Was that happening again? Was this Zach pulling strings, reminding him of his reach and power?
Jeremiah shuddered.
* * *
Noah’s birthday party was a simple affair—dinner and swimming at the Ramshorn—and Heather was glad to have been invited. It was fun to watch Jeremiah goofing around with the Hammonds, confirming what she’d realized this morning. Nick’s, Aaron’s, and Henry’s kids all called him Uncle Jere. Noah, Will, and Jessie were all old enough to remember the Hammond family before Jeremiah had been part of it, but to their younger siblings—Nick and Beth’s twins Caleb and Cade, Aaron and Skye’s son Eric, and little Archer—Jeremiah had always been a part of their family, and they made no distinction between him and their blood uncles. And the way the whole family poked fun at one an
