When Ceara left, Jessie inhaled deeply, walked over to the front porch stairs, and sat on the top stair to wait for her parents. Jumbled emotions zinged about her heart as she tried to settle into the notion that she would never see Cate or Maeve again unless she, too, learned the craft. That was on her list of top ten things to do, the first of which, was to get straight with her parents.
When they arrived, Reena charged up the stairs and hugged Jessie tightly even as she sniffed her hair.
"You're choking me, Mom."
Releasing her, Reena stepped back to allow Daniel through.
"Hey there, sport!" Jessie threw her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as Reena had hugged her. "Miss me?"
He laughed as he pulled away. "Like bad gas!"
Releasing him, Jessie shook her head as studied him. "You okay?"