Page 72 of The Haunting Plot

“But there’s more to it than touch. There’re kids, his and mine. This whole ridiculous house renovation, and all the weird things that keep happening with it⁠—”

“What weird things?”

“Mom!” a voice calls from off-screen.

“What, Logan?” Summer answers.

“There’s a package on the porch!”

Summer’s brow furrows. “I’m not expecting anything. Who is it from?”

“Amazon. It’s addressed to me. Can I open it?”

“Sure. I wonder how long that’s been sitting out there? Then you have to get to bed. It’s late.”

“It’s only nine,” Logan whines. I hear him tear into the package, and then he pops onto the screen, holding up a book and grinning ear to ear. “Thank you for the new book, Auntie Raven!”

“Did you get Logan a book on all the different types of animal poop?”

“This is so cool, Mom!”

She forces a smile as Logan flips through the pages. “Okay, kiddo. Go brush your teeth. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

“Night, Auntie Raven,” Logan chirps, putting his face too close to the camera as he pretends to kiss it.

“Night, kid. Enjoy your poop book.”

Once he’s gone, she narrows her eyes at me. “Seriously?”

“It’s educational.”

“Yeah, yeah. You know I can’t stay mad at you. Anyway, about McKenna’s party. It’ll be small. She wanted a sleepover with just a few friends. I invited the moms to stay for a little bit too; I figured it’d be fun.”

“And this is happening at my house?”

“Yup. Sawyer said he should have everything mostly finished by then.”

A lead weight settles in my gut at the thought of him being done with my renovation, of not seeing him every day. I think I like him a lot more than I’m willing to admit.

“Oh, you really do like him!”

“Shit, did I say that out loud?”

“You didn’t, but it’s written all over your face. You don’t want him to finish the project. The sad look on your face when I mentioned him being done spoke volumes.”

“He’s weaseled his way past my defenses.”

“It’s cute that you think you’re this huge meanie when you have the biggest heart. And you only tease the people you like, and from what I hear, you’ve been teasing him since you met him.”

“Am I that obvious? I thought I did a better job at masking.”

“Maybe to those that don’t know you as well as I do.”

Once we hang up, I scrub a hand down my face and groan. The cursor blinks on my screen as I stare at it impatiently, wishing my story would write itself. As much as I’m interested in exploring something with Sawyer, I need to stay focused on my deadline this week.

CHAPTER 18

SAWYER