“Dad, Mom is abusing me,” Drew whined with a wide smile.
“I’m sure you deserved it,” Sam said from his place at the stove, the pile of pancakes growing to astronomical size.
Margot returned to Noah. “Ignoring my youngest—I’m not sure where we went wrong with him—but Noah, you need to find a way to forgive yourself. Life is short—no need to hold on to guilt that isn’t earned.”
“Thanks, Margot,” Noah said, then stepped closer to her but faced Sam as well. “And also, unrelated, but I didn’t get a chance to thank you both for the flowers you sent to the service for my parents. I truly appreciated it.”
Margot patted his arm again. “It was the least we could do. I’m so sorry we couldn’t make it to support you, but Ivy said the Highland Falls crew was headed up.”
“Yep, had to have his back in case his parents’ friends were as big of assholes as they were. Or is it bad to speak ill of the dead?” Drew looked lost in thought while this time Kate gave him a light slap.
“What?” Drew glanced from Kate to Noah. “Weren’t they?”
Kate dropped her face in her hand with a groan.
“Mom, seriously, did you drop him as a baby?” Steph said from her spot by her dad as she wiped down the counter.
“Only once,” Sam said.
“Dad.” Drew shook his head with a disapproving look. “Not cool.”
“It’s fine,” Noah replied. “They weren’t the greatest, I can say that, but they are no longer here, so I’m trying not to think about it too much.”
Margot tapped Noah’s arm. “Not that I’m your mother, and Lord knows I’m not trying to tell you what to do?—”
“Bullshit.” Drew coughed into his fist.
Margot leaned over to slap the back of Drew’s head before turning back to Noah. Drew rubbed a hand over it and looked at his mom with laughter in his eyes. He clearly loved egging her on.
“As I was saying, take this advice for what it’s worth. The loss of your parents, regardless of your relationship with them, is a big one. Allow yourself the time you need to grieve. And know that Sam and I are here for you in any way we can be.” She patted Noah’s cheeks. “You hear me?”
Noah gave her a warm smile. “I hear you, Margot. And thanks.”
Margot pulled him in for a hug as Sam spoke up from the stove. “Pancakes are ready.”
I scanned the island. Three types of pancakes, coffee cake, my cake, scones, muffins, egg casserole, bacon, fruit, donuts, and toast. Good Lord. Was a bus of people coming to join us?
“Are we ready to eat?” Ivy came back in; Lorelai was in a sling on her chest. She had a blanket tossed over her shoulder as well. “Avert your eyes if any bit of breast offends. I need some food, and the babe is taking a bit longer than necessary.”
Could I add Ivy to my people I wanted to become? I really appreciated her “tell it like it is” vibe. It was one that I certainly didn’t possess, but maybe my current heroine could borrow some of that while I worked on myself.
Steph was rummaging in her bag but looked over to Ivy. “Want me to fix you a plate?”
“Nah, Jake is headed in. He went out the other door to corral the girls.”
Sam piped up as Drew snagged a piece of bacon. “You all can go ahead and start. We have a few more guests joining us any minute.”
Ivy looked up from her spot where she’d sunk onto a stool at the island, her arm cradling Lorelai as she nursed. “Who else is coming, not that it matters. Clearly we’re not low on food.”
“Just some friends from town,” Margot replied as she poured herself another mug of coffee.
“Oh.” Steph pulled a book out of her bag. At first I couldn’t see the cover, but when she turned, I immediately wanted to vomit as I recognized my second book. “Didn’t you say this is next month’s read? I already told Mom she’s bringing me on FaceTime to the club meeting since she’ll be in town for it. I absolutely devoured this one. How many books are there in this Sleepy Valley series again?”
Margot immediately piped up with an answer. I looked from Steph to Margot in horror, realizing this meant Margot had also read my book. Then Kate and Ivy began to add to the conversation. My gaze found Noah, who was watching me with concern. All these women had read my books. Holy bejesus.
“Sorry, I need to use the restroom,” I murmured, fleeing the kitchen and praying I could find one to hide in. What I would do after that, I had no idea.
Chapter 26
