Page 41 of Manors & Mischief

“We decided to wait and see if it takes.”

My stomach drops. I wait a second to make sure I heard her correctly, and then ask, “What?”

“You know,” she says. “What if it doesn’t work out and you end up coming home anyway? We’ll wait and see if you actually stay up there.”

“Mom.”

“Oh, I know,” she grumbles. “I’m not being supportive. I’m being difficult. We just want you here.”

I don’t know how many times I have to explain it. It’s not that I don’t want to be with them, but it’s that I’ve had this call on my heart for a long time. Like all the dreams I ever dreamed will be answered in a place like Harvest Falls, and if I dared to guess, it would be Harvest Falls that I was dreaming about all this time. My heart belongs here.

I don’t know how I know it, but I do.

“I understand you’re upset, but a little pretend excitement could go a long way. Just because you like and comment on the pictures I send doesn’t mean I’m going to think you’re okay with what I’ve done. You made your opinion loud and clear before I left.”

“We just want what’s best for you.”

“I know. You should see all the work we’ve accomplished here, Mom. The manor looks like a brand-new house.”

“We’ve?”

“Well, Devon has been helping me. He’s the local handyman. The mayor also found me some money to renovate the exterior before the big fall season. I should send you before and afters.”

“So, who’s this Devon?”

My shoulders slump. “He’s just a guy, Mom. He’s the mayor’s son, but he’s basically the handyman of Harvest Falls. He can do it all, I think.”

“What’s he look like?”

“Mom,” I groan.

“You’re right. I don’t need you falling in love with someone there because you’ll never come home then. It’s a better idea if you come back home and meet someone so I can be close to my grandchildren all the time. The clock is ticking, you know.”

I bear down on my jaw. A pounding starts in my temples. I’ve tried and tried to discuss what I want with my life with my mom and dad but it never seems to take. I want children, I just don’t want them right now. Mainly, because I don’t have anyone to have them with, and I refuse to settle.

“I saw Lake the other day.”

“Okay, can you leave it? He’s dating Susie, and we’ve been over and will never be a thing again.” I don’t know how many times I have to explain to her my ex is an ex for a reason.

“I was just going to tell you that he and Susie are engaged.”

She drops that bombshell, and I expect to feel something, but I don’t. I’m okay. I’m happy for them. He was a good guy, but he and I never would’ve worked out. He wanted to stay in Greenville forever, and I didn’t. “That’s great, Mom. I’m happy for them.”

“I showed him the pictures you sent, and he said he was happy for you, too.”

I refrain from commenting because he can say he’s happy for me, but my own family can’t?

As if on cue, my mom says, “I just don’t know why you couldn’t have found an old house here to restore if that’s what you wanted to do. There’s that house on Maple Street that could do with a makeover, and then that other one on Shore Lane.”

“They’re beautiful old houses, but they’re not in the right area.”

She’s silent for a while. I sigh into the phone. She doesn’t get it, and I understand that. I even think she believes she failed because I wanted to move away, but it’s just that I needed to spread my wings. I needed to see what I could accomplish without my family to fall back on.

“I’m sorry you don’t understand. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Tell Dad I love him, too.”