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She’d been worried about the transition for the, she’d had to peel them off the couch in front of the TV, but now they actually preferred being outside They’d stay out there all day if she let the the little stand of trees beyond the creek

They really were a special bunch They all had their quirks, of course, but overall, they were happy and obedient and well-oof around, but the aoodwill and fellowship they had for each other was quite remarkable

Had Mike instilled that in them? Their deceased mom, Maeve? Whoever it was, they deserved a uys hter,kids

She smiled as she looked around the rooe pine table they used as an island, the pots and pans hanging on the rack above the new Kenmore stove

There was even a real mudroom with a sink, where they stored the slickers and the wellies The rown up, in Ireland So et breakfast going, she would look through the mudroom doorway and could almost smell the acrid scent of turf s to a boil

Even though we’re in hiding, it actually is a good place here, Mary Catherine thought for the hundredth time It felt warm, safe It felt like home

CHAPTER 15

FIVE MINUTES LATER, MARY Catherine had the big pine table covered with four different types of bread, spreadingout cold cuts

She hadn’tlunches since New York and had alotten what a Herculean feat it really was It would have been fine if she could have na sandwiches and been done with it, but of course they all had their idiosyncrasies Shawna had to have a plain bologna sandwich, while Chrissy would tolerate only grape jelly with her peanut butter Some would eat only turkey, others only haest pain: yellow American cheese (not white, heaven forbid) and mustard on wheat toast

She’d already made potato salad and a couple of loaves of banana bread the evening before It was all for the surprise picnic she had planned After , Mr Cody wanted to take everyone to a part of the ranch they’d never seen before, the rugged, hilly southeastern section Cody had been out riding on his horse, Marlowe, the afternoon before and had spotted a huge, hundred-head herd of wild antelope that he wanted to show the kids

Mary Catherine looked out at the sun, just cresting the top of the Sierras She couldn’t believe this place Every day was like a ne on the Discovery Channel

After she’d Sharpied each of the kids’ names on their tinfoil-wrapped sandwiches, she went into Jane’s roo in the lower-left bunk of the girls’ two sets of

bunk beds Mary Catherine smiled when she saw the latest Rick Riordan paperback on the floor over the flashlight Jane wasn’t supposed to use to stay up late reading

Mary Catherine gently shook her shoulder

“Rise and shine, kiddo,” she said