Dane chuckled, tearing his rather intense gaze from Tansy before the kissing could begin. “Thank you, Camellia, we will both be there—if you can stand to have us?”
“Of course.” Aunt Camellia waved her hand dismissively. “As Leif said, it’s a thing now.” She smiled at Leif, who grinned back at her.
“Good.” Dane’s hands were already pulling Tansy close. “Can we bring anything?”
“No, no, just yourselves.” She scribbled something on her tablet. “Plus, Van, of course—”
“Of course.” All four of them said in unison.
“Behave.” But Aunt Camellia was grinning.
Van Kettner was a well-respected Honey resident, the local butcher—and, recently, Aunt Camellia’s beau. As far as Astrid was concerned, he was also one of the sweetest men to ever walk the planet. Once he’d finally got up the nerve to express his longtime adoration to her aunt, the two of them were inseparable. Now it was hard to imagine a time when they hadn’t been together.
“Looks like we’re the singletons again.” Astrid nudged Leif.
“Speak for yourself.” Leif grinned.
“Oh?” Astrid stared at the boy with wide eyes.
“I’m taking Kerrielynn on a date tonight.” Leif’s cheeks were red-tinged and he was all puffed up with pride. “Now that I’ve got my driver’s license, I’m driving.” Kerrielynn was older and had been driving them around so this was a big deal.
Dane groaned, holding Tansy against his side. “Which is why I’m getting more gray hair every day.”
Tansy reached up to tug on Dane’s long blond ponytail. “Don’t believe it, Leif. I don’t see a one.”
“No?” Dane only had eyes for Tansy now. “I’m pretty sure there’s a few with your name on them, too.”
Tansy laughed. “I’m pretty sure themajorityof mine have your name on them.”
“Whatever.” Dane kissed Tansy then.
Compared to some of the kisses she’d seen them exchange, Astrid thought it was almost a socially acceptable kiss.
“Ugh.” Leif didn’t agree. He made a gagging sound before asking, “Anything new here?”
“We got another one of those cards from that real estate company.” Camellia shook her head.
“Another one?” Dane frowned. “This is bordering on harassment. Want me to call them and set them straight?”
“Maybe if we get another one.” Camellia chuckled. “Or we could set Mags loose on them?”
Astrid’s aunt Magnolia was a force to be reckoned with. She’d set these overly persistent land developers on their ear.
“Oh, we also met the new neighbors.” Aunt Camellia finished writing on her tablet. “That Charlie Driver character? And his two precious daughters.”
“‘That Charlie Driver character’?” Dane asked. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“I have to say, I don’t know what to make of him.” Aunt Camellia ripped off the top sheet of paper. “But if you help Astrid take his bicycle out to him, you can see what you think.”
“People have been saying he’s a real ass—er, jerk. Was he rude to you?” Leif asked, fiercely protective of them.
“No.” Astrid patted his arm. “He was...abrupt. Honestly, Aunt Camellia, can you blame him? He’d been looking for his daughters. From his reaction, I get the feeling he didn’t know that Halley and Nova had ridden into town. If he was a bit out of sorts, I’d say it’s a reasonable enough explanation.”
Once Astrid and her sisters had come to live with her Poppa Tom, Granna Hazel, and two aunts, they’d been allowed many freedoms. It was a small town and people looked out for one another. But, even then, they hadn’t been allowed to ride their bikes along the county road. “If Tansy, Rosemary and I had ever done something like that, Poppa Tom would have been—”
“Terrified? And, once you were safe, he would have been relieved—overwhelmingly so.” Aunt Camellia nodded, tapping her chin with her pencil. “I suppose you’re right.” She reached out to take Astrid’s hand. “You’re right to point that out, too.” She gave her hand a squeeze. “I imagine he was scared to death.”
“Yeah, that would do it.” Dane gave Leif a playful shove. Dane was Leif’s big brother but, in many ways, he was more father than their actual father. “That road is too dangerous for bike riding.”
