“We should be going anyway.We just wanted to invite you to come to my opening for the spa on Friday.We have hot tubs and free spa treatments happening.But you can just chill out in a hot tub,” Paisley offers.
Milly’s nose scrunches up.“That doesn’t sound like fun.”
Paisley laughs but it’s Liza who addresses Milly.“That’s okay.You can come and help me feed the animals, if it’s okay with your sister,” she offers.
“You have animals?”Milly whispers in wonder.
“We do.Horses, pigs, cows, chickens...”
“And a duck,” Paisley adds.
“I wouldn’t really call that thing a duck, babe,” Landon remarks, his lips twitching.
“Why?Because he’s spending so much time with Rex and now thinks he’s a dog and likes to cause mayhem?”
“Babe, he was causing mayhem before we even introduced him to Rex.”
She rolls her eyes before turning back to us.“The party begins at eight.Milly is welcome to join us, but if you’re comfortable with it, Mum can watch her.She loves having kids in her home again.”
Liza smiles fondly at her daughter.“You will always be my kids.”
“We’ll be there.I know you’ll be busy, but I would like to talk to you about our plans for the land, so we don’t disrupt what you are doing at the bed and breakfast,” Malia explains.
“That’s cool of you,” Paisley answers with a nod.
“There is one more thing before we go.Your grandparents had horses roaming the land.We were feeding them but we haven’t seen them in a while.Do we have permission to go over your land to search for them in case they’ve come back?I promised your grandparents that I wouldn’t let anything happen to them.”
“Have you already been looking on our land?”Malia asks, and I spin to face her, hearing the relief masking her fear.
Liza’s eyebrows pinch together.“No, sweetie.We stopped coming over the minute we got news of your grandparents passing.Why?”
Malia freezes, so Makayla quickly jumps in.“We thought we saw a tent patch not too far from the border, and what looked like track marks.”
“Where?”Landon demands sharply.
“Over near the huge willow tree by the stream,” Malia answers warily.
Liza clears her throat.“I can get my sons to take a look for you and maybe set up some cameras for you.If you have trespassers, you have to be careful.We will also mend the breach in the fence for you.We know you don’t have plans to keep this as a farm, so leave that to us and get back to making this house a home.”
“Thank you.We couldn’t possibly ask you to do that though,” Malia whispers.
“It’s no problem,” she tells us.“We need to do a perimeter sweep soon anyway.But I really would like permission to search for the horses.”
“Of course.But if it’s okay with you, can you let me know when you’ll be doing them?I can give you my number,” Malia offers.
After they exchange numbers, and we say our goodbyes, we all go back inside.I glance at Malia.“Liza seemed nice,” I comment, then warily ask, “Is there something I should know?”
“Yes!I will murder that man if he goes near my food.Sort it out,” she tells me, before grabbing her food.
Well okay then.
Guess I’m the one on the hook for the Carters.
This is going to go really well.
