“We bought—”
“We bought—”
Jack and Sara spoke in unison. He nodded for Sara to go ahead. “You’re the storyteller.”
“We bought six houses before Tayla could devour them and dehumanize them,” Sara said. “I’m thinking of parking pickups in front of ours. We’ll put plastic in the beds. Redneck swimming pools.”
“My job is with Tayla,” Kate said seriously, “and I like what she’s done with the town.”
“So does she,” Jack said, nodding toward Sara. “But she and Tayla aren’t besties.”
“Understatement,” Sara muttered.
When Kate looked at her in question, Sara waved her hand. “Old high-school feud that never died.”
“At least not from your side,” Jack said.
“Anyway,” Sara said, “Jack and I are going to design the remodels on the houses we bought and his crew will do the work, then Ivy will decorate.”
“Ivy?”
“My half sister.” There was a quiet tone to his voice.
Kate started to say something but she glanced at his cast. His brother had been killed in that crash.
Kate’s handbag was between her and Jack. When she felt her phone buzz and looked at the ID, she took it out of the side pocket. “I have to take this. It’s my mother and she’ll worry.”And if I don’t answer, she will drive me insane, she thought.
“Mom!” she said with exaggerated cheerfulness. “How are you?”
Ava erupted loudly, and in rapid-fire. “How areyou? Has she yelled at you yet? Is she bedridden? Are her servants stealing everything? Do you have a clean room? Maybe you should get an apartment and I’ll come stay with you.”
To Kate’s horror, she could see by the rigid faces of Sara and Jack that they could hear every word. “Mom!” she said loudly. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t let her bully you. That’s what she always did to me. She likes to get her way and—”
Kate knew shehadto distract her mother. “I met a man. I really like him. He’s—”
“Throughher? I don’t think—”
“No!” Kate kept her eyes straight ahead, although she was seeing nothing. She couldn’t hang up on her mother. Doing that would send her into a depression. “His name is Alastair Stewart and he’s gorgeous. Like a tall blond Viking. You’d really like him.”
Ava gasped. “You talked to a stranger?”
“Not until after he’d had people introduce him to me. He grew up here and everyone knows him.”
“Wait! Did you say Stewart? Your father told me about them. The family owns that town.”
Kate blinked a few times. Her mothernevermentioned her father in that casual way. “Yes, it’s the same family.”
“Do you have a date with him?”
“This Saturday. He doesn’t live here now but he’s thinking of moving back.”
“That’s good,” Ava said. “He’ll be a safety net for you whenshegets too bad.”
“Uh, listen, Mom, I need to go. I start my job tomorrow and I need to look over the listings. I love you!”
“Yes, but, Katie, honey, I need to be sure that you’re safe.”
