"But I wanna go..." Kendra whined, clinging to Molly.

"I know you do, but you can't," Molly replied.

"Why can't I go, Daddy?"

"Because, your Momma and I said so," he said with a smile.

She pouted.

He ruffled her hair. "We'll be back home in no time."

"It's not fair!"

"I know." He kissed the top of her head. "Behave for us."

She sighed and nodded.

Molly kneeled down and hugged her. "We love you, sweetie."

Kendra wrapped her arms around Molly's neck. "I love you too Mommy!"

She smiled. Chris laughed. "What about me, small fry?"

Kendra carefully wrapped her arms around his good leg. "I love you, Daddy!"

He kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, short stuff."

"Do you gotta go?" Kendra asked again.

"Yes. We'll be back soon though. We promise."

Kendra pouted.

He smiled. "You behave for Rae and Spot, okay?"

She nodded as Sam ran into the room.

"Ken'a! Come quick! Pape's got little fuzzies..."

Kendra blinked. "She had her babies?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the room. She squealed in delight, racing after him.

"Now would be a good time to slip away..." Rae said with a smile.

Molly smiled. "You're right. Thank you, Rae."

Rae hugged her.

She hugged her back. "We'll be back in a week."

"Have fun...and behave..."

Chris laughed. "Yes ma'am."

"ANDY!" Kendra squealed from the top of the stairs. "Come see!"

"Come see what?" Andy asked.

"Pape's kitties!"

"She had them already?" He walked into the room.

Rae gave Chris and Molly a gentle shove toward the door. "Go..."

They smiled and nodded, disappearing out the door.

Rae turned to Spot and smiled. "It's so good to see them so happy," Rae said.

He nodded and slipped his arm around her.

Kendra ran up to them. "Come see the baby kitties!"

"Ok...let's go."

She dragged them along. They walked up the stairs and peeked into the closet in Kendra's room. There was a litter of five tiny balls of fuzz crawling next to Pape.

They all had the same coloring as Pape except for the smallest, which was all white.

"Can we keep them?" Kendra asked.

"That's something you'll have to ask your parents when they get back..." Rae said.

She squealed. "I hope so. They're so cute!"

Spot smiled. "Pape looks really tired...so why don't we leave her and the kittens alone for a while..."

Kendra sighed a bit. "All right."

"They aren't going anywhere, short stuff."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

She cast a last glance at the kittens and then, with a sigh, followed him from the room.

Two nights later Rae woke to the sound of frantic knocking on the front door. She frowned a little bit and sat up, yawning sleepily. "What...? She nudged Spot. "Someone's at the door..."

He opened a bleary eye. "Huh?"

"Listen," she said, crawling from the bed and grabbing her robe.

He pushed himself up in a sitting position. "Who could it be at this hour?" he asked sleepily.

"I don't know...but it must be important."

"It better be." He clambered out of bed, heading for the door. Rae followed him, tying the belt of her robe.

As the guest knocked anxiously again, Spot opened the door. "Hello?"

Tom, the clerk from the store stood on the porch with six exhausted, filthy boys standing behind him.

"What's going on?" Rae asked, clutching her robe around her neck.

"There was a fire at the orphanage...Could you possibly take them in for a while...just until they get it rebuilt..."

Spot blinked. "What?"

"They have nowhere else to go..."

Rae nudged Spot aside. "Of course, of course. Come in boys."

"Thank you, Mrs. Conlon."

She nodded, ushering the boys inside. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "Thirsty?"

They looked at her wide eyed, strung out and exhausted.. The youngest boy was even younger than Sam. She picked him up. "Let's find you all a place to sleep."

They all nodded in unison. She turned and went up the stairs. Slowly, the boys filed after her, one by one. She opened the door to one of the empty bedrooms. "Half of you can sleep here," she said. "There's another room across the way the rest of you can sleep in."

She tucked the boy in her arms into the bed. "Sleep well," she told them all.

"Good night," two of them whispered as she left the room.

She smiled a little and led the rest of the boys across the hall. "Here you go," she said, opening the door.

"Thank you," they chorused wearily.

Smiling, she closed the door and walked back down the stairs.

"Are they all tucked in?" Spot asked when she came down.

