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She remembered why she’d come out there to greet them in the first place.
“Yes, we need to.”
“Mom, I’mstarving.” Hazel reached for the front door.“Vickie only had these gross tuna things she called sandwiches, but they were more likedollsandwiches, and they hadcucumbersin them.”She made a face. “I’m gonna make myself some real food.” And she was gone.
A week ago, Hazel wasn’t speaking to Zoey or Mike, demanding to move out, sure her life was ruined. Now she was raiding the kitchen after joyriding with Mike. If this was any example of the roller coaster ride her high school years would be like, they were all going to have gray hair at her graduation.
Mike came up the steps slowly, making Zoey feel like she was some dangerous animal he was trying to approach.
“I’m not going to bite you, for God’s sake. Come up and sit. I need your help.”
“You got it.” He came up and sat in the Adirondack chair next to hers. “I’ll do whatever you need. I just want to...”
“This is about zoning.” She stopped him cold. If she let herself think that this wasMikesitting next to her—the Mike she hadn’t touched, had barely spoken to—she wouldn’t be able to focus on... What was she saying again?
“The Schiff lady?” Realization dawned on his face. “What did she do now?”
Zoey fished the certified letter out of her pocket and handed it to him. “I got this in the mail today. The town is reviewing whether or not this property is being improperly used as a commercial business in a residential zone.” She blinked, wondering how much stress one human heart could take in a week. “Karen Schiff is behind this. With the storm and everything, I haven’t gotten around to moving Dad’s sculptures, and now...” She shook her head. “Mike, I’m just starting to turn a decent profit with the repair business, but I can’t afford to rent another building somewhere. What am I going to do?”
His hand settled over hers. It was probably meant to be calming. But his touch immediately amped up her heart rate. He stared right into her eyes. “The first thing you’re going to do is take a deep breath. I know this letter sounds very formal and even a little threatening, but this is boilerplate language for zoning disputes. The town has to cover their butt legally, so they create word salads like this.” He held up the letter.
When she’d opened it an hour ago, a wave of panic had washed over her. It was bad enough that her relationship with Hazel was so shaky. That her relationship with Mike—bothrelationships, friend and lover—might be ruined. And now her business was on the line. Commercial property wasn’t easy to come by in Rendezvous Falls, and it wasn’t cheap.
“Zoey, it’s gonna be okay.” Mike’s voice brought her out of her spiral. “You’ve got a great lawyer on your side, and we’ll take care of this.”
“You promise?”
“I promise we’ll find a way through it. Together.” He squeezed her fingers. “Have I ever let you down?”
He held her gaze. She’d missed her friend so damn much. “You’ve never let me down.”
He grinned. “I’ll take care of this. The zoning meeting is a week from now, and we’ll be ready.” He reached for her, but she leaned away.
“Hazel’s inside.”
She didn’t intend to sound so quick and cold, but fear did funny things to a person. It had taken every bit of her strength to talk things over—andover—with her daughter. To convince hernotto move in with her dad full-time. To convince her that this old house was theirhome. Just them—two women together against the world. No boys allowed. At least not anytime soon.
Mike sighed heavily. “Babe, you keep insisting that loving me and loving your daughter are two separate things. As if doing both at the same time will lead to something horrific, like that chemical fire I set off in the high school science lab.” His mouth twitched, almost smiling at the memory.
She stared at him in disbelief. “Loving youdidlead to disaster, or have you forgotten that we traumatized my thirteen-year-old daughter last week?”
“What happened last week was...not great,” he conceded. “But it was an accident—a combination of circumstances no one could have predicted. And itwasa shock for Hazel. Not because she caught us clowning around...while we happened to be undressed.” He leaned forward, taking her hand back and holding on, waiting until she met his gaze before continuing. “It was a shock because we hadn’t told her anything about our relationship. I know I let you take the lead on that decision, but Zoey...it was a mistake not to tell her.”
“I was just trying to be a good mom.”
“Youarea good mom.” Mike raised her hand and kissed her knuckles. “And I don’t need to be an actual parent to see that. You’re the best person I’ve ever known, so you can’t possibly be a bad mother. I just spent over an hour with that kid of yours, and you have raised one awesome young human. She’s the spitting image of you.”
Now it was Zoey’s turn to try to keep from smiling. She failed. “Sometimes it’s like looking in a mirror.”
“I’ll bet.” The lines around his eyes eased a bit. “So I’ll havetwoof you to deal with.”
Zoey pulled back again. “Not so fast. We still need to wait before we...go any further together.”
“Okay.” His quick agreement surprised her. “As long as we’rewaitingand notover. I love you, Zoey Hartford. And since she’s your carbon copy, I’ll love Hazel, too. When you’re ready to let me.”
He stood, pulling her up with him. But he didn’t pull her into an embrace. He was waiting, which was what shesaidshe wanted. So why did she feel disappointed?
“I am so confused, Mike.” She shook her head. “I can see a future for us, but I can’t make myself move toward it. I never thought of myself as a coward, but... I’m terrified of making another mistake.” She didn’t have any confidence in her decision-making.
