“Well. Now that I have your permission.” She twirled around. Luca noted she wasn’t using her cane today. Was she being reckless? Or just having a good day? “I found a solution to your problem of not being able to accommodate a hundred cars on your swamp out there.”
She flung a hand in the general direction of Emerson’s drive.
Now Emerson tilted his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Really?”
“School bus,” Leah declared. “My goodness, it smellswonderful in here. I see the rosemary, but what’s this? Oh, the leaves aregorgeous.”
“Thai basil,” Emerson answered as Leah lifted the purple leaves to her nose.
“Do you have more in bloom? Can I steal a cut of it?”
“Of course. You can steal cuts of literally anything on my farm, Leah.”
The way Leah smiled at that—Luca had to actually look away. He wasn’t entirely sure what was happening to him today in this kitchen, if he’d ever felt such a surreal ping pong of different emotions. It was possible he was having a mental breakdown.
“You were talking about school buses?” Emerson encouraged.
“Oh, yes, all the kids are doing it these days for their weddings. You hire a school bus to pick up guests from their hotel, or whatever dropoff point you want, and they transport the guests back and forth. People get a kick out of it, pretending they’re kids again, and it’s safer, too, so folks can drink without driving. You have plenty of space out here and on the road that goes up toward the old barn”—Leah walked into the living room, pointing out the window before returning to the kitchen—“for the cars of the actual wedding party, so that’s set. But everyone else takes the school bus. If you’re careful about how you have people park here, the driver will even have ample space to turn around.”
Luca watched Emerson turn it over in his head.
“That’s…great,” he said slowly, “but it’s so close to the wedding to figure this all out. What if Ben and Alexei can’t find an available school bus?”
“Oh, they already have it all set.” Leah leaned against the kitchen island, a smug smile tugging at her lips that she tried to hide. But Luca knew this look, too. This was the part she was proudest of. “I talked to Liv who talked to Mae who gotme Ben’s phone number. I gave him the name of a guy I know who works for the buses. It’s all set.”
“It’s all set?” Emerson blinked at her.
“Of course,” Luca said fondly. “The gossip phone tree of Greyfin Bay.”
Leah waved her son off.
“You call it gossip; I call it community organizing. Potato, pah-tah-to.”
“That is…and they’re really okay with it? Ben and Alexei?”
“Oh yeah. They love it. Ben offered me an invite to the wedding to express his gratitude. Which I’m not taking, considering I’ve never met these fellas and I know what one extra plate costs in terms of catering at these things, but if you need me around onyourside the day of, I am one hundred percent here.”
As long as you’re feeling okay that day, Luca said inside his head, but knew better than to say out loud.
Emerson opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, seeming a bit stunned.
“Anyway, I also heard you had one of the Gutierrez boys out here looking at the barn. I’d love to hear what they said and see how it’s lookin’, if that’s all right with you.”
“How did you hear—” Emerson shot a glance at Luca, but Luca only shook his head. A grin tugged at Emerson’s mouth. “Potato,” he said softly, which struck Luca as so fucking funny that he had to slap his hand over his mouth to hide the smile that was happening on his face.
“Of course it’s all right with me, Leah.” Emerson walked toward the sliding glass door, taking off his apron and draping it on a chair on the way. Once they were all outdoors, Leah walked beside Emerson while Luca trailed just behind, like an errant puppy.
“Wherearethe wedding guests staying?” he asked their backs.
“A hotel in Lincoln City,” Leah turned her chin to say.
“That makes sense.” Greyfin Bay was small enough that the only places for visitors to stay were individual rentals like Luca’s cabin or the dilapidated Fin Inn on the edge of town. Luca hadn’t thought much about the actual logistics of the wedding until right now, but he was real glad Ben and Alexei weren’t staying at the Fin Inn.
“I should have offered my cabin to Ben and Lex,” he said. “For the day of at least, for getting ready and stuff.”
“Oh, that would’ve been a lovely idea!” Leah paused to turn to Luca with a smile. “But I’m sure they’re already all set.”
“Well,” Emerson said slowly, hands in his pockets, “I think the plan was them getting ready in my house. But if they want to go the patriarchal way of getting ready separately…maybe one of them could use your cabin, and one could use the house?”
