Don't Poke the Luna (Xena and Ryder) novel Chapter 248

Chapter 248

I could see and smell the wood estorer Penelope had used to clean the light oak cabinets. The gold handles gleamed. Even the floral wallpaper coveting the kitchen, though faded, had been cleaned. The hardwood floors extended into the kitchen and, from what I could see, continued down the hallway. More photos of Mom and Dad or our grandparents hung on the walls. There was one photo with many people that I wasn’t sure who they all were.

“That’s Mom’s family,” Logan said, walking up beside me. “Dad told me who everyone was. Not sure 111 remember, but he said it was written on the back. There’s Mom.” Logan started pointing people out “That’s her parents and siblings.”

“There’s about twelve…” I counted, saying.

“Yeah, Grandma had eleven brothers and sisters. The women all left with their mates. Penelope’s been trying to track them down to see if we have any other family out there.”

“Dad doesn’t know?” I looked at Logan. Eleven siblings? I was internally shocked beyond words. This meant we might have a bunch of distant relatives scattered somewhere, and we knew nothing about it.

“He’s not too sure. It wasn’t a priority for him at the time, and when things got bad, he had to close this place off to keep it safe.”

and

I could only nod in understanding. Things must have gotten really bad for Dad to feel the need to protect this place. My chest suddenly tightened–what exactly had he gone through?

The front door opened, and Leonard walked in. The moment his eyes locked on mine, I rushed toward him and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back, wrapping both arms around me firmly.

Seeing Leonard made all my suppressed emotions pour out like a flood. In that moment, I realized how much I’d missed him, missed our friend group, missed eating pizza at the pizza place, missed going to clubs. Those simple, happy times now seemed so precious,

so unreachable.

“Hey, Xena,” Leonard smiled as he released me.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” I tried to give him a smile.

“I know. You’ve been… busy,” Leonard said, reaching out to pull Viola to his side.

“Viola, it’s good to see you,” I immediately felt guilty for hugging Leonard so impulsively.

Damn, how could I be so thoughtless? I knew it was hard for her to accept Leonard, and seeing him hug another girl couldn’t be easy, especially someone like me whom she’d only met twice. I should have been more considerate of her feelings. This realization made the emotions in my heart settle slightly–at least I could still recognize my own recklessness.

“I’m doing well. I really like it here, and Leonard and I have really come a long way in this short time,” Viola looked up at Leonard. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said after a moment, then looked back at me.

After a brief silence, Penelope spoke up: “Would you like to continue the tour?”

Ryder just stood in the corner with his hands in his pockets, quietly letting me process everything. Leonard walked over to Ryder and shook his hand while I followed Penelope down the hallway.

He was always like this, giving me space to handle emotions. But sometimes I really wished he would be more pro me what he was thinking. I was such a contradictory person, always at odds with myself.

at least tell

“That’s the bathroom, Penelope said, turning on the light. It was right behind the kitchen wall. It was a basic bathroom, also with hardwood floors. The vanity was light blue with a white countertop and blue sink. The toilet was light blue, and so was the bathtub. She had decorated it with a water theme, with shells and seahorse patterns on the shower curtain.