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Laney, still cradling Cole, who was fast asleep against her chest, insisted on walking me to the door, and as we made our way through her childhood home, a place I’d come to know almost as well as my own, I couldn’t help but observe how much had changed over the years.
And yet, so much had stayed the same. There was such a warm, welcoming atmosphere in this old house. Pictures lined the walls and shelves—old ones of the Cole sisters growing up right alongside the Wilson boys, along with some new, high-res shots now that Laney and Everett had started their family.
I sighed at the sight of a framed photo on an end table. It was from the epic fight Gertie had starred in the day Laney and Everett sealed the deal on their second chance. It sat right between a shot of the Cole girls when they were little and what appeared to be an honest-to-goodness glamour shot of the dang goat.
I loved these people, and walking through this house or the one next door always felt like flipping through a live photo album, each room telling stories of laughter, tears, and the kind of love that could weather any storm.
“What are you thinkin’ so hard about?” Laney asked in a hushed tone, so attuned to the baby still sleeping in her arms that she knew exactly what decibel wouldn’t disturb him.
“I was just thinkin’ I’m grateful,” I said.
“For what?”
“For you, for your family. For this opportunity at the department.”
Laney cocked her head, blonde waves spilling over her shoulder. “Aw, we’re grateful for you too, Pais. What made you think of that?”
I flashed back to that fateful day Laney and I came to Charlotte Oaks for the trip that changed more than a few lives, and I smiled fondly at my friend. “It’s just... the minute we broke down on the side of the road and I saw the way you and Everett looked at each other, I had a feelin’ this day would come. I even put a note in my mental to-do list to make areal listof career choices. Ya know, in case you retired and had to fire me.”
Laney’s eyes flared in surprise. “You did not.”
“I did. I didn’t know the history between you and Everett, but it was just a feelin’,” I mused, stroking Cole’s head. “But instead of firin’ me, I got to work with both you and Riley, then slowly helped him transition to not needin’ me either.”
“Easy, girlfriend. We stepped back from our careers, but we still need you. Just in a different way.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you see it comin’ with Riley and Aubree like you did with Everett and me?” she asked.
“No. But I do remember bein’ nervous about whether I’d be able to find somethin’ to do in this town so I wouldn’t have to leave.”
Laney nodded in understanding. “Well, you get an A for effort when it comes to tryin’ to find somethin’.”
I snorted.
“Hey, I don’t care how much your meddlin’ twisted their britches,” she declared. “You were just tryin’ to help, and I love that you wanted to stay here. And I love that you found the perfect thing to keep you here for the long term.”
“Right, yeah. The long term,” I mumbled, surprised when my voice snagged halfway through.
“Maybe someday you’ll be like Peggy Ann, refusin’ to retire until a replacement comes along. And by then, maybe we’ll have spent some good years here, raisin’ our kids side by side like this,” she said, gazing wistfully around her childhood home.
But then the pretty picture she’d painted in my mind took a turn, and I saw Adam’s face, looking even better with laugh lines and salt and pepper in his hair, the evidence of a happy life.
I hastily shook my head, desperate to ignore the way that image made my breath catch. “I should go.”
Laney’s hand on my arm stopped me. “Wait, didn’t you say your brother was comin’ to town? That was, what, two weeks ago?”
I stilled, my other hand hovering over the doorknob. Laney was one of the very few people who knew Tyler had been in prison for the last three years, and even fewer people knew he was headed for Charlotte Oaks.
Okay, fine, she was theonlyone who knew the second part. As far as I knew, Tyler hadn’t even told our parents he was out, let alone heading my way.
But now, I wished I hadn’t told Laney he was coming because—true to form—the day after I sent Tyler the money to get here, he’d texted me saying he’d rearranged his plans and would be a little later than expected.
I hadn’t heard a peep from him since.
Turning to Laney, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah, um… He had a change of plans. Hopefully, he’ll get here soon. I’m not sure when, though.”
Laney’s lips tucked over to one side, and the look she gave me dripped with sympathy. “I’m sorry, friend.”
