by Norah Wilson
She pivoted to look at the Far South Barn. Though it was too dark to see the effects, the south-facing side had got a pretty coat of red paint today. Scott and Titus had done most of the work, but she’d done quite a bit too. She could have done a lot more, but everybody was so worried she’d get carpet tunnel or something. And so weird—she’d tried both a yellow-handled and a red-handled paintbrush and couldn’t tell the difference.
She stepped out from under the apple tree branches. Just then, someone opened the door to let Axl out, and she heard a burst of laughter coming from inside. Holding still, she watched Axl. He lifted his nose and sniffed the air a few times, chuffed a cold breath. Scott said the old dog was half-blind, but there was nothing wrong with his sniffer! After marking his territory on several bushes, he started making his tail-wagging way over to her.
She hurried to meet him so he wouldn’t have to walk so far.
She’d head inside in a few minutes. She’d have a bath, get her clothes out for her first day of Harkness school, then try to sleep. Except in her experience, the harder she tried to sleep, the harder it was to actually do. Maybe she’d let her mother make her warm milk.
Reaching the dog, she plunked down on her knees on the lawn. Immediately, she felt the cold damp coming through. Axl sat and she stroked his neck the way he liked.
“You know, Scott was right.” She looked up at the sky.
On a clear night in Harkness, the sky’s so full of stars, you wouldn’t believe it, he’d told her. And there are a few places where I swear you can reach out and touch them.
Obviously, she knew he didn’t mean you could literally touch them. But she didn’t doubt for a second that it would feel exactly like that.
That was the important thing.
“Sidney Kathleen! Come in now,” her mom called in a sing-song voice—one Sid hadn’t heard in a very long time. The one she used when she was really happy.
Well, Sid was happy too.
Maybe, just maybe, her plan would work.
“Coming!”
She got to her feet, as did Axl. “Guess what, Axl? I know what I’m going to be for Halloween.”
Axl woofed, which make Sid laugh.
“C’mon, boy.” Giddy with happiness and the fresh, cold air, she ran for the house.
Chapter 10
“SO IS that everything on the list?” April asked, which struck her kind of funny considering it was her list. Ember had confiscated the precious Need for Halloween Party checklist when she and Ocean had picked her up at the house after lunch. Once she’d started brainstorming, it had been hard to stop. She’d been like the proverbial kid at…well, Halloween. But Arden had nodded over every one of her party suggestions. He’d even added a couple of his own, which she was happy to see.
They’d just come out of a store called Drummond’s Meat and Produce. Donny—who was about the most courteous and sweet young man April had ever met—had already loaded the SUV with the goods they’d bought. While the three women had been browsing a small giftware section of the store, Donny had come right up to Ember, given her a hug, then asked for the car keys. She hadn’t hesitated to hand them over so Donny and his helper could load the vehicle.
And there was a lot to load.
There were the old standbys, of course—pumpkins for carving, and she couldn’t wait to try her hand at making old-fashioned popcorn balls. They’d have apple bobbing too, but the Standishs had that covered.
April used her own money to buy a few unique items. She was acutely conscious of the need to stretch her severance pay, but she had a new recipe in mind for Halloween.
All in all, there was nothing too extravagant; nothing too fancy. And well within Arden’s budget. Something to please everyone, and all of it sure to please the kids. April had been thinking of one kid in particular.
The last few days since she’d landed in Harkness, her little girl had been so happy. They’d even had one of their old-fashioned mother-daughter evenings—popcorn and a movie. Just the two of them, sitting up on the bed in Scott’s old room, giggling at the hapless villain and cheering on the heroes. It had been awhile.
And the highlight so far for April? Calling Harley to tell him she and Sidney wouldn’t be coming to stay with him after all. He’d actually been a little pissed. No doubt he’d been looking forward to lording it over her, rubbing her nose in her misfortune. Her inadequacy.
“Next on the agenda—and no need to consult the list for this one—coffee.”
Ember’s announcement pulled her thoughts away from her brother.
“Oh thank God!” Ocean said. “I’m going through caffeine withdrawal over here. How about you, April?”
“No coffee for me, but I’d kill for a cup of tea. I love tea.”
“Oh, God,” Ocean stopped in her tracks. “Did you tell my Mom that? She’ll think you’re a long lost daughter. Mom loves her tea.”
April laughed. “It didn’t come up. We were too busy talking recipes.” Faye Siliker was quite the kitchen chef herself.
“I knew you and Faye would hit it off.” Ember unlocked the SUV and climbed into the driver’s seat. April reached for the back door, but not quickly enough.
“You ride in front,” Ocean said.
“But you’ve taken the back seat all day,” April said.
Ocean climbed right in. “Well, that’s because I don’t want you to miss the big city lights of Harkness. The action on the strip.”
“We have a strip?” Ember said. “I’ve been gone longer than I thought.”
April smiled. Or rather she continued to smile as she walked around the car and climbed into the front seat beside Ember. It had been a pretty full afternoon. She so hoped the party would be a success.
While they’d made the rounds shopping, Ember had dropped off posters for a half-dozen storefront windows. Yesterday, Ember and Ocean had called a bunch of friends and neighbors, urging them to call their friends too. Between the phone campaign and the posters, they were sure to get a good turnout.
