Page 63 of Promised Summer
Karla slid down his body and ran back to be with the doggies.
Jones was probably going to be busy for the rest of the day, which meant it was the perfect time to sneak out and do something that I’d been wanting to do for a while.
“We’re gonna go to my grandma’s and get packing. I need to tell them we’re moving out, too,” I said with a laugh.
“You’re coming back tonight, right?” Jones asked.
“We’ll drop by…but maybe Karla and I should stay at Grandma’s today?”
“What? Why?” Jones said grumpily.
I gestured toward the room where everyone had already started painting. “There’s no bed.” I reminded him.
“You say that like it was the only bed at home,” Jones teased.
“You really want all three of us to sleep in your bed tonight? Karla kicks in her sleep.”
Jones let out a dramatic gasp. “No, she does not! Don’t say that about my baby girl!”
I laughed and patted his cheek. Karla did, in fact, kick in her sleep, but it wasn’t a nightly thing. “Fine, we’ll be back tonight. I’ll bring over dinner for everyone.”
Karla and I said our goodbyes to Jones and the others before heading out to my grandma’s place. Before I could even say anything, Karla had run up to my mom and excitedly told her we were going to live with Jones, Lily, and Sunny.
“Is that right, baby?” Mom asked, sending a smirk my way. She pulled Karla into a tight hug and then told her, “Why don’t you tell Gigi the news?”
We watched her run to Grandma’s room, and once we were alone in the kitchen, Mom turned my way with a shit-eating grin.
“Mom,” I said in a warning tone.
“What? A Mom can’t talk to her son anymore?”
“Not when you look like you’re about to grill me,” I grumbled.
“No grilling, I promise. I wouldn’t want you to get all toasted and crispy,” she teased.
“Your Mom jokes aren’t funny,” I told her, which only made her laugh.
She came to my side and bumped her hip with mine. “I’m just happy you’re happy.”
I turned to fully face her. “You’re not going to ask anything?”
She gave me one of hermom looks. It was a look that I’d seen so often growing up. It was the one that said ‘I know more than you think I do.’
“I know all I need to, just by looking at your face,” she said mysteriously.
“Did you gain this skill from years of snooping around other people’s business?”
Mom rolled her eyes affectionately. “No, this is a skill all parents have from years of watching their children. You’ve gained back your spark, honey. You used to wear it on you like a sleeve, but then it dimmed after your dad?—”
Her voice choked, and I pulled her into a hug. The pain of missing a loved one never went away. That was something I was well acquainted with.
Mom took a calming breath and wiped at her eyes. When she looked up at me again, they were clear of tears. “My point is, you lost your spark, and I haven’t seen it since. But I can see it returning now.”
Her smile turned mischievous again. “You always shone the brightest during our summers here, and now Iknow why. Were you in love with Jones even back then? You could have told me, you know.”
“Andthisconversation is done,” I said and dropped my arms. My mind was already swirling at her words, saying that I shone? And with Jones telling me basically the same thing, I was starting to wonder if my skinactuallyshone in the sun. Was I half-vampire?
I shook that crazy thought away and turned to find Karla to tell her I was making a quick grocery run.
