Page 108 of Where I Should’ve Been

“What?”

“I’m getting so comfortable standing in Farmer Tad’s kitchen that I’m pouring my own coffee.”

I chuff. “Yeah. Tell me about it, sister. I’m getting comfortable enough in Farmer Tad’s house that I’m considering it my own. Gonna go through some stuff and clean it out when you all leave and everything.”

“Well, technically, it is your home. I mean, you live here now.” She winks. “And holy moly, I never would have predicted you two as a pairing,” she admits. “But Breeze, the man looks really freaking good on you.”

“I know.” I laugh, setting Autumn down on the floor as she squirms. “Trust me, I know. It’s wild. The art snob and the sheep farmer, procreating and settling into a happily ever after.”

“Maybe there’s, like, a sheepish niche in the art world you don’t know about yet. Or at the very least, rustic, rural pieces.”

I snort. “Yeah, I don’t know… I might just be done.”

“Really? I mean, I support you in whatever direction you want to go, you know that. But stepping away for good? That’s a big deal.”

“I know it is. I won’t decide yet, while I’m hormonal and emotional and jaded and everything. I’ll wait until I have a clear head.” I shrug. “But I think it speaks volumes that I’ve yet to respond to that shark of a headhunter you sent my way. Over the past few months, he’s sent me more offers than I can count and I just…don’t want anything to do with any of it. And that was before I found out I was baking Tad’s baby bun in my oven.”

“It certainly says something.” She nods. “And being here with Tad? It’s good?”

I smile. I can’t help it. “It’s amazing, Nor. He’s patient and helpful and funny and…” I sigh. “I’m having a really hard time remembering what I liked so much about living alone.”

“And the sex? That’s good too?”

I cackle. “Norah!”

“Sexxxx,” Autumn repeats, and Norah’s eyes widen.

“Whoops.” She drops her voice to a whisper. “But it’s good?”

“Norah, please,” I chastise before smirking. “But I am pregnant after all, so I suppose you can be the judge.”

She hums, snuggling into her coffee mug. “Oh yeah. Hot Farmer Tad.”

I snort. “You’re asking for trouble with your husband today. First Logan and now the lust?”

“I’m not saying for meeee. I’m just happy for you. I have my own hot things, but I’m betting you don’t want to hear about those because they have everything to do with your brother and how good he is at…” She waggles her brows, and I pretend to cover my ears.

“Lalalala.”

Her laugh rings throughout the kitchen and spreads to Autumn, who’s made a playground out of the Tupperware cabinet in the corner. She bangs a lid against the wooden floor, and an overwhelming peace falls over me at the sight of her.

Maybe, just maybe, slow life in Red Bridge is exactly what I needed.

“All right,” Norah declares, rinsing her coffee mug in the sink and giving it a quick cleaning before setting it in the strainer. “We’ll get out of your hair for now. But call me later, you know, when you’re ready to mend the fence with Logan.”

“You’re relentless.”

Norah smiles, coming toward me quickly and pulling me into a hug so fierce, I almost tear up. “I love you. You’re my family, and selfishly, I want all the eggs of my family in the same basket before Easter.”

“I’ll try. But not today. After Tad gets back from Molene, I think we’re going to go on a date.”

She pulls back and claps in between us. “Okay, then. Let’s go, Autumn. Aunt Breezy has some nesting to do before she can get done in the much better, much dirtier way, and as is obvious by the mess you’ve made of this cabinet, organization is not this age’s strong suit.”

I roll my eyes and kiss Autumn on the cheek, and Norah scoops her and their belongings up, waving at me before they shove through the door. Without their distraction, it’s officially time to clean.

…

I’ve seen avalanches with more structure than the closet in Tad’s guestroom on the first floor.