The Magnolia Sisters

by Michelle Major

  “My heart is fine,” he insisted. “Well insulated, protected by many layers of scar tissue.”

  “I want you to be happy.”

  “What if Avery Keller makes me happy?”

  “I knew Niall, of course.”

  “Everyone in town knew Niall.” He sucked in a breath. “Please don’t tell me that you—”

  “Slept with him?” She made a face. “No. Although, it wasn’t for lack of trying on his part. He tended to be drawn to women who were alone or unhappy. That man had more than his share of demons. He had horrible boundaries and hurt a lot of people despite all the good he did for Magnolia.”

  He walked over to the window that looked out onto the street front. “You make him sound like a predator.”

  “He hurt a lot of women.”

  “Yeah, I think we can all agree on that.” He lifted a hand to the warm glass. The sidewalk in front of the station was empty at the moment. The leaves on the big maple that shaded the building fluttered. In a few weeks, the calendar would usher in another temperate autumn in North Carolina. It was Gray’s favorite time of year. He liked the change of seasons, even if it wasn’t as dramatic along the coast.

  He couldn’t help but wonder if Avery would be there to see it.

  “I’m not sure what that has to do with Avery.” He turned to face his mother. “Or Carrie or Meredith for that matter. You aren’t suggesting they be blamed for the literal sins of their father.”

  “Of course not.” His mother wrung her hands together in her lap. A sure sign that he wouldn’t like whatever was coming next. “But she’s damaged. All those girls are.”

  “Christ, Mom.”

  “Don’t swear at me.” She rose and took a step toward him. “I have sympathy for her position. The three of them have a long road to healing. But my concern is you. You’re in a better place now. A good place.” She offered a smile, and he knew he should return it.

  Instead, he simply watched her, waiting for the next blow.

  “If you’re lonely or you want to meet someone, there are plenty of nice women around. Women who are stable.”

  “You don’t even know her,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “Neither do you,” she countered.

  He closed his eyes for a long moment, counted to a full ten in his head. His mother meant well, but this was why he didn’t often involve her in his life. He was a grown-ass man, and she wanted to treat him like a kid.

  As if sensing that she’d overstepped some invisible line, Lila came forward and gave him a hug, careful not to squeeze too hard. “If you need anything, call me. I’m here for you, Grayson.” She pulled back, lifting a soft hand to his cheek. “There’s a new English teacher at the high school this year,” she told him. “I met her when she came into the library. Good taste in literature and very pretty. I could invite her for dinn—”

  “I appreciate the thought, but no.” With a sigh, he dropped a kiss on the top of his mother’s head. She loved him, even if her skepticism about his capacity to manage his own life chafed. Sometimes he wished his perfect brother would make some monumental screw-up in his life. Take some of the focus off all the ways Gray seemed to stumble.

  “Very well.” She turned to leave, then paused and reached into her oversized purse, drawing out a plastic container and fork. “I almost forgot. Here’s lunch for you.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” He didn’t bother to mention that he’d been managing his own meals for the whole of his adult life and he hadn’t starved yet.

  “I also dropped off a casserole to your house.” She handed him the container of food. “Tuna noodle. It was your favorite as a kid.”

  “You’re the best.”

  She beamed at that. “Someone left a bag with a vibrating massager on your back porch. It looked more like some kind of kinky sex toy.”

  Gray choked and tried to keep his expression neutral.

  His mother sniffed delicately. “I threw it in the trash before Violet got ahold of it.”

  He wasn’t going to begin to explain Avery’s trail of random and thoughtful gifts. How could the woman have known that his shoulders had ached with stiffness all week long?

  “The wives of some of the guys at the station have been dropping by get-well gifts,” he lied. “I’m sure it was just a massager.”

  “Either way.” She sniffed. “Enjoy the casserole.”

