“I can peel a potato just fine,” he insisted. “It’s just been a while is all.”
“Sure,” Nikki said with a slight laugh. It was Thanksgiving morning, and they were busy with meal preparation. It had been a very pleasant morning thus far filled with their Georgia traditions. It had been a while since Nikki had been able to spend some honest alone time with Seth, so it had been a lovely morning for her.
“So,” Seth said as a moment of silence threatened to pass between them. “What’s the word on Taylor?”
Nikki nearly sliced her own finger in surprise. It had been a few days since Taylor’s arrest, and Seth had avoided any talk of the woman. She had been waiting for it, though. He had given his statement to the police about the kidnapping, but the two of them had yet to speak on the rather sensitive and traumatizing experience. “What do you mean?” Nikki asked.
“I mean, what’s going to happen to her?” Seth asked. “Have you heard anything from Hawk?”
Nikki sighed slightly. Taylor was a very sad case. “Well, Hawk seems to think that, whatever prison she gets sent to, if she does get jail time and the jury acquits, she will be given some psychiatric attention. And let’s be honest, after everything she did and everything she went through, that’s what she really needs.”
“I agree,” Seth says. “Honestly, I don’t even think I’m upset with her for what she did to Tori and me. Is that weird? I don’t know, I guess I feel more sorry for her than angry at her. When she had Tori and me, it just didn’t seem like it was something she wanted to be doing.” Seth put down the potato and peeler. “It didn’t seem like that was her, you know? She must have apologized to me a million times while she had us, and it was to the point where I think she was trying to apologize to herself…if that makes sense.”
“Of course,” Nikki said, and at that point, Seth seemed ready to drop the conversation. She did not want to pry, so instead she offered a change in subject. “So with all the craziness this week, I don’t think I really had much of a chance to ask you how school is going?”
Seth laughed and smiled, picking back up the potato peeler. “Well, honestly, it’s pretty boring compared to Maple Hills! But college is good. I’m on the pre-med track as a biology major still, so nothing’s changed there. But I have been thinking about adding a forensic minor.”
Nikki smiled proudly. “Wow, really? That’s a big change!” She stepped forward and kissed her son on the cheek. “I’m so proud of you, Seth.”
Seth grinned and gave her a gentle shove. “Okay, easy there, Mom.” He picked up another potato, rolling his eyes as he examined the one potato he had managed to peel compared to the four that Nikki had already done. He got to work on the second. “Jackie wanted me to tell you that she was sorry she couldn’t stay for Thanksgiving. She didn’t want to stay in Maple Hills any longer. She said the longer she stayed here, the more at risk she was of being accused of murder again.”
Nikki laughed. “Oh, poor Jackie. I guess it wasn’t the most pleasant stay for her, huh?”
“I wouldn’t think so,” Seth said. “Especially since half the time she was here she was in jail.”
Nikki sighed and then grew a bit more serious with Seth. “I really am sorry she left, Seth. And I’m sorry for the way I acted. I know you liked her, and I was really judgmental of her. She was your way of letting go of that awful ex-girlfriend of yours and moving on, and I just blew up in your face and made her uncomfortable.”
“No, I think we’re the ones who owe you an apology, Mom. I probably should have given you a heads up, and I admit it was a little weird. And, so you know, Jackie and I broke up before she left-”
Nikki’s uncontrollable smile interrupted Seth. He crossed his arms and shook his head at her. “Sorry!” Nikki said. “Okay, I’m sorry. But, come on, Seth! She was practically my age!”
“Geez, Mom, give me some credit. I wasn’t dating a dinosaur!” he teased, and Nikki gave him a friendly shove with her elbow.
They continued peeling potatoes; they were nearly done. “I am glad to see you moving on, though, Seth.”
“Me too,” he admitted. “And I think I’m moving on in a healthier way now.”
“What do you mean by that?” Nikki questioned, but before he could answer, the front door opened.
Tori came stumbling in, her arms full of groceries. “Ugh!” she moaned. “The grocery store on Thanksgiving Day is a nightmare!” She then scurried over and plopped the grocery bags down on the bar. She smiled at Seth, her eyes sparkling slightly as she dug around in the bags. “Okay, Seth, I got the cream cheese.” She pulled the cream cheese from the bag. “And the barley that you asked for.”
“Thanks, Tori,” he said, smiling back at her with the same longing gaze that she was wearing.
“Okay,” Tori said, still wearing a goofy grin. “I’m going to run to the guest room real quick and change, but then I’ll be right back to help!”
She skipped off, and Nikki watched Seth as he watched Tori leave with a pleasant look on his face. She felt her jaw starting to hang open; Seth’s gaze towards Tori lasted much longer than expected, and when he turned back to face Nikki, he blushed. “What?” Seth asked.
Nikki’s wide mouth formed into a smile. “You like her!”
Seth’s eyes widened. “Mom, hush.”
“Oh my goodness!” Nikki exclaimed excitedly. “When did this happen?”
“Well, um…” Seth mumbled and kept looking back down the hall as though he was worried that Tori would emerge any second. “We spent a good bit of time together…you know…since my girlfriend was kind of in jail. She’s really, um, nice and... Stop looking at me like that, Mom!”
“Oh wow!” Nikki could hardly contain herself. “You like her! And from that look she gave you, she likes you too! Oh my goodness! This is exciting!” Nikki gave him a gentle punch in the arm, and he grimaced. Since he was giving her a hateful look, she just had to tease him. “You like Tori, you like Tori, you like Tori-” she sang.
Seth countered with a bit of singing mockery of his own. “You like Hawk, you like Hawk, you like Hawk.”
They then stopped, their faces both incredibly red. After a momentary stare down, they both burst into laughter. “Happy Thanksgiving, Seth,” Nikki said, still laughing.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Mom.”
Dear Reader,
Hi there. Thank you for reading.
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Thanks again,
Wendy Meadows
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About the Author
Wendy Meadows is an emerging author of cozy mysteries. She lives in “The Granite State” with her husband, two sons, two cats and lovable Labradoodle.
When she isn’t working on her stories she likes to tend to her flower garden, relax with adult coloring and play video games with her family.
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