“What . . . did Grandma say?” Harley asked her.
Emma stopped on her way down the hall and gave Harley a queer look. “Mom can’t talk anymore,” she said, then headed on her way to the downstairs bathroom.
The perplexed look on Harley’s face nearly brought Jamie to laughter.
“‘Mom can’t talk,’” Jamie repeated, fighting a grin, though it took everything she had.
“Please, Mom. Please can I ask Marissa?” begged Harley, back to what she really wanted.
“You’re wearing me down.” Jamie sighed and finally nodded, but as Harley ran to the landline, she added, “Tell her what we’re doing. Make sure she knows what kind of weird invitation this is.”
It turned out that Marissa was more than eager to come. “She and her mom are still in a kind of fight over what happened at the mixer and she just wants out of the house,” Harley admitted.
“Wouldn’t she rather go to Cooper—her stepdad’s, er, dad’s place?”
“Just call him her dad. She does. I think he’s busy, too,” said Harley.
Jamie thought about that while she finished preparing for the evening’s event. Was he busy with work, or was it something in his personal life? Though Bette had said she was after him, Vicky hadn’t acted like he was hooked up with anyone new, but it probably was only a matter of time. Cooper was the kind of guy women naturally flocked to. Even she, who’d convinced herself she was long over her high school crush, found her mind snagging on his name whenever it came up.
But even as Jamie got ready for her father and Debra and Marissa to come over for their five p.m. event, the doorbell rang. Jamie was in the kitchen, laying out the cheese and fruit plates, and the sound of the bell caused her to momentarily freeze.
She wiped her hands on one of the dish towels, then walked to the front door. It was too early for her dad and Debra, so who?
When she opened the door she didn’t recognize the tallish man and woman on the front porch. The man was holding an orange-wrapped package in his hands. Lifting her brows, Jamie smiled at the strangers, who looked to be somewhere in their twenties.
“Jamie,” the man said on a relieved sigh, as if he’d been looking for her and finally found her. He was fairly tall, with blond-brown hair, blue eyes. His mouth twitched as if it wanted to smile but couldn’t quite figure out how. The young woman wore her blond hair in a low bun at her nape and, despite her height, had a delicate facial structure. She looked at Jamie, and then at her companion, who said, half a beat later, “I’m Ted Ryerson.”
Jamie inhaled in surprise. “Teddy . . . ?”
“I know. It’s been a long time. This is Serena. You remember my sister . . . ?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Jamie said, smiling at the quiet, slender woman beside him, thinking of the scared little girl in the nightgown. She opened the door wider. “Can you come in for a bit?”
“No. My kids . . . the twins are in the car. Oliver and Anika.”
Jamie looked past him to the Mercedes SUV. She could see one towhead, bent over something, in the back seat; the other person was obscured by a headrest.
“They’re on their iPads,” Teddy admitted.
“Well, you can all come in,” Jamie invited, doing a quick inventory in her head about how much each person would be able to take from her appetizer tray.
“We’d better not,” said Serena. “We just wanted to stop by.”
“You look just like her,” Teddy said, staring at Jamie. Serena’s head whipped around to stare at him, then back at Jamie.
“Uh . . . you mean . . . ?” Jamie asked, fading out.
“Emma,” he clarified. “Except you have brown eyes. I remember that.”
There was an awkward pause. Serena really looked at Jamie, but by her frown, Jamie guessed she didn’t feel quite the same way as her brother. To fill the gap, Jamie said to Teddy, “Well, you look quite different.”
“Everyone says I look just like my father.” He handed her the package. “This is for you.”
“Thank you,” said Jamie as she tried to recall what William Ryerson looked like. Her memory was from twenty years earlier and wasn’t all that clear. She remembered he was tall, though. Both he and Nadine had been above average height and Teddy and Serena were, too.
Serena said, “I don’t really see the resemblance. I know Emma. I’ve seen her at the Thrift Shop.” She spoke a bit woodenly, it seemed, but then she added in a more natural voice, “I’m sorry about your mom. We worked together at the hospital.”
“Yes, she told me. Should I open this now?”
“Ah, no. It’s just chocolates and some of my business information.” Teddy waved her off.
“You sure you won’t come in?” Jamie asked. “I have some hors d’oeuvres. My father’s coming by and we’re . . . saying goodbye to my mother.”
“Oh, no. We’re on our way,” Teddy assured her hurriedly, clearly thinking he’d stepped into a family affair that didn’t involve him.
Serena, however, looked like she had been about to change her mind about leaving. She smiled and opened her mouth, but with Teddy’s words, she closed it again, her face shutting down. She glanced back toward the car. Jamie could see a blondish boy’s face for a second before he bent back to his iPad. Oliver, who Camryn had said was about seven years old.
Jamie hadn’t bought any wine, but she had purchased some sparkling water, which she invited them again to come in and enjoy. But Teddy demurred. “Just wanted to stop by and say welcome back. Good to see you, Jamie.”
Serena said something similar and Jamie responded with, “You too,” just as a car pulled in behind Teddy’s Mercedes SUV. She realized it was Marissa as the girl jumped out of the car. She braced herself for another meeting with Cooper, or possibly Laura, Marissa’s mother, but
