Andrae - Chapter 7

"Hey you," she whispered, her soft breath tickling my ear. "I just put Jaxon down for his nap, and you know what I want to do?"
I pretended to be oblivious.
"Oh, I don't know - take a bath? Go for a walk?"
"No, silly," she giggled.

Andrae - Chapter 6

"I bet it's nice being off on your own, right? You and Meaghan, getting to do what you want when you want it, if ya know what I mean."
Rudy nudged me in the ribs with his elbow and shot me a knowing wink.
I plastered what I hoped was a genuine-looking smile on my face and and answered.
"Sure thing. Things are going great."
"I envy you. I'd like to do the same thing with Aster, but you know how it is. Have to make sure things are running like they should at home. Oh well, maybe sometime soon, once Ma gets a little more used to the new regime."

Andrae - Chapter 5

"Hey!"
I felt someone poking my leg but I ignored it and studiously kept my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. I assumed it was Rudy doing the poking, as it was his voice that accompanied it.
"Hey! I know You're awake, Andrae. I could hear you snuffling all the way on the other side of the room."
He started again with the poking, and I continued to ignore him.
"You know you're never gonna get her back unless you grow some balls and get out there and do something about it."

Andrae - Chapter 4

Facing Ma after Meg's and my adventure in the cave of wells went pretty much as I expected. I was confined to the house until further notice. Now, while it's true that I'm technically an adult now, and can do as I please, life is - well, different - when you're part of a pack. Going against Ma was pretty much unthinkable.