Tash
The movingtruck's taillights blinked ahead of us, punching dull red holes in the gray air. Two days past Thanksgiving, miles from everything we knew. Well, miles from everything the girls knew. I'd been to Laurel Gap many times.
The drive from Knoxville took less than an hour, but it might as well have been a trip to the other side of the planet if you went by the mood in my car.
I kept one eye on the winding two-lane and another on the rearview. "How's Huey doing? He make it through the last set of curves?"
Fiona, who'd become Fifi moments after she was born, scratched behind his ears. "He's snoring. He slept straight through the construction zone." Shedidn't look up. Her arms curled around Huey's warm, pudgy body like she was afraid he'd vanish if she let go.
"Wish I could've napped," Meredith muttered. She'd been flipping through animal fact websites for thirty minutes. "You know, there are black bears here. Laurel Gap is full of them this time of year, right before winter. We should probably get bear spray."
"Bear spray," I repeated, mostly to have something to say. The idea of Mere wielding a can of any kind of chemical weapon was enough to make me almost smile.
"Seriously, I read an article." She twisted in her seat, her ponytail bouncing. "They raid trash cans all over town."
"They're not going to come in the house and eat your homework," Fifi said, poking at her phone. "Pretty sure our snack inventory isn't up to bear standards."
Meredith shot her a look, but didn't answer. That was their dynamic since day one. Mere the researcher, ready with a dissertation on any new threat, and Fifi, queen of sarcasm, always pretending nothing could get to her. In reality, everything did. Especially lately.
On the left, Laurel Creek shimmered through the trees, yellow leaves fluttering above the dark water. Early frost still rimmed the grass in shady spots. We'dbe in town in minutes. I should've felt more triumphant, like we'd really made it, but mostly I hoped I was doing the right thing.
Sometimes you just had to make a call and jump.
As we rolled into Laurel Gap, the main street looked the same as always. A tidy row of brick shops, a few glowing window displays, the whole place ringed with mountains that leaned close like nosy old neighbors. I slowed to a crawl, letting the truck get a block ahead. The bakery sat on the corner, right where Gran used to take me for cinnamon rolls as a treat on the weekends. A half-hour drive, but worth it. They were that good. I hoped they hadn't changed the recipe.
"Hey, look, guys," I said, tipping my chin toward the passenger side. "See the sign?"
There it was, plain as anything. A green dragon, coiled around a cake, was painted right up on the swinging wooden shingle. Someone had gone all-in on the fantasy theme. Cute.
"Oh my god, is that a literal dragon?" Fifi straightened up, like she'd just caught a whiff of sugar. "That's amazing. I want to go."
"Same," Meredith said. "Look at the window. There's like a mountain of bread."
I slowed down so we could catch a good look. Trays of rolls and pastries waited on the other side ofthe glass. The kind of place with real flour dust on the counters and probably a woman behind the register who called everyone honey. I had a weakness for fresh bread. So did my daughters, especially if you added bacon, cheese, or any protein source approved by carnivores.
"That'll be our first stop," I promised. "We'll go as soon as we get the last box inside. You two can pick out anything you want."
Fifi grinned. She had a lopsided smile that always caught me off guard, because lately she went days without showing it. "I vote for the whole left side of the bakery case. But if I can only pick one, I'll just… suffer."
Meredith turned back to her phone. "Does the bakery have Wi-Fi?"
Probably. I hoped the house did, too. Another mental note for my growing checklist. Set up the router, keep the peace.
The town moved past in slow motion. Painted shopfronts with old-fashioned awnings, a hardware store with a wooden bear out front, and one tiny café with mismatched chairs on the porch. The trees had dropped most of their leaves, but red and gold scraps still clung to the sidewalk. Laurel Gap had character. Itwas nothing like the suburbs, more like a place people actually lived, not just slept.
Gran used to say every mountain town was haunted. Not by ghosts, but by memories. I didn't want to spook the girls with nostalgia, but I couldn't help it.
"You remember coming up here with Gran?" I asked. "When you were little?"
Meredith shrugged. "Sort of. I remember the swings at that old park by the gas station. And that hike where Fifi fell in the creek."
Fifi made a fake-offended noise. "Excuse me, I was pushed. A mysterious force grabbed my ankles in the name of science."
"Yeah, well, you were sampling macroinvertebrates, and you leaned way too far," Meredith shot back. "I just watched it happen."
I outright laughed. "That was the year you tried to bring home a garter snake. Told me you'd keep it in a shoebox under your bed."
"You wouldn't let me!" Fifi giggled, shaking her head. "Dream-killer."