  He lowered himself back into the chair as she walked out of the office. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry at the state of his life. Battling his ex-wife on one side and avoiding his mother’s well-intentioned interference on the other. Yet the one woman he wanted to be a part of his life was still dodging him.

  Gray might not know how to handle the first two, but he wasn’t going to let Avery ignore him much longer. That would be the smart thing, of course, but there was one benefit to believing his brother had gotten the brains in the family.

  Gray could take impulsive action without feeling guilty. It was past time to test that theory with regards to Avery.

  * * *

  “I HAVE AN IDEA.” Avery looked between Carrie and Malcolm, both of whom she’d arranged to meet at the gallery later that afternoon.

  The mayor’s bushy eyebrows lifted. “Should we be scared?”

  “I’m not selling,” Carrie said immediately.

  “Just hear me out,” Avery pleaded. “We need to do something, Carrie. You might not want to let go of your dad’s properties, but none of us will benefit if the bank repossesses them.”

  “Our dad.” Carrie crossed her arms over her chest. “He was our dad.”

  “I have a dad,” Meredith chimed in from where she was sprawled on the floor of the gallery, legs propped up on the wall. “I also have twenty minutes left on my lunch break so let’s get on with things.”

  “We have chairs,” Carrie said, her tone clipped. “You don’t need to be on the floor.”

  “I’m stretching,” Meredith explained. “It relieves tension. You might want to try it. Could loosen that stick lodged in your—”

  “Ladies.” Malcolm held up his hands. “We’re all on the same team here.”

  Meredith bit off a laugh. “What’s it called? Team Dysfunction?”

  “We’re not having enough fun for that,” Carrie added.

  Oil and water would mix better than those two, Avery thought. She wasn’t sure what had happened to the Meredith who’d been both vulnerable and supportive earlier that morning. Maybe she should have requested the meeting out at the beach. The property seemed to soften her youngest sister’s sharp edges in a way nothing else did. But the downtown location made more sense for everyone.

  Carrie was spending the morning at the gallery cataloging Niall’s art. The mayor’s office was only a few blocks away and Meredith had a shift at the vet clinic in town where she worked part-time.

  “We need a plan to revitalize downtown.” She cleared her throat and tried to ignore her tingling fingers. What if they thought her ideas were stupid? This type of plan wasn’t exactly in her wheelhouse, but she truly believed she could make a difference. “Magnolia is just as historic as some other destinations along the coast. I’ve been researching online, and this place rivals Savannah as far as architecture and charm. Plus the beach is close enough to be a draw.”

  She smoothed a stray lock of hair from her face. After leaving the animal rescue this morning, she’d driven to the beach, awed by the beauty of the waves crashing along the shoreline and the endless miles of white sand and sea grass. “It feels like the beach here is one of the few undiscovered areas of the Eastern Seaboard. I can’t figure out why you wouldn’t have tourists flocking to the area.”

  Malcolm rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Niall wanted to be the focus of things. Yes, we’re close to the ocean but the town never emphasized that. He thought it would dilute the appeal.”
>
  “What does that even mean?” Meredith asked, stretching her arms above her head. “How can you dilute the appeal?”

  Carrie cleared her throat. “If the town could flourish without Dad, he would have lost his power to control things.”

  “Jackass,” Meredith muttered.

  “A truth universally acknowledged,” Carrie said quietly.

  “Was that humor?” Meredith twisted so that one leg crossed the other. She was beginning to look like some sort of circus contortionist. “Does Daddy’s little princess finally see that we were the butt of his sick joke all these years?”

  “I’m not a princess,” Carrie said through clenched teeth.

  Avery stepped forward, placing herself between her sisters. “As fun as it is to watch the two of you rip into each other, that’s not the point of why I asked you to meet today.”

  Meredith arched a brow. “You have a point?”

  Without thinking, Avery flipped her sister the middle finger, earning a sudden laugh from Carrie and a reluctant grin from Meredith.

