“Aww, don’t worry, sis.” He side hugs me. “I won’t break a single bone this time.” He turns to Autumn. “Need a gym teacher?”
“Seraphina would love that.” Autumn rolls her eyes. “Right now, there isn’t a single gym teacher. Do you have a degree?” From her tone, it’s obvious she doesn’t really care about the degree, she just wants to hassle him.
“He does actually,” I grumble. How is this my life right now? “Robin, can we talk for a moment?” I’m already standing and walking across the bar to the opposite side of the U.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he says, and I swear they all swoon.
I flop into a booth, banging my head against the back of a vinyl seat. I don’t even give Robin a second to sit before I’m hissing, “What are you doing, Robin?”
“I’m sitting in the bar. What does it look like I’m doing, Wren?” Though his body language is casual, there is a stiffness to him that wasn’t there before.
“Robin, you can’t just move here.” I rub my temples, regretting the sugar in my drink already.
“Wren, look at me.” I gaze up at my baby brother, my eyes pleading for him to give me something truthful, something real. His announcement is too much of a shock for my overstimulated system. “I miss you, okay? I should have stayed after Eric died. You needed me, and I wasn’t there.”
I go to open my mouth, but he shakes his head.
“Let me finish.” He darts his eyes over at the ladies in the corner. “Despite what you think, it isn’t about the attention. This is about you and Lark.”
“Robin, we aren’t staying.” But even as I say the words, I feel the lie on my tongue.
“I know you, Wren. E ven the parts you don’t want to admit exist. I know you.” He grabs my hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. “This town could be your new beginning. Don’t stay for a guy. Don’t let Arlo be that deciding factor. Let your heart judge. Look at apartments with me after story time on Wednesday. Explore with me and see how you feel.”
“But Maine…”
“Will always be there. I can see it in your eyes, Wren. This town calls to you, but you, my dear sister, just have to listen.” He lets go of my hands and leans back in his seat. “You are my home, Wren, you and Lark, and it’s past time I remedy our distance. Where you go, I go.”
“That’s a lot of pressure to put on me, Robin.” Again, my fingers find the grooves in the wood, broken and splintered like me. Yet this table found a home in this bar.
“No Wren, the decision is simple, you just have to make it.” He knocks on the wood a few times before getting up. “Come on, I’m not done crashing ladies’ night.”
“I swear if you dance, I’m out.” I let my little brother pull me from the booth and drag me back to the girls, where we laugh and carry on like teens.
Robin wasn’t wrong—I feel like this is home. Now, the question is, will I allow myself to look past my fear?
CHAPTER 21
My body achesin the most pleasant of ways as laughter spills out of me again and again from watching Robin gobble around the library dressed like a turkey. Paris’ little boy laughs like a hyena at his antics.
The town pulled through for him. Not only did they put Thanksgiving back on the calendar, but they are also throwing Kayden the biggest birthday bash we could conjure.
Beginning tomorrow at noon, he will travel by float wearing a birthday crown. Then there will be a party here in the library catered by Autumn, Lori, and Saffron. Afterwards, there will be presents and cake, and then finally, we will all gather as a family at Saffron’s—the Larsons, the Finnleys, and even Paris and Kayden.
At some point, the youngest Larson will show up. It will be a full house for Thanksgiving, something I’ve never experienced in my thirty years—a full family holiday. Sure, when we were younger back before our parents died, we had gatherings, but I don’t remember them .
I want to remember this, and I want to commit every moment to memory. Like the way Paris smiles up at Robin with unshed tears in her eyes as he swoops Kayden up and totes himaround the room. The little guy’s laughter rings throughout the space, and it only spurs Robin on.
“You look happy.” Arlo leans beside me against my little nook in the tree. The memory of showing him this corner is still fresh in my mind.
“I missed him and his insanity.”
“Siblings do that to you.” His eyes seek his twin sister across the room, her head tilted toward Sera’s. “They get under your skin and drive you insane, but when they aren’t there, you miss them like crazy.”
“It really makes no sense that one person can drive you batty and yet you could never dream of living without them.” But it’s true, I couldn’t dream of living a moment without Robin.
“The queen bee comes in tonight, and part of me can’t wait to see her, and the other part can’t wait for her to leave.”
I laugh, knowing he’s talking about his youngest sister, Willow. “I thought the queen bee was Bloom.” My pocket buzzes, and I pull my phone out to check the messages.
