Page 6 of The Lucky Heart (Jamison Valley 3)
My anxiety skyrocketed and my feet did a stutter-step on the sidewalk. Jack and Annie Drummond. Wes’s parents. I hadn’t seen or talked to them since Wes’s funeral. At one point, they’d been like parents to me—in-laws, really—but my relationship with them had ended when I’d disappeared to Seattle.
I had no idea what Wes had told them about me over the years. They had been affectionate at Wes’s funeral but their hearts had been cloaked in grief. Now that things had settled, would they hate me for how I had treated their son? Did they know that I’d betrayed him? Did they know I was to blame for his drug habit?
I jumped when Rowen’s hand slipped into mine. Before I could object, her little body was dragging me down the sidewalk, away from Mom and straight toward the Drummonds. “Come meet my best friend, Mason,” she ordered. Standing between Jack and Annie was a cute, brown-haired boy dressed as a farmer. “Mason, this is my Aunt Lissy.”
“Um, hi, Mason.” I gave him an awkward wave then lifted my eyes. “Hi, Annie. Jack.” I tensed, hoping to get a hello but expecting the cold shoulder.
In a flash
, Jack’s long arms wrapped around my back and he squished me against his chest. One second later, Annie’s short frame was pressed to my side and her smaller arms slung around my waist.
“Heard you came home,” Jack said. “We were giving you until this weekend to get settled and then we were invading.”
I smiled and relaxed against his soft fleece jacket. “Invade away.”
We stood motionless on the sidewalk for a few moments while I soaked up their affection like a sponge. With one last squeeze, Jack and Annie let me go.
“You’re coming to dinner,” Annie declared. “I’ll make your favorite.”
“I’d really like that.”
“Can I go with Rowen?” Mason asked. At Jack’s nod, Mason took off after my niece to collect more candy.
“Are you both well?” I asked.
“We’re great,” Jack said, pulling Annie into his side. “We adopted Mason last year. He’s keeping us on our toes.”
That was unexpected. My eyes widened and Annie smiled. “We’ll give you all the details at dinner.”
I nodded. “Sounds like we’ll have a lot to talk about.”
“Oh, boy do we ever,” she said. “Give me a call when you’re ready.”
“Okay.” I waved good-bye as they went to collect Mason, glad that reunion had gone so smoothly. Eventually, we’d have to have a conversation about Wes, but for now, I was relieved we’d just kept things light.
Rejoining my family, I followed Jess and Gigi as they attempted to keep up with Rowen. After an hour of meandering down the sidewalk, my niece was overloaded with candy and we were making our way back toward the SUV.
I made it. I had survived the evening and there had been no sign of Silas. Maybe Karma was warming up to me after all. “This was actually really fun,” I told Gigi honestly.
“I love Halloween.” She smiled. “And I told you not to worry.”
I smiled back. “I’m glad you were right.” Everyone tonight had been welcoming and friendly. I hadn’t heard any hushed whispers or caught any strange stares. Maybe I had been too hard on Prescott’s residents and hadn’t given them enough credit.
Then again, maybe not.
I hadn’t run into anyone that I’d gone to school with. Who knew what would happen when I saw those familiar faces? I was holding out hope that most of my classmates had forgotten my juvenile transgressions—that, or moved away.
“Oh, there’s Maisy.” Gigi waved to her friend.
My feet came to an abrupt halt as I scanned the surrounding faces. Maisy was weaving through the crowd, her bobbed hair looking almost white underneath her black beanie.
“Hi!” she said to Gigi with a hug. Her blue doe eyes landed on me for a split second before darting away to find anyone else. “Roe! I love your costume,” she said, bending at the waist to talk to my niece.
Rowen smiled and twirled around, her fairy wings swatting Maisy in the face.
“You’ve got weapons, Roe.” I smiled at Maisy as she stood. “Hi, Maisy.” I did my best to soften my face as I swallowed my jealousy.
She gave me a suspicious glance and muttered, “Hi, Felicity.”
