I was too tired to argue.I pulled my mother’s hand up to my cheek. “That sounds nice.”
“Just rest. I’ll be right here.”
I closed my eyes and relaxed for the first time in a long time.
The next morning, I wasn’t quite as excited about the trip back to Haven. At least my mother had convinced my father to drive the Bronco I’d bought them a few years ago. Me being squashed in between them on the bench seat of my dad’s old Chevy truck for the four hour drive would have been awful. Notthat it really mattered, I kept falling asleep on the long, boring drive.
The sound of a door shutting drew me out of slumber with a start. I sat up and blinked, rubbing at my eyes. The familiar red sign for Angelito’s made my stomach roar to life.
My mother rolled down her window and took the brown bag from my father. The greasy scent of onion rings and fish fries made my mouth water.
My dad got in the other side and handed me a milk shake with a thick straw.
The sound of my personal trainer’s voice in the back of my head made me pause, but then I snatched it out of my dad’s hand. The peanut butter and chocolate sang on my tongue. I drank deeply.
“No one makes it like Angelito,” I said on a sigh.
My dad laughed. “Had a feeling you needed one.”
I leaned forward between the seats and filched an onion ring from the tray and happily munched as my father pulled into traffic. I wasn’t even sure what day it was, but Destiny Street was always busy.
Fall was in full swing. Mums decorated every shop stoop along with water dishes for pets on the sidewalk between buildings. The huge bay window of the Dreamer Bookshop was filled with books and knitwear. Tiny twinkle lights wrapped around a stack of books artfully arranged to show off gorgeous romance and fantasy.
It made me want to crawl out of my cocoon for precisely three seconds before I settled back into the nest my mother had created for me in the backseat. “Is that new?”
My mom turned around in her seat then followed my gaze. “Oh, yes. Madeline’s granddaughter took over the old shoe store and decided to make it her own. She’s all over those social media sites. Tok something?”
I laughed. “TikTok, Mom.”
“Right. I only open the links there when your aunt Shirley sends them to me.” She turned back to face the front.
I curled the blanket my mom had provided around me as I watched the town out my window. I’d been so busy the last five years I’d only come home a few times. Each time had been hurried, with my head barely coming up from my phone as I took care of details that always seemed to need my attention.
Even with a team of assistants, I liked to be as in control of my career as possible. From collaborations to appearances, the first few years I’d been at the mercy of the label’s whims. I still was for all intents and purposes, but I’d wrangled a bit of autonomy in the studio.
Except around Christmas.
That one I’d never get back.
We turned off Destiny Street and into the more rural parts of Haven. A good mix of farms and housing developments dotted the hilly landscape. My breath caught as I noticed the old Reynolds farm.
Tate.
I swallowed against the flash of memory.
The summer that almost was.
I shook off the wispy strings of the past, then frowned.Were there more horses now? And it also looked as if it was mid-construction.
I sat up straight. “What’s going on with the farm?”
“Oh, wait until you see. Lots of changes since you’ve been home, honey.”
I swiveled my head at the addition to what once had been a small ranch style home. The Reynolds family had been our neighbors for as long as I could remember. The last thing I’d heard, the farm had gone into foreclosure as many of the family businesses in the area had.
The current state of affairs in the United States didn’t reward small farms.
But then the familiar lines of my parent’s farmhouse wiped out any other thought. I was too tired to ask questions about the changes right now. I just wanted to see Lucy and Charlie and sleep for another week.
