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“Of course.” Kit met her eyes and smiled encouragingly, her heart warming at the prospect. “Besides, seeing as how you didn’t dump all your junk on my bed again, I’m taking that as an invitation for me to stay, too.”
Viv laughed again. “I was mad when I did that.”
“Yeah, I could tell.” She laughed with Viv. “And you must’ve been mad for a long time, because that was a pretty big pile of junk. Took me hours to sort through it all.”
“I was mad,” Viv said softly. “I’ve been angry about a lot of things for a long time.”
They grew quiet again, the night chorus of croaks and chirps drifting in through the open window.
“Are you staying?” Viv asked. “For more than tonight?”
“Yes. For good, if you’ll have me?”
“That’d be nice.” Viv narrowed her eyes and studied Kit’s face, her lips curving. “But then again, I’m not too keen on giving up my closet space.”
Kit smiled. “I promise not to take up more than my fair share.”
“Well, then, I think I can handle that.” Viv turned the lamp off and rolled over again, returning to her back, crossed her arms behind her head, and stared at the ceiling.
Kit stayed on her side, roving her gaze over Viv’s silhouette beneath the moonlight streaming in the window. A bittersweet ache filled her heart as memories of late-night bedroom talks during their teenage years flooded her mind, and she held on to the nostalgic feeling as long as she could, her eyes growing heavy.
“Kit?”
“Hmm?”
“What was it like?”
Sleep tugged strongly at her body, and her thoughts were hazy. Kit opened her eyes, struggled to focus on Viv’s silhouette again. “What was what like?”
“Highlands,” Viv whispered.
Kit gave in, allowing her eyes to slip closed again, and smiled. “Beautiful. There are hiking trails everywhere, and you can climb as high as you want. So high you can see for miles. The air’s clean and crisp up there. Smells like pine. And in the fall . . .” Her mind drifted over years of memories, moments she’d enjoyed the most. “There are so many colors in the fall. The only blue there is in the sky—everything else is so warm and rich . . . trees so tall they touch heaven. Leaves so bright and intense, they look like they’re on fire. No matter how cold it got, I took one look at that color, and I was still warm on the inside. It was more than just a change in location—it was a change in perspective—and it made all the difference.”
A breeze whispered through the open window and blended with Viv’s quiet breaths.
“Did you miss being here?” Viv asked.
“Yes,” Kit whispered. “Very much. But I knew I had to leave, had to find a way to move on. And at the time . . . in the state I was in, being there was what I needed.” Her chest tightened as she recalled Beau’s touch and consoling tone only an hour earlier, and she wondered how much time would stand between them now. “The good memories of you, Dad, and Mackey—even Mama—they kept me strong. They were enough.”
* * *
Two hours’ worth of pounding hammers, a series of sharp yanks, and one expletive from Royal was all it took for Kit, Viv, and Royal to remove the wood battens holding the screen in place on Teague Cottage’s front porch the next afternoon.
“Now the screen!” Mackey, serving as supervisor for the project, stood in the middle of the front lawn, tilted his head to the side, and pointed at the right side of the porch. “That side first. It’s the ugliest.”
Kit smiled. “I don’t know, Mackey.” She climbed down the ladder, set her hammer on the front steps, and joined Mackey. Rubbing her chin, she surveyed the damaged screen. “I’m thinking the left side is the ugliest.”
“Nope.” Viv rose from her crouched position by the front porch railing, walked down the steps, and bumped Mackey’s arm with hers. “Y’all are both wrong. It’s the center that’s the most grotesque.” She motioned toward a gaping hole, courtesy of debris from the storm two nights ago. “That right there needs to come down ASAP.”
Kit leaned around Mackey, met Viv’s eyes, and grinned. For the first time in ages, she, Viv, and Mackey stood side by side, taking good-natured jabs and laughing, and it felt great. It felt like . . . family.
After her late-night conversation with Viv yesterday, Kit had slept hard and well and had woken up this morning refreshed and, surprisingly enough, hopeful.
Viv had still been sleeping in the bed next to hers, and Kit had lain in her own bed for another half hour, as the sun slowly rose outside, its rays trickling through the open window, along with a warm breeze, and simply savored the moment. Afterward, she’d left the room quietly, showered and dressed and cooked breakfast. It hadn’t taken long for the enticing aroma of bacon and eggs to coax Royal and Mackey to the kitchen table, and Viv had joined them moments after. They’d all sat and eaten together.
It seemed such a small event—a family having breakfast together—but the easy conversation and sincere smiles they shared across the table had been rare in the past and had been absent altogether for years. They lingered for over an hour, Royal, Kit, and Viv enjoying a second, then third cup of coffee. Mackey, delighting in their presence, ate four helpings of eggs and told more jokes than Kit was able to count. And when Royal suggested he tackle the damaged screen on the front porch—remove it even—they all readily offered to assist, eager for more time together.
“You two stop your yapping,” Royal said, laughing. “I put Mackey in charge, and that means he calls the shots. So what you say, Mackey? Which section you want us to take down first?”
