Page 59 of Watercolor Skulls

Rachel starts to walk away but stops. “What am I getting myself into?”

“It’s better if it’s a surprise,” Raffe answers, blowing her a kiss.

She huffs and walks off.

He raises his eyebrows and leans over, whispering, “Jackson opened a new box of cereal and that shit went every fucking where.”

I laugh, covering my mouth.

He continues, “We take turns cleaning up after him. It’s pretty much a twenty-four-seven job.”

I hear Rachel yell from inside, “Jackson!”

He comes running out, hiding under the table, shoving a handful of dry cereal into his mouth.

Chuckling I turn back to Raffe. He is staring at my necklace again. He glances away quickly. “Hey, Rachel and I were talking. Would Wednesday evenings work for you to hang out with Jackson? We could meet here or bring him over to your place.”

My fingers trail over the silver dragonfly. “Yeah, that would work fine for me. I’m excited. I have some ideas of things we can work on together.”

He watches my fingers. “Great. We’ll plan on it.” He leans forward to get a better look at my necklace.

I shift uncomfortably in my chair.

“I’m sorry. My friend had one just like it. I’ve never seen another.” He rubs his hand over his chest, his face dropping.

My heart stutters as I study him. No. Nope. Couldn’t be. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

“Maybe it’s just because I’ve been thinking about her a lot today with the charity run and all. She and I were trafficked. I haven’t seen her since the day they separated us,” he says sadly.

I swallow hard as I listen to his story. He is heartbreakingly beautiful. Blond hair, blue eyes, straight nose, high cheek bones. Doesn’t mean anything though. No. Nope. Can’t be.

“I gave her the necklace on her fourteenth birthday. She had it on when…” his words trail as he watches Katie and Bill head down to the dock with fishing poles in their hands. “Anyhow, she was such a free spirit. I’ve looked for her, but I’ve hit a dead end every time.”

I’m blinking back tears, hoping he doesn’t notice. This can’t be happening. There is no way. No way. There are over three hundred twenty eight million people in the United States. For me to end up here…

I run my finger over my little flip phone.

I could show him.

Then he would tell me it’s not her.

It can’t be her.

He leans forward again. “May I?” he asks.

I nod slowly, dropping my hand from the pendant. Raffe reaches out and traces his finger over it. “Damn, I miss her,” he whispers. He’s caught up in his own emotions, not noticing the turmoil running through my veins. “Jenny, where the fuck are you?” he asks the little dragonfly. He rubs his hand over his eyes, sliding back into his seat.

No.

No.

My heart beats wildly in my chest.

Jackson runs up. “Lily. Lily. Lily. Let’s go see the dragonflies,” he begs.

Raffe opens his eyes, locking on my tear filled ones.

Hastily, I rise from my chair, stumbling. Jackson grabs my hand and pulls me down the hill towards the lake. I glance back at Raffe. He stands slowly as his gaze trails us.

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