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Macie, of course, loved the idea, since she couldn’t seem to get enough of seeing the site of her future business. As thrilled as Joselyn was that things were working out for her sister, it also made her realize even more deeply how much her own life wasn’t working out so well.
“Mmm,” Macie moaned as she ate her ice cream. “This is amazing.”
As they walked, Joselyn took a bite of hers, too. The silky sweet chocolate melted on her tongue, creamy and smooth, the salt from the caramel making an incredible contrast to the sweet creaminess of the chocolate, so much flavor bursting through that she couldn’t even take it all in.
As soon as she swallowed, the spicy heat from the “hot” part of the hot chocolate ice cream spread across her mouth, the most interesting sensation to be paired with a frozen treat. She had never experienced such a depth of flavor coming from a single bite before. She quickly took another bite to experience the flavor even more fully. “I didn’t know ice cream could be this good. I’m so sorry you didn’t get any, Hannah. Want a bite of mine?”
Hanna laughed as they walked down the slight hill to the road. “Marcus is staying at our house, so I already got the preview in my nice, warm home. I’ll stick with the warm drink out here.” She took a sip of her cider.
“I’m so jealous that you have this stuff in your house,” Macie said around a bite of her ice cream.
“I’m jealous you have Marcus in your house,” Joselyn said.
Macie nearly choked on her ice cream. “Joselyn!”
Joselyn chuckled. It was definitely something she’d only said because Hannah’s general sauciness was rubbing off on her. She just shrugged and considered where to take a bite of her ice cream from next. “What? I’m just saying he’s nice to look at. That’s all.”
Joselyn’s mouth was so cold from the ice cream that her puffs of breath were no longer visible in the cold air. She could use Marcus’s lava for bone marrow right now. She was close to shivering but didn’t want to stop eating. She took a bite of hers as Hannah turned and asked, “So why haven’t you and Marcus ever dated?”
She turned to her sister-in-law, eyebrows raised. “Hannah, he’s practically my brother!”
“But he’snotyour brother. He’s just your brother’s best friend.”
She shook her head. “My family claimed him as one of our own when he was nine. He used to play practical jokes on us all the time. I was just the annoying little sister.” All the things she used to repeat over and over back when she had to in order to keep her mind off him. She didn’t have to anymore— not unless someone suggested something as crazy as the two of them dating.
“Maybe back then. Not so much now. You can’t deny that there’s chemistry between you two— it’s one of the first things I noticed about the two of you clear back when I started dating your brother.”
Macie shook her head as they turned the corner by Back Porch Grill onto Main Street. “I can’t believe you’re married to Everett and you’re saying this.”
Hannah cocked her head to the side, clearly not understanding.
Macie glanced at Hannah. “Have you ever mentioned to Everett that you thought Marcus and Joselyn should date?”
“Yeah. He said he thinks you two would never work out. But I think he’s wrong.”
“No, he’s right,” Joselyn said. She had firsthand knowledge of it, even if everyone else didn’t. “And that’s exactly why, back when we were in middle school, he and Kennon made me and Marcus both cross-our-hearts-and-hope-to-die, pinkie swear, spit-handshake promise that we would never date.”
“Why? Why would they do that?”
“Because if the two of them dated and then broke up,” Macie said, “can you imagine how awkward family get-togethers would be after?”
Joselyn didn’t have to imagine it. She had experienced it after their three-month-long secret relationship ended during her sophomore year in high school.
“Oh,” Hannah said. “They’re afraid it might make Marcus feel unwelcome in the family.”
“Yep,” Joselyn said as they headed down the sidewalk. “Besides, I need to get my own life together before I can add someone else. And I am far from being there.” She took another bite of her ice cream.
“That’s actually why I wanted to come down here.” Hannah threw her cup into a garbage can in front of Best Dressed and then started walking with more purpose toward the top of Main Street.
Joselyn glanced at Macie, but Macie just shrugged and the two of them finished their ice cream cones as they followed Hannah.
There were almost no cars on Main Street since everyone was at the festival, so Hannah led them across that side of the street and over the pedestrian bridge that crossed Snowdrift Springs, the creek that ran down the middle of Main Street. Then she stopped in front of the building that, five months from now, would be Macie’s new business where people could hang out with pets when they couldn’t have any of their own.
“Okay,” Hannah said, putting her hands on Macie’s shoulders and positioning her front and center, facing the building. “Here we’ve got the future home of Paws and Relax, with its cute little side yard where the animals can play.”
Hannah paused for a moment as they all looked at the building, then she put her hands on Joselyn’s shoulders and led her to the building next door, the one at the very top of Main Street. Just like she had with Macie, Hannah led Joselyn to the front center and squared her shoulders so she was facing the building.
Joselyn looked at Larry’s Hardware, not understanding at all what Hannah was doing as Hannah looked at Joselyn, hands on her hips, a pleased look on her face. “And I believe that this should be the future home of the business that you are going to open.”
