by Ava Miles
She folded her hands in front of her, feeling her grandpa Emmits’ spirit at her back. How he must have enjoyed all of the business deals he’d made to build Merriam Enterprises. That enterprising spirit was in the blood that sang in her veins, and it was singing something fierce inside her right now. “And Annie’s company?”
“Don’t push your luck,” he fired back.
The meanness in his eyes had receded, she noted, while a despair had grown. Good, she’d reached some part of him.
“As for all the other crap you said? I let you say your piece.” He pointed to the door.
She knew when to retreat. There was one victory in hand, and every war was won one battle at a time.
Hargreaves opened the door when she reached it.
“She’s making me lose everything,” Tom said behind her. “I lost my boy and now June likely. Your talk about my granddaughters turning against me… It’s not right. None of it.”
She knew all bullies deep down wanted to blame others for their misfortunes, but pointing that out would be folly. She’d learned that bitter lesson with her first husband. “Then do what you must to not lose your granddaughters and their current love and esteem for you. Days matter to children, Mr. Loudermilk. Good night.”
She exited with her head high, closing her eyes for a moment outside as the sharp, cold air washed over her face. She heard the door close on its latches and then Hargreaves’ footsteps reached her.
“You did well, Madam,” he said, taking her arm.
“Thank you, Hargreaves.”
“I will see you to Master Flynn’s house and then return for the pony.”
“Very good,” she said, a spurt of triumph rising within her. Amelia at least had something she loved. As for Annie, she’d done her best.
They walked to the car, and Arthur opened the door before Hargreaves could, his blue eyes strained from worry. “Well?”
“We have the pony.”
“You do?” His gray brows winged up. “Well, that’s something at least.”
It was more than something, but Arthur hadn’t seen the defeated look on Tom’s face at the end.
She just might have cracked his reserve.
Chapter 32
After Tom’s behavior this morning, who could have imagined Amelia would be reunited with her beloved pony this soon, or at all?
Flynn made his way to Aunt Clara, hand in hand with Annie as she wiped tears of joy. “You’re incredible, Aunt.”
Annie grabbed her hand. “Yes, thank you.”
“I’m a Merriam, aren’t I?” She pointed at Trevor, who was standing outside with the rest of the family in the front yard of Flynn’s rental, watching the scene. Arthur had placed the little girl on Carrot’s back and was leading them in circles. “If I were years younger, I would challenge you for the job as the Merriam fixer.”
Becca paused in making a snowball. “That would be fine with me. Come here, Trevor. Let’s have a snowball fight. I’ve never seen this much snow.”
“My dear, sweet Becca,” Trevor said, crouching down to grab some snow and form it in his hand. “You should know J.T. and I are expert snowball throwers. Aren’t we, man?”
“It’s a twin thing,” J.T. said, joining Trevor on the lawn and grabbing some snow.
“It is?” Iris asked, her face aglow in the light from the three inflatable snowmen. “I want to have a snowball fight too.”
“Me too,” Eloise said, taking Iris’ hand, and together they went over to J.T. and Trevor, who led the charge in forming snowballs on the ground.
“You two are out of practice,” Connor said, joining them but hanging back a little. “I live in Chicago now. Louisa and I do this all the time in the park.”
“Oh, you big, tough men,” Caitlyn said, walking forward. “Well, you might be bigger, but we women are smarter and faster.”
She darted to J.T. and shoved a snowball down his collar. He gave a girly scream as she ran away, crouching down and making another.
“It’s about to get serious,” Flynn said.
“Go,” Annie said to him, her mouth forming a small smile.
“Come with me,” he said, taking her hands. “There’s nothing we can do right now. Let’s just enjoy the moment.”
“You’re right. Nothing good will come from worrying about my company and the remaining baskets. Maybe this will take my mind off it for a spell.” She scooped up some snow and stuck it down the front of his shirt.
He squealed as the snow hit his skin. Not his finest moment.
“I believe your mother remembers a time when I managed to make her cry uncle during a snowball fight at a park in South Side,” his dad said, taking his mom’s hand and leading her away from the house.
