Page 24 of Trace's Passion
Emery smiled at the nickname. Only Grandma called her that.
When they sat down at a booth, Grandma immediately ordered a chocolate shake with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
Emery smiled and got one too. She also ordered a side of fries, because fries.
They sat in companionable silence and when their shakes came Emery laughed at the size. They were massive and glad they were in a large cup, so they could have more.
Grandma picked up her spoon and clinked it with hers.
Emery dug in and moaned at the first taste of the sweet treat. “Oh my gosh! That’s amazing!”
Grandma laughed, “I tried to tell you. They were so good, and I had to go for months without eating one.”
Emery giggled, “True. It is a tragedy to go without ice cream this good for that long. I had to go without it my whole life! I'm glad I moved here now. Life is complete with ice cream like this.”
Their waitress came by to see how they were doing, she was young, about Emery’s age and she smiled when she heard the words that Emery said.
“The ice cream is good huh? My nana makes it. She has for a long time. It’s one of the reasons we are so popular. Try the pie too.”
Emery laughed, “One slice then please. If it’s anything like this ice cream, we are gonna have issues.”
The waitress laughed, “Oh I know. I have to run every morning, or I would gain weight like crazy. It's just too good to not eat here all the time.”
Emery smiled, “I’m Emery. This is my Grandma Viv. I just moved here a few days ago and Grandma has lived here for almost 6 months but just got out of the hospital today.”
The waitress held out her hand and shook Emery’s. “I’m Mila. It’s nice to meet you. Why were you in the hospital? Oh, wait, were you the woman who was injured in the break in a few months back?”
Grandma Viv nodded, “I was. But I'm fine. Just needed more time to heal. The Sheriff and his Deputy saved my life.”
Mila nodded, “Those men are pretty great. They have been so wonderful for our town. Bringing something to it that we haven’t had but needed. I grew up here, and boy are we grateful that Sheriff McGuire took over. My grandpa was one of his deputies and was so tired after being on the force for so long.”
Emery smiled, “I haven’t met the Sheriff yet, but Deputy Barker sure is great.”
Mila laughed, “Oh yeah? All the folks around here love Trace. He is an implant here, like you guys.”
Emery raised her eyebrow, “Yeah?”
Mila nodded, “He has only been here for a little over two years. He moved here after the police academy with Brek. And he helped to figure out who was responsible for the break ins. But both him and Brek were injured in the last one. They both were in the hospital for a little while. Trace for two weeks and Brek for a month.”
Emery’s eyes went wide, “Really? That’s awful!”
She wanted to see Trace now and find out the story. It was scary knowing he had been hurt and she knew it was irrational to feel so protective over him, but she wanted to make sure for herself that he was truly fine now.
Mila went on, “Yeah, my grandpa and the old chief had to take over for a bit. All of our officers were taken out in that one go. It was tragic. But it all ended well. Trace found his lost sister and Brek ended up married to her. Their story is beautiful really. I practically swooned when I saw how in love Brek is with Sienna. It was fast, and yet you can see just how meant to be they are.”
Emery smiled, and Mila got called to another table. Emery wanted to make friends with her.
Speaking of friends, she hadn’t talked to Karalee in a while and that wasn’t like them.
“Grandma, do you mind if I text Karalee really quick?”
Grandma smiled, looking up from her shake. “Of course, darling. That girl is as much my granddaughter as you are.”
Emery smiled. That was true. The two of them had been friends since they were 5 and were still as close today as they were then.
Karalee was even thinking about moving here. She didn’t have anything to keep her in town, as her parents had moved away for the army and Karalee had stayed with Emery’s family.
When Emery left to come here, Karalee knew she was more than welcome, but hadn’t decided what she wanted to do when Emery left.
