AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Thank you. They left me their house after they died, and I hired a company to help me take care of it while I was in school. When I decided to move here, I thought it would be good to update the place,” I respond.
The house hadn’t been updated since before my grandparents were alive, so after I put my plans into motion, I had a contractor help me renovate it while I got everything squared away in New York.
We walk into the living room where Hailey is sitting on the couch. "This is my best friend, Hailey. Hailey, this is Megan. She and her husband live a few streets over, and she stopped by to say hello." Hailey jumps up from the couch and walks around to shake Megan’s hand.
"This is amazing! I was just telling Quinn she needed to find friends in this town and here you come along. It's so nice to meet you," Hailey says, much to my mortification.
"It's nice to meet you too!" Megan grins and shakes Hailey's hand.
"What's in the basket?" Hailey asks.
We walk into the kitchen, and Megan puts the basket on the counter.
"Oh, just the essentials for unpacking. Wine, chocolates, crackers, and cheese."
"This is so nice of you, Megan, thank you," I say, checking out the contents.
I still can't get over how nice people have been to me, and I've only been here a little over a week. It would've been so easy for the town to ignore me since I'm the new person, but they've been so welcoming and kind. Everyone has made sure I had everything I needed while moving into the house.
Apparently, my grandparents were well-loved in this town, and that has extended to me by default.
"Of course. Todd and I wanted to say welcome to Sonoma, and if you need anything, please let us know. Todd is the deputy chief of police, and our best friend, Cooper, is the chief. Either one can be here in a heartbeat if you need them," Megan offers.
"That's really sweet. I will definitely reach out if I need anything," I tell her.
"We were just talking about what we wanted to do tonight. Donna's seems like the place to be on the weekends, is that true?" Hailey asks.
"We love Donna's! We've been going there since we were legally able to walk in," Megan says.
"We will have to check it out then." Hailey grins at me.
"Actually, Todd and I are having a barbecue tonight at our house with some friends. We would love to have you both come over and meet some of our group if you want," Megan offers.
"Yes, yes, yes! That sounds amazing," Hailey says, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.
"Are you sure, Megan? We wouldn't want to impose on your time with friends." It’s kind of hard to believe they would invite random strangers to come over, but Megan seems like the outgoing person I’ve always wanted to be, so maybe this is a normal occurrence for her.
"Oh my gosh, of course, I'm sure. This will be so much fun. You can meet everybody and kill their curiosity at the same time." Megan laughs.
"We will be there. What's the dress code?" Hailey asks.
"We are completely casual around here, so wear whatever's comfortable."
"Perfect."
"Let me write down our address and my phone number,” Megan says, grabbing a pen off the counter and jotting down her info. “We'll eat around seven, but come anytime."
"We'll see you tonight then." I’m still not entirely sure what just happened, but with Hailey around, it’s not a surprise.
We lead Megan toward the foyer and wave as she walks out. I close the door and turn to Hailey.
"Hailey, I can't go to this barbecue. Everyone is going to bombard me with questions, and you know how I get. I'll be babbling like an idiot the whole night, and no one will want to be my friend, and then what am I going to do? I can't live here and be the social outcast. I won't survive!" I yell at her as I hysterically pace between the living room and the kitchen.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there. Back up twenty paces and take a breath, girlfriend," she says pushing me down on the stool next to the island in the kitchen.
"First of all, you are wonderful, exceedingly smart, and can handle anything. Second of all, I'll be with you the whole time and can deflect anything you don't want to talk about. Third, it's time to pull up your big girl panties and get to know people because if you want this to be your home then you're going to need friends." I look at Hailey and take a huge deep breath to calm my racing heart.
"You're right. I need to do this. I can do this." I say with determination I don’t really feel.
