Page 40 of Wreck Me

It wasn't like Nico to yell at his twin, but this was a special situation, a delicate situation. Vince showing up here could scramble everything. All Vince knew about Ginny were the awful things Nico had told him. He knew nothing about her finding the photo album and using it to recreate their childhood home.

Speaking of which, he felt just as badly about not telling Vince that their mom had recognized him, and they’d spent over an hour together talking and reminiscing. He would explain all that to him too—afterthings were settled with Ginny.

Fifteen minutes later, he pulled up in front of the Placard house. In ripped jeans and her army green work jacket over a black tee, Ginny sat on the front porch steps. A backpack lay beside her. The expression on her face seemed anything but glad to see him.Uh oh. Had he done something wrong again?He got out of the truck.

Slipping on the backpack as she stood, she walked down the front walk, arms crossed over her chest. “Is this a trick?”

He yanked his chin in in legitimate surprise. “Of course not. We’re agreed on a plan and I'm fully in support of it.”

Her lips remained pursed with the corners turned down. “But what do you get out of it that you wouldn’t get much cheaper just by luring me away and destroying my house?”

He put his hands in his pockets and lowered his head slightly. “First off, your sister tells me I’d pay a high fine for doing that. Second…” He looked down at the ground, feeling vulnerable. “…I was hoping I’d still be able to bring my mother by now and then, so the house can work its magic.”

Her shoulders softened. “Really?”

“Of course. Without this house exactly the way it is inside, I don’t think I’d ever get to talk to her that way again. But she won’t know the difference in terms of the location. She didn’t recognize anything about the outside.”

Ginny’s green eyes stared into his. It felt like she was crowbarring open a door and rummaging through the debris of his soul. Fortunately, he wasn’t worried about what she’d find there—at least regarding the house. He fully intended to move it.

Apparently at least somewhat satisfied, she stepped to the very end of the sidewalk and dangled a toe over the edge of the curb. “You swear?”

He placed his hand over his heart. “I swear on my mother’s love.”

“How about you swear on Aunt Cecilia’s marinara recipe too? It’s even better than peanut butter.” But to his relief, she abandoned the sidewalk and moved toward the truck. She looked back at the yard, where three dogs stared at them through the fence. “Are we bringing the band?”

“We don’t have to, but I think they’ll love the place. They probably need a change of scenery as badly as you do.”

They fetched the dogs, put them in the back seat, and headed out.

Ginny looked especially small and delicate in the big truck as she pulled the thick seat belt over herself, like one of those little flower fairies he saw in picture books as a child. As they drove, her hair began to lash her cheeks from the wind coming through the sunroof. He pressed the button to close it.

She frowned lightly. “You don’t want that open?”

“It’s okay. Most women find it annoying to have their hair flying around.”

“Annoying things remind you you’re alive.”

He pushed the button to open it again. “Then let’s live it up!”

“How long is the drive?” she asked next.

“About an hour if the traffic God smiles on us. It’d be a little quicker on the 101, but something tells me you prefer the scenic route.”

Ginny reached up and placed her hands into the stream of wind whooshing over the truck’s roof, wiggling her fingers in the current. “Always.”

Nico imagined her as a flower fairy, weaving strands of air into a never-ending invisible braid growing longer and longer behind them as they drove.

That was weird. He never imagined fanciful things like that.

“Monique called me yesterday,” she said.

Nico nodded. Vince had mentioned she’d called him too. “What did she want?”

She pulled her hands back in and rested them on her lap. “She’s worried about me.”

Nico looked over at her, trying to gauge her body language. “Why?”

Ginny returned the glance, a cheeky smile on her lips. “I’m just kidding. She’s worried about you. Apparently, for days it’s been,” she made air quotes, “radio silence.”

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