It shouldn’t have surprised her that Jake moved out of his childhood home, but what sent her reeling were the details of the house.
Did he remember what she’d said to him on one rare occasion when they were alone? Technically Thao had been snoring on the floor while they’d shared the couch, sitting a little closer than friends should be. But in the dim lighting, it felt intimate, and Jake had turned to Gia and asked her what her dream house would look like.
She’d told him she’d always wanted to have a big blue house right on the water, so she could jump in whenever the mood struck.
Was it her imagination or had he built the house of her dreams? Was she reading too much into it?
“Come on. I’ll be right back.” Marley rushed to the front door, which was unlocked, leaving Gia to her thoughts. She didn’t dare enter, so she stood frozen by the entrance.
From her position, she heard Marley’s sneakers squeaking as she ran through the house. When it grew quiet, Gia took halting steps into the foyer and looked around. Marley was nowhere to be seen.
“You okay up there?” Her voice echoed through the empty house.
“Yep, almost done!” Marley’s muffled voice came from somewhere upstairs. Then, after a pause, she yelled, “Got it!”
The sound of a door shutting preceded Marley’s quick footsteps as she ran down the stairs with a dark blue fleece blanket in her arms.
“All right, let’s get out of here.”
Gia uncrossed her arms and yanked open the door as she rushed out of the house that looked like it belonged in her favorite magazines. She heard Marley following closely behind her, but she didn’t bother looking to confirm. Once she was safely on the sidewalk, she turned around right as Marley shut the door, not bothering to lock it.
The trek back to the shop was quick. Marley pulled the carrier out, checking to see if they had caught their target but finding it empty of any critters.
She watched as Marley took the contents out to make room for the blanket before shoving it inside.
Marley folded the much-too-large blanket, creating a small hole where fleece would cocoon the creature. She returned the canned tuna and the carrier to their hiding place. With a flap of blanket hanging outside the lip, Marley placed more treats on top.
“This is perfect.” Marley glanced up at Gia. “When it climbs in, we can pull the blanket up to give us time to shut the trapdoor.”
“Nice thinking, Marley.” Gia didn’t miss the pink coloring Marley’s cheeks from the praise.
After Marley finished, she jumped up, brushing off her hands.
Without another word, Gia walked Marley back to Jake’s house. Only this time, instead of going inside, Gia stood on the sidewalk. Marley turned to face her, one hand poised on the doorknob, eyebrows raised in question.
“I’m gonna get going.” Gia gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m not working at the restaurant until the afternoon tomorrow, if you want me to come get you so we can check on the trap in the morning.”
“Yeah, okay.” Marley’s infectious smile made her heart lurch.
“See you at nine.”
“Okay. Bye, Gia.” Marley waved before moving to step through the door. Gia turned away, but before she took more than a few steps, Marley yelled over her shoulder, “Thank you for helping me!”
Gia stopped in her tracks with a watery-eyed smile. Something about Marley reminded her of her past self. One she’d nearly forgotten about until today.
“Any time. I’ll see you tomorrow, Marley.”
With a sniff, Gia walked back toward the minivan. For the first time in a while, she felt the old Gia stirring from where she’d buried her. And this time, she wasn’t as scared of letting her resurface.
Seventeen
JAKE
Jake was no stranger to the wrong side of the law. In fact, he knew his life would look very different if the universe hadn’t put Thao next to him in first grade. A transformative year for both of them—more so for Jake, because if not for the kindness and easy acceptance of the Liens, Jake would have been breaking the law instead of defending it.
His life would have been spent behind bars or escaping the law, but here he was, a top lawyer of his graduating class. Instead of pursuing corporate law like so many of his classmates, he’d returned to Willowbrook and opened up his own practice. Back to the family who had given him a loving home when his own was a hellscape.
Some scars were impossible to hide. Even though it shouldn’t, the fear of abandonment still pervaded his thoughts.