  “Thank god my wife gave birth to four boys,” Malcolm said with a sigh. “If you three are any indication, I couldn’t have survived daughters. What’s the plan, Avery?”

  “We need a strong business model to start.” She pulled a notepad from her tote bag, the effervescence in her chest making her feel like she’d just chugged a fizzy drink. “I’ve done some preliminary research on strategies for redevelopment and the risks involved in various plans.” She detailed what she’d read and the examples of other towns the size of Magnolia that had turned around their fortunes. “It would help to bring a marquee restaurant or store into downtown and also focus on attracting new corporate businesses into the community. We’ll lease out the space connected to the gallery and convert this part of the building to a storefront.”

  “It’s an art gallery,” Carrie argued. “It’s always been an art gallery.”

  “Filled with a bunch of half-rate paintings that no one wants.” Meredith flipped onto her hands and knees, flexing her back in a traditional yoga cat-cow pose. “Artists usually have a resurgence in popularity once they die, right? Has anyone bought one of Niall’s sappy scenes in years?”

  “No,” Carrie admitted. “But I’m working on launching an online store with his work. We may be able to attract buyers that way.”

  “You realize how much we owe in taxes?” Avery forced herself to say the number out loud and registered the shock on both the women’s faces.

  “What happened to selling?” Meredith asked, glancing up through her long eyelashes.

  “I’d still like to sell.” Avery hugged the notepad to her chest as if it were some kind of medieval shield. “But the fact is the properties aren’t worth what we owe at this point. The Realtor said it could take time to get approval to sell from the probate court. If we can lease the space and drive up real estate in Magnolia, it would not only help the town but also put us in a better position to make money from finding a buyer down the road.”

  Malcolm took a step closer, his jaw set. “So you aren’t doing this for Magnolia? All your talk about the town being an undiscovered gem—you don’t mean any of it. It’s still part of your endgame to sell and bolt.”

  “No one is talking about bolting,” Avery insisted. Couldn’t he see that her endgame would benefit his objective? “More important, no one expects or wants me to stay in Magnolia for the long haul so—”

  “That’s not true,” Malcolm interrupted. “That tiny wannabe bovine wants you to stay.” He pointed a finger toward Spot, panting softly where she was curled near Meredith. As if she could feel all eyes on her, the dog lifted her head, gaze trained adoringly toward her foster mom.

  Avery’s heart skipped a beat, but she forced a casual laugh. “She’ll love whoever ends up feeding her on a permanent basis.”

  Meredith reached out and scratched the dog’s floppy ears. “She’s bonded with you.”

  “Then unbond her,” Avery snapped.

  “That might be easier to accomplish with a dog than with people.” He gestured between the three women. “You’re sisters. That’s a tie that can’t be broken.”

  The truth of those words felt like both a gift and a curse, but Avery rolled her eyes. “We didn’t even know we shared DNA a month ago, and plenty of siblings are close despite miles between them.”

  “Yes,” Malcolm agreed slowly. “But who’s going to keep these two from sniping at each other if you leave?”

  “You can,” Avery all but shouted.

  “No, ma’am.” He shook his head. “My plate is already overflowing with general town craziness.”

  “They’re adults who—”

  “Can hear you talking about us,” Meredith said, straightening and placing her hands on her trim hips. “Of course we can manage on our own. I’ve hated her for decades and we’ve rubbed along just fine.”

  Carrie drew in a sharp breath. “You hate me?”

  Meredith blinked. “I mean, I used to hate you. Past tense. I don’t hate you anymore.”

  “If you had a choice—” Carrie narrowed her eyes “—of spending time alone with me or getting punched in the face, which would you choose?”

  “How hard of a punch are we talking about?” Meredith asked with a cheeky grin.

  “You’re the worst,” Carrie muttered, then turned to Avery. “You can’t leave.”

  “I can’t stay,” Avery protested weakly.

