AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, I’m sorry,” she says, wrapping me up in a hug. It’s a little strange. Lily’s not much of a hugger.
“You didn’t have any reason to think I hadn’t told Everett, Lily. I get it. I’d chickened out about telling him, and I shouldn’t have. That’s on me.”
She smiles sadly up at me. “Glad we can put that behind us. You’re really going to Maine?”
I nod. “I won’t be able to rest until things are settled between me and Everett, and he’s up there, fighting this monster of a fire, and he might die, so I need to say my piece before that happens.”
“Brave. Stupid. But brave.”
“Thanks for that.”
She grins. “Come on. I wouldn’t be me if I held that in.”
“True.”
“Do you want some coffee or breakfast?”
“No, thanks. I appreciate you taking Owen for the weekend. Depending on how things go, I could be gone into the week, if the roads are snowed out or—"
“Don’t worry about it. He can borrow some of Aiden’s clothes if you’re gone too long, and I will take him to school and all of that. Do what you have to do.”
I wince at the thought. “Cormac is okay with this?”
She laughs. “When I told him about it, he was thrilled to spend time with his nephew. He’s never been an uncle before—don’t worry, we’re not calling ourselves by our titles or anything like that. Not until you tell him what the deal is. For now, we’re just Lily and Cormac.”
There is something behind her eyes, though. “Spill it.”
She beams. “I can’t wait to be Aunt Lily and Uncle Cormac.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Really?”
“Nieces and nephews are the people you get to spoil before you become a grandparent. I will absolutely get him onto his first rollercoaster and out of his first traffic ticket. There is so much trouble I’m getting that kid into!”
I can’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “Alright, but keep in mind, that goes both ways. I might not technically be their aunt, but Aiden and Frannie will hit all the same milestones with me, thank you very much.”
“Give it time.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re not technically their auntyet.”
“Oh, no. We’re not doing that, Lily. Everett and I can co-parent, but anything else isn’t happening.”
She smiles with too much mischief in her eyes. “We’ll see.”
I’m shutting this down now. “Thanks again for taking Owen. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” she says in a singsong voice.
“Thanks.” I roll my eyes and get in the car.
As I back out, she calls out, “Use a condom!”
I unroll my window and shout, “That’s how we got into this mess in the first place!” When I pull away, I hope my window will go back up. It’s too cold to drive to Maine with my window down.
Even if I can’t get a hold of Everett himself, I hope I can get in touch with someone who can get a message to him. I imagine being in the wilderness always makes communication difficult. Strange. I’d think someone would have figured out a way to overcome those difficulties by now, but apparently not.
It’s an eight-hour drive to where the fire is at in Maine, and who knows what I’ll face between here and there. A few blizzards this year have made some of the roads a challenge, but I’m not a quitter, and I’ve grown up driving on roads like this.
