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The pretty redhead next to me popped a bite of food in her mouth and looked as though she was about to burst out laughing. “I’m Annie. Technically a Sullivan. The whole spy thing is kind of a sore subject.”
I leaned closer. “Are you serious?”
She smiled and lifted a shoulder. “It’s one of the many legends of the Sullivan–King rivalry. Military spies on opposite sides. Lines drawn in the sand.” She rolled her eyes and swatted her hand in the air. “Small-town lore, really.”
It was utterly ridiculous but also a little fascinating and a whole lot charming. “And no one seems to think that’s a little silly to still be mad about?”
Annie laughed. “Not when the idiot men in this town keep it alive and well with their pranks and insecurities.”
MJ piped up, pointing a fruit kebab in Annie’s direction. “Speaking of, I have it on good authority that a little payback’s coming to Lee. They know it was him who helped let loose those pigs with the numbers one and three on them at the high school reunion.”
Annie lifted her chin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She winked, and they dissolved into a fit of laughter.
“They looked all night for pig number two.”
Laughing with the women was easy, natural. The tension between the Kings and Sullivans seemed to sit squarely on the men’s shoulders and had no place for the Bluebirds.
“Lee. The firefighter, right?” I affectionately remembered the youngest Sullivan brother who’d invited me to the fire station, though I was pretty sure it was just to get a rise out of Wyatt.
“He is now that he’s home. He was overseas with the military for a long time. We’re all relieved he’s back.” There was something there, in Annie’s voice. A sad history that hinted at something deeper, but she changed the subject before revealing any more. “MJ here is a nurse up at Haven Pines, the assisted-living facility where Red stays in the memory care ward. Keeps an eye on him for us.”
MJ offered another shy smile. “Doesn’t matter if he’s a Sullivan or a King. No one should have to suffer through what he has.” Annie nodded and hummed in agreement, though I wondered if everyone felt the same way.
My brow furrowed. Red Sullivan didn’t seem all that old, especially for him to be living in an assisted-living facility. If he was staying in the memory-care ward, he likely suffered from dementia or another kind of brain injury. It explained the little lost looks I picked up on at the services.
Annie leaned across and placed her hand on MJ’s. “He’s lucky to have you. We all know it.”
MJ smiled but looked away, and my heart squeezed in my chest at the women’s soft and comforting exchange. My lifestyle didn’t lend itself to forming lifelong bonds or close friendships. While I had some girlfriends from high school, most of those had faded away with time and distance. I loved meeting new people and exploring new places, but there was something to be said about being tied to a place. Having a history and people who understood it with only a look.
“So you’re staying at the Highfield House? Kind of big for just one person.” MJ promptly changed the subject.
“Sort of. The barn apartment?” Both women nodded. “Though I did see Wyatt checking out the main house today.” I tried to keep my voice indifferent, but inside I was dying to know if they would share any other information about the broody middle Sullivan brother.
“That’s weird.” Annie took another bite of food and scrunched her face. “I saw him and Penny leaving town on my way in, and I assumed he was headed back to St. Fowler.”
Oddly, my heart sank, just a little.
8
WYATT
“This place sucks.”
I frowned at Penny’s words, not because she was seven and shouldn’t be saying shit like that, but because I couldn’t really argue her point. “Language, Pickle.”
Her eyes widened. “What? I could have said ‘this place freaking sucks,’ but I didn’t!”
I shook my head to stifle my laughter and bundled the covers under her chin. “You’re making me old and gray.”
“Daddy, itdoessuck.” Her pout deepened. “I miss Uncle Lee and Aunt Tootie. Even Uncle Duke said that next time we went home, he’d take me out on the tractor.”
Home.
A few days in Outtatowner and Penny already considered it more of a home than this place.
I smoothed my hands down her arms. “I know it’s hard, but we’re still new here. We just have to make it our own. We’ve got this. Two against the world, right?” I touched the tip of my nose to hers.
Her freshly minty breath whooshed over me as she grumbled. “Two against the world.”
