Page 32 of A Thousand Second Chances

Emmett nods solemnly. “This is my first time. It’s pretty boring.”

Percy’s eyebrows shoot up. “Boring?What do you mean?”

“All my mom wants to do is shop.” Emmett kicks at some loose gravel on the sidewalk. “My dad’s not here, so I have to go with her everywhere.”

I glare at the boy’s mother, but of course, she doesn’t notice, too deeply invested in her conversation with Quinn now that she has a sympathetic ear to complain to. So what if her kids aren’t having a great time? It’s her own happiness that matters, right?

Part of me knows I’m being deeply unfair. I barely know anything about this woman or her family. Watching her treat her son the way she had just hit a little too close to home. Percy would tell me I’m projecting…if we still talked about anything meaningful, that is. Shaking away my unhelpful introspection, I tune back in just in time to hear Percy finish relating some story from when he was a kid.

“—so, Owen and I snuck into the shop when our parents weren’t looking,” he says, a merry glint in his eye, “and practically threw ourselves in the big tins of fudge cooling there.”

Emmett’s eyes are wide as saucers. “Did it hurt?”

Percy chuckles. “No, thankfully. We were lucky—it had been cooling for a couple hours by then, so the fudge was mostly set. But that didn’t stop us from getting completely covered in the stuff. Our moms were mortified when they found us lying there, making fudge angels in the pans.”

That same sorrowful look flits over his face again. It makes me want to reassure him the way he’d reassured me earlier. My fingers are already raised, poised to reach for him, when I catch myself and lower my hand. He doesn’t need my comfort. We’re amateur sleuths solving a mystery—nothing more.

“What happened?” Emmett demands. “Did you eat all the fudge?”

Percy reins in his expression, his smile dimmer than it had been. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to notice my momentary slip. “Our parents ended up having to buy the entire batch of fudge from the store. They made us carry it all the way to where we were staying and sent us to our rooms for the rest of the day. But that night, we snuck downstairs and ate so much chocolatewe both puked. Our parents thought we got exactly what we deserved.”

It’s hard to imagine the moody teen I’ve glimpsed around the Royal Lilac as the carefree boy from Percy’s story. Then again, I have a tough time imaginingPercyever being like that, either. He’d always been so serious when we were together—so concerned about what other people thought and so desperate to keep everyone else happy.

What had happened to the little rebel who’d been willing to defy his parents not once buttwicein a single day? Of course, I suppose some of that rebelliousness had lingered. After all, we’d dated in secret for almost three years, lying to cover it up. Had that been why he’d pulled away from me in the end—too much pent-up guilt over the deception?

Emmett grins at Percy, utterly oblivious to my melancholy. “I want to eat so much fudge I barf!”

Percy glances toward the boy’s mother and furrows his brow. “Maybe you shouldn’t eat quitethatmuch, but if you can, you should definitely get a few slabs. You can’t beat Mackinac Island fudge.”

Emmett frowns. “I suppose. What else is there to do for fun?”

I watch the two of them as Percy launches into another story, a sudden warmth unfurling in my chest at how much he’d brightened the kid’s day. Yeah, he’d broken my heart when he cut me off two years ago, but maybe it’s okay to leave our past in the past, at least until we can figure this time loop shit out.

Maybe being stuck here with Percy won’t be so bad.

“Excuse me?” Percy and Emmett fall silent, and we all turn to find Emmett’s mother glaring daggers at Quinn. “I don’t knowwhatyou’re implying, but I assure you, we’ve done nothing untoward since we arrived here on the ferry.”

Quinn makes a soothing gesture. “I wasn’t trying to insult you.”

The woman’s eyes flare. “Oh? You could’ve fooled me with yourrudequestions. The only part of my mind I’m losing is thanks to my irresponsible husband and my misbehaving kids, not some…some freakywitchcraftor whatever it is you’re talking about.”

“I only—” Quinn tries, but the woman cuts her off.

“This conversation is over! Leave me and my children alone, or I’ll report your harassment to the police.” She tugs roughly on Emmett’s arm, making him stumble. “Come along, Emmett!”

Emmett attempts a weak protest, his eyes flicking to Percy, but his mother either doesn’t hear or ignores him, dragging him angrily down the sidewalk. My jaw clenches as I watch them go through narrowed eyes. I don’t realize I’ve taken a step toward them until I feel Percy’s hand rest on my shoulder.

“Don’t,” he says quietly. “It’s none of our business.”

Knowing he’s right doesn’t make it suck any less. Staring after Emmett, I can imagine my younger self in his place all too easily. I jerk my shoulder out of Percy’s grasp and approach Quinn. “I take it the lead didn’t pan out,” I say tightly.

Quinn shrugs. “Turns out she was angry about an antique store that wouldn’t allow kids inside.”

She doesn’t seem too put off by the latest in our string of failures today. I wish I could take this in stride like her. Then again, I suppose it’s notherhead on the chopping block if we can’t figure this shit out and the day resets. Or, at least, she won’t remember about it if it is. Ignorance is bliss and all that.

“That hardly sounds ‘unbelievable’ to me,” I mutter.

Quinn rolls her eyes, starting down the sidewalk. “Tell me about it.”