Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
My smile faded.
“I kinda told Matt and Sarah that Shawn and I could beat them at chicken.”
“Chicken?” Lucas and I asked at the same time.
“You know, when you get in a pool and get on a guy’s shoulder and wrestle.”
“I know what chicken is, Kristin!” I exclaimed. “We don’t have a pool.”
Letting out a nervous bubble of laughter, she replied, “That is true, and apparently it’s not a good idea to play it in a backyard full of people.”
All I could do was stare at her, wondering what in the hell just happened.
“By the way, you no longer have that cute little Fourth of July cake. And funny thing, I apparently do not have the magickal powers to conjure up a new cake. Neither does Sarah.”
My eyes went wide. “You ruined my cake!”
Taking a few steps away and holding up her hands, she said, “Truth be told, Hollie, you put on a great party, but your baking sucks, so it’s really a win-win for all of us!”
Before I could reply, she started to walk away. Calling over her shoulder, she shouted, “I’ll pick up a new cake, don’t worry!”
Following her, I shouted back, “Nothing’s open today!”
I leaned back into Lucas and stared up at the night sky, watching the fireworks show the city of Salem was putting on. With every loud boom of a firework, Charlotte gave a little startled jump.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Lucas asked, his hand on my stomach.
“I think so. She isn’t jumping as badly anymore.”
Yawning, I dropped my head against his shoulder.
“Do you want to call it a night?” he asked.
“As much as I’ve loved today, I think I’m ready to head home.”
Lucas slid out from behind me and stood. He helped me up, and I glanced over to see Matt and Sarah snuggled up under a nearby tree.
“Look at them,” I said. “They’re not even watching the fireworks; they’re making out like two high school kids!”
Lucas followed my gaze and laughed. “Cut them some slack, Hollie. It’s been a long time coming.”
I watched Lucas gather up our blanket. Kristin and Shawn were lying down on a blanket next to ours, and both simply waved when we said we were leaving. Kristin told us to leave the blanket since they’d grab everything when they left.
“Should we tell the love birds we’re going?” I asked.
“Nah,” Lucas replied. “Let them have their fun.”
My house wasn’t far from the park that we’d decided to go to when Kristin had failed to return with any fireworks. Lucas took my hand in his and we fell into conversation as we started to walk home.
“Do you ever get scared?” he asked me.
“I get scared all the time, but are you talking about something specific?”
He chuckled. “The baby. The closer we get, the more scared I’m getting. What if she comes out talking?”
I let out a burst of laughter. “She’s not going to.”
“That vision or dream or whatever it was felt so real, Hollie. It really freaked me out.”
“I know it did. There’s a reason it happened, though, and maybe it all had to do with Matt showing up in town?”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so.”
We kept walking as the fireworks behind us sped up into the finale before slowly stopping. Soon, all I could hear were crickets.
“Hollie?”
“Yeah?” I asked, looking up at the stars in the sky while we walked.
“Look where we are.”
Dropping my head, I stared at the dig site before me.
“Mr. Payton, what brings you by so late?” asked the police officer who was standing guard at the archaeological site.
“We were just out for a walk, and I wanted to make sure all was well,” Lucas stated.
The officer nodded and unlocked the gate to the fence that had been put up around the entire site.
Lucas took my hand, and we started toward the house.
“Lucas, why are we here?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said as guided me closer to the rock foundation of the house. “Watch your step, Hollie.”
My eyes widened as I stared at the site before me. It was Charlotte’s house. The home where she’d lived and died.
Placing my hand over my stomach, I wondered what had brought us here. It wasn’t a mere coincidence we’d ended up walking here instead of going straight home.
“Come on, let me show you where we found the doll,” Lucas said before he went back to ask the officer if he could borrow his flashlight.
We walked over to where the team had clearly been focusing on digging. Lucas stopped and stared down at the ground.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Did she suffer?” he whispered. “Charlotte. When she was in this house and it was on fire. I pray she didn’t suffer.”
I glanced around, longing to bend down and touch one of the old stones. But I knew I couldn’t since it was a sensitive area.