The Reunion by Meghan Quinn

Author:Meghan Quinn [Quinn, Meghan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montlake
Published: 2022-02-21T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

FORD

“Are you sure?” I ask my mom over the phone. “I can come and get you.”

“No, not necessary. We’re having a lovely time with Tom and Linda. And we don’t want you driving in this weather.”

I glance toward Palmer’s room, which is empty. The reason I know this is because I went to ask her if she wanted to eat dinner with Larkin and me, extending an olive branch, and after a while of knocking, I opened her room to see that she wasn’t there.

“Have you heard from Palmer?” I ask.

“Yes, she’s with Dr. Beau.”

“Uhh . . . what?” I ask.

“Apparently he was driving back into town and spotted her on a hike. He had to redo her cast. She’s fine, though.”

“Oh, okay. And you’re sure you’re okay. Dad’s okay? He has his medicine?”

“You know I always carry it with me. Now stop worrying and enjoy your night with Larkin.”

“Don’t say it like that,” I say.

“Like what, dear?”

I lower my voice. “Like something is going to happen.”

“I would never imply such a thing. She’s your assistant, after all.”

“Goodbye, Mom.”

“Bye, sweetie.”

I hang up and toss my phone on the bed. I borrowed a pair of sweatpants from my dad—crotch still intact—and I head down to the main level, where Larkin is currently making pasta and sauce because that was what was in the pantry.

When I reach the kitchen, I catch her swaying to the simple instrumental music playing in the old CD player attached to the bottom side of the cabinets. Her hair is pulled up into a bun, and she’s still in her leggings, but she borrowed one of my old Watchful Wanderers sweatshirts that was hanging in my closet, which looks . . . hell, it looks damn good on her.

But the best part is that she’s not actually cooking on the stove or with my parents’ pots and pans.

Instead, she broke out the camping gear that was in the garage, set the cooking utensils up in the kitchen, and then, in the living room . . . you guessed it, she put up the two-person tent. To top off the night, she moved the couch cushions around the space to look like “boulders” and is using my parents’ wood-burning fireplace as our “firepit.” It’s creative, cute, and is setting the tone for what’s to come in this journey of “finding myself.”

Once the storm intensified, we both thought it would be smart to stay in place until it was over. It hasn’t let up yet, so Larkin chose to get started on sharing her childhood with me, which includes faux camping and all.

“Need any help?” I ask.

With a satisfied smile stretched across her lips, she looks over her shoulder. “I’m just about done. How are your parents?”

“Good. They’re staying at their friends’ house tonight.”

A loud crack of thunder shakes the house, and Larkin scrunches her shoulders for a brief pause before relaxing. “Good, and how’s the fire?”

Another rumble, a blast of light, and then . . . black.

The lights flicker off.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.