Page 40 of Annika's Aurora

“The three of us did this all the time that summer we spent here. Logan always took the biggest spoonfuls,” she teased.

“Nuh-uh. That was Jamie!” he insisted.

“Sure, it was,” she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I swear! Cross my heart.” He drew an x across his heart, and Annika giggled.

“Look!” she accused. “Look right there. Look at the size of that spoonful! Save some for the rest of us!”

“You’re right, Sunfire. I should share.” He took a finger full of ice cream and bopped her on the nose with it, leaving a dollop to drip off the tip of her nose. He laughed at the shocked expression on her face.

“Ooh. I’ll get you for that.”

“Sure, you will,” he taunted.

“When you least expect it!” she promised.

“You forget. I was a SEAL. You’ll never be able to sneak up on me.”

“We shall see,” she quipped as she wiped the ice cream off her nose. He couldn’t resist that pout. He leaned over and kissed her solidly on the lips. They both froze, then looked across the table at her parents.

“I told you so,” Johanna said to Jansen, who pulled out his wallet and handed his wife a twenty.

“Mom!” Annika cried in shock.

“What, Sweetie?” she replied, all innocence as she tucked the twenty inside her shirt.

“Jeez!” moaned Annika mortified. Jansen and Logan burst into laughter.

Chapter 12

Thefollowingday,afteralatebrunch,thegirlsdecidedtogoChristmasshopping,leavingthementofendforthemselves.TheyallagreedtomeetupatJolene’sfordinner.JohannaandAnnikawereindowntownLakeHavensearchingallthecutemom-and-popshopsandboutiquesfortheperfectgifts.Eachshopwasanhomagetothewordhaven,andAnnikalovedtheuniquenessofit.TherewasHydrationHaven,ajuicebar,andastationarystorecalledHavenNotation.

In the summer, when Lake Haven became a tourist hot spot, more shops opened up. Incantation Haven, the local psychic, set up a tent on one corner. Ovation Haven, the local theater, put on shows to entertain both children and adults. Annika had always loved visiting while growing up. She and Johanna couldn’t wait to hit the shops each summer to see what new things the residents of Lake Haven had come up with.

Finished with the shops on one side of the cobblestone street, mother and daughter enjoyed a cup of winter blend coffee at the corner café, Brew-tiful Haven. The subject, of course, turned to the budding relationship between Annika and Logan. Annika was surprised her mother waited as long as she did to drill her daughter.

“Are you happy, Sweetie?” Johanna asked.

“Yes, Mom. You know I’ve wanted this for a long time.”

“I know. You’ve had this image of the two of you in your mind for so long. Just be careful not to let the reality of a relationship become a disappointment compared to the dream.”

“Don’t worry, Mom.”

“I’m your mother. I will always worry about you,” she teased. Taking a sip of her coffee, she was pensive. “Have you told him everything?”

Annika stared into her coffee; it was easier than seeing the judgmental look in her mother’s eyes. “Not everything. No”

“Annika.”

“He’ll just blame himself the way he has for everything else,” she reasoned. Johanna reached across the little table and grabbed her daughter’s wrist, running her thumb along the scar there.

“What if he sees these? Won’t that just make things worse? You can’t build a solid foundation with him unless you are honest with each other. Don’t keep secrets. He needs to know everything that happened.” Annika knew her mother was right but had no idea how to start that conversation with him.

Annika looked out of the window at a little family that was making their way down the sidewalk. The dad had one child on his shoulders while the mom was holding the other child’s hand. They were laughing. It was such an idyllic scene. One that Annika had always imagined she’d have. She was thirty-three years old. She should have been married and had two point four kids by now. At least that had been the plan when she’d imagined her future as a teenager. Of course, Logan was always at the center of that plan. She never imagined how off-kilter it would get.

She was so close to getting all that she’d dreamed of having. If she confessed to Logan how bad things had been for her after he left, would it ruin the delicate trust they were trying to build with each other? But if she didn’t tell him and he found out anyway, what then? Would he hate her for not telling him herself? How does one even begin a conversation like that? ‘Hey, remember after my twin died and you disappeared on me? Well, I couldn’t live with the pain anymore, so …’

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