Page 85 of Sing For Me

My mom waves the thanks away. “It’s our pleasure. Now, listen.” She gives Eva a stern sort of look. “This crowd can be overwhelming. Please feel free to ignore any and all of us as needed.”

Eva laughs. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“A few of the younger girls are a little overexcited about your visit,” my mom continues in a lowered voice, and from a few feet away I can see a cluster of them—Santana, Violet, and Vega—pretending not to stare at Eva. “We had a talk with them about appropriate behavior, but if any of them step out of line, you let me know.”

Eva’s cheeks go pink. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” she stammers.

I cut in. “I’ll make sure they keep it together,” I tell my mom.

“Good.” She takes a glance behind her, probably notices all the curious stares, and rolls her eyes. “Do you want to go get settled first, or go through the gauntlet and get the introductions over with?”

“Do we really need to do introductions?” I ask, feeling tense again. “They all freaking know who she is.”

“It’s fine,” Eva murmurs, squeezing my hand, but I can see the glances she’s throwing out towards the crowd milling around the grass behind my mom. She’s getting uncomfortable.

Before I can insist that we go inside, my mom slings an arm around her. “Let’s do this, instead,” she says, then raises her voice to a shout. “Hey everyone! Say hi to Eva.”

“Hi, Eva,” they all chorus loudly.

“Eva,” my mom continues. “This is everyone.” Then she smiles down at her. “There. All done.”

Eva laughs. “Thank you, Mrs. Ransome.”

“Call me Sam,” my mom insists. “Why don’t you guys go get settled.” She turns to me. “We put Eva in the blue room on the second floor. You’re across the hall.”

My eyebrows go up. “In the farmhouse?” My uncle Daltrey is usually very strict about keeping the farmhouse as uncrowded and peaceful as possible. Unless I was having a sleepover with Rose and River, I usually slept in the lodge.

My mom winks. “We figured it would be a little calmer for you over there. More quiet.”

I lean down and kiss her cheek, filled with gratitude that she’s making all of this so much smoother. “Thanks, Mom,” I whisper in her ear.

She pats my chest and there’s a distinct wetness in her eyes before she blinks it away. “I’m just glad you’re here.” She smiles at Eva. “Barbecue in twenty minutes if you’re up for it.”

“I cook a mean burger,” my dad adds.

My mom rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry, there will be plenty of food he had nothing to do with.”

“Hey!” My dad grabs her around the waist, pulling her into his chest, and I can see her trying to fight the smile. “You love my cooking, woman.”

“Uh huh,” she deadpans, then squeals when he starts to tickle her.

“We’ll go get settled,” I say, pulling Eva back to the car as the unmistakable sound of my parents kissing hits my ears.

“They’re really in love, aren’t they?”

“Yup,” I confirm. “It’s both sickening and really nice.”

She laughs as I pull our bags from the trunk. “WellIthink it’s just nice.”

“That’s becauseyou’venever brought a date home at the age of fifteen and found them making out on the couch.” She slaps a hand over her mouth to try and cover the snort of laughter. “I’d like to say that’s the only time something like that happened, but I’d be lying.” I hold up the bags. “We can head inside in one minute, but I need to say hello to my grandparents first. You can hang out with Rose if you want—I’ll just be a second.”

“I want to meet them,” she says, and that too has a flood of warmth simmering in my chest. They’re standing over by my Uncle Reed and as we approach, I feel Eva falter a little at my side. “Does your grandmother havepurplehair?”

I laugh. Sure enough, Grandma’s short pixie haircut is dyed a shocking shade of bright purple. She’d had blue tips the last time I saw her. “Of course.”

My grandfather’s eyes light up when he sees us. “If it isn’t my namesake,” he says, and I laugh, going in for a hug.

“Eva, this is my grandfather, Will.”