Page 45 of Big Dill

“How do you know this is the right house?” she asks.

“House number,” Jaxon says, like that explains everything.

“They all look alike. I’m not going anywhere without you two. I’d wander these streets for days.”

“Not days,” I clarify. “You wouldn’t make it past twenty-four hours without freezing to death. And if you did, the coyotes or bears would finish the job.”

“Reassuring,” she says, shivering. “And all the more reason never to venture off alone.”

Jaxon kills the ignition, and she follows me up the walkway. My stomach tightens. My family can be blunt, brutally honest, and while they mean no harm, I want to shield her from anything that could dig up old hurts.

Ma swings the door open before we even reach the steps, arms wide.

“Ma, this is Jami. Jami, this is my mother, Lori.”

“There you are!” Mom bellows, loud enough for them to hear it three hundred miles away in Labrador City.

Honestly, it hasn’t been that long since I’d seen her. “Ma,” I say, about to step into her hug when she shoos me away and swoops Jami into her arms. Jaxon snickers and I roll my eyes. Typical Ma behavior. I should have expected it.

After a hug that could easily leave Jami’s lungs on the endangered list, Ma drags her inside. “Let me look at you,” she says, grinning. “Such a pretty little thing. Come in, come in, before you catch your death of cold.”

“What am I, a fancy salad?” I ask.

On the mainland, they’d say chopped liver, but Newfoundlanders love chopped liver so that comparison doesn’t work. Fancy salads, we don’t like them so much. Except for Ma.

She ushers Jami down the hall, leaving Jaxon and me standing on the porch. I glance at him. “It’s like we’re yesterday’s news,” I mutter.

“Hey, at least this will get them off my single back,” Jaxon says.

“Really? That’s what you think? Did you just meet them?” I ask.

Jaxon laughs and throws his hand over my shoulder, then goes serious. “Wait…why aren’t they after you?” His lips tighten as he nods, the answer dawning. “Right.”

Elise.

“There’s a window, though,” I say, tapping my fitness watch like it holds the secrets of the universe. “But it’s closing fast. Soon they’ll be all over me to get back out there, too.”

I step in, and he follows. Voices echo through the house, and I nod toward the chaos. “Let’s go save her, shall we?”

We hang our coats, toss hats and mitts aside, and follow the trail of delicious smells: pot roast, roasted vegetables, and something sweet baking in the oven. Warmth and love fill the house—it’s everything I missed about these Sunday dinners when I was away.

“Hey, baby bro!” Sadie swoops in, arms around me. She pulls back just enough to pinch my side. “You’re getting too skinny. Ma, extra serving for the baby.”

I roll my eyes, catching Jami’s amused grin before I can respond. Then—chaos hits. Two miniature elephants come barreling into the kitchen.

“Uncle Brody!” they squeal.

I scan the kitchen. “Do you hear that noise?”

They run at me full throttle, each grabbing a leg. I start dragging them around, their squeals filling the room. I don’t miss Jami, standing off to the side, watching my family in awe and delight.

“Uncle Brody, we’re down here!” little Abby yells.

I cup my ear. “Did anyone else hear that?”

“Didn’t hear a thing,” Ma says, taking Jami’s coat and carrying it down the hall.

“Uncle Brody, it’s me,” Mason chirps. “Down here. Look!”