Page 11 of Cozy Girl Fall

Yoga was tricky on a good day. Yoga with a margarita hangover? Diabolical.

“And let your body elongate, stretching into our downward dog. Breathe for ten counts, imagining every vertebrae in your spine perfectly in line as you scoop into our C-position. Good, and lift with your abdominal muscles into our tree pose—”

Penny was lost at ‘elongate’.

The instructor was very soothing, with a calm and confident voice that might have been reassuring if last night’s margaritas hadn’t been threatening to make a reappearance on Penny’s yoga mat.

At sixty-five, her mom was in better shape than Penny. She’d transitioned easily from downward dog to tree and had lowered herself to the mat preparing for a move the instructor called ‘the twist’. It sounded as ominous as it looked.

It was at this point that Penny tapped out.

Luckily, there were bathrooms back by the studio’s entrance foyer and she managed to make it there in time to regret indulging in happy hour’s two-for-one deal.

When she was done, she decided to wait for her mom outside in the fresh air in the hopes of cooling her feverish skin.

It was surprisingly bright out, the sky clear from the previous day’s heavy rain, and as she leant against the brick exterior of the studio, Penny felt herself relax in a way that the yoga teacher hadn’t managed to coax out of her.

Last night had been good. More than good, even.

She’d cleared the air with Tasha and it felt like she had her best friend back.

She’d also woken up to find her car parked outside of her parents’ place, a note left on the inside of the windshield that said nothing but ‘ E xx’ .

The gesture warmed and confused her simultaneously.

For one thing, she must have been way drunker than she’d thought, because she didn’t remember giving Ethan her car keys when he’d dropped her off.

But the fact he’d taken the time to drive her car back out to the cottage that morning …

It was possible Ethan hadn’t meant anything by it—after all, he was a nice guy who did nice guy things—like driving drunk girls home and later delivering their cars.

But the whole thing had given Penny a fuzzy feeling inside which in turn had made her feel guilty, like there was something going on between her and Ethan that she hadn’t told Tasha about despite her not initiating anything.

Penny sighed, tilting her face up into the breeze and enjoying the way it cooled her clammy skin as she tried to force all thoughts of the Blake siblings out of her head.

Magnolia Springs was almost exactly the same as it always had been.

Early morning coffee groups drinking from their disposable cups as they walked through the park, the kids’ soccer class finishing up on the green, the line outside of the bakery long enough that she knew the fresh bread and cakes had to be as good as she remembered them.

As reluctant as she was to admit it, none of the bakeries in the city had compared to Crumbs & Co .

A row of trees lined the edge of the park behind the boutiques ahead of her, magnolias blending with oak, and she was surprised at how much the leaves had changed in the week she’d been back, shifting from green-yellow to the true orange that would eventually deepen to red.

“Wasn’t that wonderful?” Angie beamed as she stepped up next to Penny, making her jump. “I grabbed your mat for you.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Angie sucked in a deep breath and rolled out her shoulders, a look of bliss passing across her face that made Penny smile. “I love this time of year.”

“Same.” She linked her arm through her mom’s and steered them in the direction of the bakery. “Only one thing could make this morning better.”

Chuckling, Angie didn’t fight her as Penny joined the line. “Cinnamon buns?”

“Exactly.”

Twenty minutes later and with their baked goods secured, they began the walk back to the car.

Angie had driven them into town and had parked in the parking lot by the grocery store, whereas Penny usually opted to park by the church where it was quieter and she didn’t run the risk of bumping into a ton of people she’d rather avoid.

They were mostly quiet as they munched on their pastries, Penny practically inhaling hers.

“Did you have a good time yesterday with Tasha?”

Penny nodded, scuffing her sneakers on the ground and earning a tut from her mom. “Yeah, it was nice to catch up. We bumped into Shelby there, actually.” Before Angie could say anything, Penny held up a hand. “No, I didn’t get the low-down on what happened with her and Ethan.”

Angie looked disappointed but brightened quickly as they approached an older woman who seemed familiar. “Oh, look!” The excitement in her mom’s voice had Penny inwardly cursing. They’d been so close to reaching the car unscathed. “Terri! Hi, how are you? You remember my daughter, Penny?”

