“Fine.” Why argue? She actually wanted their input. Valued their opinions. Turning toward the window, she watched the coils of Spanish moss swaying in a light breeze. “But not in here.” It was too personal. Too reminiscent of being the baby sister with her head in the clouds about her latest crush during theirschool years. She shooed them out of her room and back to the kitchen.
“This whole situation should be easy, but it’s not,” she admitted. “If I’m not addicted to the excitement, then maybe it’s infatuation. But whatever logical label I try to put on it, my feelings won’t settle. It’s bigger than attraction or chemistry.”
“Never thought I’d see you upset about love,” Roni noted.
Natalie forced a smile, afraid her cheeks might crack from the effort. “You decided to make me pick it apart. I was going to enjoy sister night.” She waved her hands as if she was erasing a whiteboard. “Iwillenjoy sister night.”
“Mm-hm.” Veronica toasted her with a cracker. “Enjoy it right up until you sneak out.”
“There’s no sneaking now. Besides, you can’t be too upset. It’s not like I’m shirking breakfast duty.”
That was always Celeste’s role. No matter how late they stayed up, Celeste was always the first one awake, forever cheerful, and happy to provide a hot and hearty breakfast. Natalie suspected the habit began during her years as an Army wife and was reinforced by the intense caregiving in their mother’s last year of life.
“Do you ever sleep in?” she asked Celeste abruptly.
“What? Of course.” She fussed with the charcuterie board. “We should start the movie.”
“My week to choose,” Veronica said. “And it will be a four-hour epic historical feature.”
Natalie didn’t take the bait. “I’d expect nothing less. As long as we fast-forward through the first half hour and we don’t pause the movie for bathroom breaks.”
“A woman with priorities.” Celeste nodded her approval and they all laughed. “If we’re on the clock, everyone grab your favorite beverage and let’s go,” she said. “I’ve got the platter.”
“Who’s drinking what?” Roni opened the fridge.
“The porter for me, please,” Celeste replied.
Roni pulled out the appropriate can of beer for their oldest sister. “I’ll do the October ale,” Nat said, pouring the porter into a glass for Celeste.
Once they settled into their favorite spots on the sectional, Roni cued up a movie—a lighthearted romantic action flick they all enjoyed. Natalie fixed herself a plate and tried to stay present in the moment.
But her thoughts didn’t cooperate. Swirling over what-ifs and should-dos, she was dangerously close to brooding and that wasn’t how she wanted girl-night to go. “One thing first,” she said as the title sequence rolled.
She could tell by their expressions that her sisters had been expecting the interruption. How did they do that, when she hadn’t known she needed to vent? Chalking it up to the magic of sisterhood, she went with it. “Do y’all think I’m falling in love with himbecausehe’s just passing through?”
“There it is,” Roni said, raising her glass to salute Celeste.
“Come on.” Natalie felt dangerously close to whining. There had been quite a bit of trauma around her first husband. With a decade of recovery time, she usually counted herself over it. Or over the worst of it anyway. And then there were moments like this.
“You didn’t fall for Jackson when he was trolling around town a few weeks ago,” Celeste reminded her.
Nat perked up. “True.”
Roni sipped her beer. “The thing is, Nat, you love like most people breathe. Hold on. Hear me out,” she added as Natalie bristled. “I’m giving you a compliment.”
“She’s right,” Celeste chimed in. “Love is easy for you. You pour it into your artwork. You pour it into your friendships, your students, the community. You pour it into us. You just pour andpour and pour and it’s awesome and wonderful and we’re all so lucky to have you.”
Natalie stared at them, stunned into silence—a rare occurrence. A wealth of emotion wound around her heart, climbed up into her throat, and sat there. “Where are you going with this?” she managed.
“All those different ways you give are levels and types of love. It’s like breathing,” Roni reiterated. “There are friends you love lightly and almost without thinking, right? The easy, automatic inhale and exhale. And like breathwork, you have other loving relationships on a deeper level. Those need more focus and intention. Sometimes, through effort or exercise, you breathe deeper still. That’s not an all-the-time, easy thing. It’s a special circumstance, but it’s all breathing.”
A correlation Nat never would’ve found on her own. She popped up and wrapped her sister in a big hug, basically underscoring Roni’s entire point. “Thanks.” She blinked back tears as she returned to her seat.
“So are you concerned about making a mistake?” Celeste asked. “Jackson was a total dick, but you know not all men are like him.”
“Thank heaven for small favors,” Nat murmured. “Yes, I know the old mistake is part of this skittish feeling.”
Jackson had fooled her so completely. He’d taken advantage of the way she threw herself at life. And though she was loath to entertain the thought, her trepidation was also tied to their dad. She still resented how he’d run away and left them all to flounder through their mother’s death without him. They could’ve helped each other learn to be a family without Mom. But no. Dr. Hargrave’s need for space trumped everything else.
