Page 53 of Chasing Your Ghost

“I’m worried about her,” Riley whispered to Noah while they trailed behind his mom and half-sister. “What she said in the car wasn’t just a teenager being dramatic. I think she really believes she’s everyone’s second choice.”

“I know,” Noah agreed quietly.

“We shouldn’t have gone to D.C. without her,” Riley said, stopping outside the open front door.

“We really shouldn’t have,” he muttered. “Now I feel like such an idiot.”

“Me too, but maybe when I leave for Georgetown, everything will go back to normal. She can have Edith’s full attention back, and there won’t be any more family trips without her.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it will be that easy.”

Riley ran a hand over her face. “Let’s just enjoy tonight for now, but I think we need to make an effort to include her more going forward.”

“Agreed.”

“What were you two gossiping about?” Francesca asked when they eventually made it into the kitchen of her small and cozy house.

Standing in contrast to Edith and Hugh’s house, her walls were covered in colorful artwork, small mirrors, photographs, and the surfaces of every table and counter in her home were cluttered with knick-knacks ranging from glass birds to a beautiful blue-green ceramic jug. It felt far more lived in than the Warner house, and Riley loved that it showed personality and flair.

“Just Olivia’s boyfriend,” Noah replied, earning a glare from his half-sister.

“Ah, I see Drew is still a point of contention.”

“I told Livvy I’d try to come around.”

Francesca gave him a doubtful look. “Good luck with that. I don’t think you’d like him even if he were a saint. You’re too overprotective.”

“Thank you,” Olivia said, grinning now that she had backup.

“Although I am on his side on this one, honey,” she told the girl, causing her grin to fall. “Drew is older, and he’s always had a bit of a big head. You’re playing with fire.”

“Thank you,” Noah chirped.

“Now, enough about Drew. Noah, why don’t you pour us some iced tea and Riley, why don’t you tell me about yourself? Noah said you’re joining him at Georgetown in the fall.”

“Yeah. It was kind of a happy coincidence.”

Francesca nodded. “Well, I’m glad you’ll have someone to show you around and make sure you settle in more easily. What do you want to study?”

“My dad and I are—My dad and I were big readers, so the plan is to study English and go into something like novel editing.”

“I’m so sorry about your father,” the woman said, reaching out to gently squeeze her hand.

Riley cleared her suddenly tight throat. “Thank you.”

“What sort of books do you like to read?” Francesca asked, and Riley was grateful that she didn’t linger on the topic of her dad. She felt too emotionally drained to discuss him then.

“Mainly fantasy. My dad got me started on Harry Potter and, when I was a bit older, The Lord of the Rings. I would love to be able to work in that field one day, but I’ll have to see how things go.”

“That’s wonderful. So many kids want to study things like law or accounting because that’s where the money is, so it’s nice to see someone wanting to study something they’re passionate about. It’s why I’m so happy that Noah is going to major in art.”

“Speaking of art, can we see what you’ve been working on?” Riley asked. “Noah told me you’re an amazing painter, and Olivia mentioned wanting to see your latest piece.”

“The lasagna needs another five minutes, so I suppose we can pop into my studio quickly.”

Francesca led them out of the farmhouse-style kitchen, through an orange-walled living room, and into the room that served as her art studio. A selection of empty canvases leaned against one wall, while on another, nearly a dozen finished paintings sat waiting to be hung up or sold. In the center of the space, an easel stood proudly. It held a large canvas with sweeps of blues and grays and thinner swirls of white.

“I’m going through an abstract phase,” she explained as Noah, Riley, and Olivia gathered in front of the easel.

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