Page 10 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls (Ivy Falls #3)

PIPER

Make An Impression

Torran raced in the door like her ass was on fire which, to be honest, was usually the only state I saw her in.

Her brain was like a freight train, always rushing in one direction with a singular focus.

She’d been like that since we were young.

Ambitious, determined and unwilling to veer from her goals.

It was one of the many reasons why my brother had fallen in love with her.

When I first came back to Ivy Falls, it wasn’t a surprise to learn Torran had a flourishing renovation business. Or that a major network wanted to showcase her work.

It made me admire and respect her, but I was also willing to admit it was damn intimidating. I always wondered what it’d be like to have that kind of resolve. To know exactly what you wanted and not be afraid to go after it.

I’d told Dr Catherine during therapy that I needed that same drive. To have a goal. A purpose.

Sadly, I was still searching for what that may be, but volunteering at the theater felt like a step in the right direction.

I may have been a shy kid growing up, but when I walked onstage I became a butterfly emerging from its pupa, ready to take my place in the spotlight. Now, if I could only recreate that same feeling in the drama that was my own life.

‘Sorry, sorry.’ Torran pulled out a chair at the table. ‘Manny and I got caught up in the listing details for the old Thomas Place with Diego.’

Torran and her business partner, Manny, had spent the last few years renovating historic homes in Ivy Falls.

Their life was chaos between creating new design plans and tearing down parts of old houses, all while shooting their TV show.

Once the filming was over and the project completed, they worked with Diego Morales, a good friend who also owned Gold Star Properties, to help sell the houses.

The lovesick look on my brother’s face was too much as he patted Torran’s hand. ‘It’s okay, we just sat down. Is everything straightened out?’

‘No, as usual Manny is being a pain in the ass about the price. He keeps telling Diego he wants it to be in a range where someone local can afford it,’ she said, pulling the salad bowl toward her.

‘I get his point. It’d be nice to sell to an Ivy Falls family, but with the success of the show, the likelihood of that happening is small.

Diego said he’s had to hire two new agents because interest in properties around town has risen two hundred percent. ’

I liked Diego. He was smart, honest and good at keeping secrets.

A few months ago, I went to see him without telling Torran and Beck.

We’d talked about rental places nearby, and he’d taken me to see a few when I had a rare day off.

Yesterday, he’d shown me a newly renovated place in town I loved.

He told me I’d need to decide soon as it wouldn’t stay available for long.

I’d lived in this house for almost two years.

Beck claimed that he’d bought it for me to keep our family’s history alive.

To remind me of better times. What it felt like to grow up here.

At first, that shook me to the core. I didn’t know if I could step back into the old memories.

Stay here knowing our parents would never walk in the front door again.

It took time, and a lot of therapy, to realize this was home.

That living with the memory of our parents wouldn’t be too difficult.

That it could be the perfect space to start over.

A few months after I left rehab, I took a job at Sugar Rush.

Then, a year later, I agreed to manage the coffee bar at the P&P when I wasn’t working at the café.

For years, I’d dreamed of my life being this normal and productive, but one thing was still missing: independence.

That meant moving out on my own. All I needed was to find the nerve to tell Torran and Beck that fact.

‘It’ll work out.’ Beck’s gaze moved to the engagement ring on Torran’s left hand.

This house was big but the closer we got to their wedding, the smaller it felt.

It was time for me to move on. Neither of them would admit it, but they knew it was true too.

‘Let’s eat before the food goes cold.’ Beck passed around plates as I dished up the fettucine Alfredo I’d prepared.

It was the deal I’d made with them when they agreed to let me live here.

I’d do the cooking, and most of the cleaning, because they wouldn’t let me pay rent.

While I was in rehab at Changing Attitudes, Beck took part in my family therapy sessions.

Since our parents died, he’d become overbearing, constantly checking on me and interfering in my life.

Not that I could blame him. I’d spent most of my late teens and early twenties out of control.

