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“I know the feeling,” I said as I looked down at my guilty woman. “She does the same to me.”
Folsom offered me a shrug as if that was just who she was and I could take it or leave it.
I was definitely taking it.
Folsom flushed, looking vaguely upset about our teasing, and I winked at her, letting her know that I wasn’t upset.
She blew out a relieved breath as if my opinion of her really mattered that much.
“So how did y’all know where I was?” Folsom asked the burning question on both of our minds.
I’d definitely thought it, but I’d wanted them to finish their family reunion before I started demanding answers.
“You’ll never believe it.” Timothy leaned back into the couch, his bottle of beer dangling from his fingers. “But we saw your face in the paper.”
I burst out laughing right as Folsom cursed.
“But that doesn’t really explain how you got here.” She frowned.
That sobered me up fast.
“Actually, it kind of does.” Timothy grimaced. “We must’ve missed you at the circus by about an hour or two at most. When we got there and asked about you, we used the wrong name. Apparently, you are going by Folsom now. There was this creepy chick that says she reads fortunes.”
“That’s not very nice, Timothy.” Folsom frowned.
“She wasn’t creepy. She was actually quite attractive. Timothy just didn’t like having his fortune told to him. He also didn’t like the fortune, so he acted like she was crazy, even though it fit him to aT,” Anthony offered.
“What are you talking about?” I queried.
Anthony moved his gaze from his sister to me, taking a sip of beer before he started explaining. “Well, we got there, and the half Asian–looking chick…”
“She was so not Asian. She was like Egyptian or something. She looked like fuckin’ Cleopatra in the movieThe Mummy,” Timothy corrected.
“Egyptian, okay.” He made a “duh” face. “Anyway, so we get there, and she seems to know exactly who we are before we even introduce ourselves. She says, ‘you’re her brothers,’ and then reaches out and takes Tim’s hand. He lets her because she’s fucking drop-dead gorgeous, and she proceeds to tell him he needs to have his prostate checked because he’s showing signs of illness, and it’s centered in his lower region.”
Folsom blinked.
“After she tells me that, she then proceeds to tell me that she wants to buy my car. To which I told her no. She said I should sell it because I’m about to come on hard times. And she needs a car.” Timothy picks up the story. “I told her no, then asked if she could give me directions on where you went. She sent us here.”
I look at Folsom worriedly. “I thought you never gave her your previous address.”
“I haven’t,” she admitted. “But for Val to know where I live is not that surprising. She really does just know things.” She narrows her eyes at her brother. “You’ll go get that checked as soon as you get back home, won’t you?”
Timothy lifted his nose in disgust but eventually agreed.
“So how about you tell us everything that’s happened from the very beginning, and don’t leave a thing out,” Timothy suggested, crossing his arms over his chest, the beer bottle between his thighs, as he looked at Folsom expectantly.
My lips tipped up as I watched Folsom explain to her family why she’d had to leave. Eventually, she got the entire story out and then looked like if she ever had to tell that story one more time, it would be the death of her.
I felt horrible.
She’d had to do a lot of explaining lately, and I knew that it wasn’t easy to make herself so vulnerable to the masses like that.
An alarm sounded on Folsom’s phone, and she frowned as she looked at it.
“What is it?” I asked.
“That’s the front gate code. When someone wants to visit, I generally approve or don’t approve when they say who they’re here for.” Her eyes narrowed at what she saw, then she stiffened.
