Page 38 of One Little Kiss

“It’s heavier than it looks,” he explains.

“GG? You still here?” Lanie’s voice rings out. Lanie is GG’s other granddaughter and wife to my adoptive brother, Dex. Really, she’s the OG of our new extended family. If it weren’t for her, none of us would have found our way to Vermont, and three of my brothers wouldn’t have found their other halves.

“In the family room,” GG barks just as Halton helps me rip open the paper, revealing Winnie inch by inch.

My breath seizes in my lungs, and I actually feel faint. Halton’s artistry has exploded all over the canvas. Winnie is larger than life, staring right at me, and I don’t know where to look first. My gaze darts all over the artwork, but it’s her eyes that have me blinking away feelings of forever.

Halton has her sitting in a field of lilies, leaning against a weeping willow tree. Her curly hair falls over her face exactly as it did so many times in real life. Her lips, plump and slightly pouty, seem so real. I swear I can smell cherry cola on them.

“You … it’s her,” I choke out.

“Well, Jesus Mary. You did meet Wendy after all.”

GG’s words make me dizzy, and the world tunnels around me for a beat too long.

“What did you say?” I croak.

“Holy crap. That’s Lyn. Why do you have a portrait of Lyn in your family room, Colt?”

My mouth is so dry I can’t speak. Between the sand on my tongue and the sudden need to vomit, I’m unable to speak. Finally, Halton does it for me.

“What do you mean? Who is Wendy? Who’s Lyn?”

“That’s Wendy,” GG says.

At the same time, Lanie says, “That’s the girl that babysat for us at your wedding. That’s Lyn.”

Time stands still as I gape from one person to the next.

“Wendalyn,” I croak. “Winnie. You …” I point between GG and Lanie. “You know her?”

GG cackles, but Lanie’s eyes are wide with shock as she nods her head.

“Where is she?” I demand. There’s a fire burning hot in my gut, and I don’t know if it’s anger, fear, or something else, but my entire body buzzes with it.

GG lays a hand on my forearm as I pace. “Colton.” The fact that GG used my given name has dread settling in. “I told ya you weren’t ready for her yet, but I think you might be now.”

“Ah,” Lanie’s voice is small and shaky. “Colt. I don’t know what’s going on, but Lyn—”

“Winnie,” I interrupt.

“O-kay. Winnie. She isn’t the same.”

“Lanie’s right, Pan. Wendy’s been through more than any one person ought to go through in the last year. Her light’s been dimmed by circumstance, and it might not be yer time yet.”

I hear their words, but I only have one question. “Where. Is. She?”

CHAPTER11

WINNIE

“Have a good night at work, sweetie. I saw you playing with Weston today. He ran hard. I’m sure it’ll be a better night than the last few,” my landlord and mother’s oldest friend, Beth, informs me with a warm smile.

Tears, always so close to the surface these days, threaten the back of my eyes.

“Thanks, Beth. I-I don’t know what we’d do without you.” I choke out the words as she pulls me into a motherly hug.

“Oh, sweetie. Don’t go leaking out your eyeballs again. I loved your mother. She was one of a kind. Things won’t always be this hard. My mother’s convinced good things are just around the corner for you.”