Page 62 of Dead Man's Hollow
The Tremblays are making their way slowly toward the car as Ava tries to tag along. Maisy chuckles at the instalove between the cousins.
Jordana jerks her chin toward the bag in Maisy’s lap. “Did you bring me a souvenir?”
She looks down. “Oh. No. Amy passed this to me. She said she found it in the shed. I guess during her cleaning frenzy.”
“What is it?”
Maisy loosens the drawstring and peeks inside. She gasps.
“What?” Jordana demands.
Maisy looks up to make sure the Tremblays are still several yards away, then removes the white leatherette book with the heart-shaped lock and flashes it at Jordana.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“It sure is,” Maisy says. She stuffs the diary back into the bag as Chloe, Bastian, and Emilie load their bags into the trunk and slam it shut.
Suddenly, she’s wide awake.
ChapterThirty-Four
While Bastian andEmilie haul their bags in through the open front door, Chloe thanks Maisy and Jordana for the lift to her sister’s house. Just thinking the wordsisterfeels foreign and ill-fitting. This morning, Chloe woke up without a family or a history. Now she has three sisters, two brothers-in-law, and seven nieces and nephews—although she won’t meet Diana’s daughters until the weekend, as they live out of state and have jobs. She is part of a family. She is Heather Ryan.
This last bit doesn’t feel right at all. She isnotHeather Ryan. She is and, at least for as long as she can remember, has always been Chloe. First Chloe Martin, the name bestowed by her social worker, then Chloe Tremblay. The name Heather Ryan is heavy and foreign on her tongue.
Maisy gives her a close look. “Go inside, sugar. Your family is in there.”
The podcaster points toward Emilie and Bastian, who stand in the foyer, waiting for Chloe.
She breathes. “Yes, they are.”
“We’ll be back in the morning,” Jordana tells her.
“Good night.” Chloe smiles at her daughter and husband as she crosses the threshold and enters the house.
She sits quietly beside Bastian as Ava shows Emilie to her bedroom, which she’s graciously offered to share. The older of Amy’s sons—Evan—pokes his head into the family room.
“The guest room’s all made up, Mom.”
“Thanks, honey. Do you want to join us?” She gestured toward the coffee table laden with snacks. “There’s a pitcher of lemonade in the fridge.”
“No, I’m beat. As soon as Owen’s done in the bathroom, I’m gonna get ready for bed and hit the hay.” He glances at Chloe. “I’ll be around all day, though, tomorrow. Mom said we can stay home from school to spend time with you and your family, Aunt He—Chloe.”
Chloe smiles warmly to signal that he shouldn’t worry about his slip of the tongue. Just as she’s unaccustomed to the name Heather, Chloe is unfamiliar to him. “That’ll be lovely.”
“Good night, Evan. Sleep tight.”
He stoops and kisses the top of her head. “‘Night, Mom. Good night, Bastian.” Then he frowns. “Where’s Dad?”
Chloe notes the way the skin around Amy’s mouth tightens as she smiles.
“Oh, he decided to spend the night at Brett’s place,” she says lightly.
The boy gives his mother a puzzled look but doesn’t pursue the subject. “Oh, okay.” Then he shuffles up the stairs, yawning.
Bastian draws his eyebrows together. “I hope we haven’t displaced him?”
“No, no. Not at all.”
