Page 95 of Three Little Wishes

“I won’t do that again, but I could come and visit you.”

“I’d love that.” She patted her hand. “So things with your father have improved?”

Riley nodded. “Noah and I went to LA last weekend. He had some business he had to take care of, and he brought mewith him. We went to see Billy, I mean my father, and we talked. A lot. We’re going to family therapy when I get back.”

She made aneekface, and Mrs. D chuckled while unloading containers from her bags.

“I’m glad things with your father are working out for you, lovey,” she said, turning to open the fridge and placing the containers on the shelves. She opened the freezer and made a squeak of dismay. “Nearly all the meals I left for you two are still here.” She turned to Riley. “What did you do? Order in the entire time I was away?”

Riley shook her head with a grin. “We cooked!”

“You’re telling me you and your brother cooked an actual meal together? In this kitchen?”

“We did. Lots of meals, and we went shopping for groceries together too.”

Mrs. D gave her head a disbelieving shake. “And my kitchen survived, and so apparently did the two of you.”

Riley didn’t share that they had nearly burned down the kitchen making homemade French fries in a pot of boiling oil on the stove. Noah had ordered an air fryer the very next day.

“Since I don’t have to prepare meals for the week, or clean the apartment, we can have a cup of tea together, and you can fill me in on where things stand with Noah and Willow.” She searched Riley’s face. “I’m pleased at least to see you’re looking much better than the morning after you’d returned from Sunshine Bay.”

Mrs. D plugged in the kettle and looked around. “Where has your dog gotten off to?”

Riley rolled her eyes. “He’s more Noah’s dog than mine. He follows him everywhere. He’ll be in the study with Noah, bugging him to play fetch.”

“And how is Noah?” Mrs. D asked, making up a plate of cookies.

“He’s good. He’s not broody or mopey or anything. We’ve had lots of fun together. But I can tell when he’s thinking about Willow. He gets quiet, and I’m pretty sure he thinks about her a lot and misses her. I don’t know why he’s being so stubborn and won’t get in touch with her. None of it was Willow’s fault.” She blinked tears from her eyes at the memory of that day. “You should’ve seen them together, Mrs. D. They really loved each other.”

“Perhaps he just needs time. It was a lot for you both to hear that Willow’s mother had been involved in your uncle’s death. You didn’t really know your grandparents, but Noah spent a lot of time with them. He witnessed how badly they’d been scarred by your uncle’s death. Your mother too. She sometimes treated your brother as a confidant more than a son, so at a young age, he was well aware of how damaging the accident had been to your family.”

“I get it. I felt the same, especially listening to Cami telling the story. She’s the one who said she killed our uncle, and then she said she’d left him to die alone.”

Mrs. D nodded. “That must’ve been horrifying and shocking for both you and Noah.”

“It was, and we said some hurtful things, especially Noah. He was furious.”

“I’m sure he was. And when Willow defended her mother, he would have felt betrayed given his state of mind at the time.”

Riley nodded. “I think that’s why he thought he and Willow wouldn’t be able to get past it. But we got a copy of the police report, Mrs. D. It fully exonerated Cami. I mean, sheprobably shouldn’t have made our uncle drive back to Sunshine Bay when he was tired, but it’s not like she held a gun to his head. He could’ve said no. And it’s not like she fell asleep on purpose. But she ran a mile to a corner store and called for help. It wouldn’t have made a difference if she’d stayed anyway. We have a copy of the coroner’s report. The police officer who reopened the case wrote us a personal note. He’d interviewed Cami, and from what he says she saw, she would’ve known immediately that our uncle hadn’t survived.”

“It must’ve been horrifying for her.”

Riley nodded. “The police officer says she’s suffering from PTSD because of the accident. And as much as it destroyed our family, Mrs. D, it destroyed hers too.” She told her the parts that she had left out the morning after they’d come home.

“And now it’s time for both families to heal,” Mrs. D said, passing Riley a cup of tea, and they went to sit in the living room. “So where are you and Noah at with that?”

“I texted Cami after we got the report. Well, two days after because Noah wouldn’t let me read it, and I had to sneak into his office and find it.”

“Oh, Riley, that’s not something you should’ve read on your own.”

“I didn’t. Noah caught me before I could read the report. We argued about it, and then he gave in and read it with me.”

“So you apologized to Cami and now everything’s good between you?”

“I did apologize, and she wanted to call me, but I said no. I was still mad that she’d lied to me and pretended to be my friend. But she didn’t give up, and August—he’s a friend I met in Sunshine Bay—he convinced me to talk to her andgive her a chance to explain.” Riley smiled. “And now we’re good. She’s going to be like… my big sister, I guess. She found a house a few blocks from my father’s in LA, and she put an offer on it.”

“Oh, lovey, I’m so happy for you.”

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