Page 98 of The Guest Cottage
“Of course, I’ll pay you.” Marlow couldn’t stop admiring the design. “I want you to create a few more, slightly different from this one, to use as prints to sell.”
“Great idea.” Cort took the diaper bag from Pixie. “Your work is worth something, and Marlow is a good businesswoman. You can trust her on this.”
“Of course I do! It’s just . . .” Now, with Aston gone, Pixie looked ready to cry, but they were happy tears. “You guys are the best.” She gave Colt a big squeeze, then without lifting her face, turned to do the same with Marlow, enclosing both her and Andy in the embrace.
Marlow heard her sniff and patted her back. “You’re going to be okay, Pixie.”
She nodded, looked up with a big smile and tears in her eyes, and laughed as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. “You know what? I finally believe it.”
* * *
Hours later, after a wonderful meal with wonderful people, Pixie felt stronger than she ever had. Amazing how standing up to a bully would do that. Seeing the disdain, the disbelief on Mr. Heddings’s face had made her want to shrivel up and die. She understood the man, because she’d often felt that same way about herself.
The thing was, she hadn’t set out to sleep with a married man.
She hadn’t planned on getting pregnant. Or sick.
She’d certainly never planned on needing charity.
Life had a way of throwing unwelcome surprise parties that could leave a person completely defeated.
Marlow claimed that everyone made mistakes, because everyone was flawed. She said Pixie had no business thinking she could avoid every pitfall, since no one in creation ever had. It was so funny how Marlow could be both assertive and compassionate, blunt but kind. She suggested that instead of beating herself up over mistakes, Pixie should move forward with determination to do better. And when she tripped, as she was likely to do, she should learn from the mistake and get going again.
Those suggestions seemed attainable. Shecouldbe a better person. A more independent woman. The best mother she was capable of being.
And she’d be a good friend, too.
It honestly wouldn’t have mattered if Mr. Heddings had offered her a million dollars. She owed Marlow her loyalty, and she owed Cort her appreciation.
She owed them so much, and all they expected was for her to do her best.
Careful not to wake Andy, she lowered him into his crib and changed his diaper.
Oh, to sleep the sleep of the innocent.
When she finished, she brushed her teeth and changed into loose shorts and an oversized T-shirt—her version of pajamas—and went out back to watch the sunset. Cort had told her that the most important day was today. She couldn’t change yesterday and didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, so she should put her all into today.
And she had. She was planning for a better future, trying her best, and she wanted to make the most of today.
Over steak and potatoes, a few laughs, a little worry, and amazing company, she’d enjoyed the day to the fullest. She didn’t feel like an interloper. She felt appreciated. She felt like family.
For the first time in a very long time, she liked herself.
* * *
Cort could feel Marlow gearing up. She was trying to be sly about it as they put away the dishes after taking Pixie home.
Home. The girl really did have a home now, regardless of where she actually wound up living. If she couldn’t stay in Bramble—though he was hoping she could—she’d still have Marlow, she’d still have him. That’s what home was all about. Not the building you lived in but the people in your life. The ones who filled you up and understood you, who questioned you and laughed with you. People who sometimes frustrated you but didn’t stop caring.
Pixie had that now. To Cort, she was like a little sister, only better, because he was better. He was in an emotional place where he could be the type of supportive big brother Pixie deserved. Marlow had gotten him there.
He’d always tried to show the town his appreciation, but now he accepted that living here meant more than that. It wasn’t just what folks had given his mother but what they’d given him, too. He loved Bramble, loved Marlow, and he loved Pixie and Andy as well. All different types of love that fed his soul, making him whole in a way he’d never been before.
As they finished up in the kitchen, Cort asked, “Something on your mind, Marlow?”
“Actually, yes.” She turned from the sink, her hands braced behind her, her look challenging. “This plan of yours. Are you going to tell me about it?”
Inside he smiled. Outside, too. Hell, he felt like smiling all the damn time lately. “How about you try trusting me, instead?”