“You can be on my team, Dad,” Connor said. “We’ll call ourselves the Bulls after Chicago’s favorite basketball team.”
“We’ll be the Leprechauns then,” Becca announced, putting her hands on her hips. “Prepare for the battle of your life.”
Trevor picked her up with a laugh. “Leprechauns, babe? Really?”
“Trolls, then,” she said, laughing as he peppered her face with kisses. “They’re fearsome creatures. Oh, I’m so happy I came.”
“I am too,” Trevor said, putting her down. “All right, it’s time for the rest of you to pick sides. If you want to win, stand over here.”
“I say we go with a free-for-all,” Caitlyn said, throwing one at Trevor before he could duck. “That way everyone is a target.”
“I second the idea,” Flynn said, starting to make snowballs as fast as he could, knowing things were about to get ugly.
“If I may join in the festivities,” Hargreaves said from his position beside Aunt Clara. “I am well-schooled in battle tactics.”
“Way to go, Hargreaves!” Flynn called as Annie formed snowballs with him.
“I am out of here,” Uncle Arthur called, lifting Amelia off Carrot before hastening over to Clara by the door.
“Come work beside us, Hargreaves,” Assumpta called out. “Trevor and J.T. don’t stand a chance against the South Side contingent.”
“Mom, I thought we weren’t doing sides,” Flynn called out. His mother’s answer was to throw a snowball in his direction, making everyone laugh. “Oh, I give up.” He crossed to Trevor to whisper, “Be careful with the girls.”
Trevor shoved him playfully. “Dude, who do you think I am?”
“Be nice to your brother!” Amelia shouted, crossing with Carrot to stand protectively in front of Flynn. “Just because he’s not your twin brother doesn’t mean he’s not nice. He has feelings too, and he doesn’t think you like him.”
Flynn stopped short at that. Did she listen to everything? Yeah, apparently.
“Amelia!” Annie cried out. “Where did you get the idea that Trevor doesn’t like Flynn?”
Clearing his throat, Flynn walked over and scooped her up. “Amelia, Trev was just being funny. He didn’t push me hard.”
“He should still be nice!” she shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck as he walked back toward the house with her.
“Hey!” Trevor jogged over and stood in front of him. “You really think I don’t like you?”
Caitlyn groaned. “Oh, you men! You and J.T. have this weird bond because you’re twins. You’re the closest to Flynn and me in age, so yeah, sometimes that bothered him. Heck, there were times when I thought you didn’t like me either. Okay?”
“Me too,” Connor admitted.
Even Connor had felt like that? It had never occurred to Flynn that he would care. He’d always seemed so much larger than life.
“Maybe we should call Quinn and ask him how he felt,” Caitlyn said, “or we could all just hug each other, say we like each other, and then start beating each other with snowballs.”
“I vote for that,” Uncle Arthur yelled. “Amelia, dear, you have executed your sacred oath as a journalist by educating the public on the uniqueness of twins in a family. Come, have a red hot.”
“Coming, Mr. Hale!” She wiggled down to the ground and ran to him.
“The rest of you, enjoy yourselves.” He gave Amelia a high five and then handed her a candy. “It’s getting close to my bedtime.”
Aunt Clara leaned down and threw the most pathetic snowball ever at his uncle as Amelia giggled. “Oh, please! You and your bedtime when all this fun is afoot. I’m joining the fight. Who will have me?”
“Madam, I will gladly share my snowballs with you,” Hargreaves called out, and when Flynn looked over, he noticed the man had a good foot of them stacked. He’d been quietly working while the others talked and stewed.
“In a second,” J.T. said, coming over to Flynn and standing beside Trevor. “Did you really think we didn’t like you?”
The twins looked at Flynn and Caitlyn as they nodded.
“Man, that makes me feel bad,” J.T. said. “Of course I like you guys. You’re my siblings.”
“What he said.” Trevor jerked his thumb toward J.T. “We can’t help it if we shared a womb.”
