Page 56 of Shadowed Obsession

He skips backward into the house. “Come on in, Eve!”

I follow him inside with a laugh. Dixie squeezes my bicep and together we walk into the kitchen.

I set my tote bag on the kitchen table and look over at her. “How are you doing, Dixie? Ready for tomorrow?”

She smiles, nodding a little bit. “I've got a few errands to run today. I was hoping I could persuade you to help me out and push your special activity with Hunter until this afternoon.”

“Oh, of course. Whatever you need.”

She smiles. “Thanks, honey. I knew you wouldn't mind.”

“When do you want to go?” I ask her, casually looking around the room. I don't expect to see Silas, not with the long hours Dixie told me he frequently works. But I am getting a little curious about Nova and why the hell he's been radio silent for days now.

“Now,” she says with a laugh. “There's a farmer's market at Lockwood Park that opened a half hour ago. If we wait much longer, all the good stuff will be gone.”

I slide my purse over my head, settling the crossbody against my chest. “Alright, Hunter, time to go on an adventure,” I call out.

* * *

The soft coolerbag Dixie brought to store her produce is tossed over my shoulder. I had to wait until Hunter distracted her when we got out of the car to toss it over my shoulder. I'm not going to stand back and watch as the woman who has shoulder surgery tomorrow afternoon carry a heavy bag on said shoulder.

But since she pushed back when I offered to carry it the first time, I knew I had to be a little sneaky.

Hunter's sticky hand tightens on mine, and I regret not tossing a pack of hand sanitizing wipes in my bag before we left. I'm still getting used to just how messy five-year-olds are. I don't even knowwhythey're sticky—we haven't even sampled anything yet. But that's about to change because I spot a homemade jam booth.

“Ooh, anyone want to try some raspberry jam?” I look from Hunter to Dixie, my brows raised.

“You two go ahead. I'm going to grab some rainbow carrots from the booth next door,” Dixie says, crossing the pathway.

“Alright, it's me and you, bud.” We walk hand-in-hand toward the booth in question, stopping in front of the table.

Little wooden crates are propped up, showcasing mason jars full of jam in a variety of sizes and flavors. Raspberry, lingonberry, strawberry rhubarb, blueberry honey, peach ginger, and a few savory flavors too.

Hunter's eyes widen as he takes it all in. “Wow.”

“I know,” I say with a nod. “Have you ever had jam before?”

His face scrunches together like he's thinking really hard. “I don't think so. How do you eat it?”

“Toast, English muffins, pancakes, with peanut butter in a sandwich. You really can't go wrong with jam, bud. I think you're going to like it.”

He nods and looks at the jars again. “If you like it, I'll like it too.”

I chuckle, and ruffle his hair with my free hand. I set the cooler on the ground between my feet and lean over so Hunter and I are eye-to-eye. “Okay, so this is the fun part. We get to pick which flavors we want to try, and then use these little spoons to spread it out on a piece of bread.”

I hand him a little white plastic spoon and put a few pieces of bread on a cocktail napkin in front of us.

“Got it. Which one should we try?”

I point to each jar as I read the flavors, and his lips purse as he listens carefully. He reaches out and points to apple cinnamon and apricot. Maybe my two least favorites, but if he wants to try them, then that's what we're going to do.

I help him get the lid off and hold the napkin so he can spread his jam on a little piece of bread. Right when I open my mouth to toss my bite in, I hear a nasally voice right behind me.

“Oh my god, Hunter!”

It's so high-pitched and loud that I flinch, pinching my fingers together and smushing the piece of bread. I ignore my jammy fingers and slide a step to the right, effectively blocking anyone from approaching Hunter.

I look over my shoulder at the woman. Big, bouncy waves of platinum blonde hair, tiny jean skirt, and a white tee that's definitely partially see-through. Wearing platform flip flops with legs for days and sunglasses that cover half of her face.

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