Page 67

FORD
I watchedMia taking in my childhood home. The barn, the corral with horses fenced in. I could see some of my nieces out there already, riding the horses bareback around the enclosure.
I smiled at the view, my heart feeling so full.
The only thing that made it better was seeing the admiration reflected in Mia’s eyes.
“It’s stunning,” she agreed. “And the sunflowers...”
“They were my mom’s favorite flowers,” I confided, feeling bare in front of her. “She planted them all around the house, even though Dad called them ditch weeds at first.”
She chuckled softly. “Sounds like Farrah—she loves dandelions.”
I nodded. “Dad came around eventually. And now that she’s... gone, we all make sure there are sunflowers planted. It’s like a reminder that she’s always with us.” I swallowed down the emotion, and Mia squeezed my hand like she understood.
We rode the rest of the way to the house, and I parked in the gravel driveway alongside the fence. When we got out, it felt like magic, with a warm breeze flowing around us, the fresh air filling my lungs and energizing me like city air never did.
With a bang, the screen door opened, and my niece Leah came toddling out in her swimsuit, curls wild around her head. “FuhFuh!” she yelled.
I grinned at her, going through the front gate to scoop her up and hug her to me. It didn’t matter that her swimsuit was soaked and dripping through my shirt. Just that I was home.
Her mom, Liv, was just a few steps behind her, her pregnant belly showing a little more than last time I’d seen her.
“Hey, Ford,” she said. “Mia, I’m Liv.”
Mia followed us into the front yard and said hi, and then Liv called over her shoulder. “FLETCH! Help with the bags!” Within a few seconds, he came out and grabbed the bags.
“At your service,” he mumbled to his wife.
She held her hands out at her side. “Sorry, my husband-slash-doctor says I can’t lift more than twenty pounds.”
Fletcher rolled his eyes at me, then looked to Mia and said, “Mia, welcome to the mess. I’m the husband-slash-doctor. But you can call me Fletcher.”
She laughed. “Nice to meet you.”
“Miss Leah and I will give you the grand tour,” I said to Mia, leading her down the sidewalk to the house.
I opened the door for us and held it open for Mia to walk inside. Thankfully, most everyone was either on the back patio or at the barn, so it was just us while Liv and Fletch trailed behind.
“This is the living room,” I explained.
She looked at the room with its wooden floors, simple leather couches, and the fireplace we never used with photos on the mantle.
Then I showed her the bedrooms—there were four of them, which meant sharing rooms was common throughout the years.
“Fletch always got a bedroom to himself because he was the oldest.” I rolled my eyes. “Lame.”
Mia laughed. “Maybe being an only child wasn’t so bad.”
I smiled at her, then said, “Let’s head to the backyard. Dad’s probably grilling for you. Had to show off some of his Madigan beef.”
Leah squirmed in my arms, so I set her down. She waved her little chubby fingers like we should follow her. And she marched ahead of us, her little ruffled butt swinging as she walked.
Mia held my arm, whispering, “She is so stinking cute.”
“I know,” I agreed. “So much sass. Like her mama.”
“Liv, right? Farrah adores her.”