Under the Boardwalk (Costas Sisters 1)

“Can I, Quinn, please?” Sam came bouncing back into the room.

“I tried to restrain her.” Ari followed after her, a concerned expression on her face. “But Sam insisted on being here when Mom told you her idea,” Ari said to Quinn, neither expressing support for her mother’s decision to take Sam in, nor protesting it.

And given her family history and problems with her relatives, Quinn couldn’t figure out which side she came down on. Right now he only wanted to smooth the worry lines and promise her everything would be okay. How could he when he wasn’t sure what was bothering her?

He only knew what upset him and he turned to Elena. “So Sam knows about your plan?” Quinn asked.

Elena’s nod confirmed his fear. Nothing about the foster care system was easy or guaranteed, and he hated to have the kid’s hopes raised once more only to endure disappointment later. It was one thing for his heart to beat faster in his chest and for him to feel the potential excitement of a solution he once thought impossible. It wasn’t okay for Sam to be led on a journey of false hope.

“Isn’t it cool?” Sam asked. “And Elena’s willing to look into adoption,” she said, awe in her voice. “Somebody wants me!”

Oh shit. This thing had gone too far in a short time. “I have some connections,” he said, trying to take back some control. “Let me see if I can speed up the reference and home check.” His being a cop who vouched for the Costas family would go a long way toward helping with references.

Neither Zoe nor Ariana had mentioned anyone in the family having a criminal record, but the department ran thorough checks, including fingerprinting, and that was just the beginning of potential problems and snags.

“Hey, Quinn.” Sam poked him in the shoulder. “Me and Ari and Zoe can be sisters! Did you see pictures of Zoe? She looks just like Ari. How awesome is that?”

It was frigging fantastic, Quinn thought. If he could make it happen. Until then, everyone had to keep their wits about them.

“When she comes home, my Zoe will love you,” Elena assured the young girl.

He glanced at Ari. She leaned against the counter and remained silent, looking as torn as he was. But the one thing that stood out as if he could read her mind was her guilt over her knowledge about her sister. Now that she knew Quinn was a cop and she could believe his claim that her twin was alive, keeping the truth from her mother was eating away at her. Quinn understood.

Like Ari, he hated the deceit, but Elena was too unpredictable to trust. She’d just proven she would act on emotion, not common sense. And he was certain Ari agreed or she would have begged him to fill her mother and father in on the situation regarding Zoe, too.

He shook his head, pushing thoughts of the Damon sting out of his mind. He had to deal with Sam first and he walked over to her side. “There are no guarantees this will work,” he reminded her. “Elena and the whole family need to go through the approval process.”

“They’ll pass,” Sam said with certainty. “And then even Spank can be my sister.”

She laughed again, but her words sobered Quinn. There was also a home evaluation they’d need to pass. “I’m not sure the monkey’s going to help this situation,” he said, imagining one of the uptight social workers walking into the house, with construction and various relatives all around them and a monkey diving into their lap. He shook his head. Why couldn’t life ever be easy?

“What are you saying?” Elena asked.

“Is having a monkey living with you even legal in this state?” Quinn wondered aloud.

“Quinn!” Sam wailed, while Elena glanced away.

Apparently she hadn’t checked out the legalities, and he wasn’t one bit surprised. As a cop he had to know many things, but this wasn’t something he’d encountered before.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, one step at a time. Since teenagers are so much harder to place, the department’s been known to put things through faster if something special comes up. Let me make some phone calls and let’s see if we can get the process going. Elena, you and Nicholas are going to have to take eight weekly training sessions.”

Elena swiped her hand through the air, a gesture she seemed to favor. “I raised two children. What can they possibly teach me that I don’t know?”

He rolled his eyes. “Nobody gets out of those classes, so get yourself signed up and start them immediately. They’re three hours each,” he added for good measure.

“Do not tell that to Nicky,” she ordered everyone in the kitchen. “He has no patience for classes, but once he’s there, he’ll do it for Sam.”

The girl beamed and for the first time Quinn realized she wasn’t wearing her hat. Her hair was hanging long down her back, and she was truly happy. He’d just have to make sure this worked out for her or die trying.

“What about Spank?” Sam asked, holding the monkey’s hand. “If my caseworker sees her and it’s not allowed, they won’t let me come here and that can’t happen.”

A long, drawn-out sigh came from the other side of the room. Quinn glanced over at Ari. “I suppose if I can handle a dog, I can handle a monkey,” she said, obviously resigned to doing her part in this scheme. “Since I can’t stay here and get any sleep during the day and since Spank hates the noise, I’ll take her with me,” she explained to her mother.

“Where?” Elena asked, hands perched on her hips.

“I’ll be staying at a friend’s,” she said vaguely. “We’ll work out the details later, okay?”

Elena kissed her daughter on the cheek. “You’re a good girl, Ariana. But let’s see if Aunt Dee and Uncle John can take her first. They’re used to her from spending their days here, and that would keep her close for Sam.”

Ari smiled, but there was no eager light in her eyes.

Quinn wasn’t sure exactly what was bothering her, but she’d offered her help along with his house. Because that’s what Sam wanted.

His gut told him the Costas house could very well be the right place for this child. Sam felt it. Hell, he enjoyed their warmth and giving spirit. Even their eccentricity appealed to him, making him feel at home in a way he’d never experienced before. He felt himself sinking deeper into the quicksand of this family and damn but he didn’t mind at all.

Yet when he looked at the woman who had spent the night in his bed, the woman who was his most intrinsic link to the Costas clan, he realized despite Ari’s offer, she’d begun to withdraw from her family.