Page 31 of Branded Souls (Ember Hollow Romance #3)
The two of us had never really spoken one-on-one, but I’d followed the case of the murders she was the sole survivor of.
She had been through an utter nightmare.
Not only had she lived through such tragedy, but she had endured public scrutiny from the whole country for years.
Many speculated she had something to do with the crime because she survived.
She carried her grief with grace.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m—I mean, I admire both of you,” I said, surprising myself. “I don’t say that lightly. I’ve followed the cases you’ve both been in the crosshairs of, and I’m a little in awe, to be honest.”
Lark’s eyes widened as a flush crept up her neck. They looked at each other, a flicker of surprise between them. Then, Emersyn grinned.
“Well, I do accept compliments lightly, so thank you.” She winked.
That got a small, true smile from me. Emersyn never seemed to let me down.
“That means a lot coming from you.” Lark leaned forward. “I don’t usually watch a lot of true crime stuff, but Emersyn has shown me some of your shows on Crime and Justice. You’re incredible, Skye.”
I blinked, my own face heating. “I do my best.” I shrugged. It didn’t normally make me so flustered when someone complimented my work, but it felt different coming from her. Someone I respected. “I love the work.”
“And we love a hot, investigative journalist who rocks her career.” Emersyn raised her glass, grinning.
It felt like my cheeks were on fire. “I’m not sure about the ‘hot’ part. ”
Emersyn lifted her brows. “I know a certain Ramsey brother who would vehemently agree with the hot part. That man has only had eyes for one person the last couple weeks…”
I choked on my wine. “Uh, I don’t know if that’s true…” I trailed off, awkwardness settling around me.
Lark took a sip of her tea as she and Emersyn shared another look.
“Skye,” Emersyn said with a smirk. “The tension between you two could cut glass.”
I cleared my throat, entirely uncomfortable with this shift in the conversation. “I—”
My response was cut off by the pitter-patter of little feet as Hailey barreled into the room. “Excuse me!” she bellowed, gaining our attention.
Lark grinned at the little girl. “What’s up, Hails?”
Hailey’s big emerald eyes scanned each of us, lingering on me. “Oh, nothing.” She shrugged. “I wanted to hang out with the girls. And Grandma said the food is almost ready.”
She skipped toward my chair, tilting her head to the side like she was inspecting something mildly interesting.
I squirmed slightly in my seat, glancing hesitantly at Lark and Emersyn, when Hailey didn’t say anything for a long while. She just stared, like she was trying to decide what I was doing here.
“Um…hello.” I gave her what I hoped was a warm smile.
She pursed her lips. “I’m Hailey,” she said, matter-of-factly.
“I’m Skye,” I said, still unsure what she wanted from me.
She nodded curtly, like she’d finally made some kind of decision. Then, as if it were the most normal thing to do, she crawled up onto my lap. I jumped as she got herself comfortable, holding my wine glass away from my body so it didn’t spill.
When she was settled, she looked up at me, grinning. “My daddy said you’re Uncle Fox’s friend.”
“Um, yeah.” I nodded. “I guess you could say that.”
She pushed back her dark curls. “Are you going to be his new wife?”
I froze. I could almost hear my heart skipping a beat. My mouth opened, but nothing came out of it as she blinked at me, waiting expectantly.
“Aw, come on, Hailey girl.” August’s voice disrupted my stunned silence. Both he and Reid had entered the room. August sat down beside Emersyn and put his arm around her shoulders, while Reid leaned against the back of the couch behind Lark. “That’s not a very nice question to ask our guest.”
Hailey frowned at him. “But, why?”
They were all poorly hiding their grins as I fell into total embarrassment. “Skye isn’t Fox’s girlfriend,” Reid tried to explain.
“Yes, she is,” Hailey retorted, putting her hands on her hips. “She told me she’s his friend. And she’s a girl.”
Lark stifled what sounded like a snort of laughter. Emersyn buried her face in August’s shoulder.
“That doesn’t mean they’ll get married,” August scoffed.
Hailey’s face fell. “Why not? I like her.”
“Hails.” Reid said her name with a soft, patient smile. “You don’t even know her.”
Hailey’s face snapped toward me. “Do you like princesses?” she asked, seriously .
It felt like I was being tested or something. How did this tiny human have this much boldness in her body?
“Uh,” I stammered. “Yeah, I do.”
She grinned. “And do you like plays?”
“As in the theater?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m an actress.”
She said it with so much certainty that I didn’t doubt her. It coaxed a small smile from me. “I love the theater,” I said honestly. “Broadway is one of my favorites.”
Her whole face lit up. “Really?? You’ve seen shows on Broadway??”
I laughed—truly laughed—at the expression of awe on her face. I nodded.
I’m not sure when it happened, but suddenly, Hailey had sucked me into a conversation about her favorite musicals and songs.
The rest of the group eventually joined in, and before I knew it, we were having an easy, comfortable conversation that didn’t involve what danger was going on in my life, or what Fox and I might or might not be.
Hailey was a natural conversationalist, even at such a young age. Despite her blunt forwardness at the beginning, I was drawn in by her fun-loving openness.
Somewhere in the middle of it all, I realized something that both embarrassed and humbled me.
I didn’t have friends.
Not real ones. Not like this.
I had colleagues. Sources. Contacts in ten different states who owed me favors. But not people I could sit with and sip wine beside, whose grief I understood in some bone-deep, unspoken way. Not people who welcomed me without hesitation .
I hadn’t expected to feel safe in a room like this again, to feel like I fit in easily with people who didn’t owe me a thing.
But for a brief, flickering second, I did.