“You’ll be fine.”
They reached Alex’s Volvo, and Lily put her case in the trunk while Daisy secured the baby carrier on the backseat.
Alex slid behind the wheel and Daisy into the passenger seat, leaving Lily in the back beside her sleepy niece.
Daisy turned to glance at Lily over her shoulder. “Want to go to Mom and Dad’s or your new place?”
“The new place, I think.” As much as she’d like some of her mom’s cooking, Lily wanted to settle in as soon as possible.
Especially if she only had a day before working full time.
“I’ll let Mom know they can meet us there if they want.” Lily fired off the text and then leaned her head against the back of the seat.
She was exhausted. It had been a hectic few months between her career change and moving halfway across the country, but it felt right, and she couldn’t wait to get started on her new life.
In an old haunt.
As Alex pulled onto the highway, Lily glanced out of the car window. It had been ten years since she’d left Illinois for college. Returning only for holidays since, she was back—possibly for good.
Lily had worried it would feel like a step backwards, but instead she felt content. Her new place wasn’t quite in her hometown of High Grove, but it was only a half-hour drive—so, as her mom had said when Lily had told her she was coming back, she had no excuse not to visit.
It was small for a house but compared to the apartment she was used to in Miami it was spacious. And—most crucially—here, she’d be living on her own.
Not with her cheating ex.
Plus, it was a five-minute drive to the high school where Lily would start teaching on Monday. Which, as she struggled to get out of bed in the morning, was an added bonus.
“Looks like they beat us here,” Alex said, as he pulled onto Lily’s street.
Her parents’ Accord was parked behind her Corolla, abandoned in the driveway since she’d driven it up a few weeks ago with as many of her belongings she could fit inside it.
They stepped out of the car as Alex pulled in behind them, and Lily was swept into her mom’s arms before she was properly out of the car.
“Give her a chance to breathe, Mom,” Daisy said, unbuckling Emma from the car seat when she fussed.
“I can’t help it. I’ve missed her.”
“I’ve missed you too, Mom.”
“What about me?” Her dad said, and Lily hugged him, too.
“And you.” Lily heard a yowl from inside her parent’s car and peered through the rear window. A cat carrier sat on the backseat, and Lily caught a glimpse of a black paw trying to bat at the latch, green eyes glimmering from within. “Has she been living up to her namesake?”
“She’s been wonderful,” her mom said, a fond look on her face. “But I’m sure she’s eager to explore her new home.”
Lily was, too. She grabbed the carrier and led the way to the front door.
“I hope you don’t mind,” her dad said as she slid her key into the lock. “But we’ve done some work on the place since you were last here. Wanted to help you settle in—especially with the delay.”
Curiosity burning, Lily let herself inside.
The cream wallpaper she’d chosen to replace the dingy gray in the hall had been hung, and the carpets lining the stairs looked like they’d been deep-cleaned. A glance into the living room revealed her new couch had arrived safely, and the flat pack furniture had been assembled, a TV stand and a bookcase pressed carefully against the wall. It was still bare—the price of having to start all over again, her old furniture tainted with memories she’d rather not re-visit—but at least it was all hers.
Lily suspected the same sight would greet her upstairs, and the knowledge she wouldn’t have to spend hours assembling her bed before she could go to sleep made her want to cry.
“Obviously, you can move it all around,” her dad said. “But we wanted to make life as easy for you as possible.”
“You did all this for me?” Lily said, her throat feeling tight.
