chimed. “Miss Lilly, this is Emma. She’s living with us now.”
“Ya, I know,” she said with a warm smile. “Welcome Emma. It’s so nice ta finally meet cha.”
“You too,” I replied with a smile.
I wasn’t sure why everyone was so glad to have finally met me. It was like they knew of me for a while. How strange. Then Kade’s words rang through my mind… I know more about you than you know, Emma Wise… Did Alaine tell all of them? Did my mother keep in touch with her? Just more unanswered questions…
“Well, go on into the dining room, ya’ two. Breakfast is on the table,” she said, shooing us away.
“Thank you!” Courtney and I sang in unison. Courtney grabbed my arm and dragged me towards an adjoining room where echoes of voices and laughter rang out. As soon as we stepped through the doorway, the room fell silent.
“Yes. We know how to silence a room! Right, Emma?” Courtney announced sarcastically, prancing around to her seat at the far end of the table. She looked at me with wide eyes and patted the open chair next to her. I sucked in a deep breath and proceeded to my seat.
Awkward! There were two new faces staring at me. Dominic and Malachi were there, but Kade wasn’t. Bummer.
Each of them nodded as I made my way around the table. I smiled and nodded.
They looked like they were in their early twenties, except for one, who looked closer to my age. All were clean-cut, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, and strikingly handsome. What was up with that? Was my aunt the Janice Dickenson of Alaska?
Every eye followed me to my seat, like I was on parade, or some type of oddity. They didn’t smile; they just gawked, which made me begin to feel very uncomfortable. I wanted to do a 180 turn and walk right out, but instead I took my seat and turned my chair a little towards Courtney. As I sat, I heard muffled whispers amongst them.
“Hey Emma,” Malachi said with a slight nod of his head, in a cool, low tone. He was sitting directly across from me. His glasses were off, but he was in cool-guy mode, most likely because the other guys were around. I didn’t mind. He’d already shown me his softer, sweeter side. I knew he was just a big, grumpy looking, teddy-bear.
“Hey,” I said softly.
“Hey Emma! Remember me?” Dominic called from the far side of the table, waving his arm and wiggling his eyebrows, “The awesome get-away driver?”
“Yes.” I smiled and nodded. He chuckled, and then buried his face back into his plate.
“Thomas? Could you PLEASE pass the pancakes?” Courtney yelled across the table. A disheveled, blonde haired guy with bright, baby-blue eyes turned and grinned at us.
“Sure princess,” he said with sarcasm.
“Thank you!” she hollered back.
“Hey Alex, pass this down.” Thomas nudged the boy that looked my age. He had shoulder-length, raven-black hair, dark green eyes, and a pale, handsome face. He glanced at me, picked up the plate and walked it over, setting it down between me and Courtney.
“Thanks Alex,” Courtney turned and offered him a smile.
“Sure thing,” he answered with a wink. He glanced at me, spun on his heel, and headed back to his seat.
Courtney stabbed two pancakes and plopped them on my plate, then slathered butter over them and drenched them in syrup. She handed me the plate of bacon, and proceeded to stab her own pancakes. I was tempted to take lots of bacon but only took three. Three seemed appropriate. I love bacon. I mean… who doesn’t?
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll give you a quick rundown. The one that passed-the-buck is Thomas, which you probably already knew because I yelled his name. He’s a trouble maker, like Kade.”
The remark made me giggle.
“The guy who brought us the pancakes is Alexander, but he likes to be called Alex. The one across from Thomas is Dominic, and I guess you already know him. If his mouth wasn’t full of food, he’d probably be yakking away.”
Dominic turned and gave me a wink,
“Ya, I know,” she said with a warm smile. “Welcome Emma. It’s so nice ta finally meet cha.”
“You too,” I replied with a smile.
I wasn’t sure why everyone was so glad to have finally met me. It was like they knew of me for a while. How strange. Then Kade’s words rang through my mind… I know more about you than you know, Emma Wise… Did Alaine tell all of them? Did my mother keep in touch with her? Just more unanswered questions…
“Well, go on into the dining room, ya’ two. Breakfast is on the table,” she said, shooing us away.
“Thank you!” Courtney and I sang in unison. Courtney grabbed my arm and dragged me towards an adjoining room where echoes of voices and laughter rang out. As soon as we stepped through the doorway, the room fell silent.
“Yes. We know how to silence a room! Right, Emma?” Courtney announced sarcastically, prancing around to her seat at the far end of the table. She looked at me with wide eyes and patted the open chair next to her. I sucked in a deep breath and proceeded to my seat.
Awkward! There were two new faces staring at me. Dominic and Malachi were there, but Kade wasn’t. Bummer.
Each of them nodded as I made my way around the table. I smiled and nodded.
They looked like they were in their early twenties, except for one, who looked closer to my age. All were clean-cut, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, and strikingly handsome. What was up with that? Was my aunt the Janice Dickenson of Alaska?
Every eye followed me to my seat, like I was on parade, or some type of oddity. They didn’t smile; they just gawked, which made me begin to feel very uncomfortable. I wanted to do a 180 turn and walk right out, but instead I took my seat and turned my chair a little towards Courtney. As I sat, I heard muffled whispers amongst them.
“Hey Emma,” Malachi said with a slight nod of his head, in a cool, low tone. He was sitting directly across from me. His glasses were off, but he was in cool-guy mode, most likely because the other guys were around. I didn’t mind. He’d already shown me his softer, sweeter side. I knew he was just a big, grumpy looking, teddy-bear.
“Hey,” I said softly.
“Hey Emma! Remember me?” Dominic called from the far side of the table, waving his arm and wiggling his eyebrows, “The awesome get-away driver?”
“Yes.” I smiled and nodded. He chuckled, and then buried his face back into his plate.
“Thomas? Could you PLEASE pass the pancakes?” Courtney yelled across the table. A disheveled, blonde haired guy with bright, baby-blue eyes turned and grinned at us.
“Sure princess,” he said with sarcasm.
“Thank you!” she hollered back.
“Hey Alex, pass this down.” Thomas nudged the boy that looked my age. He had shoulder-length, raven-black hair, dark green eyes, and a pale, handsome face. He glanced at me, picked up the plate and walked it over, setting it down between me and Courtney.
“Thanks Alex,” Courtney turned and offered him a smile.
“Sure thing,” he answered with a wink. He glanced at me, spun on his heel, and headed back to his seat.
Courtney stabbed two pancakes and plopped them on my plate, then slathered butter over them and drenched them in syrup. She handed me the plate of bacon, and proceeded to stab her own pancakes. I was tempted to take lots of bacon but only took three. Three seemed appropriate. I love bacon. I mean… who doesn’t?
“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll give you a quick rundown. The one that passed-the-buck is Thomas, which you probably already knew because I yelled his name. He’s a trouble maker, like Kade.”
The remark made me giggle.
“The guy who brought us the pancakes is Alexander, but he likes to be called Alex. The one across from Thomas is Dominic, and I guess you already know him. If his mouth wasn’t full of food, he’d probably be yakking away.”
Dominic turned and gave me a wink,
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