Never Say Never Rachael Sommers (story read aloud txt) 📖

Emily turned back around—it wouldn’t do to be caught staring—and accepted the steaming mug that was handed to her.

They returned to the living area. Camila sat on the armchair, leaving Emily to squish next to Maia and her sister on the couch.

“It’s nice to see you both, though it seems I’ve interrupted your day again.”

“It’s all good,” Cassie assured her.

“Mama, can Emily take me trick-or-treating for Halloween?” Jaime’s voice was eager. Camila had forgotten how close Halloween was.

“Only if you can’t take him,” Emily added quickly. It was apparent to Camila that Emily still worried about overstepping, not wanting Jaime to prefer spending time with her instead of his mother, and it made Camila all the more grateful.

“No, you can take him.” Camila couldn’t promise she would when she didn’t know if she’d be working late, and she didn’t want him to miss out on a childhood event because of her job.

“Yay! I’m going to be an astronaut!”

Camila decided to stop at a costume store on their way home.

“What are you going to dress up as?” he asked Emily.

“I have no idea.”

“Please go as a pumpkin again.” Cassie grinned at the memory in her head. “God, that was a good year.” She turned to Maia. “She only just fit through our front door.”

“I didn’t think it through,” Emily admitted.

“Is there photographic evidence?” Maia asked.

“Hmm.” Emily frowned. “Maybe. One sec.” She went to the bookshelf and ran her fingers across the spines of the photo albums. “Cassie, do you remember what year it was?”

“My senior year, I think.”

Emily selected one of the albums and leafed through it, laughing at some of the photos.

“Bring it here. I wanna see.”

Emily stalled. “Let me see make sure it’s the right one first,” then showed Camila the photo of Emily as a gangly teenager grinning in a round pumpkin costume. Cassie stood next to her dressed as the Grim Reaper.

“That is…quite the costume,” Camila said.

Cassie jumped up and snatched the album out of Emily’s hands, then returned to the couch to share the photos with Maia and Jaime.

“Does Camila Evans have any embarrassing photos of her in full costume?”

“Probably,” Camila admitted. “I didn’t dress up much for Halloween when I was a kid, but in high school… Well, let’s just say I wore a few things that scandalized my mother.”

“Were you a rebel?”

“Mm, not really. I only acted out when I lived at home, and since I got packed off to boarding school after my dad died, I didn’t have much opportunity. I bet you were a Girl Scout.”

“She was,” Cassie confirmed. “She got detention once and she cried.”

Emily picked up a cushion to smack her sister with, but Cassie batted it away. “It was your fault! You texted me in the middle of class.”

“You should’ve had your phone on silent.”

“You shouldn’t have texted me!”

“It was important.”

“The fact that you were bored during biology was not important.”

“It was to me,” Cassie said in a solemn voice, and Emily scoffed. It seemed like they had had this same argument many times.

Camila interrupted. “Looks like we tired the little man out.” Jaime was curled up against Maia, sleeping peacefully.

“Should we move him to your bed or something?” Maia asked. “I don’t wanna wake him.”

“Uh, yeah.” Emily got to her feet. “I’m just gonna go change the sheets.”

“Emily Walker,” Cassie said, eyes on her sister’s flushing face. “Did you have a girl over here last night?”

Emily’s blush deepened.

“Oh, my God, you did! Was it the hot gym girl?”

“She has a name.”

“Was it Megan, then?” Cassie clarified, and when Emily moved toward her bedroom, she was hurried after her. “Excuse me, where are you going? I need details.”

They disappeared into Emily’s bedroom before Camila could hear more, and she clenched her jaw at the memory of the scene she had witnessed that morning. She knew she was being stupid—she had no right to be upset. If anything, she should be relieved that Emily wasn’t obsessing about her.

But still, it stung.

She glanced up to see Maia watching her with a curious look on her face. Camila cleared her throat, trying to neutralize her expression.

“So how long have you and Cassie been together?” It seemed like a safe question and a way to steer her thoughts away from Emily and keep Maia from wondering about what she must have read on Camila’s face.

“About two years. We met at work.”

“Emily said you’re a police officer?”

“Yeah, detective.”

“That’s impressive,” Camila said, thinking she looked young to be serving as a detective. “And Cassie? Emily mentioned that she’s a scientist.”

“She’s in forensics. I worked for Boston PD for a while, then transferred here. On my first day, at my first crime scene, Cassie cussed me out for the way I was handling evidence.”

“Because you were doing it wrong!” Cassie said, reentering the living area with Emily right behind.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So it was love at first sight,” Camila teased, and the two looked at each other fondly.

“Something like that,” Maia said softly. Jaime shifted against her. “Do you want to move him?” she asked Camila.

Camila gathered Jaime in her arms. He was heavy, and she shifted him a little so she wouldn’t drop him, but he never stirred. From the corner of her eye, Camila saw Maia beckon Cassie over, and the two of them whispered together animatedly.

She followed Emily to her small bedroom. It was dominated by a double bed. The design on the duvet was a galaxy, something that Jaime would appreciate when he woke up.

“I’m going to see what they’re up to while you get him settled,” Emily said, and closed the door behind her, leaving it open a crack.

Camila laid Jaime down and pulled the duvet over him, kissing the top of his head. She started back to the living room but paused when she heard raised voices.

“What do you mean, ‘You’re leaving?’”

“Exactly that, and keep your voice down or she’s going to hear you.” Camila leaned in, wondering what she wasn’t supposed to hear. “Don’t you want to spend more time with