“You didn’t answer my question.”
“And now it’s time for high school students to get ready for bed.” Aurora put the book back on the shelf and started herding Katie up the stairs.
“Mom?”
Aurora sighed in frustration. “Are you stalling?”
“Not if you’ll walk with me.”
“Okay.” Aurora followed Katie up the stairs. “What is it?”
“I’m really glad you agreed to help Miss Smith,” Katie said as she ascended the stairs.
“And why is that?”
“Because all you do is work. And you need something else to do. It’s not healthy.”
“What about hanging out with your aunts?”
“That’s not what I mean,” Katie paused at the entrance to her bedroom. “You needed a project.”
“Well, I have one now. We’ll see how it turns out, okay, kiddo?” Katie smiled at her. “Now, go get your shower, and I’ll make our lunches.”
“Yes, Mom!”
Who Are You Now?
Acold March rain drizzled over Riverton Park Library. Aurora ran up the sidewalk as best she could in her heels and pencil skirt. First, her late afternoon meeting had stretched into the evening, and then traffic was a complete disaster. She’d almost spilled her drink in the car on the way out of the drive-thru, and she reeked of grease and salt. But she would only be—ten minutes late?
Voices drifted through the door of the meeting room. There was a “Reserved” sign on it. Just in case, she knocked anyway.
“Come in!” Jen called out.
Aurora gripped her purse and opened the door.
“You made it! Now we can get started.”
“I didn’t expect … You didn’t have to wait for me. Traffic downtown was a mess.”
Aurora shut the door behind her and took a minute to catch her breath. The meeting room was large and bare, with nothing but a mahogany conference table and office chairs.
“Aurora? Aurora Wilson?” The first one to speak she recognized as Mike Adams.
He looked almost the same as when they’d graduated, except for the silver strands in his brown hair. At the mention of her maiden name, the other man, who was already seated, twisted around in his chair. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. Black curls, golden skin, and deep expressive eyes like a deer. Her old friend David Romero hadn’t aged a day since the last time she’d seen him.
“It’s Aurora Brown now.”
“Oh, my God! Hi!” She recognized that voice. Britney Baumann, her hair now blonde, looked up from her phone at the other end of the table.
“Hey guys.” Aurora hesitated by the door another moment before moving toward a seat.
She put her purse down and shrugged her coat off. When she went to pull her chair out, she found herself wrapped in a bear hug.
“I haven’t seen you in so long! How have you been?”
Dave had to stoop over to hug her. He’d hit six feet tall when they were still in high school, and she was still five foot four, without the heels. She hugged him back with a smile.
“I’m good, Davy. Last I heard, you were in Georgia somewhere! When did you move back?”
