Chapter 4:

Annie cautiously slipped into the house through the back door and beckoned Strat to follow. She put a finger to her lips to signal for silence and led him upstairs to find Tod. When, about halfway down the hall, Strat reached uncertainly for her hand, Annie sent him her sweetest smile and squeezed his hand reassuringly. When his grip tightened, she was again overwhelmed by his closeness and the realization that her was really there. "This is not a dream." she thought to herself. "Strat is her With me. For good." They met Tod in the hall, outside of his room. "Hey Sis. Who's this?" HE cast a sly look as Strat, scanning him up and down. "Strat, this is my brother, Tod. Tod, this is Strat. He's my...friend." "Yeah right. Well, all I can say is, you'd better be good to my sister, buddy." "I wouldn't dream of anything else. Hiram Stratton Jr., at your service." Tod raised his eyebrows in Annie's direction. Where had she found this one? "Hey, aren't those my jeans?" Where did she get off... "Listen Tod," Annie interrupted his thoughts. "Things aren't so hot at Strat's house and he needs a place to stay for awhile." "Mom and Dad'll go ballistic." "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."