Amelia shouted, “They really can’t, Flynn. And they create their own language no one can understand.”
“You really are a bona fide reporter, Amelia,” Flynn called back to her.
“Thank you,” she said, crunching on her candy. “Mr. Hale says I can work at his paper when I get older.”
Flynn laughed and was looking over his shoulder at them when someone pushed him in the chest. Turning back, he saw both J.T. and Trevor were staring at him. They nudged him again.
“Do you feel all the love?” Trevor asked, pushing him again.
“Yes! Jeez! Can’t you guys ever hug?” Flynn danced back when his brother tried to bear hug him and peeled off to where Annie sat crouched beside a small mound of snowballs.
The smile she sent him had him smiling in return. “My mind has officially stopped worrying,” she said. Yeah, he felt the love.
“Iris and Eloise, do you feel all the love?” Amelia yelled, holding out her hands to them. “I know you like me too. Even though you’re twins.”
The two girls abandoned their snowball pile, racing over to their sister and hugging her one at a time. “You’re our sister. Of course we love you.”
Man, it was a sweet sight, seeing those girls beaming at each other. It only made it better, fuller that most of his family was here as well.
Flynn had been looking for the meaning in his life, and he’d found it here. The only piece missing was that Annie hadn’t yet gotten what she wanted. He silently vowed to make sure she did, because she was his woman now, and Merriams took care of their own.
“Come on,” Iris said, grabbing Amelia’s hand. “Let’s make some more snowballs.”
“You have three minutes,” Uncle Arthur called out, holding up his watch. “Then you can unleash your snowballs. I’ll sound the whistle.”
Flynn looked around at his family as he and Annie made their snowballs. Everyone was sitting beside someone, helping them.
Suddenly, Amelia came running across the yard, Carrot trailing after her, and threw a snowball right at Flynn. “Tag, you’re it!”
He laughed since her snowball had fallen off the mark and scooped up a sheen of snow and threw it in her direction. She squealed.
“Amelia, I haven’t signaled yet,” Uncle Arthur called. “Oh, what am I saying? Go, go, go!”
Anarchy broke out, although everyone was careful around the girls, and Carrot blocked several snowy missiles intended for them—when he wasn’t trying to eat the snowball midair.
Hargreaves, however, proved to be a scary marksman. That man hit every single person he aimed for with incredible precision, making Aunt Clara laugh gaily as she continued to make snowballs for her longtime friend.
When everyone finally called a halt, Flynn had snow down his front and his back. His heart was beating hard in his chest from Trevor chasing him with a volley of snowballs. But he felt more alive than he ever had at one of his dusk-till-dawn parties.
Annie took his hand, and he squeezed it. “Thank you.”
“For what? Snow shoved down your shirt?”
“No,” she said, kissing him softly on the mouth. “For reminding me what’s really important. This. Us.”
He looked around at everyone—Annie, Aunt Clara and Uncle Arthur, his parents, the twins and Amelia, his brothers and Caitlyn, and Hargreaves too. And he felt like his heart swelled two sizes. This was his family: bigger, brighter, better.
This was his answer.
“Darn, but I love you guys,” he shouted, including all of them.
His response was another volley of snowballs and lots of laughter—exactly as he liked it.
Chapter 33
A sense of peace had settled over Annie, and with it the conviction that she and the girls were going to be all right.
She had the battle of her life on her hands, but she wasn’t going into it alone. Clara had somehow talked Tom into letting Carrot be with Amelia. What more might this beautiful family do to help her and the girls make a better life? And they weren’t the only ones fighting for her. She’d explained the whole situation to Emily via text, and her friend had replied with a message saying she was coming home early from a shoot in Helsinki, and her parents were ready to do their part with the townspeople to pressure Tom to do the right thing. Oh, how she looked forward to seeing her best friend. And it was heartening to hear Tom wasn’t the only one with allies in Nemo. This was the way she wanted to remember this final chapter in her hometown.
