Page 47 of Her Greatest Adventure

She flops down beside me and pulls the covers up to her chin. “What are we watching?”

“What are you in the mood for?”

“Something scary.”

I chuckle, opening the menu on the TV. “I should have known you like horror shows.”

“Because I’m so terrifying?” She bares her teeth at me teasingly.

“That’s definitely it.”

Settling on a ghost-hunting show, we fall silent for a moment, both of us curious.

“No matter how fake these shows are, I can’t help but love them,” she says once the show fades to commercial. “They’re hilarious.”

“My mom loves these shows,” I tell her, glancing down to find her watching me. She tilts her head, expression open and curious. “We watched them a lot when I was growing up. When she would come visit me at Dad’s, we were either always watching old Disney cartoon movies or some sort of paranormal chasing show.”

“I don’t think I know much about your childhood. Only what I heard in passing.”

I nod. “Up until I was a teenager, Mom only ever really saw me at Dad’s house. We went out, too, but only if Dad were with us. You’ve probably heard how she was when I was a baby.”

Mom’s bipolar disorder is a topic we don’t really discuss outside of our family. Adalyn’s parents know everything, but there wasn’t much reason to spread it around beyond our inner circle. There are still days when I realize Mom hasn’t forgiven herself for keeping me a secret from Dad for those first couple of years, but if I had it my way, she would have let it go years ago.

She was brave enough to bring me to him when she knew she needed help, and we’ve been a family ever since.

When I was younger, it was hard to understand why she did the things she did, like handing over parental rights to Dad instead of sharing them. Of course, I assumed she did that because she didn’t love me as much as I loved her, but I’ve long since understood her actions and have grown to respect them.

I’ve watched her take her life back and become the happiest version of herself.

“Your mom is a badass, Coop. And she makes amazing lemon bars,” Adalyn says, grabbing my hand from atop the blankets and threading our fingers together.

I pull our hands to my lap. “I’ll make sure to tell her that the next time I talk to her.”

“Please do. I have a sinking feeling that she favours Maddox, and that just won’t do.”

Laughing, I run my thumb over her knuckles. “So, you plan on buying her favouritism with compliments?”

“Bribery at its finest.”

“Something tells me that you don’t need to bribe anyone to love you. They just can’t help themselves.”

Her eyes twinkle beneath the light of the TV. “Better tread carefully, then. Wouldn’t want you to get bit by the Addiebug.”

Something tells me to heed her warning.

19

ADALYN

“Your dad would runme over with a semi-truck if he knew what we were about to do,” Cooper mutters.

“He definitely would. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

He snorts a laugh. “Nice to know you’re okay with the idea of your dad running me over.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Sparrow. He won’t find out.”

“Sometimes I think you forget who you are. The second one of your fans sees us out there, we’re going to be all over social media.”

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