Page 120 of A Little Naughty

I did take her from Bill, though. She said she’s been searching everywhere.

Britt

How could she leave her daughter with him in the first place?

She claims a friend was watching over her.

Cass

I’ve had it with these mothers just showing up out of the blue and wrecking everything. What can we do? Alex has a lawyer.

“You coming?” Raif calls to me from the door.

“I’ll catch up. Give me just a minute here.”

Piper

Theoretically, I agree. She showed poor judgment, and she’s got a lot of nerve. But I saw them together. Nikki is so happy her mom’s back.

She includes a crying emoji.

It’s all she ever wanted.

My eyes heat with new tears.

Cass

I don’t like it. What will they do now?

I don’t know. We’re going for a walk. I’ll update asap.

CHAPTER34

JEMIMA

We walk all over Eureka. Nikki shows her mom the school, then we walk over to the softball field where Adam had just started teaching them to throw softballs.

“Pinky claims she can hit a home run, but she says a lot of things.” Nikki rolls her eyes, holding her mom’s hand.

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Raif says, and we circle back around to the square.

Owen and Ryan are in the grass throwing a frisbee with Edward, and when they see us, they run to where we are. Nikki introduces the boys to her mom, and they study her with curious eyes.

“Your mom lives in Canada?” Owen asks, scrubbing the side of his head and frowning at Nikki. “Does that mean you’re moving to Canada now?”

It’s the elephant in the room nobody’s mentioned, and Nikki’s expression freezes. I realize in all the reunion hugs and kisses, all the breathless stories they’ve shared, what happens next never occurred to her.

Her amber eyes fly to mine, and for the first time since her mother reappeared, she seems worried.

“I don’t know.” Her voice is quiet.

“We’ll talk about it at the house,” I say quickly.

But as we walk home, I can tell the vibe has shifted. Nikki still holds her mother’s hand and Porkchop’s leash, but she’s not talking nonstop. Even her mother seems a bit worried.

“You know,” Raif starts, unhooking Porkchop’s leash once we’re inside the gates. “There’s lots of jobs around Eureka. That new resort is coming soon, and I’m sure they’ll need workers. There’s the distillery and all kinds of hotels and resorts in Hilton Head and Kiawah.”

“But where would we live?” Nikki’s voice is quiet. “You always say there’s nowhere for people to stay in town.”

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