbed into the back seat in the extended cab of her pickup, piling in beside two older siblings and Alvarez, who soaked up the attention from the narrow floor. “As soon as you’re big enough, you can get a turn.”

“Yeah, you’re just a baby.” Dawton leaned past his sister Lillibet to tease his youngest school-aged sibling.

“You know what you are compared to me, Dawton?” Nevaeh twisted her head to see in the back seat and cut him a look.

The nine-year-old’s smirk faded into a charming smile as he met her gaze, then stared down at the smartphone she wished her sister hadn’t bought him. The kid needed another vice about as badly as her sister needed another expense.

“All ready, Pops?”

Her grandpa took the concrete walk from the old house to her pickup parked at the curb, gripping Felice’s hand in his. “Spit shined and ready for the world.”

He released the eight-year-old so she could dash ahead of him to the passenger door.

Nevaeh’s gaze lingered on her grandpa’s movement. His walk was getting slower these days, the limp he’d had her whole life more noticeable lately.

Her heart squeezed. What would she do without him if something happened? What would her sister do? Losing Grams had been nearly unbearable. Like having the foundation of their world, of their lives, ripped out from under them.

“Don’t get lost again.”

She blinked. Pops had apparently made it to the truck while she was thinking, and he swung the door shut behind Felice. The girl slid onto the passenger seat looking no happier than earlier when she’d misplaced her homework.

Pops braced his hands on the windowsill, the window all the way down. His hands were marked with age spots and wrinkles now but were still strong and lean like she remembered. His dark brown eyes captured her in that all-seeing stare that had been her comfort and her nemesis throughout childhood. “You gettin’ lost in that darkness, child. Focus on the blessings.”

The words and the love in the voice that said them wrapped around her like a warm blanket that chased away the chill from the crisp morning air. “Thanks, Pops. I’ll try.”

He peered at her a little longer, both of them ignoring the kids’ squabbling in the back seat.

“I’m okay.” She gave him a small smile.

“That ain’t my girl’s okay smile. I know you been worse lately.” His fingers flexed on the windowsill. “Know why, too.”

Of course he did. He’d always had a mind like a steel trap. He’d have remembered when Walter had gone to prison and the length of the sentence. Knew when he’d get out. And knew how it would affect her. Though if she were more like Pops, it wouldn’t affect her this way at all. The man was a tower of strength.

“That fear gonna own you if you let it.” His words to her six years ago sounded in her memory.

He’d been right, of course. He was always right. But that hadn’t stopped the fear from taking over her life for nearly two years. Until Phoenix.

“Keep fighting, honey. God will help you. You just got to ask.”

“Sure, Pops.”

“Don’t ‘sure’ me, child.” His thin lips shifted into a line halfway between stern and smiling. “What I say is true. God’s bigger than this.”

Nevaeh squashed the urge to roll her eyes and checked the clock on the dash instead. “Gotta roll.”

His warm smile appeared, filled with knowing and gentleness. “We gonna talk about this later.”

“Uh-huh.” She flashed him a grin. “You sure you're okay with Handon and Crieg until Sher gets off?”

“Don’t let this bum leg fool you, honey. I can keep up with all six of these rascals.” He cast his gaze over the fidgeting, arguing kids, starting with Felice and ending with the three in the back seat. “You the one I worry about.”

Nevaeh laughed. “Me, too, Pops.”

“That’s better.” He pointed at her smile as he gave her one of his own. He pushed off the truck and backed up a few steps.

“Say goodbye to your grandpoppy, gang.” Nevaeh’s direction was followed with enough enthusiasm to damage her ear drums as she pulled onto the street.