  Meredith moved to stand next to Carrie. Once again, they were a study in contrasts. Carrie with her fine bone structure, loosely braided hair and flowing sundress while Meredith wore athletic tights and a ripped T-shirt that read Mother of Dogs. Her dark hair was held back in an array of colorful clips with short tendrils sticking out near her temples.

  “Malcolm is right,” Meredith told her. “We need to do this together. The three of us. Princess and I won’t be able to agree on anything. We need you.”

  “Besides,” Carrie added. “You’ve already said you need a fresh start. Why not in Magnolia?”

  “I wasn’t built to be a Southern belle,” Avery argued. “I hated Gone with the Wind.”

  “Frankly, my dear sister,” Meredith deadpanned. “I don’t give a—”

  Carrie nudged Meredith to silence her. “It’s your plan. You have this amazing idea for turning things around in town. You can’t just throw it on the table, then cut and run.”

  “I’m not going to...” Avery paused, an unfamiliar bolt of satisfaction rolling through her. “You think the idea is amazing?”

  Carrie nodded, then nudged Meredith again.

  “Stop touching me. Yeah, it’s good. Rough but good. I mean, more people coming through means more potential adopters for my babies.”

  “And Niall wasn’t the only business owner suffering.” Malcolm ran a hand over his bald head. “If we can turn things around, everyone will benefit.”

  “So you admit my endgame—” Avery mimicked his words, adding air quotes for good measure “—as you call it, isn’t just me being selfish and looking out for my own interests?” She had no idea why she even cared what these people or anyone in this town thought about her, but she couldn’t seem to turn off her emotions.

  Malcolm shrugged. “Let’s make sure it works.”

  “Does that mean you’ll stay?” Meredith asked.

  “And that we can forget the idea of selling?”

  Avery’s pulse pounded. She wanted to hate the way they looked at her expectantly but it felt good to be important to someone. “Nothing is off the table as far as I’m concerned, but we’re going to try to salvage this without selling to an outsider. If we’re successful, you two can buy me out.”

  Meredith and Carrie gave her matching frowns. “I thought you were going to stay,” Meredith said.

  “For now.” Avery pressed a hand to her stu
ttering heart. “All I can promise is for now.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  AVERY FORCED HERSELF not to move as Gray’s truck rumbled into the driveway a few nights later. She sat in one of the cushioned chairs on the patio between the two houses, enjoying the cool breeze that whispered through the white oak trees. A few of the outer leaves had just started to turn yellow, making her breath catch at nature’s reminder of time passing. She’d been in Magnolia for three weeks now, longer than she ever would have imagined, but this was only the start.

  What had she committed to with her sisters and Malcolm? It was difficult to say exactly, hard to know if her ideas would take root and make a difference or if the town’s slow decline was too difficult to forestall. She had to believe it would work.

  They’d talked through several scenarios and the mayor had already scheduled a meeting with the town council. Avery’s background was in risk analysis. Ironic since she hated wagering anything in her personal life. But she could determine risk potential and find solutions to safeguard assets without blinking an eye. Magnolia was a strong bet. They’d need people and companies willing to invest in the town’s future.

  Enough people loved the town to find a way. It seemed strange to count herself among that group, but she couldn’t deny the sense of place she felt in this community. Not that she planned to make this her forever home. She couldn’t allow her mind to go there when that meant letting down the protective wall around her heart.

  She jolted back from her meandering thoughts at the sound of a door slamming. Gray came around the front of his truck, pausing when he caught sight of her.

  Awareness made her toes curl, but by now she’d gotten used to her visceral physical reaction to him. Maybe he hadn’t noticed that she’d been keeping her distance since the accident. She’d left little gifts on his doorstep every day, unable to stop herself from offering something, even if it was a lame substitution for real connection.

  For all she knew he hadn’t even realized they were from her. Maybe he had a secret admirer. She could imagine plenty of women admiring Gray. And Avery had pushed him away because she wasn’t willing to actually take the risk when there was so much at stake.