Tears glistened in her little eyes, and she nodded. “I miss you. We used to be together every day. Now it’s just me and Mom, and she doesn’t even play with me.”

I swallowed the lump that was in my throat. “I miss you too. How come Mom doesn’t play with you?”

She brought her shoulders up and dropped them. “She says she’s busy and can’t. And some days she isn’t even home, and I have to take care of myself. I get bored when no one is there.”

This little bit of information was complete news to me. “What do you mean she’s not home? How often does she leave you by yourself?”

“A couple times a week.”

“Why didn’t you say something to me?”

“Because every time we’re together you are too busy. You don’t play with me like you used to either.”

I shook my head. “Sarah, if Mom leaves you at home alone again, I want you to call me. You aren’t old enough to stay in the house without an adult with you. When she leaves, is she gone for a long time or just a few minutes?”

“Both. Yesterday she was gone until after dark. I had to make my own dinner.”

Oh my God. My mom was leaving my eight-year-old little sister at home to fend for herself? This was not acceptable! We didn’t live in the ghetto or anything, but it was not like we knew many of our neighbors either. Anything could happen to Sarah while she was gone. I flashed back to being her age and having to take care of myself. I liked to believe that I had a little bit more responsibility and knowledge than Sarah did by then because I’d been doing it for a while. I had no one else there to make my meals or take me to the park. She wasn’t as self-sufficient. I’ve tried to teach my baby sister what to do in case of an emergency, and to not talk to strangers, but I wasn’t sure that if something happened, she’d really know what to do. I was going to have a long talk with my mom about this. At what point did her social life become more important than her own flesh and blood? If she was incapable of taking care of her kids, maybe she shouldn’t have had any in the first place.

Meeting her eyes in the mirror I made sure Sarah was hearing what I was about to say. “I’m going to talk to Mom. I can’t have you staying alone by yourself. It’s just not right. I mean it when I say you will call me and let me know if she is gone so I can come pick you up. Okay? And I’ll be around more often. Nobody is more important to me than you. I love you, Sarah.”

Her lip quivered. “I love you too.”

We pulled up to the restaurant about five minutes later. My mind was muddled with thoughts of how I was going to approach this with my mom. I hated talking to her like I was the parent and she was the child. But Sarah needed someone in her corner. I’d take one for the team if it meant keeping my little sister safe and happy. Macie’s car was already here, so Sarah and I went inside and found her sitting in our usual booth toward the back. She smiled and waved at us when we walked in.

“Hey kid, how’s it going?” Macie asked Sarah.

“Good. Can I have dessert before dinner?”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you think the answer to that is going to be?”

“Aww, come on Mom,” Macie teased. “A little splurge never hurt anyone.”

“Seriously Mace? I’m trying to instill good behaviors here. You’re like the little devil sitting on her shoulder chanting, ‘walk on the wild side… eat cake.’”

She picked up her glass of water and sipped it. “Who doesn’t like cake for dinner?”

“Please, please, please…” Sarah begged.

I put my face on my palms. “Why do I bother?” I lifted my head in time to see Macie wink at Sarah, and Sarah grinning like an idiot. I totally lost this battle.

“Yesssss!” Sarah hissed.

“Hey.” Macie pointed her finger at her. “You’re giving me a bite of that cake, kid.”

Sarah laughed and agreed.

After we put in our orders, conversation was slow. I was waiting till my little sister was knee deep in a game on my phone so I could ask Macie what was going on between her and Dodger.

“Are we going to talk about it?” I asked casually.

One perfectly plucked brow lifted in question. “I don’t know, are we? If you’re wanting me to dish, you’re going to have to spill some secrets too. Like what in the hell happened last night? And hello… Camden? You ran into his arms Keegan. What haven’t you been telling me?”

“Huh uh, you first. You’re going to need a few drinks in you before I tell you everything.”

“That sounds promising,” she said sarcastically.

“Whatever, now go. Tell me what the blow up was about between you and Dodger. So he still hasn’t you know with you?” I glanced over at Sarah to indicate that we needed to keep this a PG chat. I so wasn’t ready to have the talk with her.

She let out a dramatic whimper. “No! He’s being stingy with the sausage.”

I grinned. “Do you think that maybe he’s just not ready for it yet? Not every guy out there likes to move fast.”

“Uh, I know all about Dodger’s history and just how fast he likes to move. My freaking Chemistry partner said her best friend hooked up with him at a party last year. Apparently it was mind blowing. Speaking of which, there’s not been any of that going on either!”

I couldn’t help the giggle that slipped out. “So there’s be no fooling around at all?”

“None. My poor love tunnel needs some TLC.”

“What’s a love tunnel?” Sarah asked, still looking at my phone.

My mouth dropped, but Macie answered without missing a beat. “It’s the river that runs through the Venetian hotel in Vegas. It’s pretty cool.”

“So why do they call it a love tunnel? And why does it need TLR?”

“It’s TLC, which stands for tender loving care. TLR is that stuff that cleans pipes? Wait…that could totally work too in my situation,” Mace said with a twinkle in her eye.

I kicked her under the table. “Focus!”

“Right, anyway it’s a love tunnel, because it’s supposed to be like a romantic gondola ride that they do in Italy.”

We paused, waiting for Sarah to response, but turns out she was into her game and didn’t hear a word. Thank God. I shook my head at Macie and mouthed ‘careful’ to her.

“So are you going to give him some time then, or are you going to move on?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I really like him Keegan. He’s not like the other guys I’ve been with. It’s like he really wants to know me, the real me.”

I reached across the table and took her hand. “It scares you doesn’t it?” Macie nodded. “Thought so. Maybe it’s time for you to allow someone in. Dodger’s not going to hurt you. At least not intentionally. Give him a chance.”

She bit her lip and gave my hand a squeeze. “K.” There was a moment of silence before she said, “Okay, enough about me. I want to know everything.”

Our waitress was just passing by so I got her attention and said, “We’re going to need a few drinks.” She took the order, and I started talking.

Two drinks, dinner, and forty minutes later, I finally finished telling her every last little detail about the party, and what happened between Camden and me. She sat back in her seat with a dumbfounded look on her face. “Holy shit. You did it before I did.”

I blinked at her. “That’s what you took away from all of that?”

“No not entirely, but I totally feel like I should give you a congratulatory hug or something.”

“Macie… it’s not a big deal.”

“The hell it’s not. We’re talking about Camden Brooks here. Have you seen what he looks like?” her voice squeaked.

I laughed. “Oh yeah, I saw plenty of him.” We both giggled. “That’s not what I meant though. Camden and I aren’t going to give what we are a name, but we are definitely exclusive. I want to know about the Luke situation.”

She narrowed her eyes. “He’d truly be better off if Camden or Dodger got a hold of him. If I see him, there will be no mercy. Nobody does that to somebody I love and walks away with all their body parts intact.”