Steve chuckled, pointing at Charlotte, who’d joined Gus on the floor by the patio doors. “I meant my daughter.” Then he and his wife shared a silent exchange, and he smiled at Josh. “If you’re sure it’s not an inconvenience, we’ll take you up on your offer.”
Em cast a nervous glance at Gus and the little girl. Josh didn’t understand why. The goldendoodle was great with kids. “No trouble at all. Em’s got enough food to last for a few months, and no doubt it’s just the beginning of the casserole parade.”
“Thank you. We really appreciate it,” Jenny said. “We’ve rented a place up the road from you, and with everything that happened, I completely forgot to go to the grocery store before we left town.”
“Josh is right. I’ll never be able to eat half of the food in my freezer. You can help yourself to whatever you need,” Em said, casting another look over her shoulder at Gus.
“Em’s brother and sister-in-law are heading back here in an hour. They’d be happy to pick up whatever else you need,” Josh said as he opened the oven, lifting the foil to check on the vegetable lasagna.
“We appreciate the offer, but if you can spare some milk and some coffee, we’ll be fine until tomorrow morning,” Steve said.
“Got you covered,” Josh said, putting on oven mitts.
“How are you for clothes and toiletries?” Em asked. Then she lowered her voice. “Have they recovered your vehicle from the river? Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” she added when Steve reached for his wife’s hand.
“No, it’s fine. We think it’s important to talk about the accident so Charlotte is comfortable sharing her feelings about it,” Jenny said. “And it’s not like we can avoid driving by where it happened.”
“You actually can,” Em said. “It adds about ten minutes to the drive, but if you want, I can give you directions.”
“We might take you up on that. More for me than for Jenny and Charlotte.”
“Steve, it wasn’t your fault. If it was anyone’s fault, it was mine.” She cast a sheepish glance at Em. “I’m pregnant, and I had to go to the bathroom. That’s why Steve was going over the speed limit. I noticed you just before the deer ran out in front of us. I was going to tell him to slow down and then…” She trailed off.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Em reassured the couple. “You weren’t going much over the limit. I saw your out-of-state plates, and I was going to warn you about the road.”
“All I can say is thank God you were behind us. If you hadn’t been, we wouldn’t be sitting here now,” Steve said. “We can’t thank you enough for what you did.”
Em shrugged. “I did what anyone would do.”
“No. Not everyone would have risked their life like you did.” Jenny bowed her head and then raised her gaze to Em. “It wasn’t fair that I asked you to go back for Steve. You nearly died because of me, and I hope you can forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Jenny. I would’ve done the same thing in your place.”
Josh counted down in his head as he placed the lasagna on the counter, positive that Em would change the subject in three, two, one… He smiled when she said, “Lasagna smells amazing, doesn’t it? You guys must be hungry.”
“Famished,” Jenny agreed with a smile. “Can I help with anything, Josh?”
“All good here, thanks.” He glanced at the table and then at Em. She looked beat. “Actually, there’s a couple of TV trays in that corner.” He nodded to the stand beside the TV. “If you, Steve, and Charlotte don’t mind eating in the living room, you could set them up.”
“Works for us,” Steve said, moving to get two TV trays out of the stand.
Once Josh had everyone set up with drinks and lasagna, he took a seat beside Em on the couch. Charlotte was more interested in Gus than eating, so Josh had wrapped up a plate for her to take with them.
“The two of you risked your lives for us, and now you’re feeding us too. You’ll have to let us return the favor.” Steve grinned. “Not the rescuing part. Jenny and I aren’t the superhero types, are we, honey?”
She laughed. “Far from it. But I can cook, and we’d love to have you both for dinner once we get settled. It’ll be nice having you for neighbors.”
“Yeah, we had no idea you two were together,” Steve said. “That must’ve made it—”
“We’re not together,” Em said at the same time as Josh said, “Together? No way. Not us.”
That came out more forceful than he’d intended but the memory of what he’d overheard Em say in the bathroom was still too fresh. Except just now she’d sounded equally horrified by the idea they were together, which was a relief.
“Josh is my brother’s best friend.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “We’ve basically grown up together. She’s like a little sister to me.”
Em rolled her eyes and then said to the couple, “So, what brings you to Highland Falls? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I’ve written a book about my family, and the owners of Three Wise Women Bookstore invited me to do a signing. It’s not until the week of Halloween, but I inherited a house here from my grandmother. It needs some work whether we decide to sell it or to keep it, so we’re here for a few months at least.”
“The book you wrote, it wouldn’t be The Haunting of Seaton House, would it?” Em asked.
“It is,” Jenny said, looking pleased. “How did you know?”
“Lucky guess,” Em said, glancing at Josh.
He reached for the bag he’d moved under the table earlier and held it up. “I bought a copy for Em today.” He pulled the book out of the bag and set it on the table. “So you’re a Seaton then?”
“I am.”
Em picked up the book. “That’s why Charlotte said you’re witches.”
Jenny smiled. “Yes, and no. The stories about May and Clara were passed down in my family for generations, and Charlotte has heard them. But I’m a professor at Georgia Southern University, and for several years, I’ve taught a course on witchcraft from the perspective of women and gender history.”
“Including that all women should embrace their inner witch,” Steve said with a grin.
“Ah, okay. Good to know she doesn’t think I’m really a witch,” Em said, shooting Josh a raised-eyebrow glance when he snorted. “And obviously the house you inherited is the old Seaton House?”
Jenny nodded. “We had no idea my family still owned the property until my grandmother died last year and we came across boxes of correspondence and journals. Apparently, my grandmother hadn’t known either. I’ve always been intrigued by our family’s history, but it was the journals that inspired me to take a sabbatical and write May and Clara’s story.”
“You’re not staying at Seaton House, are you?” Em asked. “Because from what I can see on the outside, it’s in pretty bad shape.”
“That would be a firm no,” Steve said. “From what we’ve heard, the place is haunted.” Steve smiled at his wife. “I know they’re your relatives, honey, but a ghost is a ghost. And you know how I feel about the woo-woo.”