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“What about getting off?” someone asked, and AJ turned at the new voice.
Tessa stood there with her boyfriend, Abe, and Maddy Lancaster. She stood with a drop-dead gorgeous man that AJ had seen before. Maybe at the wedding? Her memory fuzzed, because she wasn’t as young as she once was, and she’d only met Maddy’s boyfriend once.
“We’re a little late,” Tessa said. “You shouldseethe ferry station.”
Eloise moved over to Tessa and hugged her. “You can get off the island, no problem,” she said. “It’s only for people coming onto Diamond. The other islands aren’t an issue.”
“Oh, they’re an issue,” Laurel said almost under her breath. She looked at AJ, and AJ went over to her.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good,” Laurel said. Her hand went to her belly. “Tired. There’s not enough cops on Sanctuary either. That’s all I’m saying.”
AJ put her hand on Laurel’s belly too and smiled. “I’m sure there aren’t.” She looked up. “Won’t be your problem soon enough, right?”
Jean joined them, as did Kelli, and AJ loved how the women who’d be moms again soon had banded together, almost like having a child close to the same age was an unspoken bond that formed between women.
“Something’s going on with Clara,” Kelli said.
AJ turned and looked at her. She laughed with Alice and Robin, and that definitely was unusual.
“Maybe she’s just coming out of her shell,” Laurel said. “Trust me when I say this group is hard to break into.”
“We are?” Kelli asked.
“There’s just a lot of you,” Laurel said. “Us. There’s a lot of us.”
AJ couldn’t disagree with that, and with Maddy and Tessa, and their significant others, the group simply kept growing. She grinned into the vibrancy of the energy in her house and fed off of it.
“If she is opening up,” Jean said, still watching Clara. She now ate cake and talked with Tessa and Maddy. “We’ll find out soon enough what’s going on.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
Robin led the way, the suitcase she towed behind her bumping along with her. Mandie struggled under the weight of her duffle bag, but Robin had told her it would be hard to carry it. Her daughter was headstrong and responsible, and she had a lot of lessons to learn her way.
Carrying a bag through a very busy airport in New York City when she could’ve packed a rolling suitcase instead apparently counted as one such lesson.
“Mom,” Mandie said. “We lost Alice and the twins.”
Robin slowed down and turned back to Mandie. “They were with us.”
“It’s not a race.” Mandie gave her a look that Robin didn’t appreciate, but the truth was, Robin did want this to be over as quickly as possible. The day had just begun, and they had a long way to go before the three teenaged adults she, Duke, and Alice had traveled the twelve miles from Five Island Cove to New York City with would be settled and in their new homes.
Twelve miles, Robin thought. On land, that was nothing. A drive she could probably do in fifteen or twenty minutes, through a school zone.
But across the ocean? It feltsofar to Robin, and she had to take a deep breath every time she thought about it.
Duke stopped next to her and looked behind them too. “There they are.” He pointed to the left. “Looks like Charlie found something to fix his backpack.”
“He just needs to buy a new one,” Mandie said, a touch of irritation in her voice. “He has this weird thing about using that one.”
“Why?” Robin asked. She liked tradition and superstition as much as the next person, but even she could see Charlie needed a new backpack.
Mandie sighed as Alice and the twins came toward them again. “He says he’s had it since sixth grade, and it’s a relic now.”
“I don’t think a backpack counts,” Duke said with a chuckle.
“Apparently it does.” Robin gave Alice, Ginny, and Charlie a tight smile. “We have to get to the RideShare pickup.”