"Yes."

"Well, this reminds me of the lodging house all over again," he said with a smile, hugging her.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Those poor little boys..."

He nodded.

She sighed. "We better get some sleep while we can..."

He nodded. "It will be something else, having all of them around for a while."

"It will be interesting."

He smiled. "Very." Taking her arm, he led her to bed.

"Noelle and I will have to find them new clothes in the morning...the ones they are wearing are nothing more than rags..."

"Don't overwork yourself though, all right?"

"I won't..."

He kissed her gently. "Sleep soundly, Rae."

She snuggled up against him, and just as she closed her eyes, Robert began to fuss. She sighed and opened her eyes again. Spot picked him up and handed him to her. She looked down at Robert. "You need sleep too, Robert..." But she tended to him. Once he finished nursing, he fell asleep again. She shook her head with a smile, letting Spot take him away. She dropped back against the pillows and closed her eyes again.

Again, Spot kissed her. "Now, perhaps you can sleep well." She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. Spot smiled, cradling her close. Slowly, they fell asleep again.

Spot woke the next morning when something heavy landed on his chest. "Sammy!' he croaked.

"Morning!"

Spot coughed, trying to get air back into his lungs. "Morning, Sam."

"I told ya he won't be mad," Sam said.

Spot opened his eyes and saw the youngest boy from the night before standing beside the bed. He gasped as Sam jumped on his chest again.

"All right you, off!"

Sam giggled and rolled over onto Rae.

"Sam, you might wanna leave Momma alone," Spot warned.

Rae murmured something and pulled Spot's pillow over her head.

He scooped Sam up and dumped him off the bed. "Come on, let's get some breakfast."

"Can me and Joey help?" Sam asked.

"Joey?"

Sam pointed to the boy with him. The little boy nodded shyly.

"Ahhhh..." Then Spot nodded. "Of course you can help.

"Come on, Joey," Sam said, grabbing the little boy's hand and dragging him from the room.

Spot smiled, following them out.

"JOEY!" a boy yelled from the second floor.

Joey yelped.

Spot walked over to the stairs. "He's down here..."

A boy who looked like an older cut out of Joey tromped down the stairs. "I ought to soak ya good," he said, gripping Joey's shoulders.

"Why? What'd I do?"

"For running off and scaring me like that..."

"I didnit run off, I'm right here."

"I woke up and you were gone! Next time don't do that!"

He sighed and nodded. "Yes, Jeremy."

Jeremy hugged the younger boy. "You know I promised Momma that I'd take good care of you...I can't do that if you keep runnin' off."

"I didnit run off... I'm right here."

Jeremy smiled. "I know..."

"We're helping Sam's daddy make breakfast."

Jeremy looked up at Spot. "Oh..."

Spot held out his hand. "I'm Spot Conlon.

"I'm Jeremy..." he replied, shaking Spot's hand. "...and that is my baby brother Joseph, but we call him Joey."

"I'm not a baby!" Joey said adamantly.

Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's go have some breakfast," he muttered, clapping his little brother's shoulder.

Spot went into the kitchen and started mixing together flapjacks...Sam's favorite breakfast.

"What are you making?" Jeremy asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Jacks!" Sam chirped happily, pushing a chair next to Spot and climbing into it.

"Jacks?"

"Flapjacks," Spot explained.

"Never had one."

"Their Sammy's favorite..."

"Yup!" Sam said enthusiastically.

Andy stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. "Daddy...what are all those boys here?"

"The orphanage burned down last night and they needed a place to stay." Spot told him.

"Oh...how many of them..."

"Six," he said.

He nodded and plopped into a chair.

Spot smiled. "You think there will be plenty of friends for you to play with now?"

"I guess so..."

"Something wrong, kiddo?" he asked, as Jeremy went to go help his brother get dressed for the day.

"I miss Annie."

"I know you do. So do I. And so does Mom."

He sighed. "Do I hafta go to school today?"

"Yes you do."

Andy groaned.

He smiled, passing Andy a plate of flapjacks. "I know you don't like it, but the learning is good for you."

"Yes, sir."

Spot smiled again and ruffled his hair. "You'll be home soon enough."

