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“Is… everything okay?” Griff asks, looking between the sisters and then glancing up at Reid when we emerge behind them.
“Never better,” Alana says, continuing toward the front doors and pulling both of them open, letting a rush of fresh air into the manor.
Reid, Mav and I all move forward, taking up our positions beside her.
“Is it how you imagined it?” Mav asks as him and Reid take her hand and we step out of the house together.
“Us against the world?”
“Wait for me,” a little voice cries before Daisy slips between Mav and Alana’s legs, making us all laugh.
“Yep, exactly like this,” Alana confirms, sucking in a deep lungful of air. “Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”
“Me too,” a little voice says before running full speed toward Reid’s car.
* * *
Daisy’s nose is practically pressed to the window as we pull up in front of Hallie’s and the huge pink neon sign that sits above the old building.
“It’s so pwetty.” Daisy sighs, gazing at it in amazement. Anyone would have thought we brought her to Disneyland, not a diner.
The second I look at the doors, I find Hallie—or Nanna H as she’s more fondly known—in her trusty pink and yellow flowery apron waiting for us.
“Some things never change, huh?” Reid mutters as he lifts his hand to wave.
I swear Hallie bounces on her toes at the gesture, but it has nothing on the excitement on her face when Ellis pulls in behind us and we all pile out of the cars.
She has the door open to greet us long before we get there.
“And here I was thinking you’d forgotten all about me,” she chastises as I step straight up to her and pull her in for a hug.
“Never, Nanna H. It would be impossible.”
She hugs me back and I let the familiar scent of her perfume—which is mostly bacon and syrup—waft through my nose.
“And you,” she says, craning her neck back to look Reid in the eyes. “I hear congratulations are in order, young man.”
Reid smiles.Hallie is always first to the gossip.
“Just another day at the office, you know that,” he says, playing it down.
“Sheesh, I might be old, but I know triumph when I see it. And you, boy, have done incredible things. This town is going to be forever grateful. I know my Georgie is up there smiling at you right now,” she says, mentioning her late husband and past Hawk with a tear in her eye.
“I’m glad you approve.”
“Boy, you could take over the world and I’d be the proudest woman on the planet. Oh, and speaking of women, I hear you have a new one in your life.”
Hallie shoos Reid out of the way so that she can get to Alana.
“Mrs. Alana Murray,” she says, taking Alana’s hands in hers.
“Hi,” Alana squeaks, her cheeks heating under Hallie’s perusal.
“It really is no wonder you have my boys so enraptured.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Alana argues as Daisy pokes her head around Alana’s legs.
“Oh, my goodness. Who is this little princess?” Hallie asks, turning her attention to Daisy, who happily does a twirl to show off her dress.
