Page 134 of When Stars Collide
“Don’t worry, Mom isn’t here.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t do that to you,” Elle chimed in.
“Exactly what are you doing to me, then?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Elle motioned down the trail with a nod, and we all started following her; me because I had no idea what the hell else to do, and everyone else because they knew what the hell they were doing.
Soon, the trail we were on led out of the wooded area where we’d been walking and straight into a clearing. In that clearing, Luke stood with the little boy I’d come to think of as my own.
“Would you look at this.” I ruffled Jackson’s hair, dodging his attempts to swat my hand away. “There really was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
“If I’m the gold, what is Uncle Luke?”
“The leprechaun.”
Jackson laughed, putting his hand up in the air for a high five. I gladly reciprocated, thankful for the bond he and I had developed, especially when it came to making jokes at Luke’s expense.
“So, gang’s almost all here.” I looked around at our group, noticing that there was only one person who was missing. “What, is this some kind of intervention Peter put together? I swear it’s perfectly normal to keep a bottle of wine in your nightstand in case of emergencies.”
“You keep wine in your nightstand, too?” Kirsten asked, relief washing over her. Next to her, Violet stood shaking her head.
“No intervention,” Elle answered. “Although, I wouldn’t rule that out for the future.”
“Okay, then what is it?”
Luke nodded to a stone stairway carved into the side of the small mountain we’d just hiked across. “Your answer is waiting for you at the bottom of those steps.”
“Look at you, being all cryptic and sending me on quests.You really are an overgrown leprechaun.”
“I don’t think that’s how leprechauns work.” Luke rolled his eyes. “Just go down the stairs.”
“All right, all right. Geez. You’re not even half as pleasant as the leprechaun on that cereal box.”
Heart pounding, I began my descent down the stone steps that wound down the side of the mountain to an overlook at the bottom. I didn’t know why I was so nervous. I already knew who was waiting for me. Still, even that knowledge wasn’t enough to keep the butterflies away.
Halfway down the stairs, I caught sight of the view this particular overlook was famous for. So exquisite was its splendor that the very sight of it held me in place where I stood. Before me, spread out as far as the eyes could see, was the city of Roanoke. The community that had inadvertently helped to mold me into the person I was today. Until six months ago, I’d considered Roanoke more of a means to an end, a necessary layover on the way to my final destination. Little did I know a decade ago that I was already home.
At the bottom of the stairs, taking in the same view, Peter stood, leaning against a stone barrier. He had to have heard me walking down the stairs, but he didn’t turn around, which was fine with me. The last thing I wanted was for him to see how nervous I was. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I slowly padded over to him and stood beside him, leaning my body against the barrier right along with him.
“That’s quite the ensemble you assembled up there.”
He turned his body to face me as the smug smile I adored so much appeared across his face. “I figured it would be nice to go out and celebrate with some of the people who have played a large part in our lives over the last couple of years.”
“What exactly are we celebrating?”
Peter exhaled, holding out his hands for me to take. “As you know, I’m not all that great with this sentimental stuff.”
“That’s good, because as you know, I despise sentimental stuff.”
“Which is one of the reasons why we make such great team.” He squeezed my hand. “With that said, I must let you know that I’m going to need to go all Hallmark movie on you for minute. But don’t worry, it’ll be brief, and if it makes you feel more comfortable, I can pepper in some four-letter words here and there.”
I shook my head. “No, say what you’re going to say.”
“Oh, crap!” Jo’s voice echoed down at us from the top of the stairs. “Did she just turn him down?”
Peter closed his eyes, squinting them together tightly. “Not yet, Jo,” he called up to her.
“You should have properly vetted each of them before asking them here today.”