Making a face, Andy dug into his flapjacks.

Spot looked at the other boys who where heading down the stairs. "Any of you go to school?" he asked.

They looked at each other. "Sometimes," Jeremy answered.

"What do you mean 'Sometimes'?" Spot asked

"The warden won't always let us go..."

"Well, get ready for school. You're going today."

"What about Joey?" Jeremy asked.

"He can play with Kendra and Sam. We'll keep them safe."

Jeremy nodded.

"You don't have a lot of time, so come eat quickly," Spot said.

The boys behind Jeremy nodded as well and they shuffled to the table where Spot served them all heaping plates of flapjacks.

"What are your names...and ages?" Spot asked.

Jeremy, who was very clearly the leader, introduced everyone. "That's Morgan, he's 7, Will, 9-"

"I'm Rory, and I'm 6," said one little boy proudly.

Spot smiled and turned to the last boy. "And you are..."

"That's Kenneth. He's 12...and he can't talk, or hear," Jeremy said.

Spot tilted his head. "Does he go to school as well?"

"No."

"Are you able to communicate with him?"

Jeremy nodded. "Some. He's been trying to teach me to talk with my hands..."

"Well, as you're learning to talk with him, I want you to teach him what you are learning in school."

"Yes sir."

Spot smiled.

"Do I really have to go?" Andy asked again as he washed his plate.

"Yes," Spot replied as they began to clean up.

Spot looked at the clock. "It's time for you to leave..."

Andy sighed. "All right..."

Spot sent Andy a look. "Would you like to clean out the barn when you get back?"

"No sir."

"Then I suggest you stop complaining and begging not to go."

He sighed. "Yessir."

"Go...you don't want to be late."

He nodded and, with Jeremy and the other boys, headed out the door to walk to school.

Joey made some motions with his hands and Kenneth did the same. Kenneth picked up some of the plates and began to wash them.

"What did you tell him?" Spot asked Joey.

"That they went to school."

Spot nodded. "Do you think you could show me how to talk to him?"

"I only know a little..."

"Well, it is a start, isn't it?"

Joey held up a fist. "This is 'A'."

Spot looked at it for a moment and then mimicked the motion.

Joey held up his fingers, pressed close together and tucked his thumb against his palm. "B..."

And again, Spot mimicked the motion. They continued this until they got to 'P', when Joey said "And I don't know how to make that one... or 'Q' or 'X, Y, an' Z."

"I'm not sure I can remember all of that," Spot said, frowning.

"It took me a long time to learn too," Joey said importantly.

Just then Kendra came into the room.

"Why are all these boys here?" she asked, grasping Spot's hand

"They need a place to stay, half-pint."

"Why?"

"Because the place they lived burned down."

"Who burned it down?"

"It was an accident."

She looked around. "Where'd they go now?

"They went to school with Andy."

"When do I go to school?

"That's up to your momma and daddy...but most likely next year."

"I hope it will be fun!" she said eagerly

"Tell ya what...Annie and Andy were about your age when we taught them to read..."

"You're gonna teach me to read?" she squeaked.

"Yep. Sam and Joey too if they want to give it a try."

She sprang to her feet. "Let's do it then!!"

He laughed. "Let me go check on Rae first."

She nodded, hopping impatiently from one foot to the next. He patted her head and left the room. Rae was sitting up in the bed feeding James. Robert and Lizzy lay on the bed beside her.

"How are you doing?" Spot asked, entering the bedroom.

"I'm a little tired...but fine."

With a smile, he scooped up Robert.

She looked up at him. "How are the boys this morning?"

"Good, I think. Most of them went to school already."

"Really?"

He nodded. "And I think after he gets used to them, Andy won't hate school so much."

"I hope so."

"Me too."

She set James on the bed and stood, quickly crossing the room and getting dressed.

"Do you need any help?" Spot asked.

"Would you mind taking them to the other room? I'll be there in a few minutes."

After a moment, he nodded, scooping up the boys, taking them from the room, and then returning for Lizzy.

"Breakfast is in the kitchen if you want it," he said.

She nodded. "Thank you. I'll be down in a few minutes.

Scooping up Lizzy, he walked over and kissed Rae before leaving the room.