Page 153 of Heartache Duet

“Coming, Mama Jo!” He drops his tools and runs into the kitchen, his expression worried.

“Look!” she says, pointing to the photographs. “I need one of you and Amy.”

The smile that overtakes me is instant. So is Trevor’s. “I’ll send some to Ava for her to print out.”

“Good,” Mom says, nodding.

I tell him, “Dinner’s in the oven. Another ten minutes.”

Trevor goes to the fridge for a beer while Mom says, “Wait here.” She gets to her feet slowly and goes to her room.

While she’s gone, Trevor and I share a look of amazement. “She’s doing so well,” I whisper.

Trevor nods. “Just don’t get your hopes up, okay? She’s done this before.”

“I know.”

“I mean it, Ava.”

I press my lips tight, nodding, and wait for Mom to come back in. “Here,” Mom says, placing a black velvet box on the kitchen table. She pats Trevor’s shoulder. “For you.”

“Me?” he asks, eyes wide.

Mom nods as she sits back down.

Trevor opens the box, his brow dipping when he sees what’s inside. “Is this the ring Dad got you?” he asks her.

Mom offers another nod. “For Amy.”

“I’m not asking her to marry me yet,” Trevor says through a chuckle.

“One day,” Mom tells him, her lids heavy. She’s getting tired, and she’ll need a rest soon. “This one,” she says to me, pulling another photograph of Trevor and me toward her. “I like this one a lot.”

My phone rings somewhere in the living room, and I ask Trevor to grab it for me while I collect the pictures into a pile. “It’s Connor,” he tells me, walking back into the kitchen.

“Why would he be calling?” I murmur, more to myself than anyone else.

I take my phone from Trevor and answer, “Hello?”

“I got into Duke!”

“What?” I squeal, my heart racing, elation rushing through my bloodline.

“What?” Trevor whispers, motioning to the phone

“Connor got into Duke!” I shout, grasping the phone to my ear. “Oh, my God, Connor! You got into Duke!”

“I got into Duke,” he repeats, breathy, as if he can’t believe it himself.

“Where are you?” I laugh out, unable to contain my exhilaration.

“I’m outside.”

“He’s outside,” I tell Trevor, pleadingly.

“Go!”

I rush out the door, barefoot and bliss filled. Connor’s walking down the sidewalk toward my driveway, and I run. I run so fast and so hard and so free, and I crash into his chest, my arms around his neck. “You got into Duke!” I scream, my pride coming out in the form of laughter.