AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let’s go, then,” I say. “We can go to Cantina.” Cantina is a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that is delicious, fast, and cheap. It gets pretty busy, though, and early afternoon on a Saturday it will definitely be hard to get a table.
Lily’s already standing up and striding for the door. “I’m in!”
Candice frowns and glances at me. “I’m still trying to figure out what is up with her. Have you been able to get anything out of her? She’s not acting like she used to. I wonder what happened. She hasn’t even mentioned her next trip.”
“That’s true,” I answer noncommittally.
“When’s the last time you remember Iliana being at home without plans to leave again?” Candice arches her brows at me. “Not since she was a teen.”
“Let’s go get tacos,” I answer.
My two sister and I head down the street and with a few deep breaths, Lily’s shoulders lower. She gives me a tight smile and shakes her head slightly, as if to indicate she doesn’t want to talk about it.
“Blake wants tacos,” Candice says, glancing up from her phone. “Should we get some for Mac too?”
“I’ll ask him.” I reach into my purse for my phone. “He’s with the kids, so they might be ready for lunch too.”
“What about Rudy?” Candice asks, a little glimmer in her eyes. “Lily?”
“Huh?” Lily stumbles on a crack in the pavement and my arm shoots out to steady her. She gives me a grateful look.
Candice presses on. “Maybe you should text Rudy and ask him if he wants tacos for lunch.”
Lily rolls her eyes, and Candice laughs. I can’t help but crack a smile. My sisters and I haven’t lived in the same place for over twenty years. Being together feels…nice. Like Heart’s Cove is becoming more and more of a home.
“You can’t tell us you haven’t been spending time with him,” I tease. “We’ve seen you go to his house. Everyone’s talking about it.”
“Everyone as in who? Dorothy and Agnes?” Lily shoots back, then snorts. “Those two gossip about the damn squirrels living in the trees on Cove Boulevard.”
“Mm,” Candice answers. “I just think it’d be nice to ask if he wants some hot, tasty lunch brought to him.”
“You know what? Fine. I’ll send him a message.” Lily stops in her tracks and makes a big show of pulling out her phone. She mashes the screen until her message is sent, then glares at Candice. “Happy?”
Our eldest sister grins. “Very.”
“Have you spoken to Nora?” I ask Lily, deciding she needs a reprieve from our teasing.
“You two have become close,” Candice adds.
Lily shrugs. “We’re the newbies in town, and we’re neighbors across the hall from each other.” She smiles at us. “And we’re the only ones who are single.”
“For now.” Candice grins.
Sadness flashes in Lily’s eyes, but she quickly hides it. “She’s heading back to Heart’s Cove tonight, I think. Her boss in Reno keeps calling her back even though he promised she’d be working remote.”
“Again?” Candice arches her brows.
“I keep meaning to talk to Lee,” I say, making a mental note to call Mac’s brother tonight. “He might have a job for her or know someone who needs her services.”
“Oh! We can introduce them at my housewarming party next weekend.” Candice beams, whirling to smile at the two of us. “Mom is in party-planning mode, and if we give her a mission to pair the two of them up, it’ll keep her out of trouble.”
“Keep her out of your hair, you mean,” Lily says with a grin.
I laugh. “Not a bad idea.”
As expected, Cantina is jammed. There’s a long line stretching down the block, and the three of us are thankfully standing in the shade. I pull out a bottle of water and offer it to my sisters before taking a sip. We chat about our week, about Candice’s new house, about everything and nothing.
Then someone gets in line behind us, and Lily freezes.
