"What now?" Your mother sighed, slamming her foot on the break once again. The car had barely moved a hundred yards before a police car pulled out in front of you.

Even though your heart was already beating from sobbing so much, it started to pound even harder at the sight of the car. If John B and Sarah were safe and Ward Cameron had been arrested, what the hell would the cops possibly want with you?

Sheriff Shoupe stepped out of his car. You reached out and took Kid's hand in yours. You could feel his pulse pounding through his hand. The Sheriff knocked on your mom's window before placing his hands on his hips. Your mother plastered on a smile and rolled her window down.

"Can I help you, Deputy Shoupe?" She asked.

"It's Sheriff now, Alice."

"What happened to Peterkin?"

You sighed, rubbing your temples.

"Long story," was all Shoupe said. "You kids okay back there?"

You met his eyes and gave him a short nod.

"I've got a ferry to catch, officer," your mother said, tapping her nails on the wheel. "What can I do for you?"

"There's no way you're getting on a ferry today, Alice," Shoupe said, turning his attention back toward your mother. "You're not leaving this island."

"I was told that because the investigation was over, the ferries were open again."

"They are."

"Then stop being so damn cryptic and tell me why I can't take my children off this goddamn island, Shoupe."

The Sheriff sighed and took off his sunglasses.

"We found your husband, ma'am."

Your heart froze in your chest, an invisible hand squeezing your throat. Shoupe glanced back at you again.

"About time," your mother said with a strained laugh. "But I don't know what that has to do with us leaving."

Shoupe turned all of his attention back to you. Meeting his gaze, you felt your heart start to speed up again.

"We know what he's been doing to you, Elma," Shoupe said. "You hid it for a good long while, didn't you?"

Large teardrops formed in your eyes.

"Shoupe, please don't talk to me like a child," you said, your voice trembling.

"Sorry. Well, we have him in custody and we want to try him here, in Kildare." Shoupe took a deep breath in. "Elma and Kid are our best witnesses. They're all the evidence we'll need to get him locked up for a good long time. No jury will see that mark on your arm and not believe it."

You glanced down at your bandage, feeling your cheeks heat up.

"What does that mean for us?" Your mom asked. Her tone, which was usually so confident, was shaky, unsure.

"That means that there's no way in hell either of these kids are leaving the island any time soon."

You could have sworn that you saw a hint of a smile on Shoupe face as he looked at you and Kid. Breathing heavily, you felt your own smile pulling at your lips, but you could barely believe it. You looked at your mom, whose knuckles had gone white from how hard she was gripping the steering wheel.

"So, we're not leaving?" Kid asked, grinning.

"No, Kid, you're not leaving."

For the second time that day, you popped the car door open and stumbled out. You could barely see JJ's form walking away from you, but it didn't matter how far away he was. You weren't going to stop until you reached him.

"JJ!" You cried, cupping your hand over your mouth. You knew he heard you because he flinched, but he didn't turn around. "JJ!"

He spun around quickly.

"Come to tear my heart out again?" He asked you. His words might have hurt if you weren't so damn happy.

You slowed to a stop a few feet away from him. Putting your hands on your knees, you fought for breath.

"Shoupe...." You pointed back behind you toward your car. "They caught my dad. They're trying him here, on Kildare."

"What does that even mean?" JJ asked. From this close, you could see the red that rimmed his eyes. The collar of his shirt was wet from tears. Maybe your tears, maybe his.

"That means that Kid isn't leaving." You gasped in another breath. "Which means I'm not leaving."

JJ's dejected look shifted, slowly at first, then all at once until he was grinning from ear to ear.

"You're staying?"

You nodded your head, biting back a smile.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Even before you had finished your sentence, JJ had closed the distance between you, enveloping you into a tight hug. You let out a teary laugh, putting your arms around his waist.

"Everything I said," you whispered against his chest. "I didn't mean it. I just wanted to make it easier. I didn't want to hurt you. I-"

JJ put his hands on the side of your face, pulling your head away from his chest so he could look you in the eyes.

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly, his eyes scanning every inch of your face, lingering on your lips. "It never happened."

You crashed your head back against his chest, grateful that you could just be in his arms once again.

"JJ!" You heard a quiet voice yell from behind. "El!"

Spinning around and breaking the hug with JJ, you saw Kid running toward you, a wide grin on his face. Your mother was out of the car, half screaming at Shoupe, who didn't seem to be listening.

"Hey, little man!" JJ greeted Kid with a hug of his own. "You really thought you were gonna sneak off without saying goodbye?"

"Don't gotta say goodbye now," Kid said, shaking his arm out to the side of him. JJ smiled at ruffled Kid's hair.