Terri . The nausea that had abated after she’d left the yoga studio was back in full force as Penny met the eyes of Terri Blake. Ethan and Tash’s mom. Oh God, what if she had heard them gossiping about Shelby?

“Of course I do!” Terri beamed and Penny relaxed slightly. Maybe she wasn’t holding a grudge for the way Penny had left things with Ethan and Tasha all those years ago. “Tasha mentioned you were visiting.”

“Yeah,” she said lamely and glared at her mom when she nudged her. “We went for drinks yesterday, it was nice to catch up,” she added and Terri nodded.

“Well that’s just lovely. It’s so nice to see you girls back in touch.”

Was that a dig? Penny couldn’t be sure.

Mr. and Mrs. Blake had always been nice to her when she was a teen, and she’d spent a lot of time at their house between her visiting Tasha and Ethan.

Time had been kind to Terri, further softening the lines in her white skin and lightening the blonde of her hair to a gray-white that looked sophisticated rather than aging.

“Well, if you have time before you rush off again, you should definitely come by the house for lunch with the family.”

Definitely a dig. “I’d love that,” Penny said, nearly stuttering. Maybe it was her overwhelming need to be liked, or that she’d thought she was getting past the tension being back in town had caused her, but Terri’s wide smile put Penny on edge.

The quiet extended for a beat too long before Angie ushered Penny to her car with a hurried goodbye to Terri.

“Imagine that,” Angie mused as she settled behind the wheel. “Bumping into Terri Blake.”

Penny rolled her eyes and then jolted when her mom swatted at her. “Sure, you guys live in the same tiny town and go to the same stores but the chance of bumping into each other is astronomically small.”

The sarcasm in her voice didn’t go unnoticed.

“Well, actually , oh-wise-daughter-of-mine, Terri and Keith only moved back to Magnolia Springs this year.”

Now that was surprising. “I didn’t know they’d left.”

Angie lifted her brows in triumph as they joined the main road and turned left toward the bridge that would take them over the river and further out of town. “Yes, well, you miss a lot when you run off for ten years without visiting your mother.”

Ouch . “I’m sorry.” She genuinely meant it too, and maybe Angie could tell because she softened and reached over to pat Penny’s hand as the branches of the magnolia trees behind her swayed gently in the breeze beyond the window. “Why did they move back?”

A shrug. “I only know what I’ve heard, that Terri didn’t like the new town and they couldn’t settle.”

“Hang on.” Penny turned in her seat to eye her mom. “When you say they moved away, you mean they moved from the old town to the new town?” Penny snorted and then grabbed the oh-shit handle on the car roof when her mom took the bridge entrance at a speed that nearly had Penny flying out of her seat.

“Well the new town isn’t the same,” Angie defended. “It’s all condos and high-rises. It’s a completely different vibe.”

Penny wasn’t sure what was more disturbing, her mom using the term vibe or the fact that she didn’t seem inclined to slow down for their exit off of the bridge either. “Mom—” Her ass left the seat and her head grazed the roof. “Next time, I’m driving.”

“Pssht,” Angie said. “I’ve been driving these roads all my life and you know what?”

I’ve never crashed , Penny mouthed and nodded when her mom said exactly that.

“I’ve never crashed! So you just mind your manners now.”

Dutifully, Penny shut her mouth and tightened her grip on the roof handle—but also silently vowed that it was the last time she’d let her mom have sugar before getting in the car and driving.

It wasn’t until Sunday night that Penny considered her mom might have had a point about Penny being out of touch with the goings-on in Magnolia Springs.

She’d deliberately gone out of her way to avoid learning anything about her hometown while she’d been off in the city chasing her dreams, as if the shadow of the place might be able to reach her miles away.

Or maybe she was just worried that she’d get sucked back in.

Small-town life, small-town gossip … It was a rabbit hole and Penny was diving in head-first in the way any girl of a certain generation would: social-media stalking in bed.

There had been a shockingly cold wind that day, making the trees outside clack against her window loudly, and Penny had decided the best way to combat the chill was to stay in bed all day—barring breaks for snacks and hot chocolate.

She’d also put on her thickest pair of fluffy socks and added a fuzzy blanket on top of her coverlet to ensure maximum toastiness.

Then, once cozy, she’d begun her deep dive.