“What happened in the kitchen earlier was nothing more than a terrible mistake,”

Catherine began, sitting on another bale directly in front of them. “Nora, if anything ever scares you, then you are right to come tell me immediately. Gunter is the one who jumped to conclusions without checking the facts first.” She leaned forward and touched their knees. “And you saw how misunderstandings can lead to a terrible mess. People can get hurt when you react without finding out the truth first. I still want you both to tell me when something or someone scares you,” she said. “But you also have to begin trusting people,” she added, pointing to herself. “We all do, including me.”

“You told Gunter you trust Cody,” Nora whispered.

“I did tell him that,” Catherine agreed with a nod. “Because I do. All of the boys have been extra nice to you, haven’t they? Do you trust them to look out for you, Nora?”

The little girl nodded.

Catherine pulled her daughter into her arms. Nora was six years old. Not sixteen. Not twenty-six. She was just a little girl who had spent her entire life with a frightened and overly protective mother.

“We are all done running from your daddy,” Catherine whispered, leaning forward and putting her hand on Nathan’s shoulder, too, smiling at them both. “There’s nothing he can do to us, and that’s why we aren’t going to be afraid of him anymore.”

“He could hit you again,” Nathan whispered. “He could hurt you bad enough that you go to the hospital like before.”

Catherine shook her head. “No, Nathan, he can’t,” she assured him, relaxing back on her bale of hay. “Just like you guys, I’ve grown up these last three years, too. Your daddy can’t hurt me because I won’t let him. I just forgot that truth for a little while and ran away. But it stops here. This is our home now.”

She canted her head at them. “Do you know what they call people who live in Maine?

Maineiacs. And that’s what we are now. We’re Maineiacs.”

“But that means crazy people,” Nathan said.

Catherine nodded. “Then that’s what we are. We’re so crazy that we aren’t afraid of anything or anyone. You both like going to school here, don’t you?”

They both nodded.

“And you like the boys?”

“Gunter kind of scares me,” Nathan said.

“Gunter learned a very valuable lesson tonight,” Catherine assured him. “Remember how I told you to consider all of them guardian angels? Well, wasn’t Gunter trying to be a guardian angel to Nora?”

“I guess so,” Nathan agreed. “But Mom, you shouldn’t have stood in the middle. You could have got hurt by accident.”

“Oh, but I have a guardian angel, too, and he wouldn’t have let me get clobbered.”

“Who?”

“Mr. MacBain. He was standing right there. If he thought I was going to get hurt, he would have saved me.”

“How do you know that?” Nora asked.

“Because we have a deal,” Catherine told her children. “We watch each other’s back. I look out for Mr. MacBain, and he looks out for me.”

“Because you work for him?” Nathan asked.

“No. Because of that trust I was telling you about. He trusts me, and I trust him.”

“I trust Mr. MacBain,” Nora whispered. “And Gunter doesn’t scare me at all, ’cause he’s my guardian angel,” she declared with six full years of authority. “And my bus driver said that the Tooth Fairy lives right here in Maine. Right up on that mountain,” she added, pointing at the side of the barn.

Catherine had no idea how their discussion had gone from guardian angels to tooth fairies, but she was grateful.

“How come the bus driver told you that?” Nathan asked, apparently also ready to change the subject.

“ ’Cause I showed her my tooth,” Nora said, pulling down her lip, then using her tongue to wiggle one of her bottom teeth. “And the Tooth Fairy will come down the mountain and give me a surprise,” she explained. “Just as soon as it falls out and I put it under my pillow.” She finally let go of her lip. “But what does she do with all the tooths, Mommy?”

Well, there was a good question if she ever heard one. Catherine mimicked Nora’s earlier action, shrugged her shoulders, and held her palms up. “I have no idea,” she admitted. She shot her a smile. “But I bet I know who would. Why don’t you go ask Cody and Gunter?”

Nathan quickly shook his head, and Nora dropped her eyes to her lap, also shaking her head.

Catherine lifted her daughter’s chin. “If you don’t make peace with everyone, Nora, the silence will be like a black cloud hanging over the house.” She looked at Nathan as well.

“I want you both to take a bowl of stew to Cody and ask Gunter to come with you. And take Rick and Peter, too. And then ask all of them what the Tooth Fairy does with all the teeth she collects.”

“What if they fight again?” Nora whispered.

“They won’t,” Catherine promised. “Gunter is very sorry he hit Cody. But now it’s up to you to show them that you’re all still friends. It’s your turn to be their guardian angel.”

“But I’m only a little girl. I can’t be an angel.”

“You certainly can. And so can Nathan. When a group of people live in a house together, they help each other. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are.”

Catherine pulled her children to their feet. “Remember how you helped me save Mr.

MacBain’s life up on the mountain? Well, this is your chance to be strong and brave again and chase the black cloud away from the house. Go,” she said, urging them toward the door. “And don’t forget to take Cody some stew. Have Gunter carry it,” she added, thinking of her clean floor.

They slowly headed toward the door at the other end of the barn but stopped when Robbie stepped out of the shadows halfway down the aisle.

“M-Mr. MacBain,” Nathan said.

“Nathan, Nora,” he returned with a nod.

Catherine watched, her breath suspended, as Nathan squared his little shoulders and looked up at the towering giant. “The hens need grain, sir,” he whispered. “And the water bucket leaks because it got all rusty.”

Robbie nodded and set his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll pick up some grain and a new bucket tomorrow. I’ve never much cared for tending the hens myself, and I appreciate your taking over the chore for me.”

Even under the weight of that large hand, Catherine could see Nathan’s shoulders straighten even more. “I don’t mind doing it,” her son said. “And the hens have got used to me.”

“I’m taking Cody some stew,” Nora piped up, not about to be left out. She scrunched up her face at Robbie. “Do you know what the Tooth Fairy does with all them teeth?”

Robbie looked at Nora, clearly nonplussed, and shook his head. “I think you should take your mother’s advice and ask the boys,” he suggested, releasing Nathan. “They’ll likely know.”

Nora grabbed Nathan’s hand and pulled him out of the barn behind her. Robbie watched them leave, then turned to Catherine.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked.

He didn’t answer but walked down the aisle toward her, and Catherine finally noticed the long, thick stick in his hand. He came within two paces and stopped, tucked his hands and the stick behind his back, and silently faced her.

Catherine took a step back. “You’ve been drinking,” she said, taking another step back.

“Aye, some. But not nearly enough to be drunk, Catherine, so ya needn’t look at me that way. I have never, nor will I ever, get drunk, as I don’t much care for the feeling of being out of control.” He matched her retreat with a step of his own. “And woman,” he whispered, “that is exactly how I felt this afternoon in the kitchen.”

She had backed all the way up against the end wall of the barn, and still he advanced, until he was so close she could feel the heat of his body. He leaned the stick against the wall beside her, placed his hands on either side of her head, and stared down at her so intensely that Catherine had to lock her knees to keep them from buckling.