The girls finished their meals and made it all the way through Ohio, Pennsylvania, a small stretch of New York state, and finally into Connecticut around 11:00 p.m. They parked the Jeep off to the side of Charity's home on the three-acre property and forced their tired legs to walk up the aging steps and into the creaky home.
“You can sleep in the guest bedroom tonight, and tomorrow we'll it set up right for you and go shopping for whatever you need.”
“Thank you, Aunt Charity. I really appreciate you letting me come stay with you.”
“You're not staying with me, Peyton. This is your home now too. We are family and what's mine is yours. People say that all the time, but I mean it. Anything that belongs to me now belongs to you.”
Peyton stepped across the oak and maple hardwood floors whic
