Page 163 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

“Millie, the ball is that way.” I pointed toward where it bounced on the ground.

Millie darted past me, so I turned.Blake.

A huge smile spread across Blake’s face as she pushed open the gate. “Look here. My three favorite women together. She bent and scratched Millie’s ear before she jogged across the lawn.

I ran toward her and wrapped her in a bear hug when we met. She squeezed me so tight that air escaped my lungs.

“Don’t break her,” Robyn said from behind me.

“But I’ve missed my big sister.” Blake continued to hug me. Just like Robyn, the smell of outdoors clung to her. I took in a big whiff, having grown to love the smell. It had been two months since I’d last seen Blake. Last month, I’d had to cancel sister time because I’d come down with COVID. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Me too. Have you seen the others yet?”

Blake released me, and before she answered, she took Robyn’s hand and gave her a kiss. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“Goofball. You saw me five hours ago.” Robyn playfully slapped Blake’s arm.

“Then that was five hours too long.”

Robyn shook her head and looked at me. “Has she always had such corny lines?”

“Afraid so, but you chose her.”

Robyn wrapped her arm around Blake’s waist. “Oh, well, I guess I’ll keep her.”

Blake beamed. “To answer your question. I saw Annie, but I was in my truck, heading to the cabins, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to her. Earlier, I had lunch with Helena and Katlynn.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Robyn said.

“That’s because I haven’t seen you for five long hours.” Blake smirked and winked at me.

“Remember the good old days when she had a stick lodged up her ass?” I said to Robyn.

Blake glowered, and Robyn and I laughed.

“Do you have hanging around the firepit on our agenda?” I asked.

“Of course. Wait until you see the improvements we’ve made to the villas,” Blake said.

“Will they be ready for guests soon?” I asked.

“The first group arrives in two weeks. All forty-eight rooms are booked.”

“Congratulations. I bet Vera is over the moon.”

Blake held up her hand. “Wait, that’s not all. The lodge is also fully booked for the rest of the summer. All that’s left is finishing the cabin remodeling. I’m thinking about adding a few more.”

“Don’t forget to tell her about the new program,” Robyn said.

I cocked my head and looked at Blake. “New program?”

Blake’s cheeks reddened. “It was her idea.” Blake tilted her head toward Robyn.

“So what is it?” I looked between the two.

When Blake remained silent, Robyn said, “She did so much to help her villa mates with their finances, I convinced her she should offer it to others. She’s already run a couple of trial classes at Lift Our Voices, and they’ve been an enormous hit.”

“So she convinced me it should be an offering at the retreat.” Blake sighed. “I’ll only have two students show up.”