"No, you don't." JJ looked up at you. You took a step toward him and he pressed a kiss against your forehead.

"Hey!"

You, JJ, and Kid all turned around. Somehow, if it was possible, your smile grew even wider.

Walking toward you was the rest of your family; John B, Pope, Sarah, Kie, and even Ms. Lana. You let out an excited breath. Kie couldn't contain it anymore and she started to run, barreling toward you as fast as she could. She slammed into you at full speed.

"I thought you were gonna die," she whispered in your ear. "And then we had to leave you at the hospital before they even finished and I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

You squeezed her tight before letting her go, a smile on her face.

"I'm alive and I'm not going anywhere any time soon," you said. Even just saying the words was enough to make tears gather in your eyes again. You had been so sure you were never going to see them again. But here they all were, your small family.

You took turns hugging each one of them. Pope shook as he put his arms around you, as if afraid of breaking you. You would be insulted later, but for now you were just happy to see him. You squeezed Sarah as tight as you could and she let out a laugh.

"Didn't know you missed me that much," she said. You sighed and gave her a smile.

"You have no idea."

When you hugged John B, you were suddenly grateful for his existence. Even if he had pulled you all into a crazy treasure hunt that almost cost all of you your lives at least once, you were glad he was here. Ms. Lana gave you a short but tight squeeze, not wanting to take your time from the others. She gave you a kiss on the cheek before grabbing hold of Kid.

Your attention was pulled away from your friends at the sound of a tires screeching against gravel as a car peeled down the road. Spinning around, you saw that your mother's car was no longer there. Shoupe stood on the sidewalk, hands still on his hips, with a all the luggage you and Kid had packed.

You let out a heavy sigh, watching your mother drive away in her car once again.

"Was that your mom?" Kie asked, pointing after the car.

"Yup."

"Your mom came back?" Pope's eyes went wide.

"Yup."

"Are those suitcases?" John B squinted.

"Yup."

"Were you going with her?" Sarah put a hand on your wrist.

"I was, yeah." They all looked at you expectantly. "Listen, we've all got stories to tell from the past few days. But I'm starving. Why don't we hash it all out over food?"

"Oh, yes, thank god," Sarah said, closing her eyes at the sound of food.

"The Wreck?" Kie asked, pulling her car keys out of her pocket.

"I'm down."

"Sounds good to me."

"I could eat a seal," JJ said, putting an arm over your shoulders.

"Can I come?" Kid asked, running up to you.

"Of course!" You put your hand on his head. "Wouldn't think about going anywhere without you. Ms. Lana?"

The woman smiled at you but shook her head.

"Some other time maybe," she said. There was a look in her eye as she glanced behind you. "I'm going to talk to Shoupe and take your stuff back to my house. You guys are still welcome to stay if you want."

A teary smile grew on your face as you nodded.

"That would be wonderful, Ms. Lana."

"You kids have fun now." With that, she walked across the grass toward Shoupe.

"You have room in your car for all of us, Kie?" Pope asked as you started for the parking lot. Kie laughed, spinning her key ring around her finger.

"We've broken so many laws in the past few weeks, I don't think anyone will care if we've got a few extra bodies," she said.

"Hey, Kid," John B said, tapping your brother's shoulder with his fist. "First one to the car gets shotgun?"

Kid grinned, eyes glinting from the challenge. He didn't even accept it before he took off running. John B, Pope, and Sarah ran after him toward Kie's car. Kie didn't have to fight for a spot, but she sped up, jogging after them and telling them to be careful. That left just you and JJ.

You thought there might be something you should say, like you were sorry. But he acted as if the last 10 minutes had never happened.

"Are you okay?" He asked you. You looked up at him with a small smile.

"I am now."

He pressed a kiss against the top of your head, pulling you in tighter.

Kid laughed up ahead, grabbing hold of Pope and John B in hopes of still beating them. All three of them fell to the ground. Kie yelled something about not crushing the small boy as Sarah threw herself onto the pile. You laughed, shaking your head ever so slightly.

You couldn't imagine ever leaving this. This was family, this was home. You had spent 17 years in a place that was never more than a house. But this wasn't a building or a place or even a feeling.

You knew as you walked that it didn't matter what would come your way. You could face it, as long as you had these people standing beside you. A trial was daunting. Going up in front of people and telling them all the things your dad had done seemed impossible. But you could do it.

Sarah, John B, and JJ would all be taken care of, even if their parents failed them just as badly as yours failed you. You would find a way to get Pope into college and get Kie that record she wanted. And you would do it all together, as a family.

Thank you all so much.

ps. there's one more chapter
pps. book two out now