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Ellie gave me a look as she headed toward the large kitchen table, the only one we ever used for meals. The dining room table was covered with my dad’s important papers, whatever those were.
Nora rolled her eyes. “Even his name is a snore-fest.”
“He was nice,” I countered.
Ellie narrowed her eyes at me. “That was exactly the problem. He was nice. Too nice if you ask me.”
I was the one who’d strung Pete along, hoping to feel a smidgeon of what I had for Mark. I thought Mark was merely my first love, that it wasn’t meant to endure, but I’d never met anyone who made me feel like he did.
Now every time I saw him, my heart jumped, my skin tingled, and every hair rose in anticipation of him getting closer. He was in my childhood home, talking to my dad. What did it mean?
My sisters’ opinions about his motivations were getting under my skin. I wanted to go back to when there was a very defined border between us. The one where we’d walked away from each other and had no intention of going back.
Their suspicions cracked the wall, letting air seep in.
Mark opened the door, carrying the potatoes wrapped in tin foil.
“You survived,” Nora said breezily when she passed him with the salad.
Mark’s forehead wrinkled as he looked over at me, his brow raised in silent question.
I shrugged because I didn’t want him to know what we were talking about. I didn’t even want to know what my dad said to him. I wanted to ignore everything and focus on my family and the bakery.
Just because Mark was back didn’t mean anything had to change. But if I thought about it logically, I’d have to acknowledge everything had.
“Dinner’s ready,” Dad yelled down the stairs.
Drew and Kendall came upstairs and sat next to each other at the end of the table, as far away from the adults as they could get.
The food was passed around the table. There was teasing and laughter. It was fun and easy. I loved spending time with my family.
Seeing Mark at our table after all these years was familiar. He’d always needed an escape from his family, and we were all too happy to have him here. My sisters loved having another male around. He helped my dad with things around the house, too. My father loved how attentive and protective he was toward me.
I hadn’t realized that it was a rare quality until I dated other guys.
“So, what are your plans now that you’re home?” Dad asked Mark when the conversation slowed.
Mark straightened his shoulders. “I want to get Kendall settled in at school, and then I’ll figure things out.”
Dad nodded. “You have time.”
“I do.” Mark looked relieved that Dad had let it go.
I wondered if his dad was on his case to work at the lumberyard.
“Is it overwhelming being home after so long?” Ellie asked.
I cut my steak, carefully watching Mark’s reaction.
His gaze darted to me, then back to Ellie. “I wouldn’t say overwhelming.”
Did I bring back memories for him? And if so, were they good or bad? Since he’d been home, I’d been bombarded with our past. I hoped I wasn’t alone in this trip down memory lane.
“It’s good to have you home,” Dad said when silence fell over the table.
Mark nodded at my dad and then turned his steady gaze on me. “It’s good to be back.”
My cheeks heated. Every one of my sisters’ heads turned in my direction. I knew they would have a lot of questions when Mark left.
