Page 37 of PenPal Hero

“Mostly Jackson, right?” Alice started the motor.

“Yes. Mostly him.” Bonnie rolled her eyes. An unexpected wave of homesickness slammed into her from out of nowhere. “Oh, wow! Now I miss him.”

“Good.” Alice drove out of the parking lot and turned left toward Zayden’s place. “You should call him.”

With a sigh, Bonnie pulled her cell phone back out of her purse. A text message was waiting for her, one that shook her to her core. She frowned as she read it, wondering how in the world her birth parents had responded to a text she’d never sent, unless…oh!

It dawned on her that she must’ve accidentally hit the send button with her thumb while she was stuffing her phone back into her purse earlier. She read what Greg and Bonita Williamson had written her a second time and a third time.

I used to rock you in the chair by the window in the living room. And sing this lullaby to you.

A sound file was attached to the message.

Bonnie wanted so badly to listen to the file, but she decided to wait until she was alone.

“So, are you going to call him?” Alice urged.

Bonnie blinked at her. It took a few seconds to realize who she was referring to. Jackson.

“Later.” She was careful to turn off her phone this time before putting it away, not wanting to accidentally send a message to anyone else. “I’d like to enjoy the BBQ first and deal with my family drama later.”

Alice’s smile was bland. “Whatever you think is best.”

Bonnie could sense she didn’t quite approve of her putting it off, but her mind was racing over the message she’d inadvertently sent to her birth parents for a response. She needed to pull Holt aside as soon as possible to tell him about their response.

They must be who they say they are. Though Bonnie’s heart was unsettled about the whole situation, there was no denying that Bonita Williamson had shared something only her real parents would know. Her next thought was even more poignant.

I want to meet them.

Did that make her a bad person? Would it mean she was being disloyal to her adoptive parents? To her brothers? The feelings swirling through her were all so confusing!

The next thing she knew, they were pulling into Zayden’s driveway. “Wow! That was fast.” She reached for the door handle.

“Not really.” Alice gave her a searching look. “You were just too zoned out over there to pay much attention to the drive. Or me,” she added in a voice of mock petulance as she opened her door and stood. “I feel neglected,” she declared dramatically as Zayden strode their way.

“Well, let me remedy that.” The dark, good looking police detective had a short apron tied around the waist of his jeans and a spatula in hand. He hooked his other arm around Alice’s waist and tugged her closer for a kiss. “Nice of you two to finally join us,” he muttered against her lips. “We were about to send a search party after you.”

“Hey!” Alice spluttered. “I told you we were stopping by the grocery store on our way here.”

“Well, you took too long.” Zayden kissed her again. “I missed you.”

Holt jogged around the side of the farmhouse and made a beeline for Bonnie’s door. “There you guys are. We were getting worried.” He held out a hand and tugged her from the car.

“Your sister ran into an old friend who’s in the market for a house.” Bonnie stood to give Holt a hug. “We need to talk,” she said softly for his ears alone.

“Plus. Bonnie tripped and nearly fell into the trunk of my car,” Alice announced dramatically. “We had all kinds of adventures on our way here.”

Bonnie winced as she slipped out of Holt’s embrace. The flashback was still too fresh. Too raw. She wasn’t ready to joke about it yet.

Looking worried, Alice whispered something to her fiancé that made him glance in concern at Bonnie.

“Really?” Bonnie scowled. “I’m right here, you two. At least wait until I walk away so you can talk behind my back.”

“That’s not happening, partner.” Alice sailed around the car to link arms with her. They headed to the porch together. “I’ve got nothing to hide from you. So when I’m worried about you, you’re going to know it.”

“I just wanted to have a normal evening.” Bonnie tipped her head in defeat against Alice’s shoulder.

“Oh, honey,” Alice exclaimed to no one in particular. “You think the Underwoods and the Winchesters are normal? Bless your heart!” She sniffed.

---