Page 43 of Untroubled Heart

“It’s my house.”

Beth arches a brow as if that’s not a good enough answer for her. “Can I see the photos too?”

I pass my phone over to Beth.

“Wow,” she says, slowly scrolling through them. “This is a lot more … “

“Older?”

“Shittier than I thought.”

I click my tongue, scooping a spoonful of my own dessert. “Just means it’ll be easier to make it mine.”

“Right.” Beth nods, still unconvinced. “So we’ll gut this whole room and put some picture windows across the back, then?” She holds up my phone, showing the front library that Callie loved just as it was.

“Gut it?” I shake my head. “No, the bookshelves stay.”

“Do you even have enough books to fill this thing?” She knows the answer to that. I’m not a big reader, I’m not sure I even own a single novel. But Callie liked it. She thought it was charming and added to the character of the home. She saw the beauty of what it already was and didn’t want it to change. She always sees what others don’t, even in me. Besides, if books are the problem, I can solve that easily.

Beth’s shoulders drop when she guesses exactly where my thoughts have gone. “You’re gonna buy books just to keep it, aren’t you?”

I smile. “The room stays as is.”

“Ugh, fine. Please send me the plans as soon as they’re done so I can start the 3D renders.” She scoops a mountain of dessert into her mouth—and she accuses me of being the undignified eater. My sister has a weak spot for sweets, though. She places her phone on the table between us, eating with one hand and navigating Pinterest with the other, already creating a new board called ‘Mason’s Forever After’. “Now, what kind of style speaks to you?”

I can’t tell her it’s whatever Callie likes, so I try to recall how she described it. “Umm, like cottagey but modern? I want to mix the old with the new, like what you did with Smoke and Barrel, but not retro.”

Everyone goes back to their desserts and conversation as Beth starts curating a board beside me. My eyes scan the room, dropping on Caleb and Lex, who are having some hushed conversation that’s full of bashful smiles and heart eyes.

Mum and Dad sit with their hands linked together on the table, the years of loving your best friend looking as natural on their faces as a cloud looks in the sky.

Isabelle is sharing a story with Gage that lights up her eyes while he silently stares, admiring her with a soft smile.

To my left, Grams is telling Grandpa how her latest campaign exceeded the already optimistic projections she gave to the board, and as usual, he tells my grandmother she’s brilliant and anyone who doubts her is an imbecile.

I sit on my end of the table alone, so I bring out my phone, going to the place that makes me feel it less. I don’t even need to type her handle in the search bar—it’s already there from the number of times I’ve searched it lately.

I click on Callie’s profile, my stomach flipping when I see she’s posted a new photo. A close-up of her grinning face pressed into Navie’s rosy cheek. They’re at the lagoon beach at the boardwalk, where we had cookies the other night. Navie’s in a bright blue swimsuit with a bucket hat on her head that’s probably too big, but just ends up looking ridiculously cute. I swipe through the carousel of photos. There’s a full-length one of Callie and Navie showing the yellow bikini Callie is wearing, with bright pink and orange flowers all over it. I try to control the way my mouth drops as I study the dreamcatcher tattoo that extends from her curved waist down her thigh. The last photo is of Callie with her mouth over a huge cookie. It looks like the flavour we tried the other night, and the caption she put underneath says: This one’s my favourite.

I give it a heart.

Chapter sixteen

Shit. Shit. Shit.

My handbag slips further down my forearm as I push the button for the third floor.

It’s been one of those mornings.

First, I woke up to an email from my lawyer informing me that the custody paperwork has been delayed because Derek is currently under review for early release.

I didn’t know what that meant. Would it make it harder to approve? Longer? Would Derek want to be involved with Navie now that he was out and had a chance to start over?

By the time Navie and I got out the door and headed to daycare, I was already running a little behind, and then we found the car park full of service trucks—the centre had completely flooded overnight.

Staff were helping parents find alternate centres nearby who had capacity to help, but for the whole week our one would be closed for repairs.

After calling a third place who’d already taken their limit, I called Mason in a panic.