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She turns off the burner and moves the pot to a trivet to cool. “Great. Peaceful.” A smile lights her face. “June made a killer persimmon and pomegranate salad.”
“Ooh, nice.”
“And Jet invited Shanti,” she says with raised brows.
“Still hasn’t asked her out, I assume.”
Fetching fresh mint from the fridge, she rinses the sprigs, pats them dry, then plucks the leaves from the stems. “Nope. My dear, sweet brother refuses to admit he’s in love with his best friend.”
Eyes on Travis in the living room with his parents, I take one of the stems and tear off the leaves. “When the time is right, everything will fall into place.” I blink and refocus on my task. “Speaking of timing…” I roll my lips between my teeth and bite back my smile. “Bump into Phoebe anymore?”
Before we left for the cabin weeks ago, Delilah told me she literally collided with Phoebe in the library. They rounded the corner of a tall shelf at the same time, neither of them paying attention. Of course, Phoebe snapped and told Delilah to watch where she was going. As if she wasn’t equally at fault.
Later that day, Delilah stopped by the Gazette and asked for Phoebe. Her big heart urged her to apologize again. But she didn’t get the chance. The woman at reception said Phoebe was unavailable.
Delilah’s cheeks flush as she gathers the mint stems and chucks them in the compost bin. “Uh, no.” Fetching a small bowl from the cabinet, she scoops the mint leaves up and dumps them in the bowl. “For whatever reason, she avoids me at all costs.”
“Her loss,” I say, hooking an arm around her shoulders.
“Thanks, K.”
Minutes after the buzzer on the stove goes off, plates are loaded up with a little of everything. One by one, we gather around the table and fill our bellies with too much food.
Linda—Travis’s mom—asks my mom what she loves about Stone Bay and if she misses Smoky Creek after years away. I don’t miss the hint of sadness that shadows Mom’s face for a moment before she shares her love for both towns.
Oliver tries his hand at being a smart ass, asking about Ben in a suggestive way. But I spin the conversation immediately and ask why he didn’t bring Levi today. That shut him up real fast. We don’t make a point to razz Oliver about Levi, but Skylar, Delilah, and I all know he’s in love with his best friend. Has been for years. He just hasn’t found a way to say or act on how he feels.
Dinner goes by without a single mention of my abduction. Thank goodness.
A week ago, as the sky pinked and the sun peeked over the mountains, Charles Yatz was delivered to Stone Bay Memorial and wheeled into the morgue, a bullet lodged in his heart, a second in his lung. Though we will never know for certain, it is assumed Charles is responsible for the woman in the woods. With all the sadistic things Charles did to me—in the bunker and leading up to my abduction—it’s difficult to believe otherwise. His indirect admission about scarring my body years ago and wanting to do it again…
A shiver rolls up my spine.
I have never wished ill will on someone, but Charles Yatz’s death brings me peace. Cold as it sounds, the world is a better place without him walking the earth.
“So…” Mom bumps my arm with her elbow. I blink away my wayward thoughts. “Things seem pretty serious between you and Travis.”
My cheeks heat as I stab the last potato on my plate and shrug. “Maybe.”
A soft smile curves the corners of her mouth. “The way he looks at you…”
I finish chewing my bite, swallow, and widen my eyes at her. “What?”
“Your father would approve.”
Warmth blooms in my chest as tears sting the backs of my eyes. Beneath the table, Travis rests his hand on my thigh. I peek at him out of the corner of my eye, but his gaze is elsewhere as he carries on a conversation. Either he was eavesdropping on my conversation with Mom or he simply knew I needed his touch in the moment.
Inhaling deeply, I blink away the tears and nod. “Yeah, he would,” I agree.
Our plates empty and we clear the table. Delilah sets up dessert on the kitchen island and we load smaller plates with chocolate cake, spiced apples, whipped coconut cream, and fresh fruit sprinkled with mint. Over the last course, we talk about holidays and gifts and gratitude for time together.
Small gifts between friends get exchanged. Oliver’s gift to everyone is a band tee for Hailey’s Fire. Delilah hands out gift certificates to Page by Paige. Lawrence tells Skylar her gift isn’t appropriate for company and we all laugh. But Skylar and Lawrence give CKI gift certificates good at any of their restaurants. Oliver and I share an unamused look, then laugh. The parents tell us we will get gifts in a couple days at their house.
And then Travis hands me a small box. Small enough to be a ring box.
No. He wouldn’t do that already. Would he?
All eyes on me, I slowly peel away the paper and take off the lid. My body wilts—in disappointment and relief—when I don’t see a jewelry box inside. With nimble fingers, I unfold the tissue paper and stop breathing.
