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I laughed. I’d win her over yet.
I picked up Junebear and ran my finger down her face, over the spot where her nose should be. I’d tried several nose options already. Embroidery and buttons and a plastic nose from a craft shop. None felt right. I had to turn the bear over to Jolly tomorrow if Hannah was going to be able to take the bear with her to the hospital, so I was almost out of time.
Underneath the bed, I heard Molly wiggling around. Her paws darted out from beneath the box spring, like she was pawing something, then disappeared again. She did it once, twice, three times. I dropped to my knees. “What’s going on under here?”
In the shadows, she flicked me a glance as she batted something back and forth. I hoped to the heavens that it wasn’t a bug she was playing with. “What do you have there?”
With a swing of her paw, she swatted the object out from underneath the bed and it landed next to my knee. It wasn’t a bug. It was a piece of sea glass. I peeked farther under the bed. The tin I’d brought down from the attic the other day was nowunderthe bed. With the lid on. As I pulled it out, the scent of seaweed plumed in the air, then quickly faded. Goose bumps popped up on my arms. Molly’s fur rose.
The last I’d seen the tin, it had been on the bookshelf, next to Mr. Whiskers. Dez had laughed off my offer to buy the tin from him, instead giving it to me.
“Free to a good home,” he’d said. “I’m not even sure where it came from.”
I picked up the piece of pale green glass Molly had been playing with, turned it over in my palm. It was an irregular piece, one that looked like a trapezoid stretched out of shape. It had two tiny holes in its center, one slightly larger than the other.
The glass warmed in my palm as I stood up. Once again I caught the faint scent of seaweed as I looked between the glassand Junebear. I held the piece to the bear’s face. The holes in the glass were the ideal spacing to use as a nose.
I glanced down at Molly, whose head was now poking out from under the bed. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention.” I looked up, feeling kind of silly as I added, “And thank you, Penny, for helping me with Junebear. The sea glass is the perfect choice for her nose.”
Just as the words came out, brightness suddenly filled the room, and I nearly jumped out of my skin, thinking I was about to meet a ghost face-to-face. Then I realized the flash had been lightning, not anything spectral. A few seconds later came the rumble of thunder, and I hurried to the front window. Sam’s truck was nowhere to be seen. I grinned. “Be right back, Molly. I’m bringing back a friend for you.”
A low growl came from under the bed in response as I made my way down the stairs. I flew out the front door into the rain, down the steps, across the street, and had to take a breather on Sam’s porch before I went inside, realizing I might have overdone it with exercise today.
I knocked on the door even though I knew Sam wasn’t home, and slowly pushed it open as another flash of lightning lit the sky. Thunder quickly followed. The storm was moving fast.
“Norman?” I called out.
Sam’s place was as tidy as it had been the last time I was here, and the scent of grapefruit hung heavily in the air. A bowl of the fruit sat on the kitchen table, and I suspected that they might be responsible for his citrusy scent. A quick survey of the living room told me Norman wasn’t hiding here.
“Norman, honey,” I called out. “It’s just me, Ava.”
I glanced behind the kitchen island, in the bathroom, and guest bedroom, which had only a queen-size bed and nothing else in it. I checked under the bed but there wasn’t so much as a dust bunny underneath.
At the far end of the hallway were two more doors. One was closed. The other open.
The closed one had to be his music studio. There was noother space for it. As much as I wanted to snoop, I didn’t dare. One day he’d tell me about the music, just like he’d told me about his divorce today. I could wait.
As I neared the open door, I heard the faintest whine. “Norman?”
Rain pounded the roof, and the wind whipped furiously. The lights flickered as I stepped into what had to be Sam’s bedroom. It smelled of him—that nutty, citrusy scent.
The king bed was neatly made with a no-fuss thin beige blanket. Four pillows were stacked against a tufted headboard. A TV hung on the wall in front of the bed, and a dresser stood near the door. On the floor next to the door were a pair of well-worn black cowboy boots, and I was having trouble picturing Sam wearing them, having only seen him in his boat shoes.
I got down on my knees and glanced under the bed. Norman was shaking, his beautiful eyes filled with fear. I lay down on my stomach. “Hi there. Fancy meeting you here.” I tapped the floor in front of me. “Come on out, come on.”
He hesitated for only a second before he inch-wormed forward. Once out, he lurched toward me in one big burst, throwing himself against me. He kept pushing himself forward against my rib cage, as if he was trying to burrow into my body. I rolled and scooped him up.
He rattled in my arms, a full-body tremble. His tail was glued to his body, not even the slightest wiggle. “It’s all right. You’ll be okay.”
Holding him tightly, I stood up and wobbled with dizziness. I quickly leaned against the dresser until I found my balance. I’d definitely overdone it today. As I waited for the faintness to pass, my gaze swept across the top of the dresser. There wasn’t much on it. A folded T-shirt. A change tray. And… the origami dog I’d given to Sam last week, made from the one-dollar bill. I smiled. I didn’t know why I liked that he’d kept it, but I did.
And I was still smiling as I finally headed for the front door, a trembling Norman tucked as close to my body as I could hold him. It had been a long, busy day with the Mermaids jaunt, thewalk with Sam, overhearing Dez talking to a ghost, working sewing projects, and a Norman extrication, but as I hurried toward home, splashing through puddles as rain poured down, my smile turned into a full-blown grin.
It had been one of the best days of my life.
CHAPTER 21MAGGIE
Last night’s storm had blown northeast, but heavy clouds lingered. It was a dark, gloomy morning without even a hint of sunshine.
