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than waiting for an explanation, Kelli walked down the four steps to where they were and grabbed the magazine from the trembling hands of her charge.
    They managed to blush, even in the near darkness. Avery dropped a flashlight from his hand and all three of them watched it bounce and roll into the yard.
    “Ohgodshe’sgonnafreak.” It was one word, and came from Avery’s lips in a high-speed whisper.
    Teddy said what he always said when he got busted. “Avery made me do it.”
    Kelli looked at the cover of the Penthouse Magazine the boys had been looking through and smiled. She knew they had to be up to something, especially when it was too quiet in the house.
    “ Penthouse ? Where did you guys get a dirty magazine?” Kelli looked at Avery as she spoke, knowing full well he’d brought it with him.
    Avery shrugged and looked at the ground for several seconds before he finally looked back at her. “I brought it.”
    “How much trouble are you going to be in if I tell your mom about this, Avery?”
    She couldn’t have gotten a better reaction if she’d pumped a million volts into his rear end. “Oh, jeez, Kelli . . . please don’t tell on me.” He was sweating now, worried, and that meant she had him exactly where she wanted him.
    “You get your little butt home right now, Avery, and maybe I won’t have to.”
    Teddy was the one who started to protest, but one look from her while she waved the magazine was enough to make him shut up. After a few moments of hemming and hawing, she gathered the two boys together and walked Avery back to his house three blocks over.
    Three blocks doesn’t sound like a long walk, but when it came to handling Avery and Teddy, it was closer to three miles. They were boys, and they were energetic boys at that.
    Avery looked pale and worried the entire time, and for the first time in the months she had known the kid, he was quiet. When they reached the walkway leading to his front door, Kelli put a hand on his shoulder.
    “You okay, Avery?”
    He swallowed hard and nodded his response.
    “Are you sure?” He looked like he was going to faint dead away and that made her a little worried. He looked at her with brown eyes that threatened tears and nodded again, his throat bobbing up and down.
    Finally, she reached into her jacket and pulled out the Penthouse, wrapped in a bag from the comic store she knew the two boys frequented. “Well, you go put this back where it belongs, Avery, okay?” She hadn’t been sure about whether or not to let him have the magazine back until just that moment.
    “Y-you’re not gonna tell?” She shook her head. He looked like an angel in that moment; relieved, happy, and much more relaxed.
    “But you know what?”
    Avery shook his head.
    “You don’t pull that sort of stuff; you can’t get in trouble for it.”
    He rolled his eyes and nodded. The kid’s whole body got into the aww, shucks, ma’am expression whenever he made it.
    “Get inside before you get yourself in serious trouble, Avery, and stay home for the rest of the night, okay?”
    “Thanks, Kelli. You’re the best.” He probably would have yelled it to the world like he normally did, but it was dark out and he was supposed to be inside. Sometimes Kelli wanted to swat him, but mostly he was okay.
    “Just be good, Avery. Good night.” She and Teddy stood there and waited until the boy had gone inside, carefully opening the front door and closing it silently. Then they turned around and headed back to Teddy’s house.
    “So you’re not telling?” Teddy’s voice held a mild note of terror blended with hope.
    “Nope.”
    “Why not?” He let himself smile. Teddy was a cute kid, especially when he smiled. “I mean, thanks, but, why not?”
    “Well, I could tell if you really want me to . . .”
    “No! No, that’s okay.”
    Kelli ran her fingers through her hair and readjusted her glasses. The night was getting cold fast and she wanted them back at the house before Teddy’s