Page 52 of While You Were Trending

“It was funny to watch them attack her.”

“It was hilarious.” She glances at her phone. “Heath and Cricket have your mother at their house for Benadryl.”

I blow out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Does my mom know about the documentary?”

“She was apparently told that Declan knew how to fix tractors and he was having the instructions filmed in case we forget when it breaks again.”

“Thank the stars.”

“We’ve got this, Ginny. Promise. We’ve gotyou. We’ve got the winery. And we’re going to do what we always do, and we’ll make everything work.” She hands me the plate with Samantha’s chicken salad and carrot sticks and a homemade dinner roll. “Eat. And then we’ll have a family meetingwithoutthe crew?—”

“And Cricket and Heath?”

My mother could keep them occupied forhoursif she wants to make a fuss about the chickens attacking her.

Mabel forks up a bite of chicken salad and holds it to my mouth. “Eat. If they make it to the meeting, they make it, and if they don’t, they’ll be okay. They know convincing Freida to leave is important.”

She’s right about that too.

While Heath’s always been overprotective of us, I’ve never met anyone more willing to roll with practically anything than Cricket is.

Once she got through the immediate aftermath of her own viral moment and her nervous system reregulated, she settled in here as if she’d always been here. She’s the first to volunteer for everything and she has boundless energy and an unstoppable positive attitude.

I adore her.

And I’m so glad she and Heath have each other.

I chew the bite Mabel makes me take, then pick up a carrot stick voluntarily myself and crunch into it while I let my own nervous system attempt to regulate.

Today isn’t the worst day of my life.

Pretty far from it, in fact.

But it’s not an easy day either.

“We’re going to propose that Declan and Shade use Heath’s basement and the mother-in-law cottage, aren’t we?” I say.

The townsfolk of Foxwood, the closest town here in Sonoma Valley, won’t make a fuss if they find out we’re recording a documentary here.

But we have a healthy tourist business, and harvest has actively started in the area, which means festivals and more tourists.

Tourists that we’ll want to come to the tasting room a year from now, but today—today, we still want our privacy.

Istill want my privacy.

“Only if we’re all in complete agreement that we want them on the property that much.”

I stare at my next carrot stick. “Having them here is better than having them in town.”

“We won’t do it unless everyone agrees,” she repeats.

I suck in a big breath. “Okay then. Let’s talk to the family about it. I’m ready.”

“Are you?”

I snort softly. “No. But I need to be.”

About everything.