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“Okay.” Miranda pinched the top of her nose, closing her eyes. Annoyance radiated from her. She needed to get Tori’s party planned. She’d been too nervous to approach Siena and Aili earlier, which meant she had left herself with very little time now. But as always, that tension in her shoulders strengthened. The tension never quite disappeared, because every day she fell more in love with parenting Rebel and she remained subject to the whims of her sister’s intermittent calls and questions about her daughter.

“Is she okay?” Miranda might be annoyed at Tierney, but she couldn’t stop caring about her baby sister either.

“She’s coming home.” Excitement rang through the phone.

“Oh,” Miranda replied, having heard this exact phrase from her mother more than once. But for some reason her stomach sank and twisted into tiny knots. Her heart was in her throat. Fear. She was desperately afraid.

“She broke up with John.”

Miranda had almost hoped this one would end up being good enough for Tierney. She’d been with him almost two months, and Miranda had even spoken to him on the phone.

“Yes. It turns out he’s actually married and was just on vacation.” Why did her mom sound so damn pleased?

“What?” Miranda’s eyes flew open, anger swirling in her stomach. She’d spoken to the man and had even been willing to consider him genuine.

“Your poor sister is a bit of a mess.” Now at least she sounded sad.

“Where is she?” Miranda’s voice wobbled.

“She wants some time alone to think, so I’ve rented her a car so she can drive home.”

“Mom, that’s too dangerous.” What she didn’t say was that Tierney had never done something like that on her own before. That she’d barely managed to get an apartment on her own without help. How was she going to make her way home?

“Oh, you know, Tierney. She needs to do it her way.” As always, her mom dismissed any of her concerns.

Miranda held back a growl. She would call Tierney soon and put something in place so she could know instantly if something went wrong.

“When will she be home?” Miranda didn’t want to know the answer to that, but she had to find out. How much longer would Rebel be hers?

“I don’t know the exact time, but Tierney did say she’d be sure to drop the car at the local rental place next Sunday.”

“Of course.” The only day they could throw the party for Tori. Miranda had known what the answer would be before her mother replied, because it had always happened, she could easily rattle off a dozen things she had had to give up over the years to make her family the priority. But Tierney had given them a lot of dates over the last few months, so there was still a chance it might not actually happen. Miranda clung to that hope.

Miranda had also begun to truly enjoy the rhythm of her life and how it worked to weave a beautiful pattern together with Tori’s. Neither’s life or job took priority over the other. Miranda even saw Tori in her strength and guidance for others. Who knew she would ever consider a life coach a respectable profession?

Who knew she would ever see herself in a relationship that didn’t suffocate her as a human being, or having that and the responsibilities of a small child?

“Miranda?”

“Sorry.” Miranda shook her head. She needed to get her mind back on track. She wasn’t usually so distracted. “What were you saying?”

“Your father and I are meeting with friends that day for lunch so we won’t be able to pick Tierney up. You’ll need to go get her and bring her home.”

“I’ll be busy.” Miranda quickly bit out before the automatic agreement could spill from her lips.

“Oh, your father is calling. I’ll talk to you later.”

Before Miranda could respond, the call ended, and she squeezed the phone hard enough that her fingers stung and turned an alabaster white. She had to believe that this was just another of Tierney’s stories and that she wasn’t actually going to come home.

“Everything okay?” Siena asked, coming up behind her.

“Yeah, not a problem.”

“All right. Well, Aili and I have sorted out a few details. I’ll text them when I get a chance tonight.”

“Thank you.” Miranda’s chest tightened, and she wondered if her lips pursed together as obviously as she thought they did.

“We won’t take over.” Siena’s hand was gentle and warm against Miranda’s forearm. “But we’re excited to help out as well. Tori’s part of our village after all.”