“Ah, there she is,” he said fondly. “It’s coming along nicely.”
“They’re out here workin’ on it everyday,” Tag said.
Opal had watched them pour the foundation, then put up walls and attach a roof. Since then, it seemed like not much got done—at least from the outside.
She had to go indoors to see the forward momentum of the build, with sheetrock going up, being taped, and then mudded. The outline of appliances and cabinetry had gone in, but the windows had arrived, and they’d started on the back deck too.
“Only two steps up, Daddy,” she said, eyeing the wide, barely-there steps.
“Yeah, and only four inches,” he said. “Gray needs something like this.”
“Did they decide to move here?” Opal asked. “I never saw the end of that conversation.” Opal was a full-time mom and hadn’t done much with her medical foundation either. So she definitely had time to keep up with the family texts, though sometimes they came in at a furious pace.
“Yeah,” Daddy said. “They’re going to come back.” He smiled at her in the rear-view mirror, then opened the door and got out. He pulled open her door too, and Opal slid to the ground and stepped into her daddy’s arms.
“I’m glad. Then you and Momma won’t be alone,” she said.
“We’d come without them,” Daddy said.
“I know.” Opal stepped back and went with her dad toward the back of the SUV. Tag beat them there and pressed the button to open the lift-gate. “But you’ve loved living in Coral Canyon with your brothers.”
“Yeah, I have.” Daddy gave her a smile that told her it would be hard for him and Momma to move here. They’d lived in Coral Canyon for over thirty years, and all of Momma’s friends were there.
“Uncle Gray’s decided to stay until their house sells.” Daddy pulled out a duffel bag and handed it to Opal. “The market in Coral Canyon has cooled considerably, so it could be a while.”
“But that’s okay,” Opal said. “Right? I mean, they don’t have anywhere to live here either.”
“They could stay at the farm,” Daddy said. “Or Twilight Fields. They’d have a place.”
“Sure, of course.” Opal led the way toward the cabin, the grunt of her husband behind her telling her he carried something much heavier than her. “But they want to be on the farm, right?”
“Right,” Daddy said. “And the cabins are full.”
“Well, they’re not full here,” she said, an idea forming in her mind.
“They’re going to move into the generational house. It’s what it’s for, after all.”
“What about Deacon?” Opal asked, surprise running through her as she dropped the duffel bag and turned back to her father. She didn’t think for a moment that Deacon would move into a cabin here to run the farm he owned ten miles north.
“He’s the one who’ll build himself a new house.” Daddy smiled. “We’re goin’ over there tomorrow for a little bit. He wanted me to help him scope out a plot of land for his house.”
“So they’ll have two homesteads,” Opal said, not really asking.
“Deacon needs it,” Daddy said. “And Hunter and Molly still need their house too.”
“Hey, I’m all for it.” Opal watched as Tag slid the box he carried onto the dining room table. They made a couple more trips from the SUV to the cabin, and then Opal’s phone rang.
“It’s Momma.” She swiped on the call and turned her back on the men. “What’s goin’ on, Momma?”
She expected to hear Mari wailing, but she didn’t.
“I’m just wondering if you have any more of that Mexican vanilla.”
Opal’s pulse bounced strangely in her chest. “I’m sure I do…why?”
“Oh, I thought the blondies needed a few more minutes, and well….”
“You burnt dessert.”
