My eyes narrow. “I’ve warned you about that nickname.”
“Look, just because I wasn’t around when Aunt Pinky called youBubbadoesn’t make it any less hilarious.”
“It’s not hilarious. It’s annoying.”
“Spoken like a true oldest child.” She takes another bite of ice cream. “Did you barf?”
She switches topics so fast, it takes me a beat to realize she’s back to the mushrooms. “No.”
“What happened then?”
I lean back against the counter, crossing my arms.What happened…
A lot. It’s been on my mind all day. Thankfully, it didn’t impact my game play, and we beat San Jose handily. Still, I’ve been all twisted up inside.
On the one hand, I feel a relief I haven’t felt in seven years. On the other, thinking about what it means stirs up feelings of guilt I thought I’d put away.
“Okay, you are takingwaytoo long to answer me, so I’m guessing it must’ve been intense.”
My brow furrows, and I decide just to say it. “I saw Angie.”
Her eyes widen, and she puts the pint and the spoon on the counter. “You sawAngie?”
I nod, and she turns and walks straight to the cabinet over the stove. She opens the doors and takes down the bottle of Stone Cold single-barrel reserve whiskey my uncle Alex gave me when I left Eureka.
It’s my late grandfather’s old recipe that my uncle cultivated and turned into a world-renowned label. It also turned my family into multi-millionaires.
My sister pours us each a finger and hands me a glass. She lifts hers, and we clink before tossing it back.Smooth.
“Now.” She takes my arm and leads me to the table. “Tell me everything that happened.”
Normally, I would roll my eyes at her theatrics, but in this case, I’m not so sure.
“It was like I was being lifted up, and there was light all around me.” I try to remember the details, but some of them are hazy now. “She was there, smiling. She kind of reminded me of that old movieWild at Heartwhen the Good Witch appears to Sailor.”
“Never saw it.”
“Well…” I try to think of how to describe it. “She had light all around her, and she seemed to hover in front of me.”
“What did she say?”
Bending my elbow, I rub my fingers over my closed eyes trying to remember her exact words, the order of our conversation.
“She told me she was okay. She said she was at peace.” Again, those words hit me in the chest hard. Clearing my throat, I push past the emotions. “She told me to let her go and get on with my life.”
Heather presses her lips together, nodding slowly. “It was her spirit. She can feel you still holding onto her, and she wants to transition.”
“I don’t believe in that.”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe in it or not. It is.” Heather reaches across the table, holding my hand. “Why are you afraid?”
My jaw clenches, and I don’t like her choice of words. “I’m not afraid.”
“Owen.” She arches an eyebrow. “You have a beautiful woman falling in love with you. You’ve been given permission to let go and live. Why are you still hesitating?”
“I’m having a hard time believing it was real and not just what I want to happen.” I lean closer, lowering my voice so Maddie doesn’t hear. “I was on drugs.”
“Mind-expanding drugs. Native Americans have used psilocybin to commune with the spirit world for generations.” She leans back in her chair. “It was real.”
