“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Her voice goes low again. “When you break up with her, you are going to be breaking up with her son.”

“Who said anything about breaking anything?” I say, and she gasps out.

“But,” she says, “you don’t really do relationships.”

“I didn’t,” I admit. “But Caroline is different. There is just something there.” I try to find the words, but I can’t. “I can’t explain it, but it’s different.”

“Shit,” she says. “This isn’t just a fling.”

“No.”

“Fuck, I owe Zara five hundred dollars,” she says. “I told her she was crazy. There was no way you would go there.”

“I’m there, and if everything goes my way …” I look at the door, seeing Dylan walk by in full gear. “We are all going to be there.”

“I can’t wait to meet her,” she says, and I grumble.

“What?”

“You didn’t think that you would find someone, and us not come and see what is going on?” She laughs. “You silly, silly boy. We are all coming up in two weeks.”

“What do you mean by all?”

“I mean, all of us.” She laughs. “Stone family vacation is coming straight to you, Justin.” Her laughing never stops. “Hope she’s ready for us.”

I don’t bother answering her because I really hope she is ready for what my family brings to the table.

Chapter Twenty

Caroline

I hang up the phone as soon as Father Rolly walks into the room. “Good morning, Caroline.” He smiles at me.

“Good morning, Father,” I say, and the door opens, and we hear footsteps coming down.

“Good morning,” Cheryl cheerfully sings. “You will not believe what just happened.”

We both look at her, waiting. “We got a whole U-Haul full of secondhand clothes.” Her smile fills her face. “We just need help sorting through it.”

“Count us in,” Father Rolly says. “I have a couple of people to see today”—he smiles and then looks at me—“but Caroline can help all day.”

“Are you sure?” I ask, and he nods.

“Well, the perk of helping us is you get to take your first pick,” she says. “And you get fifty percent off.”

“Wow,” I say, anxious now to dig through the bags. “Where do you want to start?”

I follow her out, and she looks around as two guys bring in garbage bag after garbage bag, putting them all in the center of the room. She explains how to sort through the clothes. I start with my first bag and start to separate it, finding some of the articles still have the tags on them. I don’t know how long we do it for, but when I roll my neck and look over at the clock, I see it’s almost three.