Page 36 of Secrets on Ice

She pulls back, cupping my face between her hands. "You've lost weight."

"Mom. It’s been a week. I doubt that, not with the amount of ice cream Cassidy and I have been inhaling.”

"You have." She looks behind me at Emmett. “Emmett.” She opens her arms wide to give him a hug. "Thank you," she tells him.

He smiles. "I didn't do much."

"You gave my little girl somewhere safe."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he tells her.

Mom's eyes well with tears before she quickly wipes them away. "Come inside." She takes my hand like she used to when I was little, and leads me into the house. "I've got a pot on," she tells us. "I've also made lunch."

Emmett and I look at each other, this is home.

"I've been worried," Mom confesses as she moves around the kitchen fussing over us.

"I know."

She busies herself making three coffees, needing something to do with her hands. I sit at the kitchen table while Emmett pulls out a chair beside me. Mom places the mugs in front of us before finally sitting down herself.

"How did it go with the lawyer?" she asks.

"Better than I expected."

She lets out a breath. "So ... what happens now?"

I wrap both hands around my mug. “We now have an idea where we stand legally. I guess it’s now up to Trevor and Kevin to play nice.”

“You think they will?” she asks.

I shrug. “Not sure. I hope so.”

“He will,” she tells me.

See, that is where I’m not sure. I don’t know who Kevin is anymore, he feels like a stranger now. So, I don’t trust him not to mess me around.

“Well, whatever will be, will be,” Mom says, patting my hand.

9

EMBER

The closer we get to my house, the quieter the car becomes. I’m a bundle of nerves, and I know Cassidy is too. Emmett pulls up outside and turns off the engine. For a few seconds, nobody moves. My eyes lock on the front door. It’s the same door I have walked in and out of every single day for years, and now … it doesn’t feel so familiar.

Sully twists around from the front seat. "You don't have to do this if you're not ready," he tells us.

I let out a slow breath. "I'm not sure I’ll ever be ready."

Cassidy reaches across and takes my hand. "We've got this."

I nod.

"Together," she says.

"Always." I smile at her.

Emmett looks between us. "We'll stay right here."