“This is home now, Lilah. This house and Sunset Falls—”And you. I swallow the words that want to escape, continuing, “it’s home.”
She finally tips those eyes up to mine. “No more startup companies for you?”
I breathe out a laugh. “I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that I’ll do whatever I do from here. That wherever life takes me, I’ve decided to make this spot right here home base.”
“Oh.” She presses her lips together and parts them to speak again when my phone rings.
I curse whoever is on the other end of the line as I tug it from my pocket. Mom’s name flashes on my screen and I do curse this time. Out loud.
But I answer the call. “Mom.”
“Nash tells me things are progressing well with the resort.”
“They are.” I hate and love that Mom thinks of Nash as a son. When I was young, I always wanted a brother. Now that I basically have one, I realize how much of a fool I was.
“You don’t call me enough.”
I grunt. “Nash calls you too much.”
Lilah has busied herself with pulling coleslaw from the fridge. Next are the ingredients for what I assume is the coleslaw sauce she’ll make. But I don’t miss thelittle smile that pulls at the corner of her mouth as she listens.
Mom replies, “So, he didn’t tell you, did he?”
I lean into the counter, getting comfortable. “Tell me what?”
“I suppose those loyalties of his really do lie with me. I thought for sure he was pulling my leg.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, then demand, “Are you driving?”
“I’m currently an hour away from you.”
“An hour?”
“That’s what the GPS says.”
Lilah freezes before she whips around to face me. Her eyes are wide, and her mouth is open in shock.
Her finger points to the ground and she whisper-hisses, “An hour away from here?”
I nod to Lilah who looks like she’s about to faint before she kicks into action, shoving the slaw and ingredients back into the fridge. Her hands are trembling. No, her entire body is trembling, and Senior can obviously read the spike in her anxiety, because he’s now in the kitchen with her, standing close as she spirals.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Mom’s reply is instant. “I told Nash.”
“Who obviously did not tellme,” I growl. “Where are you staying?”
“I’m staying with my son and his fiancée, whomI’ve yet to meet even though I hinted more than once that I’d like an invite to do sobeforethe wedding.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
“Wonderful.”
I disconnect and Lilah hisses again, “That was your mom?”
“Yes.”
“She’s coming here?”
