Chapter 1782

[ 671 words ]

She was the absolute pillar of The James Village; nothing could happen to her!

As fate would have it, Dewitt had returned to the country for a business deal and had a few days to spare in Cabinda.

He hurried over to wait on Pandora, doing his absolute utmost to ensure she wouldn’t dwell on any unpleasant memories during her stay in the city.

Hearing how overly cautious Dewitt was being, Claire honestly suspected he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

She didn’t think the older woman was the type to wallow in the past.

“I’ll be mindful of it too,” Claire promised. Since Dewitt had made such a point of it, as the biological granddaughter, she had to pay even closer attention to Pandora’s emotional state.

“Alright.”

Dewitt didn’t say much else and hung up the phone.

Claire pocketed her phone and looked at Dane. “You can go tomorrow. I’ll sit this one out.”

Dane nodded. He had overheard fragments of Claire’s conversation with Dewitt. “Should we arrange a full tour of Cabinda for her?”

“The city has changed drastically from what it used to be.”

Dane shared Claire’s train of thought: as long as they kept the older woman’s itinerary packed, she wouldn’t have time to reminisce.

“I don’t think she needs all that,” Claire said, firmly believing Pandora was a profoundly strong person.

“We’ll do as you say then,” Dane agreed easily.

Although Dewitt had spent far more time with Pandora, Claire was her own flesh and blood; her read on the older woman was bound to be different from everyone else’s.

Besides, he felt that Claire and Pandora were actually remarkably similar in spirit.

Otherwise, the two wouldn’t have bonded so quickly after eighteen years apart, relying on blood ties alone.

Mary was also in the car with them.

However, she was like an invisible presence, not uttering a single word.

Mary rarely drank, but perhaps because she was in such high spirits tonight, she

had a glass. Now, she was fast asleep in the passenger seat.

They only woke her when they arrived at the house.

“Mary, time to go inside and sleep.”

Mary woke up groggily and followed Claire into the house in a daze.

Dane trailed closely behind, making sure they got in safely.

“Do you want to come in for a glass of water?” Claire asked with a smile once they were inside.

Dane shook his head. The house was already packed.

Rory James was sleeping in the study, and Jace James had set up a cot on the floor.

Originally, Rory was supposed to

sleep on the floor in Claire’s

bedroom, but when Claire

Pel

mentioned she wasn’t used to

sharing a room, Rory took the study

instead.

With so many people around, Claire felt like Dane wouldn’t even have a place to stand if he came in.

“You should head back and get some rest. It’s been a long night for you too.”

Dane had to constantly field difficult questions from Padgett while simultaneously enduring the

scrutiny of the three older women. It

hadn’t exactly been a relaxing dinner for him.

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“Alright,” Dane replied simply.

Claire called out to him just as he turned to leave. “Wait a second. The figs I planted

on the balcony are ripe. Want to try one?”

Dane had actually helped her plant those very fig trees.

He was the one who had hauled all the heavy bags of potting soil up the stairs for

her.

Dane looked surprised. “They’re already bearing fruit? We only planted them last year.”

He had indeed helped Claire plant those trees, and it almost felt like they were raising something together.

Now that the fruit was ripe, he had the fleeting, amusing illusion that their ‘kids’ had grown up.

Claire would have rolled her eyes at the metaphor. She didn’t want picking fruit to feel like eating his children.

“They did. There are some perfectly ripe ones today, and they grew beautifully. Go ahead and pick some from the balcony.”

Sitting on the living room rug playing a video game, Jace overheard this and felt intensely relieved that he hadn’t given in to his urge to piel and eat the figs earlier.

Claire had been picking a few every day to put in the communal fruit bowl.

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