Under the Boardwalk (Costas Sisters 1)

“What fun is that?” Nicholas asked, joining them in the living room.

“He’s kidding,” Sam told Quinn, trying to reassure him.

It didn’t work. “And how would you know that?” Quinn asked her.

Sam clasped her hands behind her back and lowered her eyes, averting her gaze from Quinn’s, always a sign she’d been in trouble.

A sinking feeling settled low in his stomach. “What’d she do now?” Quinn asked, looking from Sam to Elena and then to Nicholas.

All three remained stubbornly silent.

“Apparently Sam stole someone’s lunch money,” Ari said, her voice taking Quinn by surprise.

Quinn hadn’t heard her come in, but he couldn’t deny the leap of joy his heart took on seeing her.

“Hey, I gave it back!” Sam said, calling his attention back to the situation at hand.

“That isn’t the point and you know it,” Elena said, shaking her finger at the teen.

Nicholas stepped up to face Quinn. “You do not need to worry. I gave her a lecture on honesty and values,” he said, putting an arm around Sam’s shoulders. “And you can be sure that the next incident will result in punishment.”

Ari cleared her throat while Quinn rolled his eyes. Did nobody but the two of them see the obvious? Quinn said, “Then I suggest you all start with setting the right example. How the hell do you expect Sam to straighten out if you don’t?”

Nicholas and Elena hung their heads low. “You’re right,” they said together.

“He is?” Ari asked, sounding stunned that they’d caved so easily.

So was he.

“It’s true,” Sam said as she yanked on Quinn’s sleeve. “Nicholas said if I stole again he’d lock me in the monkey’s cage.” Then she turned to Ari. “I’m so glad to see you!” Despite the fact that Ari had just ratted Sam out to Quinn, the teen ran to hug Ari tight.

Quinn wanted to pull Ari into his arms, too, but he could see from her posture and taut expression that not much had changed. Being alone had merely let her pull further away.

“I’m glad to see you, too, Squirt. I needed to talk to you all, but I didn’t realize you had company.” Ari glanced at Quinn through lowered lashes, her cool tone all but telling him that unlike the rest of the family, she resented his presence.

Though Quinn hurt looking at her, there was nothing he could do to help her. She had ghosts in this house that she needed to come to terms with on her own. In the meantime he had a job to do and couldn’t afford any distractions. Even if the biggest distraction was the ache in his gut that would follow him no matter where he went.

“I’ll call to set up a meeting,” he told Elena and Nicholas. “I want the whole family here for a talk. Do you understand?”

They nodded. “We will be here,” Nicholas promised. “All of us.”

Sam clapped her hands. “Cool! We can have a party!”

Quinn didn’t bother correcting her. Instead he shot one quick glance at Ari, who was ignoring him, before he strode out the door.

Ari watched Quinn go and her heart squeezed tight in her chest, but she couldn’t call him back. She’d stood in the doorway in silence, listening to him lecture her family on their conning ways, watching as they accepted his words and advice without question. The same words and advice she’d been trying to give them for years, to no avail.

Then there was Sam. Ari didn’t begrudge Sam a home. She adored the young girl and wanted to be her big sister. It was the situation Ari couldn’t reconcile. For Sam, Ari’s parents were willing to turn their beliefs and their lives upside down and change their ways. Yet Ari had had to leave town to get away from the eccentricity and the cons.

All of which led Ari to wonder why she was always the odd man out in her family. Why two newcomers could extract promises from her family that she couldn’t.

“So, Ari, what did you want to talk about?” Sam asked. She glanced at Ari with huge, trusting eyes.

Ari suddenly wished she’d asked Quinn to stay as backup. “Let’s all sit down,” she said, and picked a solitary club chair while her mother and father chose the couch. Sam sat Indian style on the floor beside Spank’s cage.

“Here’s the story. I did some research on the Internet,” Ari said.

“About?” her father asked.

“About Spank. Monkeys in particular.” She sighed. “Look, in New Jersey, they can’t be kept as pets.”

“She’s not a pet, she’s a—”

“Member of the family,” Sam said, her voice rising. “Like me.”

Ari looked to her mother for help and Elena rose, grabbing Sam’s hand. “We got Spank before we brought you into our home. We didn’t look into the legalities. But now we have to.” She squeezed the young girl tighter. “Go on, Ari.”

Ari drew a deep breath and dug through her purse, pulling out the papers she’d printed early this morning. “Well, I’m not a lawyer, but from what I gather, Spank is classified as a potentially dangerous species under the law.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Nicholas said. “Look at her. Does she look dangerous to you?” He jingled the change can and the monkey blew him a kiss.

Ari sighed. “All I know is that we have to deal with reality. And there are criteria for owning a monkey.” She scanned the pages in front of her. “They include things like extensive education on the breed, housing facilities far from public access, and the worst thing is that the law specifically states wild animals shall not be kept as pets. It goes on, but essentially Spank’s not a legal alien,” she said in a pathetic attempt at humor.

Sam released the lock on the cage and the monkey dove into her lap. “She can’t go away.”

Ari glanced heavenward. She taught college-age kids, not thirteen-year-olds, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with Sam. Except from the heart. “Look, I’m fond of Spank, too. I don’t want to send her away anymore than you do. But isn’t it better if we place her somewhere she’ll be safe and happy before she gets taken away from us and then it’s out of our control?”

In response, Sam ran from the room and a door slammed in her wake.

Ari glanced at her parents, feeling helpless and sad. “I’m sorry.”

“For being smart enough to do what we should have done from the beginning?” Her father sat down on the arm of her chair.