“Those are yours?” I point.
He nods. “My family’s anyway.”
“And you grew up here?” I crack the window a bit more, wanting the air but not the dust.
“If you’re trying not to get dusty, give up now.” Cal laughs and unrolls all the windows. Junie laughs and sticks her arm out the back window. I grin and do the same.
“And, yeah,” Cal raises his voice over the sound of air rushing in the windows. “Holloways have had this land for generations. Grandpa passed away a few years ago, but my grandma still lives on the property.”
“Grandma got ran over by a reindeer!” Junie shout sings, then giggles hysterically.
Cal shakes his head. “Should have never taught her that song. She sings it every time I mention Granny.”
I laugh at the same time he pulls in front of a ranch house with dark wood and a warm stone face. Even from the outside, the house feels cozy. A stone chimney rises from the roof. I haven’t met Cal’s family, but I can picture them sitting around the fireplace together on a chilly winter night. The house is big, but not too big. Nothing like the house Dad built after Forsythe Tech went public.
My feet touch the gravel driveway at the same time a woman steps out of the double front doors and waves to me. She’s Flo’s lookalike except with dark hair the color of Cal’s.
“Jo-Joe!” Junie cries, running to her. “I brought a friend!”
Junie’s Jo-Joe picks her up and hugs her tight. “Are you going to introduce her to me?” she asks as I come up the steps.
“Mom, this is Frankie,” Cal says.
“Daddy! I was telling her!” Junie wails.
“I’m sorry, Bug. Go ahead.”
Junie sucks in an angry breath and squirms out of her grandma’s arms to grab my hand. “This is Fwankie. She’s my friend, and she doesn’t like pictures.”
“Well, then, I’ll be sure not to take any without asking.” Mrs. Holloway’s eyes crinkle in the corners, just like Flo’s, but then she does something very un-Flo-like and pulls me into a hug. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
“You, too, Mrs. Holloway,” I stutter when she steps back but keeps hold of my forearms.
“Oh, now, you call me Joanne. Or Jo. I’ll answer to both.” She takes me by one hand and Junie by the other and leads us inside a big, open entryway. “June Bug, go clean your room so Frankie can see it at its best.”
“It is cwean.”
With one look, Jo puts a stop to Junie’s protests. “Pick up ten toys, then come tell me when you’re done. Ready, set…Go!”
With her little fists pumping, Junie races down the hall in the opposite direction Jo leads me.
“Now, I’m assuming you’re going to be here for a day or two, so I’ve got the guest room ready and a few of Cassidy’s things for you to borrow.” She moves my hand to the bend in her arm as she talks and walks. “They might be a little long on you, but we’ll have to make do.”
I have a vague notion that Cal is behind us, but I’m so enveloped in Jo’s warmth and whatever delicious smell is coming from the kitchen, that everything else just melts away. I pull air into my lungs like I’ve just remembered how to breathe and scan the family pictures lining the hallway Jo leads me down. I’ll look at them later. For now, I only want to float behind Jo until I find a soft place to land.
To be honest, I think I’ve already found a soft landing. It’s strange, feeling at home with strangers. But that’s what this feels like: home.
Or what I’ve imagined home feels like.
When we reach the kitchen, Jo sets me down in a seat at the counter then fills a glass with water. She slides it to me without quite meeting my eye.
That sets off a warning bell.
“Now,” she says with a sigh. “Flo asked me to make sure you got a message. She didn’t want to call you in case someone was watching or listening.”
My breath quickens. My feet touch ground.
“She said a young man was asking about you. He was very persistent and wanted to make sure you knew he was in town. A Brandon McVey.”
