Page 74 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 1

Autumn waited patiently for them to leave before she smiled wide. “You are even hotter than in my vision.” She nudged Summer’s shoulder. “Lucky ducky!” she teased. “Come on, let’s get in there. Mom already made tea for all of us.”

As we made it to the top of the stairs, following a few steps behind Autumn, the woman abruptly stopped, turned around and tipped her head to the side. “Where’s your son?” She asked pointedly.

I jolted my head back. “Uh, my son?” I croaked. No clue what she was talking about.

“Yeah, the little boy. About two or three years old?” She frowned and then squinted. “No…yeah, I see you with a small child. A boy. I assumed you had one? The vision is very clear.”

Summer grasped my arm and pressed her cheek to my bicep, her gaze concerned. “You have a child,” she whispered with uncertainty.

I shook my head. “No. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I do not have a child. I swear. Some friends of mine are having twin girls. And a very close friend back home has a young boy.”

Autumn said the one name that sliced straight through my heart. “Troy.”

I winced and inhaled sharply. “Yes, the boy’s name is Troy Jack, but we call him TJ,” I clenched my teeth. Summer ran her hands up and down my arm. “But he’s not my son. He’s…” I let out a long breath. I didn’t want to go into everything regarding the helicopter accident, losing Troy, then his wife having her baby without my best friend there to see it. Erik in the hospital and then practically disappearing off the face of the earth for two years, leaving me to be the only one looking after Troy’s wife and kid. It was all so complicated and chock full of some intense feelings I’d pushed way into the back of my mind and didn’t want to resurface now. Especially after Erik finally found happiness and started to heal. Erik, Troy’s wife, Ellen, and I were finally moving on from Troy’s loss. The last thing I wanted was to bring it all to the surface again.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Autumn…um…she has visions that are hard to decipher. She obviously got your connection to the boy mixed up.”

Autumn tried again, her lips pursed into an expression of intense concentration. “Uh, not exactly…”

Summer cut her sister off. “Enough. Obviously you’re upsetting Jack. Lay off a bit, yeah? Maybe go ground yourself.”

“But…” Autumn breathed.

Summer held up her hand. “Enough! Can we come in? Get Jack some tea and a seat. We’ve both had an incredible day. We could use some time to decompress.”

Autumn’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry if I overstepped. You know how it is sometimes. I can’t unsee things, and they push and push. And they just come out.”

I firmed my jaw and gave her a hint of a smile. It was all I could muster after she mentioned Troy and his son. It was a very sore subject and not one I was planning to discuss with Summer’s family. Heck, I wasn’t even sure I’d discuss it with her. Troy and Ellen were an important part of my life, but I was trying to build something of my own too. Ellen made me promise I’d try for her and for the friend I’d lost.

Autumn entered the house, and before I could grab the screen door handle, Summer stopped me. “Hey, you okay? I saw your face when she mentioned Troy and TJ.”

I closed my eyes and nodded. “Honestly, Summer, I really don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to spend a little time getting to know your family over tea and then maybe find a hotel where we can crash. It’s been a very long day.”

She took my hand, put it to her cheek and rubbed against my palm. “Okay. But we’ll stay at my house back in the middle of town, if it’s okay with you.”

“I’d love to see your house.”

She grinned. “Remember you said that,” she teased before opening the door and dragging me behind her.

We went through a massive living space that had big picture windows. There were bookshelves from floor to ceiling across almost every wall. Books, knickknacks, picture frames, crystals, and plants filled every shelf, everything meticulously placed.

Candles burned on small tables that weren’t already lit with warm lamps in varying colors. The smell of frankincense mixed liberally with lavender in the air. It wasn’t overbearing, but we’d definitely leave here smelling like a walking stick of potpourri.

I followed Summer through the kitchen where her father was dishing out heaping bowls of stew. Steam wafted in the air above each large bowl, and my mouth watered.

My stomach growled and Summer chuckled. “He’s definitely hungry, Dad,” Summer announced as she walked me past him to a well-lit covered patio. Here the lighting matched the environment. Moody, charming, and relaxing.

Autumn and Ann were already seated at a large round table with a loaf of bread on a cutting board placed in the center. Next to Ann was a side cart that held a pot of tea and several dainty teacups, a bowl with sugar cubes, and a metal pitcher that I imagined contained milk.

“Sit you two. Take a load off,” Ann suggested. “Bernie’s ladling up the stew as we speak. We figured if you were coming straight from Vegas and the auction, you might not have eaten.”

The auction.

How did she already know about that?

I gripped the chair closest to Ann and held it out for Summer to take her seat. Her mother smiled, obviously approving of the gesture.

I took my own chair. “So, you know about the auction?”

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