“Shit. Sorry, Lil.” Jack, her youngest cousin, quickly stamped it out with the heel of his boot. “I didn’t think anyone would come out here.”
“You’re smoking now?”
He offered her a sheepish look from beneath his wild curls. “Not often. Please don’t tell my mom.”
“Hey, you’re nineteen now.” Which she couldn’t believe. She could still remember him being in diapers. “It’s none of my business what you get up to.” She wished he’d choose a less deadly vice, but it wasn’t her job to parent him.
“Thanks. You need to escape, too?”
“Just for a minute.” Lily buried her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket and leaned against the wall. “They’re…a lot.” Lily turned to face him. “Your mom’s going to kill you when she gets a whiff of your clothes.”
Jack produced a bottle of aftershave from his pocket, and Lily laughed, breath fogging the air.
“Have you got mouthwash, too?”
“I’m not an amateur, Lil.”
She shook her head. “How’s college?”
“Good. How’s being back here?”
Lily shrugged. “It’s not so bad. Nice being able to see everyone again.”
“Is it?” Jack said, as a loud peal of laughter carried through to the yard.
“Uh-huh.” She loved her family, eccentric though they may be. Lily’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and she wondered what Elsa was asking her now.
I have a charade for you,Lily read, in response to her complaining about what the night had devolved into.The Shawshank Redemption.
They couldn’t get the Sixth Sense,Lily typed back.I think that’s out of their league.
“Have you got a secret girlfriend or something?” Jack said, and Lily glanced away from her phone to find him watching her closely.
“What? No. Why would you ask that?”
“Because you’ve had that same dopey smile on your face whenever you’ve looked at your phone today,” Jack said, and Lily wondered when he’d become so observant. She’d seen him playing on his Switch for half the day. “You can tell me. We can be secret buddies.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t have a secret girlfriend.”
“Who is it, then?” He gestured toward her phone, and Lily slipped it back into her pocket. First Daisy, and now Jack? Elsa was right—family was nosy. At least her mom hadn’t picked up on it. Lily would never hear the end of it if she ever did.
“A friend.”
“I don’t look that happy whenever my friends text me.”
“When did you become such a smart ass?”
“Puberty,” Jack said, his grin cheeky, and Lily rolled her eyes.
The door to the yard slid open and Lily groaned, hoping their peace wasn’t about to be disturbed. She turned, but it was only Daisy, closing it behind her as she came to join them.
“Is this where all the cool kids are hanging out?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been described as cool in my life,” Lily said.
“Speak for yourself.” Jack looked affronted. “Has anyone noticed we’ve gone?”
“Nope. They’re all in a world of their own.” Daisy situated herself between Lily and Jack. “How long are you in town for, Jack?”
