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“NOOOO,” Madeleine shrieked. Her face was white and her eyes flitted around wildly. She broke away from Allie and ran, with Luke close behind, through the kitchen and right out the back door.

Allie raced through the kitchen, trying to catch up. Cripes, those two could really run when they were scared.

“Come back! You’re not in trouble,” she yelled, as the twins shot out the back door and down into the valley. It was like some weird video game—no matter how fast Allie ran, the twins ran faster, getting smaller and smaller as they disappeared into the fields.

Allie stopped to catch her breath, panic welling up inside her as she frantically scanned the horizon. They were gone.

“It’s okay, we’ll find them,” the tall guy said, as he trotted up beside her. “I’m Arthur, by the way. Did you hear that Jonathan and I are 14, too? JoJo’s joking she’s got triplets and twins, now.”

Allie ignored him and started walking. She hated small talk. She didn’t care who he was and she didn’t care that they were the same age. She needed the twins back.

“Why’d they flip out?” Jonathan wheezed, when he finally caught up. “It’s just a detonator—they’re blasting rock to build an irrigation pond down the road. It’s the cheapest way to water crops.”

“They think Mom will blame them. They think...” Allie clamped her mouth shut.

“Come on,” Arthur said. “Their legs are short. They’ll run out of steam soon enough.”

They searched for hours. Through the hay fields, the corn fields, the pear orchard. They searched and called and searched and called. No twins.

When they’d circled back through the valley, Allie glanced up at the sky. Tears spilled down her cheeks as the whole long, stressful day caught up with her, crushing her insides into knots. “Oh, please, we have to find them,” she said. “They’re all I’ve got.”

“I...don’t think you need to worry,” Jonathan said, pointing up at the barn.

Arthur glanced up, then burst out laughing.

“What?
What?
” Allie asked.

“Look. A rainbow,” Arthur said.

Sure enough, there was a tiny, pretty rainbow coming out of a haymow window.

“I don’t understand...”

Arthur was laughing so hard he could barely talk. “It’s Luke. He’s peeing out the window!”

“Oh, for...” Allie stomped up the steep hill to the barn, the boys close behind. It was an awful hill—covered with fallen trees and spiky bushes and holes where you really weren’t expecting them. But at least now she could breathe. Now she knew the twins were safe. She raced past Blackie and straight up the ladder without stopping.

Luke and Madeleine were cuddled up on a hay bale, ready to fall asleep. They smiled sadly at Allie when she came up the ladder.

“Look what that JoJo lady left for us,” Luke whispered, pointing. In the middle of the haymow was a big picnic basket. The lid was open, and the last bits of their feast—sandwich wrappers, orange peels and empty juice boxes—were scattered nearby.

“She’s nice,” Madeleine said, brushing cookie crumbs off her new shirt. “If she sends us somewhere else, do we have to give back these clothes?”

“No, silly,” Allie said, as she sat down beside the twins. “And you didn’t do anything wrong. Please don’t leave me, again.”

Allie glanced up just as Jonathan climbed through the hole in the floor. “You guys okay?” he asked.

Madeleine and Luke snuggled close to Allie, not saying a word. More regression for the social workers to blather on about.

“We brought you something,” Jonathan said, smiling. Two baby piglets—no bigger than hot dog buns—shot up through the hole, held in the air by two big hands (Arthur’s hands, Allie guessed).

Madeleine slowly slid off the hay bale, with Luke close behind. They each took a piglet, then giggled as the squirmy little things snuffled and wiggled in their arms.

“Oh, they’re cute!” Madeleine said. “And look…they’re the same color as Jonathan’s freckles!”

It was true. Allie had always thought pigs were pink. But these ones were kind of a light brown color. Freckle color.

“What should we call them?” Luke asked.

Madeleine frowned. “Your dog names were silly.”

“I make good dog names,” Luke said, as they scuttled over to the hay bale, carrying their new treasures. “
Your
names were boring.”

“Were not!”

“Were too!”

So much for regression.

Allie looked at Jonathan and Arthur. “Thank you for, uh...thank you.”

