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Still, she persisted, knowing the pain would eventually pass. Work the next day was filled with questions in the teacher’s lounge about her new man and the book signing, which she answered as vaguely as possible. There was no sense in telling everyone of their breakup—the town would figure it out in another weekend or two, when his car was no longer making its appearance in her driveway.
Her family, however, was harder to deceive. She managed to bluff her way through a shift at the bookstore Monday evening, and she stayed mum on the whole thing with Brooklyn, too. But within half an hour at the farm with her father and sister Tuesday night, Delaney had put the pieces together.
“Wait, did you two break up?” Del demanded as the three of them worked to herd the newest batch of ducklings into separate pens. “What happened? You guys were perfect for each other!”
Mia’s father stopped what he was doing in the next pen and looked in their direction. Great, the proverbial cat was out of the bag.
“Thanks for broadcasting the news, Delaney.”
Her sister planted a fist on one hip. “It’s just me and Pops. Besides, it would have gotten out eventually.”
“Well, maybe I’m not ready for it to be out. Did you ever stop to consider that?”
“Girls.”
Both sisters quieted.
“Did my interruption have anything to do with it?” their Dad asked, his voice softer now.
“It added fuel to a fire already burning,” Mia said. “But it was by no means your fault. Alex admitted to keeping some things from me these past few weeks. Some I could forgive, but when I found out he lied about hitting a deer so he would need a place to stay for the weekend, I was done. Though, I have no idea how he knew to hide his car behind Del’s shop.”
Del released another duckling into the pen before her. “I told him to park it there.”
“What?You mean you knew about it all along?”
Crap.Alex had tried to bring Del into the conversation, but Mia had cut him off.
“Of course I did. I knew you’d never see it back there. But you”—Del pointed to their father—“you, I didn’t see coming. We love ya, Pops, but you know we couldn’t really afford to buy you a Land Rover for Christmas.”
He grinned. “Hey, one of these days either of you could hit the Powerball.”
Del laughed. Mia found the conversation anything but amusing.
“But why, Delaney? Why would you help him concoct a lie like that?”
“Actually, I did all the concocting. A chance with you if he swapped signing locations from South Bend to our store. Alex wasn’t game at first, knowing you were already still grouchy with him for something that happened, like, seventeen years ago. I mean, sheesh, Mi, let it go already.”
Okay, there was some truth to the absurdity of her longtime anger, but still…
“So, you thoughtlyingwould make it all better?”
“If that’s what it took to get you to start living again!” Del’s voice echoed through the rafters, sending ducks and ducklings scurrying. She looked to the floor, cleared her throat, then met her sister’s gaze. But it wasn’t anger on her brow anymore. It was concern. “You’d given up, Mi. I could see it in your eyes when Isaac and I were around. The forced smiles, the longing gazes out the windows. It was like, you were happy for us but had condemned yourself to never finding love again.”
Mia swallowed hard. As much as she wanted to say otherwise, her sister’s words rang true. How could they not, when Del knew her better than anyone?
“When I walked up to find you and Alex in a standoff at the bookstore that first night, your chin raised high and cheeks all red, I knew he was the one who could bring you back to life. To make you remember that you’re not just a single mom with a douche of an ex, but a beautiful, grown woman who deserves to be happy as much as anyone else. Hell, maybe more.”
Mia turned away, hiding a fresh round of tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. “But you knew how much a lie could hurt me.”
“No, I know how muchcheatingcould hurt you. Little fibs happen all the time; you just don’t always know it.” Del stepped around her and pulled Mia into her chest. “Besides, like I told Alex—this one’s on me. And since we’re blood, well, you’ll forgive me eventually.”
What was she going to do with her rebel middle sister? Probably the only thing she knew how. To love her. On a sigh, she raised her arms to return the embrace.
“So, none of it was his idea?”
“Nope.” Del drew back and offered her a tissue from a coat pocket. “But I didn’t have to twist his arm too hard. After all, I was offering him the chance to win back the thing he wanted most: you.”
Was it true? Had Alex been so desperate to win her back that he would agree to one of Del’s crazy ideas? Yes, Mia could believe that. After living with Del her entire life, she knew just how compelling her sister could be. If that was the case, then maybe he hadn’t lied about everything. Maybe he really had fallen for her all those years ago and had never fully gotten over her.
