Page 99 of Left Behind

Linette was seeing yet another side of the man she loved, and completely smitten by his playfulness.

Shirley was still shaking her head as she gave Linette a welcome hug. “I’m so glad you were finally off work on the same day. Welcome to the family.”

Ava was transfixed. She’d never seen grown-ups dancing like this. Then Shirley sat down at the kitchen table and opened her arms.

“Grammy needs a hug and an introduction. Who’s your little furry friend?”

Ava crawled up in Shirley’s lap. All the tension from the drive up disappeared when Shirley hugged her. “This is Phillip. He’s a squirrel. Squirrels live in trees. I brought him to see the trees.”

Shirley brushed the curls away from Ava’s forehead and hugged her again. “What a good idea!” she said. “Are you and Bubba and Linette going to stay and eat lunch with us?”

Ava’s gaze shifted to Wiley. He nodded.

“Yes. We are staying,” Ava said.

“Sean and Amalie are in his office. You need to let them know you’re here,” Shirley said.

Ava slid out of Shirley’s lap, waiting for Wiley to lead the way.

“Amalie’s home today?”

Shirley nodded. “Amalie got up and announced that the weather was horrible. Said she didn’t have any appointments and wasn’t going to the office just to sit there all day and watch it rain.”

“My brother married a smart woman,” Wiley said. “Come on, squirt. Let’s all go say hello.”

Linette walked beside Wiley as Ava skipped her way down the hall to Sean’s office. Amalie was sitting on the couch with her laptop, and Sean was at his desk on the computer when they walked in.

Amalie saw them first and began smiling. “Sean, we have company!”

Sean turned around, saw the tiny blond with the fuzzy brown squirrel under her arm, and grinned. “Linnie! Ava! What a fun surprise on this yucky, rainy day!” he said. He gave Linette a quick hug, then swooped Ava into his arms and kissed her cheek, delighting in her giggle. “What are you guys doing today?”

“Having lunch with Grammy,” she said.

Amalie reached for Linette’s hands, felt an instant connection, and smiled.

“We’re going to be such good friends,” she said, then gave Ava a hug. “Who’s this little fuzzy-tail tickling my arm?” she asked.

“My squirrel. Bubba bought him for me. His name is Phillip.”

“I have a penguin sitting on a shelf in our bedroom. His name is Frank. Would you and Linnie like to meet Frank?” Amalie asked.

Ava glanced back at Wiley.

“Go on, honey. I’m going to talk to Sean a little bit and then go back to the kitchen with Grammy. This is your home, too.”

Ava blinked. “I have three homes?”

“Yep. Can you believe how lucky you are?” Wiley said.

Amalie winked at Linette, took Ava by the hand, and the three of them left the room.

Sean gave Wiley a look. “Everything going okay?”

“Better every day,” Wiley said. “I’m going back to work tomorrow and dreading it. Mom calls it separation anxiety. I guess I’ll get used to it.”

“Once you realize that she is fine with you coming and going, you’ll settle. You’re both trying to find your footing.”

“I guess. I’ll just be glad when all the final papers have been signed and I have no need to even think about Corina Dalton again.”

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