“I knew you were on the text chain.”
“Bobby’s nephew will be over here by breakfast, interviewing you both for the Town Crier.”
Evie looked at me as she bit her top lip. I rested a hand on her leg, squeezing. I didn’t need to hear her speak. Our sibling bond had been bruised, but maybe it had never beenbroken. I read the fear on her face, the uncertainty of changing the entire course of her life.
Mimi had done it.
“Do it.”
Tyler snorted. His reaction was over the top. He held his belly with his free hand, and the laughing continued in a series of snorts. The sound of his laughter and Evie’s arm around my shoulders… Mimi… for good or bad, our adventures had begun.
“It’s not that funny,” I said.
He shot upright, wiping a tear from his eye. “No, it’s not.” He held out his phone, the incoming texts flying down the screen. “It’s funny that I sent it when Evie first asked.”
Gladys: I have the perfect bed frame for the smaller rooms.
Marigold: Tyler, did you get a surprise?
Simon: Tell her I’d love to help set up something.
Bonnie: Finally, Carl’s hunting buddies don’t have to sleep here.
Dorothy: Do we get a discount? My parents are coming for Harvestfest.
Amanda: Why am I on this text message?
Carla: Do renters get a free calendar?
Harvey: Has anybody seen my glasses?
Rose: I can give you emails from families asking for bigger spaces.
Bobby: What can we do?
Abraham: Hazel would love this.
Gladys: She would.
Laurel: Valhalla Bed & Breakfast
“Valhalla.” Evie hadn’t been interested in our Viking funeral. I don’t know if she bought into Mimi’s determination to honor our questionable heritage. Her presence lingered, and the people of Firefly ensured it wouldn’t fade.
She clasped my hand, the smile spreading. “She’d have loved that.”
We had reached a turning point. We found one another, and as Tyler scanned the flurry of text messages, my heart heaved. It seemed the town was going to hit me over the head with rekindling relationships, whether I wanted it or not. Who was I to argue?
Firefly had given me what I needed most. Family.
Tyler and I sat on the rocking chairs on the front porch. The summer sun had fought valiantly, but night had crept in. For the last five hours, we sat around the kitchen table talking about the possibilities. I hadn’t heard Evie laugh like that since before our parents passed.
“Thank you.”
“What did I do?”
Tyler absentmindedly rocked, the porch creaking each time he pushed back. The flowers rested in his lap. Every so often, he’d lift them and take another hit. When he caught me staring, he’d smile. Tyler didn’t understand how attractive I found him. Yes, he had a gorgeous physique that I’dgladly worship, but it paled in comparison to the beauty of his heart.
“Evie and I… our relationship… it’s complicated.” Mimi had been the only person who understood, or at least so I thought. I never felt the need to tell my exes about why we didn’t talk. “When our parents died, it got tough. We’ve been working through it. This… it could be exactly what she needs.”