“No probs,” Jonathan said. “Say, it’s getting kinda boring around here. Wanna fall through the hole and land on Blackie, again?” Allie glared. Why couldn’t he shut up? He wasn’t funny at all.

“I’ll tell JoJo everything’s good,” Arthur said. It
wasn’t
good, of course. She was in a stupid foster home in the middle of stupid nowhere.

“Everyone okay? Hellooo?”

Allie peeked out an open window. It was that social worker—Stone. She was heading across the manure-covered yard to her car, and she was wearing a fancy dress and high heels. Allie stifled a smile.

“Mrs. Stone, I think my...I think the twins are kind of shook up,” Allie called out, putting on her best
We’d love your help
voice. “Can you come talk to them? We’re in the haymow.”

Stone hesitated. “I need to get back to the office soon, but, well, sure.” She tossed a pile of papers into her car, then looked up at Allie. “What can I do to help, sweetie?” she asked, putting on her fake smile.

Allie dug her nails into her palms. She hated fake smiles. And she
really
hated being called sweetie.

“Maybe you could climb up here? They’re really unhappy,” Allie said, as Madeleine and Luke snuggled piglets in the hay behind her.

“I’m, uh, I’m on my way.” Stone moved slowly, walking on her tiptoes so she could keep her pointy heels out of the soggy, wet manure. She’d just reached the second rung of the ladder when JoJo stomped in. JoJo, who was wearing big rubber boots and plowing through the manure like it wasn’t even there.

“What are you doing?” JoJo frowned at Stone.

“Allie says the twins need me,” Stone said, trying to look important. JoJo’s eyes narrowed as she looked up at Allie through the hole. “Really?”

Stone slowly climbed up to the next rung, her dress straining and bunching.

“For heaven’s sake, come down here,” JoJo said, shaking her head. “You’re being conned by a 14-year-old. What are you, a newbie?”

Suddenly, Madeleine and Luke exploded with laughter. One of the piglets had rolled over onto its back and was wiggling its fat little legs like an upside-down turtle.

Stone glared up at Allie, then backed down the ladder and stomped out of the barn, slipping and sliding in the wet manure. She looked like she would have pitched a major hissy fit if there hadn’t been so many witnesses.

Was that a twinkle in JoJo’s eye? Allie wasn’t sure.

“Come on, time for bed,” Allie said to the twins. She handed the squirming piglets down to Arthur and then climbed down the ladder, with Luke and Madeleine close behind.

“Allie, we’re not tired!”

“Please let us stay up!”

Kids. What a pain. Allie and the twins followed Arthur down the alleyway toward the sound of the snuffling pigs.

The pigpen smelled as disgusting as, well, as a pigpen. And the Mamma pig was huge—the size of a motorcycle. Allie watched the little piglets snuggle up against her warm body, the way Luke and Madeleine used to snuggle up against their mom when they were sleepy. The pigpen was a mess—food and poop everywhere. And Mamma pig had clearly never given any of her piglets a bath. Yet
she
was allowed to keep her babies, while Allie’s mom kept having hers taken away. It wasn’t fair.

“What’s up?” It was JoJo.

“Nothing,” Allie muttered. “Come on, guys. Bedtime.” Allie shooed Madeleine and Luke back to the house.

JoJo and Arthur followed, checking pens and shutting off barn lights as they left.

“Allie,” JoJo said, gently, “it’s not your job to put six-year-olds to bed. You’re a kid yourself.”

“Go ahead. Say I’m parentified. You’re just like the rest of them,” Allie snapped.

“Yes, you’re parentified,” JoJo said. “You’re raising your brother and sister because no one else is, anymore. But you can stop, now. You can act like a kid.”

Act like a kid...how was she supposed to do that? Allie felt an ache in her chest, but she shoved it down deep inside and let the anger swell up and smother it.

“It’s none of your business” Allie sped up to get away from JoJo and Arthur, threw open the back door and stomped into the kitchen. Luke and Madeleine were already inside. They were staring, mesmerized, out the big kitchen window.

