Page 83 of Someone to Hold

“And if a guy can give you a happy ending—” Piper starts, until Sadie pinches her arm “Owww.”

“Is this what it’s like talking to me?” Avah asks no one in particular.

“Yes,” we all answer.

“Good to know.”

“Are you sure you don’t want the kids to spend the night with us?” Sadie asks.

“Or they’re welcome at my mom’s house,” Piper offers.

“It’s your house now,” Sadie reminds her.

The tall blonde nods but doesn’t look convinced. I get that. I might be working hard to make the farm mine, but I wonder if it will ever truly feel that way.

“The twins are excited about the wedding,” I say with a smile. “The bride said they’re welcome, so I think I’ll let them stay. When I buy the farm and expand what I’m doing, we’re going to have lots of events. I need to make sure they’re on board with what this will mean. It’s going to be a big change for all of us.”

“You’re investing in yourself,” Sloane says, her eyes bright with excitement. “The bucket list strikes again.”

I hold up a hand. “I’m not there yet, so don’t jinx me.”

“Cheering you on,” she counters, “is not the same as jinxing. I’m proud of you, Mols.”

The rest of my friends echo that sentiment with warm hugs and reminders that they want to hear all about how tonight goes. As I watch their cars pull away, I’m struck by how different this feels from the isolation I carried through my marriage. These women have shown up for me in ways I never expected.

When the dust settles and silence returns to the property, I realize Chase must have slipped away while we were saying ourgoodbyes. Butterflies flutter across my middle as I think about the potential of what this night could mean. In a few hours, I’ll find out if my leap of faith could pay off.

Luke and Laurel are on the couch watching a show when I come in.

“Hey, what’s the rule about TV on the weekends?”

My daughter grins. “We’re in our nice clothes, so we figured today could be an exception. We didn’t want to get dirty before the wedding. Right, Lukey?”

“Right,” he says, his voice not quite as sure. He shifts closer to his sister in a quiet show of solidarity.

Solidarity and love. Their bond is strong, and I love that for them. I love knowing they’ll always have somebody in their corner.

“That’s a good point,” I say.

Laurel’s eyes widen as Luke breathes out a sigh of relief.

I check the time. The bridal party and guests will be arriving soon. “I’m going to shower and get dressed. When I’m done, I need to talk to the caterers. Then I could use your help placing the ceremony programs on the benches.”

“I’ve never been to a wedding,” Laurel says.

“Me neither,” Luke echoes.

“If this one goes well, we’ll hopefully be holding more of them here. Maybe we’ll fix up the old office in the barn so the bridal party can use it to get ready.”

I grab the remote and mute the television before turning to my kids. “I want you both to pay attention to how you feel tonight, and if you think it will be okay to host these sorts of events in the future. Some areas of the farm will be private for us, but if we’re going to stay here, this is going to be part of it. We all need to be okay with it.”

Luke sits up straighter. “Is Chase going to be our neighbor once your ankle is better?”

“He’s not going to stay in that Airstream forever,” I say with a laugh that they hopefully don’t notice sounds tight.

“But he grew up next door,” Luke reminds me.

“His childhood home burned down a few years ago. You know that.”