Page 42 of Watercolor Skulls

“What all did you have?”

He sighs and turns to look at me. “One pickle and two carrot sticks.”

Lily giggles and Jackson’s gaze slides back to her. His ornery eyes twinkle mischievously. He has big brown eyes and a floppy head of hair that is usually hanging over one if not both of his eyes.

“How about you have a piece of fried chicken or a sandwich and then we can go look for bugs.”

He sticks his tongue out at me then runs away, looking over his shoulder to see if I’ll chase him. Grumpily, he grabs a plate and tosses a sandwich on it. He walks back over to us and settles by my side. He rubs his face over my arm as an apology for sticking his tongue out. I ruffle his hair. “Where’s your mom and dad?”

He shrugs his shoulders while shoving half the sandwich in his mouth.

Lily grabs our empty plates. “I’m going to go help clean up and then we can go on our bug hunt.”

He shoves another large bite in his mouth. “Okay,” he says, crumbs falling all over his shirt.

This kid.

After Lily finishes helping clean up, she says a quick good-bye to everyone who helped work on her place this morning. Dirk and Raffe are moving the last of the furniture in. I’d help but we have to go find some damn bugs.

Jackson bounces ahead of us as we walk, Billie Rose on my shoulders. It’s peaceful in the woods behind her house. “So, what did you think about the club?”

Lily smiles up at me. “Everyone is so unique. I loved having them all here.”

“Well this was just a handful. Next weekend several chapters are coming down for a fundraising run. I’d love it if you’d ride with me.”

“It sounds fun. What are you raising money for?”

“Victims of sexual assault. We do a couple of runs every year. We have a few survivors in the club, it’s important to us.”

Lily focuses on the ground.

“So, will you go with me?” I ask, slowing my steps.

She gnaws on her bottom lip but shakes her head yes.

I stop, grabbing her arm and pulling her to face me. Billie Rose pats my head wanting down. I set her gently on her feet. “Jackson why don’t you stop and look for bugs around here.” Jackson drops to the ground, scrounging through the fallen leaves. Billie Rose runs over to help him search.

“What’s going on up here?” I tap Lily’s temple.

She stares into my eyes for several minutes. An unforeseen force propels me to hold my hand out to her. She takes it and squeezes as if she’s afraid I will slip away. Her lips part and she gasps as if she had just been underwater and is coming up for air.

Chapter Seventeen

Lily

???

Ithought my anxiety had left me, turns out I had been so busy with my new surroundings it just hadn’t an opportunity to pounce. What am I doing here? These people are helpers. I’ve never been a helper in my entire life. I’ve never been anything other than a damn doormat or worse an enabler.

Dan says something to me, but it sounds muffled like I’m underwater. My eyes clamber around his frame until I find his amber ones. They pull me back to the surface, back to reality.

“I’m…I’m sorry what did you say?” I don’t look away; afraid I’ll slip back under.

He places his warm palm against the side of my neck, letting his fingers naturally curl behind. “Are you feeling okay?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I shake my head, finally able to remove my gaze from his. “It’s been a long day. I think I’m just a little sleepy.”

“Lily,” he warns.

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