Alcohol and pills my preferred method of blotting out the pain of losing our folks when we were both so young.

Beck stuck by my side through it all, putting all his own hopes and dreams on hold.

When I’d finally come back to Ivy Falls, I thought I’d turned a corner.

But being back here brought all my grief to the surface, and I ended up making a choice that nearly destroyed this house and almost cost Beck and Torran a future together.

It was at that moment I realized I wasn’t only taking a sledgehammer to my own life, but to my brother’s too.

After that, I resolved to get sober. In therapy, we both discovered how to grieve properly, and Beck learned that his constant hovering only made me more anxious.

Dr Catherine told him he should ask fewer questions and listen more.

Wait for me to offer information I was willing to share.

It’d taken him a while to loosen the tether he’d held so tightly, but I understood his worry.

Loved and appreciated his need to protect me, but life was a tightrope walk.

After years in therapy, I’d learned that I needed to inch out to the edge and take that first step.

It was the only way I was going to build a life I could be proud of.

‘If you’re getting ready to list, does that mean the final touches on the house are done?’ Beck asked.

‘Manny says we’ll be finished next week, and Lauren swears they’ll be done shooting final B-roll tomorrow. Then we can do a last polish and put it on the market.’

Beck’s lips pressed into a thin line whenever he heard Lauren’s name. He liked the show’s producer, but she’d become a burr in his side due to her meddling over the wedding.

‘Did you talk to her about our plans?’ he asked.

‘I told her we wanted to keep things for the wedding simple, but Hearth and Home is still insisting they be involved.’

‘Tor, we talked about this,’ Beck grumbled.

‘I know but Lauren says they want to show the ceremony at the end of the upcoming season.’

He put his fork down and shook his head.

This happened whenever the topic of filming their wedding came up.

Beck wanted it to be a private affair – friends and family only.

Torran wanted the same thing but felt beholden to the show, which had allowed her and Manny to make a big difference in Ivy Falls after it had struggled for years with financial issues.

Since they’d gotten engaged, they’d agreed on a few things.

The date in early October. That Tessa, Torran’s sister, would be her maid of honor, and Pete, Beck’s business partner and closest friend, would stand up with him.

How they’d say their vows underneath the big magnolia in the backyard at dusk with a reception following.

Barb and Susan from Sugar Rush insisted on making the cake and, of course, baking a few of Torran’s favorite donuts too.

But whenever they got into a good planning rhythm, the issue of Hearth and Home reared its ugly head.

At some point they’d have to agree one way or another because the clock was ticking.

As their stalemate continued, I glanced toward the stairs wanting to escape the tension that filled the room.

Beck huffed out a rough breath. ‘I thought we settled this already. That it was going to be a private ceremony.’

‘It’s complicated but I understand where the network is coming from. We were part of the focus for Season One. It makes sense they’d want to bring our story full circle.’

‘Don’t you think it’ll take away from the intimacy of it all?’ he said, pushing the food around his plate.

‘I don’t know.’ Torran turned her attention to me. ‘What do you think?’

‘Oh no. I am not getting involved.’

‘Let’s talk about it later.’ Torran’s voice wavered. ‘Give it more thought. There has to be a compromise that would make us both feel comfortable.’

Beck nodded even though he’d been clear about what he wanted.

In a quiet moment after they’d gotten engaged at the P&P, we talked about our parents.

About how happy they’d be that we’d both found our way home to Ivy Falls.

That they’d be thrilled he was marrying Torran.

What went unsaid was how acutely we felt their loss every day.

How a part of his reticence about the filming was that it would make the gaping hole they left behind more acute.

That their absence would eventually come up via an interview or off-handed comment.

Beck wasn’t always against the show’s presence. At the beginning, he didn’t mind Hearth and Home documenting the restoration of our house. What he hadn’t anticipated was the audience’s reaction to the show. How it’d turned Torran and Manny into mini celebrities.