They’d even put up posters at the elementary school. Yesterday, when April had enrolled Sidney, she’d given a copy of the poster to the principal, Eden Makepeace. As soon as she realized it was a Standish community party, she’d sent the secretary to make copies for every classroom.
“That family really is the heart of this town, you know,” the young principal had said. “I went to school with Titus. Well, I was a year behind him, but I remember him. Scott and Ember too, but they were three years behind me. And I remember those community parties…”
Oh, how April had wanted to ask what Scott had been like in those younger years. Titus had told some of the more outlandish and embarrassing tales, but what had he really been like?
“Did I mention Ms. Makepeace put your poster up in every classroom?” April said.
“What’d I tell you?” Ember grinned. Sending the poster to school had been her idea. “The school’s always been good about that. Whenever Mom heard of a new kid moving to town, she’d come up with some excuse to host a party for all the kids, even if it wasn’t Halloween.”
“She sounds wonderful,” April said.
“She really was.”
“You must miss her terribly,’ Ocean said.
“I do. All the time,” she said simply. “Whenever life knocked me around a little, I could always turn to her for a hug. But when the hardest knock came…”
“She wasn’t there to hug it better.” April hadn’t had that kind of relationship with her mother, which only made Ember’s loss seem all the more poignant. Her heart ached—for both of them.
“Exactly. But it does get better. When we first lost her, I didn’t think I’d have a dry-eyed day ever again,” Ember said. “But there was med school, and life. It hit Dad especially hard.”
April turned to look at Ocean. “What about you? You must have lost your father.”
“My sister and I never knew him. Not really. He left when Mom was pregnant with River. I wasn’t even tw
o at the time. And yes, our mother is nuts. She really did name us Ocean and River.”
“She’s not nuts,” Ember said, maneuvering out of Drummond’s packed parking lot. “She’s just…fun.”
April noted Ember turned right on Capital Street, working on her mental map of Harkness.
“She is that.” Ocean chuckled. “Anyway, Mom rarely talked about our father, and only when we asked. She always answered our questions, but it made us feel weird to ask after a while, so we stopped. I honestly don’t even know whether he’s alive or dead.”
Whoops. She hadn’t meant to open a painful topic. She twisted in her seat to face Ocean. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”
Ocean waved off her concern. “Oh, it’s not a sensitive subject. It just…is what it is.”
April sat back in the seat. Sid had asked about her biological father a few times when she was younger. Those had been hard conversations. She knew there’d be more in her future as Sid entered her teens. She knew, too, that the conversations would get even harder.
“What I think is weird—well, once I got old enough to think about it—is that Mom never dated. I mean—never, ever.”
“You guys must be so glad they found each other then,” April said.
“Um, glad that who found whom?” Ocean asked.
“Faye and Arden. They seem so happy together. Such a sweet couple.”
Ember nearly drove off the road. Well, one wheel hit the gravel before she righted things. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to jostle you guys. But, April, honey, you couldn’t be more wrong about Dad and Faye.”
“Seriously, that’s not even…possible,” Ocean said. “I mean, seriously.”
April half turned in the seat again, her gaze going from one woman to the other. Ember’s hands were white on the steering wheel, and Ocean was sitting forward in the seat now. “Why isn’t it possible?”
“For starters,” Ember said. “Dad’s nearly seventy.”
“Mom too.”
“And…?” April pushed.
“And that’s too old,” Ocean said.
April grinned. “No, it’s not.”
Ocean looked at Ember. “You’re a doctor. Tell her that’s too old.”
There was a pause.
“Ember?”
Ember cast a glance at Ocean in the rearview mirror. “They have been playing a lot of Scrabble lately. Dad never used to be a big fan of Scrabble.”
“And what’s with all the chickweed tea in the pantry?” April said. “I’m guessing that’s not a traditional Standish drink. Sounds like something a tea person might like?”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed the tea.” Ember chewed her lip. “Maybe there is something going on. I mean, they’ve been friends forever.”
“That’s all there is to it.” Ocean spoke the words, but she didn’t sound a damn bit convinced anymore. “Scrabble. Tea. Pies. Maybe that’s how their generation dated. Yeah, I’m guessing not so much in the hanky panky department.”
“Well, there’s always Viagra,” April offered.
For a second, April thought Ember was heading toward the ditch again, but the abrupt turn took them into the gravel parking lot of a small building with wide windows in the front. I’m a Little Tea Shop, the sign read.
For the few seconds it took for Ember to park the car, nobody moved. Or spoke.
April’s gaze shot to Ember’s face. “Guys, I’m sorry. If I’ve spoken out of line—”
“Don’t apologize,” Ocean said. “There’s no such thing as out of line with us. It’s just…weird to think about.”
The three women got out of the car.
“Your mom and my dad,” Ember said. “I had no idea.”
Ocean shook her head. “Me neither. But you know, I did find a man’s sweater folded on a chair in mom’s room the other day when I was looking for Tylenol. I never thought much about it. But now…”
“Red sweater?” Ember asked.
“Yes.”
