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“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered.
“And this is my girlfriend, Kinsley Jackson.”
The title “girlfriend” shouldn’t have filled me with such gratification, but it made me stand a little taller. I irrationally wanted to make my claim clear.
Gracie’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows rose the tiniest fraction, but she otherwise remained inscrutably cool. Alice, thankfully, was much warmer as she welcomed us both with a broad smile.
“Nice to meet you both,” Alice said. “So, what are you doing back here? I thought we’d seen the last of you.”
“I’m looking for my dad. Has he been around?”
“Haven’t seen him. He left in a hurry. What was it? A few months ago? As far as I know, he hasn’t been back. After he had been gone for a while, I came in and cleaned up the place a bit, and I check in every so often,” Alice explained.
“Thank you so much.” Wyatt said.
Suddenly, the mystery of the tidy house was solved.
“What’s going on with the place? I thought Jake was selling, but no one ever showed up to claim it,” Alice prodded further.
“I’m trying to figure that out too.” Wyatt shared the gist of his conversation with the bank.
“Well, I’m happy for you. I know how much this place means to you,” Alice offered sincerely.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Gracie added quietly.
Wyatt gave her a small smile. But was he back? I’d thought we were here looking for his dad. Wyatt wasn’t moving back home.
“Well…” Alice clapped her hands together, breaking the momentary silence. “Now that I know squatters haven’t moved in, I best get home. You all look like you need a good meal, so I’ll expect you for dinner at five.”
“That’s really unnecessary,” Wyatt protested.
Alice cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Nonsense. I won’t take no for an answer. Come on, Gracie, let’s get cooking,” Alice declared, her tone leaving no room for argument.
I stole another glance at Gracie. I could sense her curiosity simmering just below the surface, like the nagging discomfort in the pit of my stomach.
Alice’s home, though modest and dated, exuded a warmth and welcoming air that was comforting as soon as you walked in the door. It was on a small farm that ran next to Wyatt’s property, leading me to believe that Wyatt must have spent a considerable amount of time here during his childhood.
A picture hanging on the wall inside the door confirmed my suspicions. It featured a much younger Wyatt, still tall but lacking the fullness he had now. His face bore a more youthful look, yet he was unmistakably handsome. His arm was around a little Gracie, who wore an ear-to-ear smile.
“It was a long time ago,” Wyatt murmured beside me, catching me off guard.
I hadn’t realised he was standing there.
“Old girlfriend I presume?”
“Umm, yeah,” he admitted.
“Great, a little warning would’ve been nice,” I grumbled under my breath as I moved further into the house, growing more annoyed with each step.
“Make yourselves at home!” Alice’s voice rang from the kitchen, cutting through the awkward tension.
The four of us settled in the living room. Wyatt took my hand and led me over to a love seat covered with a blue and yellow afghan, adding to the room’s cozy, outdated charm. The rest of the furniture was adorned with more knitted blankets, and a large basket of yarn sat on the floor, hinting at Alice’s knitting hobby because, of course, she knitted. The house was like a portal to an earlier time, right down to the ancient-looking TV.
Finn and Grady took the couch while Gracie perched on an armchair.
“So, Gracie,” Finn began, trying to break the ice. “How have you been? What have you been up to?”
“I just go by Grace,” she corrected him.
