My shoulders fall. Despite the rumor mill, I don’t hate it here. I just don’t fit in like everyone else. Penny and Rosie made a place for themselves in Hope Harbor. They’re soingrained in the fabric of this town they can’t see it, but I’ve always been like the ball of yarn that never got woven in.
I also might have watched too many YouTube knitting videos due to my lack of a sex life.
“There’s no hot water, Mom gave our house away to a stranger, and it seems like she’d prefer Walker’s sister as a daughter over me.” The words rush out, and I groan loudly. “Why am I like this?”
Penny lets out a breathy laugh. “Mom loves you. She just knows you don’t want to be here. You need to make it clear that youwantto be.”
“Idowant to be here,” I say aggressively. “But she doesn’t seem to need me. She’s got someone to help, and honestly—” I take a deep breath because it sounds so judgmental to even say. “Mom seems fine. Like—” I glance around the store, searching for words as if the books will offer them up. “Like she’s not devastated that he’s gone. Like she’s justmoving on.”
Penny gnaws on her lip, and I know my sister agrees with me.
“Wait a second,” I hiss.
Penny looks away from me.
“Penelope Iris Darling, look at me.” My sister’s big round eyes give away all her secrets. “You agree with me. You don’t trust Jesse Walker any more than I do. You’re just as bothered by the way Mom basically gave away our home to play house with his family!”
Finally, she breaks. “Fine.Yes. Okay. I got distracted with my engagement falling apart, and Mom seemed—well, like you said, she seemed fine. It’s weird, right? Like everything is the same but it’s completely different. And Walker’s running the farm, and Mom is basically acting like Dad never existed,and I don’t know what to do about it because you’re the one who always went toe to toe with her. You and Dad had this special bond, and I was always close with Mom, but I don’t know how to talk to her anymore. Tally, she gave away our house!”
I laugh. It’s loud and obscene, and the situation is not in the least bit funny. But this is the first time in twenty-four hours that I don’t feel like I’ve entered the twilight zone. Finally, someone is acknowledging that what’s going on isn’t normal.
Penny grabs my shoulder and shakes me. “You’re freaking me out.”
I let out an exaggerated sigh. “I’m just relieved you’re not on the Walker train.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what I am. Maybe he really is just trying to help, but it doesn’t make sense, right? If I told you ahead of time what I thought, I’d never be sure I wasn’t putting my insecurities on you. I wanted your blind reaction, but I’m sorry I didn’t warn you.”
As much as I hate the way she tricked me, I get why she did it. “You were right to call me. Nothing adds up. How can Mom afford him full-time? Plus, I don’t trust him. It feels like he’s trying to steal Dad’s business. But Mom thinks he’s genuine, which means she’s not being reasonable. She’s avoiding me and pushing me out of the wedding business. How the hell am I going to get to the bottom of all of this if she refuses to talk to me?”
Penny huffs out an exasperated breath as she gets to her feet. “I don’t know.” She begins moving books around on the shelf and I follow her, studying the titles as she touches them.
“Jake Montgomery. That’s a name from the past,” I mutter.
My sister shrugs.
“I thought you only had books with happy endings here.” I turn over the thriller in my hands. Monty and my sister were best friends in high school, which means he’s one of few authors I’ve followed through the years.
She grabs the book and puts it back where it was, beside the corner counter with the rest of his books. There’s a little chalkboard sign that readsLOCAL AUTHORS. Only Monty’s books are on display.
“If you’re so worried about Walker taking over the business, you should be over there, not here,” she says pointedly. I know she’s changing the subject, but I allow it since my sister has been through enough these last few months. She doesn’t need me poking at old wounds, too.
The bell above the door jangles again, and both Penny and I spin around to see the Liberty Ladies enter the store, led by Rayna.
“See, I told you she was here,” she says, her silver coif barely moving as she bobs her head up and down and points in my direction.
Penny snorts but covers her laugh with a book.
“Oh my goodness, you’ve gotten so big,” Ruby Simmons says as she pats me on the head. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise; Ruby’s always had an issue with personal space.
Before I can say anything, she steps back as Angelina Rhinehart, the owner of Twisted Tea, steps forward like she’s about to do the same thing. I’d rather avoid a hug, so I wrap my arm around my sister. “Hi, ladies. Yes, I’m really here.”
The trio is joined by Babs Wilcox and Mindy Robins, who co-own the local hair and nail salon, A Breath of FresHair.
Babs has always been the beauty of the bunch, with her blond hair, voluptuous figure, and flirtatious attitude. Even at sixty-five she turns heads. However, it’s often because of the things that come out of her mouth. As she begins to speak, I brace myself. “Well, now you’ll have to join us for our Spicy Saturday Book Club meeting! Do you have a Kindle?”
“Can’t. The farm has weddings on Saturdays,” I say, an exaggeratedoh shucksexpression on my face.
Mindy shakes her head. “Oh, that’s no good. Maybe we can move the day we meet?” She’s always been the most agreeable of the women. She’s also still stuck in the eighties with her brown hair teased high and feathered at the edges.
