Page 53 of The Lightkeeper

“That sounds perfect.” I glanced at Kit, who fought to keep his expression unmoving.

“We should get going, Aurora, if you want to stop at the store,” he said, his weight shifting and his focus starting to fray.

“Oh, right.” I nodded. “I broke one of my display cases for the shells I’ve been collecting, so that’s why I came in with Kit; heoffered to take me to the store to pick up a new one,” I said, giving myself a mental pat on the back for explaining the reason we were here together before Lou got her hopes up.

“Okay, I won’t keep you.” Lou hugged me and her brother again. “Oh, you both are coming to the party, right?” There was no mistaking the way she held her breath and looked at Kit before adding, “Please?”

The tension coursing through him was palpable.Crowds. He didn’t like crowds.But maybe if he knew more about the party, he wouldn’t be so… worried. And that gave me an idea.

“Are there going to be a lot of people there?” I asked, pulling my lip between my teeth. “I’m awkward around a lot of people, especially people I don’t know.”

“What?” She gaped. “You’re not awkward at all.”

I cocked my head and blinked. “I relate everything back to sea creatures. And not the cool ones like sharks or whales either, but the weird, spiny, branchy, crusty ones that no one knows about.”

“But that stuff is interesting!”

Tell that to… well, everyone I’d gone to school with for the first twelve years of my education.

“Not for everyone,” I said softly.

“Only everyone with a brain,” Kit grumbled, the low compliment making my cheeks heat.

“Well, it’s just our family plus our cousins and a couple of friends—and they all have brains, so the ones who don’t know you will love you, too, I promise,” she assured me so warmly. For a second, I felt it soothe my insecurities, too, even though the reason I’d asked was for Kit. “We’re going to do dinner—Mom’s making our favorite lasagna—and then Jamie is going to build a bonfire.”

“So, not too many people?”

“Oh, not a lot,” she promised. “But we’re a lively bunch… especially when Frankie and our cousins get together, so I can’t promise there won’t be any shenanigans.”

I laughed. “I’m okay with shenanigans.”

“So, you’re coming?”

I nodded and then turned to Kit, my breath lodging deep in my chest, waiting for his answer.

“Yeah,” Kit replied after a long beat. “For a little.”

Maybe by then, I’d understand a little more about why he avoided crowds… and if there was anything else I could do to help him understand it.

Chapter Thirteen

Kit

“You’re here!”Lou wrapped me in a giant hug.

I squeezed her back and let out a deep exhale. “I said I would be.”

I’d keep my word, even if it killed me.

As I hugged my little sister, my eyes surveyed the surroundings. I’d been in Mom’s house a hundred thousand times, but with the living and dining rooms rearranged and the steady, solid furniture replaced with loud, living people, it was a different scenario. Lots of people meant lots of noise and commotion. Lots of places for panic to surprise me.

And the cold tap of fear on my shoulder begged me to wonder if I’d made a mistake.

There were more people than I’d expected. The list of family and friends I’d conjured up in preparation was overshadowed by the number of faces milling around.

“I’m sorry,” Lou said as she stepped back, her lashes fluttering. “Frankie added a few more people to the list Iwasn’t aware of.”

“It’s fine.”For now.

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