“He’s been wondering where it got to.”
“Oh God, Titus!” Ocean burst out laughing. “I cannot wait to see the look on his face when I tell him that his dad and my mom are—”
“You’re going to tell him?” Ember asked.
“I was going to.” Ocean glanced at April. “Are you going to tell Scott?”
She shrugged. “Um, I wasn’t planning to. And we’re friends, not a couple.”
Ember and Ocean exchanged a look without breaking stride. Then Ocean laughed. “Who do you think we are? Titus?”
April frowned in confusion. “Sorry?”
“My brothers might be oblivious when it comes to this sort of thing, but we’re not.” Ember’s eyebrows drew together. “Well, at least I didn’t think we were…”
Ocean waved a dismissive hand. “Okay, we may have missed Faye and Arden, but just because they’re…well, our parents.” She pushed the door to the tea shop open and they went inside. “But you and Scott? There’s definitely some chemistry there.”
April felt the heat rise in her cheeks and was grateful that Ocean was already off and searching for a suitable table. They found one near the window and settled on elegant bistro chairs. Thankfully, the waiter, a handsome middle-aged gentleman, bought her some more time by coming to greet them.
“Hey, Stephen,” Ocean and Ember said almost simultaneously. They introduced him to April as a friend of the Standish family.
After bantering with Ember a moment, he handed them small menus. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your orders, ladies.”
April immediately got lost in the menu. Everything came in single serving and sliver size.
Caramel lemon squares.
Peanut butter brownies.
Cranberry-lemon cheesecake.
A thought hit her. Cranberry cheesecake would make a perfect flavor for a breakfast bar. With maybe just a pinch of finely shredded coconut into the mix. And chia seeds. Oh! Maybe instead of a bar, a breakfast spread for bagels. She could use cottage cheese and Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese for a healthier—
“Oh!” Ocean started digging, frantically, through her purse. “I need a pen.”
April and Ember started reaching for their own purses.
Stephen materialized at their table, handing Ocean both his pen and a slip of paper torn from his order book. By the look of it, he’d done this before.
“Thanks.” Madly she scribbled down a few words. Smiling, she handed the pen back. “If I don’t write an idea down when I think of it, I’m afraid I’ll lose it.”
“You’re entirely welcome. Now, are we ready to order?” he asked. “I can recommend the cheesecake.”
Ocean glanced at April. “I write here once in a while and can second that recommendation.”
“That’s what I’m having,” Ember said, handing Stephen her menu. “But don’t bring me one of those slivers. I want a real slice.”
He grinned. “So, single servings all around?”
“Suits me,” Ocean said, then glanced at April.
April bit her lip. “Actually, I’d like the sliver size, but I’d also like a sliver of the cranberry-lemon square and the chocolate-raspberry mousse cake.”
“Got it,” he said. “Now, what can I bring you to drink?”
The three women placed their orders. Within minutes, Stephen was back with the desserts, promising the coffee and tea to follow.
April took a small bite of the cranberry-lemon cheesecake. She closed her eyes and let it sit on her tongue a minute. Just a hint of sweet perfectly balancing the tartness. The lemon? Maybe a bit overdone. But pretty damn close to perfect. She chewed it slowly.
When she opened her eyes again, Ocean and Ember were staring at her—smiling.
“Sorry.” She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth. “I must look like an idiot.”
“Um, no more than I look like an idiot when I scream for a pen as if the fate of the world depended on it. Which it kind of does. My fictional world, anyway.” Ocean took a bi
te of her own cheesecake. “God, this is soooooo good.”
“You look like someone who has a passion for food, April,” Ember said. “I love seeing passion in people.”
April grinned. “You could say that. And passion sounds so much better than obsession.”
The girls laughed.
Over Ember’s shoulder, April caught sight of a school bus rolling by outside. Maybe Sidney was on it. She was having fun with Ocean and Ember, but she would have liked to be there to greet her daughter when she got off the bus. But Scott had promised he’d be home to do it, and she knew Sidney would love that, having some time to hang with Scott for a bit before April got home.
She bit her lip. She so hoped Sidney had a good day at school. And that they’d be able to offer her some enrichment education. She really was a smart kid; she deserved it.
“Okay, maybe that multiple sliver thing was a better idea,” Ocean said. “That raspberry chocolate mousse cake looks killer.”
April took a bite. Mmm, another winner. “It is killer.” She pushed the plate closer so the other ladies could take tiny tastes. “I bet you could make a good gluten-free version with almond flour.”
“Wow, I’d love to try that,” Ocean said. “I don’t have a particular problem with gluten, but I’m always looking for ways to limit it, you know?”
“Me too,” Ember chimed in. “I love carbs, and they love me right back. I can tell because of the way they want to stick with me.”
“I hear you,” April said. She went on to talk about the challenges of keeping a balanced diet when she spent so much time experimenting with recipes and tasting the results.
And as they talked, she found herself relaxing into it a little. This must be what it was like to have sisters.
No, this was exactly what it was like to have a sister.
Kathleen had been quite a bit older than April, but April had loved her so much. She’d have sworn they were close. Yet when her sister left, she’d never looked back. Never called April, never sent a card.