Her daughters were all sleeping in the same bed tonight to make space for Trevor and Becca in the other room. She went in to say good night and kissed each of them on the forehead, smiling down at their sweet, freshly washed faces.
“Tonight was so fun,” Amelia said, snuggling in between her two sisters.
“Yeah, it really was,” Eloise said, yawning. “I love Flynn’s family, Mom.”
“Me too,” Iris said, smiling up at her. “It will be fun, seeing them more often. Becca said we’d have to visit her in Ireland so we can meet Buttercup. Then we could go see Aunt Emily in Europe somewhere on a fashion shoot.”
“She’ll be here tomorrow actually,” she told them, and they all sent up a cheer.
“I still want to go to Ireland!” Amelia said, pushing up again. “I love Buttercup! Mom, I’m so glad Carrot came back to me. I tried not to say, but I missed him.”
“I know you did,” she said, pulling up the covers over her again. “That’s why Mrs. Hale got him for you. Now, it’s time to go to sleep.”
“Mom, I know we aren’t going to sleep in our old beds anymore,” Amelia said, stopping her from turning out the bedside light.
“What?” she asked.
Amelia sat up. “That’s our house with Daddy, but now we need a new house with Flynn because you’re going to get married. Right?”
Eloise and Iris turned on their sides, looking at each other behind Amelia’s back. She could see them silently communicating to each other, and then Iris sat up too, Eloise joining her.
“It’s okay, Mom,” Iris said. “We’ll miss the house and the farm, but we talked about it, and we know we’re probably going to be moving. Especially with your company in trouble.”
She sat on the bed, her heart swelling in her chest. “Oh, girls.”
Eloise hugged her. “We’ll miss our friends, but we’ll make new ones. Maybe they’ll like fashion like we do. The kids here don’t so much.”
“I love you girls so much, and I know you’re still getting to know Flynn, but I love him, and I think we’re going to be really happy with him.”
“I do too,” Amelia said. “And Carrot.”
Wiping a tear while she laughed, she traced each of their faces. “Wherever we end up, all that matters is that we’re together.”
“I vote for New York City,” Eloise said, holding her hands out. “There’s fashion everywhere there.”
“I want to live where Mr. Hale lives so I can work at hi
s newspaper,” Amelia said, kicking at the covers and giggling. “Plus, Carrot can come with us. Will he be my uncle once you marry Flynn?”
“Yes, but you can still call him Mr. Hale if you want.” She’d already considered the possibility of moving to Dare Valley—it was cheaper than some of the other options they’d discussed and more like what she and the girls knew. Plus, there would be the upside of being close to part of Flynn’s family.
“What about you, Iris?” she asked, feeling it was important to ask her.
Her daughter shrugged. “Why not Ireland where Becca and Trevor live? They speak English, and the pictures Becca has shown me are beautiful. They have animals too, like here. And it’s not far from London. You could go back to work as a makeup artist, Mom.”
She let out a shaky breath. “Goodness, so many possibilities, but I guess that’s the point, right?”
“You always say we set our own limits, Mom,” Iris said, smiling at her.
“And here I thought moving was going to be a hard sell. So you’re okay with me and Flynn getting married? We were going to wait—”
“Don’t wait if you don’t want to, Mom,” Eloise said. “We want you to be happy.”
“I want all of us to be happy,” she said, gazing at her girls. “Well… This was a surprise.”
“But a really good one,” Amelia said, sticking her hands in the air. “Like Carrot and the snowball fight.”
“Like Carrot and the snowball fight,” she repeated as Eloise yawned again. “All right, this time I’m turning the light out for real. Sweet dreams, girls.”
“You too, Mom!” Amelia cried out, and Iris and Eloise echoed her reply.
When she let herself out of their room, she slumped against the door.
“Everything okay?” Flynn asked.
She turned to see him sitting at the top of the stairs, a bowl of ice cream in his hand with two spoons. “Prepared to share, huh?”
He made space for her and then gave her a spoon, which she dipped into the ice cream. As they ate, she told him about her conversation with the girls.
