“Thea would’ve loved you,” Lark assured her with a grin. “Right, Skye?”
I forced my mind back to the moment, faking a smile. “Yes, of course.”
I doubted Thea Ramsey would feel the same about me, though. If she were here tonight, I could only imagine what she’d want to do with me. Thea might’ve been the youngest, and the only girl, but she had been fiercely protective of her brothers. She wouldn’t have taken lightly to me leaving Fox the way I had.
I took another long drink of wine.
“Everything all right?” Lark looked at me with genuine compassion.
The two of us had never really spoken one-on-one, but I’d followed the case of the murders she was the sole survivor of. She had been through an utter nightmare. Not only had she lived through such tragedy, but she had endured public scrutiny from the whole country for years. Many speculated she had something to do with the crime because she survived.
She carried her grief with grace.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m—I mean, I admire both of you,” I said, surprising myself. “I don’t say that lightly. I’ve followed the cases you’ve both been in the crosshairs of, and I’m a little in awe, to be honest.”
Lark’s eyes widened as a flush crept up her neck. They looked at each other, a flicker of surprise between them. Then, Emersyn grinned.
“Well, I do accept compliments lightly, so thank you.” She winked.
That got a small, true smile from me. Emersyn never seemed to let me down.
“That means a lot coming from you.” Lark leaned forward. “I don’t usually watch a lot of true crime stuff, but Emersyn has shown me some of your shows on Crime and Justice. You’re incredible, Skye.”
I blinked, my own face heating. “I do my best.” I shrugged. It didn’t normally make me so flustered when someone complimented my work, but it felt different coming from her. Someone I respected. “I love the work.”
“And we love a hot, investigative journalist who rocks her career.” Emersyn raised her glass, grinning.
It felt like my cheeks were on fire. “I’m not sure about the ‘hot’ part.”
Emersyn lifted her brows. “I know a certain Ramsey brother who would vehemently agree with the hot part. That man has only had eyes for one person the last couple weeks…”
I choked on my wine. “Uh, I don’t know if that’s true…” I trailed off, awkwardness settling around me.
Lark took a sip of her tea as she and Emersyn shared another look.
“Skye,” Emersyn said with a smirk. “The tension between you two could cut glass.”
I cleared my throat, entirely uncomfortable with this shift in the conversation. “I—”
My response was cut off by the pitter-patter of little feet as Hailey barreled into the room. “Excuse me!” she bellowed, gaining our attention.
Lark grinned at the little girl. “What’s up, Hails?”
Hailey’s big emerald eyes scanned each of us, lingering on me. “Oh, nothing.” She shrugged. “I wanted to hang out with the girls. And Grandma said the food is almost ready.”
She skipped toward my chair, tilting her head to the side like she was inspecting something mildly interesting.
I squirmed slightly in my seat, glancing hesitantly at Lark and Emersyn, when Hailey didn’t say anything for a long while. She just stared, like she was trying to decide what I was doing here.
“Um…hello.” I gave her what I hoped was a warm smile.
She pursed her lips. “I’m Hailey,” she said, matter-of-factly.
“I’m Skye,” I said, still unsure what she wanted from me.
She nodded curtly, like she’d finally made some kind of decision. Then, as if it were the most normal thing to do, she crawled up ontomy lap. I jumped as she got herself comfortable, holding my wine glass away from my body so it didn’t spill.
When she was settled, she looked up at me, grinning. “My daddy said you’re Uncle Fox’s friend.”
