AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shirley saw the expression on her son’s face and sighed.
“You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?”
He sighed. “I loved her when I was nine. This is just a reawakening.”
Shirley was stunned. “Oh, honey. Well, I’m happy for you now.”
“I want Aunt Ella to meet her,” Sean said.
Shirley frowned. “Okay, but why Ella, specifically?”
“Because I think they’re alike. She knows stuff she shouldn’t know and it’s bothering her. I think it started after her wreck. I took Amalie up to the Church in the Wildwood. She’s so drawn to the mountain. I was telling her about Brendan and Meg, and how she’d gone missing, and Brendan had died without knowing what happened to her, and us finding the journal and wanting to find her again.”
“What did she say?” Shirley asked.
“I said nothing about the search, or where we’d found her, but the moment she touched the little house over Meg’s grave, she said something to the effect of how wonderful it was that she’d been found and was no longer alone in the dark.”
Shirley shivered, then looked back out the window.
“She’s lost, too, isn’t she?”
He shrugged. “She’s been lost all her life. Even from me. I actually cried the day I went back to school and found out she was gone. I’m not losing her again.”
“Oh, son…I didn’t know you felt that way. You never said.”
He winked. “I was a kid. Guys aren’t good at sharing feelings.”
And then the back door opened, and Amalie came in talking.
“This is the most beautiful place on earth. You’re so blessed to be here and part of the history of the place.”
“You’re sparkling,” Sean said, and lightly brushed snowflakes from her hair.
“Inside and out!” Amalie said.
“And you’re just in time,” Shirley said. “Supper’s ready.”
Sean seated the women before sitting down.
“Sean keeps feeding me,” Amalie said, as they began filling their plates.
“It’s the only excuse I could come up with for the pleasure of seeing your face,” he said.
“Then you’re gonna have to pull a different rabbit out of the hat next time,” Shirley said. “Everybody help yourselves. If it keeps snowing, I’m not letting either of you on this mountain road before daylight tomorrow. Ever been to a slumber party, Amalie?”
Amalie poured gravy over her mashed potatoes, then passed the gravy boat to Sean. “No, but I always wanted to.”
“Don’t worry,” Sean said. “I have four-wheel drive, and the snow just began. It’s probably not even snowing down the mountain. We’ll be fine.”
“Shoot,” Amalie said. “I was all set for ghost stories and snuggles.”
Shirley smiled to herself as she scooped a spoonful of coleslaw onto her plate. This girl was going to fit into their crazy family just fine.
They left the house just after 8:00 p.m. with a sack of leftovers for Amalie and an open invitation for a lesson in making dumplings when she had the time. She could still feel Shirley’s kiss on her cheek and the warm hug before they walked out the door.
The snow was still falling, swirling before the headlights like duck down and just beginning to stick on the blacktop, but Sean already had his SUV in four-wheel drive.
“Thank you for today,” Amalie said.
