Page 4 of The Lucky Heart (Jamison Valley 3)
“Aww. I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” she teased.
“Ha, ha.”
Gigi and I hadn’t gotten off to a great start. My fault, not hers. The first time I’d met her had been at Wes’s funeral and I had treated her like a complete bitch. I had been distraught with grief over Wes’s death and consumed with guilt for ignoring my family. Added to that, there was the shock of seeing Silas again after so many years.
None of those were valid excuses. I had lashed out at a complete stranger, hoping that hurting someone else would dull my own pain. My behavior had been awful, but not once since then had Gigi mentioned it or held it against me. Instead, she’d welcomed me with open arms into her family. And during these last two years of visits to Prescott, she’d become more than just my sister-in-law. She was my friend.
Moving home to Prescott hadn’t been as daunting knowing that Gigi Cleary was in my corner.
“We’re here,” she said as Jess parked on Main Street. My knee started to bounce and she clamped her hand down on it again. “Stop worrying about the gossips. It will be fine.”
“We’ll see,” I muttered.
The prospect of being fresh fodder for the town’s gossips wasn’t my only source of anxiety. I was also on edge about running into Silas.
Yesterday, I’d come back to the motel from running an errand and nearly tripped out of my car at the sight of Silas’s truck. I’d figured he’d come to talk about our little romp the other night, but he hadn’t been there for me.
He’d come to visit Maisy Holt.
He had been in the office, comfortably leaning over the reception counter, laughing and smiling with her. My plan to apologize to him had been shoved to the wayside when the green-eyed monster had appeared on my shoulder. My knee-jerk reaction had been to glare at them both, then stomp into my room.
I shouldn’t have gotten jealous. Who cared if he was talking to a pretty young woman? I mean, all I wanted was friendship. Yeah, right. As it was, I now had another item to tack onto my two-page list of apologies for Silas.
I was determined to get through that list, but before I dove headfirst into the apologies, I needed more time to compose myself. I wasn’t ready to see him yet, not until I’d taken a week or two and settled into Prescott life. I might actually stand a chance at keeping my attitude in check if my life wasn’t in such a state of turmoil.
Maybe I’d get lucky and wouldn’t see him tonight.
Wishful thinking. Silas was definitely going to be here. Karma was a bitch and she wasn’t a Felicity fan.
When Jess shut off the SUV, my stomach dipped. Swallowing hard, I took a few soothing breaths while I waited for Gigi to climb out ahead of me.
You can do this. Show the town, show Silas, that you’ve changed. I would be cheerful, the smile on my face permanent. I’d laugh at any and all jokes. I wouldn’t give the town gossips any further ammunition to hold against me. And if—when—we ran into Silas, I would be pleasant.
Affirmations complete, I scooted out of the Suburban and joined my family on the sidewalk. With Roe leading the way, we set off to watch her fill her pillowcase with candy.
“Happy to be home?” Jess asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be glad when my stuff gets here next week and I can move into my rental.”
“You sure you don’t want to stay at the farmhouse?”
“I’m sure, but thanks for the offer. I like the motel and it’s only for a week. I’ve got plenty of space to work from my room. Besides, you guys have enough going on without me crowding in.”
I looked at Ben, who was perched in Jess’s arms, and smiled at his costume. Tonight, he was dressed up as a tiger, whiskers and all. How Gigi had managed to keep him still for the face paint I had no clue. Reaching out, I adjusted an ear on Ben’s costume that had turned sideways. He leaned away and shied further into his dad’s chest. Ben still wasn’t overly comfortable with me, but in time I hoped we’d grow on each other.
While Rowen looked like Gigi, Ben was a mini-Jess. The kid wasn’t quite one year old, but it was obvious that he had inherited my brother’s strong and broad frame. Jess, Ben and I all shared the same ice-blue eyes. Mom’s eyes.
“How’s Mom doing?” Ahead of us, she was helping Rowen open a mini Snickers bar.
“Good. Happy. She had an episode a few months ago but nothing since.”
Our mom, Noelle, was a loving woman but had some mental disabilities. Nothing too serious but enough that when Dad had left it had forced a six- and an eight-year-old kid to grow up really fast. We’d learned to cook and clean, how to shop for groceries and pay bills, what neighbors to call when we needed a ride to the hospital after Mom had an accident.
And for the last sixteen years, Jess had been taking care of her on his own.
“I’m sorry, Jess.” This wasn’t the best place to start making apologies, but I had to begin somewhere and I wanted my brother to be the first.
“Sorry for what?”