“Allie,” Luke whispered. “Look.”

Allie glanced out the window. Everything looked the same. Tripod, the three-legged dog, was asleep on his blanket. Chickens, ducks and cats were wandering all over the yard. The only difference was freckle boy—Jonathan. He was lying in the hammock with his eyes closed. Probably just pretending he was asleep. Cripes, he was lazy.

“Watch,” Luke whispered. Something moved. Something that looked like a huge chicken. It was creeping—slowly, silently—toward Jonathan.

“Well, here we go again,” JoJo said, smiling. She peered over the twins’ heads as she pulled off her rubber boots. “That’s Maximus. For some reason, he doesn’t like Jonathan. He thinks they have to fight for the girls, or something.”

Maximus moved slowly and silently toward his prey, his head bobbing with every step. When Maximus reached the side of the hammock, he puffed up his feathers to make himself look bigger and more impressive. It wasn’t working. Jonathan must have outweighed Maximus by 100 pounds. Plus he was asleep. And how much damage could a bird do, anyway?

BWWWAAAAAAAK!

Feathers flew in every direction as Maximus exploded into the air and landed on Jonathan’s chest. He flapped his wings hard and clawed with his nasty feet, sending clouds of dust and dander (and possibly skin) flying through the air.

Jonathan leapt out of the hammock with a shriek and fell flat on his face. Which, apparently, really ticked Maximus off, because the bird jumped on Jonathan’s back and clawed frantically, like a dog digging for a bone.

Jonathan screamed, jumped up and raced for the house, Maximus attacking his heels the whole way.

Luke giggled. “He screams like a girl.”

Bang!

Jonathan slammed the screen door shut behind him. He leaned against the wall, wheezing, while Maximus strutted back and forth across the porch, his chest puffed out like he’d won some sort of battle. Which, clearly, he had.

“You scream like a girl,” Luke announced, as he and Madeleine scuttled upstairs to their room.

“You do,” Allie added, in her snottiest voice. “What are you scared of a stupid chicken for?”

“It’s a rooster, you idiot,” Jonathan said. “And at least
I’m
not scared of a 16-year-old bull with arthritis. Would Ms. Witch like her broom?”

“Allie, I’ve put clean clothes by the tub for you,” JoJo said, as she scrubbed bits of pancake batter off the counter. “And guys,” she added, smiling. “If you don’t stop bickering, I’ll start thinking you were
meant
to be brother and sister.”

Allie spun around and stomped to the bathroom. Brother and sister? With him? Not a chance.

Allie quickly showered and changed, then tiptoed upstairs. The bedroom was dark except for a small lamp on the nightstand. Luke’s bed was empty. Madeleine’s bed was empty. Allie’s bed was already crowded—two little mounds hidden under the covers, waiting for her to climb in and keep them warm and safe. All of Allie’s new clothes had been kicked onto the floor. The twins peeked out from under the covers and gave Allie their best
aren’t we adorable
smiles.

“I can clean this up in the morning,” JoJo said, quietly. Allie jumped. She hadn’t realized JoJo was behind her.

“I can do it myself.” Allie climbed into bed with her new clothes on. She often slept with clothes on, just in case she needed to get the twins out of a house fast. You just never knew.

JoJo came over and, one by one, touched each of them gently on the cheek with her warm, soft hand. “Sleep well,” she said.

“We aren’t staying here,” Allie muttered.

JoJo just smiled. “Brush your teeth after you eat those cookies,” she said, as she headed down the stairs.

“What cookies is she talking about?” Allie asked, as soon as JoJo was out of earshot.

“I got us a snack, just in case,” Madeleine said. She lifted her pillow. Chocolate chip cookies—30 of them, at least—were lined up in neat rows.

“Madeleine,” Allie groaned. “If you hoard food, they’ll say Mommy doesn’t feed us enough. You need to stop that.”

“I miss Mommy,” Luke whispered. “I want to go home.”

“So do I, Luke,” Allie said, choking back tears. “So do I.”